Green Empowerment provides villages in the developing world access to clean water, electricity through renewable energy, and sustainable solutions.

VISION

We envision an equitable and sustainable world where everyone has clean water, renewable energy and a healthy environment.

CORE VALUES

SOCIAL JUSTICE -- We support people in their efforts to live free of poverty, oppression, and exploitation.

SUSTAINABILITY -- We promote strategies for improving human well-being that simultaneously restore and protect local ecosystems, mitigate carbon emissions, and help communities adapt to climate change.

LOCAL LEADERSHIP -- We encourage in-country leadership to take responsibility for their own decisions and manage their own resources.  Our work is rooted in respect for the values, the dignity, contributions, and perspectives of our partners and the cultures in which we work.

CORE SERVICES

Our projects deliver clean water and/or produce electricity for residential, commercial, and community use. 

We assist our partners with feasibility studies, technical training, project construction, commissioning, organizational planning, publicity and fundraising. An important goal and outgrowth of the mission of Green Empowerment is to also conduct outreach, education, consulting, and training to all interested parties internationally and in the United States.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Overhead
A volunteer board, small staff, and corps of dedicated volunteers perform administrative and fundraising work keeping overhead to less than 9% annually.

Public Benefit
All our projects, whether using communal or micro-entrepreneurial models, are geared towards providing the maximum benefit and are charitable in intent and structure.

Project Orientation
Our work concentrates directly on the design, development, and construction of community-based renewable energy systems associated with residential electricity, economic development, potable water and watershed protection.

Technology
We support community-based renewable energy projects that utilize small hydropower, biomass, biogas, wind and solar technology designed, built, and maintained locally.

Social Justice
Projects must have the maximum positive impact on basic human rights such as employment, health, education, personal opportunity and other indicators of a healthy society. We also feel that for projects to be successful both men and women must be actively involved in the development of their community renewable energy system.

Local Leadership
We support projects that have strong community backing and leadership. Local people are trained in the skills necessary to operate and maintain their projects. We promote the leadership of local technical NGO organizations, as their skills are vital to the planning and building of the projects.

Sustainability
Our goal is to insure that the projects become self-sufficient early on. Each one must have a plan for long-term sustainability both economically and environmentally. Rural electrification is supported by community tariffs for residential use of electricity as well as micro-enterprises that generate revenue for the long-term viability of the projects.

Environmental Impact
The projects we support must include a strong environmental component. Watershed protection and community environmental planning promoting conservation and restoration are integral to our work.