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Green Empowerment is an international development organization that provides technical, organizational, media, public relations, and financial support to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in less developed countries to successfully construct community-based renewable energy systems associated with residential electricity, economic development, potable water, and watershed protection.
Our development model is based on the working relationship between Green Empowerment, a local technical NGO and the community benefiting from the project – very much like the three legs of a stool. Each entity has their respective and important roles that complement, harmonize and support one another and lead to the ultimate success and sustainability of the renewable energy projects.
When considering a new project, Green Empowerment first determines whether or not there is a strong technical NGO involved and if the community is organized, prepared and committed to the project. It is important that our values are compatible with one another. We proceed carefully at this stage of our relationship, so that everyone’s time and resources are considered and used effectively. We work to establish long-term relationships based on mutual respect and trust and take our commitments very seriously.
Dialogue is a crucial part of our development model. We strive for clear, open and honest communication. We want our partners to understand exactly what we can and cannot do and we want to fully comprehend the needs and aspirations of those with whom we work. We take the time necessary to learn about potential partners, their abilities, values and track record, and encourage them to make a similar evaluation of Green Empowerment.
We believe in raising the capacity of our NGO partners, helping them build organizations that are strong, stable, independent and sustainable. We believe in the community’s ability and right to create, manage and possess their own renewable energy systems. We believe that with appropriate assistance, communities will generate economic opportunity locally and develop their natural resources wisely.
Our development model is not an abstraction. It is a concrete manifestation of our values - social justice, local leadership and sustainability - and our experience.
The Role of Green Empowerment
The role of Green Empowerment is to work with local NGO and community partners to develop renewable energy or potable water projects, which promote social justice, local leadership, and sustainability. The support we provide involves the following technical, organizational, media, public relations, and financial components:
1) To build communication, cooperation and alliances between different international development organizations working in the same region. Cooperation among organizations with similar missions and skills will allow us to serve more communities. Cooperation with organizations with different missions, such as medical care, education, and land rights, will allow us to address a broader array of community needs.
2) To provide technical and organizational advice and support to the NGO - - such as helping to solve problems like voltage regulation, assisting in the creation of a project business plan or determining the best source from which to buy project equipment. Green Empowerment encourages the sharing of technical expertise and technology transfers among its partner NGOs.
3) To coordinate and facilitate trainings for the NGO to increase their technical and organizational abilities. These trainings include community surveys of power demand and potential usage, site selection, the budget process, choice of appropriate technology, environmental assessments, feasibility studies, civil design, operational & fiscal management, micro-enterprise development, long term planning, and grant writing. Our trainings generally occur in the context of a specific project implementation.
4) To provide seed money and matching grants that can initiate and leverage the efforts of the NGO to raise the money needed for a project and/or provide capacity grants which help to build their organizational capacity.
5) To develop a long-range plan for project work which covers three or more years and may include multiple projects and technologies.
6) To jointly develop grant proposals for specific projects and for long-range plans, covering multiple years and projects.
7) To popularize NGO achievements in developing sustainable energy systems and related environmental protection plans through the media, the internet, and other written and visual sources. By publicizing these projects, Green Empowerment will help develop support for more community-based renewable energy projects internationally and give greater visibility and credibility to the NGOs that are featured.
The role of Green Empowerment is to support the NGO and to ensure the highest degree of project success and long-term NGO viability. Green Empowerment will assist the NGO in obtaining the technical abilities and financial support to implement economically and environmentally sound community-based renewable energy projects in their countries and the organizational capacity needed to become sustainable.
The Role of the NGO
Our NGO partners are local and regional organizations with legal non-profit status within their countries and core values compatible with those of Green Empowerment. These NGOs have strong ties to local communities and extensive community development experience. They have the desire to assist the community with renewable energy and potable water project implementation and the technical capacity to see projects through to successful completion.
The NGO will have the ability or the capacity to learn to:
1) Evaluate whether a community has the interest, organizational resources and determination necessary for long-term sustainability of the project and to encourage the community to mobilize all its members- men, women and children.
2) Work with the community to conduct a detailed and accurate community survey of residential, commercial, light industrial, agricultural, and other community uses of and demand for the electricity.
3) Help the community develop the leadership for ownership & management of its renewable energy system and related watershed/environmental plans.
4) Complete design specifications for all aspects of the plan, including present and future electrical demand, rate structure, construction budget, financial management, and necessary technical training.
5) Mobilize the community in creating a plan for the overall project that addresses not only the electrification goals of the project, but also how their renewable energy system will improve social conditions within the community and the local environment.
6) Conduct equipment and materials procurement efficiently and effectively.
7) Supervise and participate in all project development work. This includes feasibility studies, design, cost estimates, proposal preparation, financing, project management, community mobilization, construction, training, operation, maintenance, and business development.
8) Develop grant proposals to obtain funding for specific projects or multi-year, multi-project programs in partnership with Green Empowerment.
9) Train community members in all necessary skills both during the feasibility and construction stages and for operation and maintenance afterwards to ensure project viability
At the feasibility and construction stages of a project, the NGO will have the leadership role, progressively transferring system responsibilities and ownership to the community. After the project is operational, the community will be in control of its renewable energy system and the NGO's role should be one of assistance and monitoring.
The Role of the Community
The communities we work with are very organized and often have previous experience in completing local social projects. Sometimes they have worked with our partner NGOs for a number of years. The community will work together with the NGO through all stages of project development. They will determine their own needs, desires and priorities in regards to the renewable energy or potable water project. The community will contribute the unskilled and semi-skilled labor needed, locally available material such as wood, sand, and gravel, and financial assistance to the extent possible. Community members will be trained in all the skills necessary to operate, maintain and repair their system. After project completion, the community will assume ownership and management of the energy facility.
The Community, either independently or in cooperation with the NGO, will:
1) Create an organization of community members that will work with the NGO to build the renewable energy or potable water system.
2) Assist the NGO with the community survey, the site feasibility study, project design, and construction.
3) Conduct the community survey to determine potential community power demand and allocation that includes residential use, small industry, commercial enterprises and agricultural processing possibilities.
4) Manage the community financial and labor contributions to the project.
5) Develop a long-term operational and management structure plan that is financially self-sustaining.
6) Determine the sustainable rate structure for the electric system and identify community revenue-generating activities that can be initiated with the renewable power.
7) Identify or create the community entity that will have legal ownership of the project and how that ownership will be recognized.
8) Identify who in the community will need training for long-term care and operation of the energy system.
9) Create and manage the operation and maintenance fund.
10) Participate in the watershed mapping process and develop a plan for protecting, conserving and restoring the local environment.
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