Globally around two billion people lack energy sources like gas or electricity. Being poor already, they have to spend too much money and time on getting their lives running, often in a way that is detrimental to their own environment. Hivos supports local organisations in developing countries that introduce cheap and harmless solutions to the absence of energy. One of them is the Fundación Solar in Guatemala, building small hydropower installations that generate sufficient electricity to accommodate a school, a health clinic and some private houses. In Tanzania, where almost the complete the rural population is deprived of gas or petrol, the local development organisation TaTEDO develops efficient wood stoves, economic in use and less health damaging. In Kenya Hivos is investing in pilot projects for new technologies. One of the projects is gaining biodiesel from Jathropa, a local bush that consumes little water. Biodiesel is a non-toxic and biodegradable fuel, that will be used for the engines of agricultural equipment. Another pilot involves catching gas from landfills. This gas contains methane, an excellent source for electricity. The people who presently make a poor and hazardous living of selecting waste on a dump site in Nairobi will be the beneficiaries of the electricity derived from this landfill, which will hopefully raise their standards of living.
The Hivos Climate Fund is part of Climate Partners, a cooperation of COS Nederland, Ecofys, Global Action Plan Nederland, Hivos, Trees for Travel, PWAdvies and UNESCO-IHE. Climate Partners offers a wide range of solutions in the area of energy efficiency, green purchasing and greenhouse gas compensation.
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