Electricity
Expanding Renewable Energy in the Baram Basin of Malaysian Borneo: Project Update
By: Koto Kishida, Green Empowerment Malaysia Program OfficerAs part of our continuing efforts to support local indigenous communities in Malaysian Borneo in resisting the construction of destructive “mega-dams,” Green Empowerment and our long-term partner TONIBUNG are starting work on a microhydro system to power the community of Long Liam via renewable energy. Long Liam is…
Read MoreGE Board Members Visit Projects in Asia
This post was written by Wendy Stickel, a member of the Green Empowerment Board of Directors, about a board member trip to the Philippines and Malaysian Borneo with Executive Director Andrea Johnson in May 2017. Wendy has worked in international development for over 30 years, including overseas assignments and extensive travel with USAID and the…
Read MoreGreen Empowerment Wins Energy Globe Award!
Green Empowerment’s program with partner Tonibung, “Building Climate Resilience through Renewable Energy in Borneo,” has won the National Energy Globe Award for Malaysia! With 178 participating countries, the Energy Globe Award is considered to be one of the most prestigious international environmental awards. It is awarded annually to projects focusing on energy efficiency, renewable energies,…
Read MoreGuest Post: HDR Foundation 2017 Trip to Nicaragua
This post was written by Elizabeth Fleming, a Structural Engineer at HDR and a participant in the HDR Foundation’s service-learning trip to Nicaragua in May 2017 with Green Empowerment.Have you ever thought about what a week without electricity would feel like? A year? A lifetime? How about trying to calculate the amount of water you…
Read MoreLife in Nampasan
This guest post was written by Koto Kishida, a Green Empowerment volunteer and Natural Resource Specialist with the State of Oregon. Green Empowerment’s last blog post (“Tagal Hutan Monitoring Program in Borneo”) was about Koto’s project for GE and Tonibung in Malaysian Borneo. This post will focus on her personal experience of living in Borneo…
Read MoreTagal Hutan Monitoring Program in Borneo
This guest post was written by Koto Kishida, a Green Empowerment volunteer and Natural Resource Specialist with the State of Oregon.Sabah, Malaysia was my home for several months in 2016. As a volunteer for Green Empowerment (GE), I helped develop and kick-start a monitoring program for GE’s local partner Tonibung. The project had an ambitious…
Read MoreEnergy Forum in Borneo Offers Hope for Indigenous Communities
On August 16th, 2016, more than 90 members of academia, civil society, government, and the private sector met over lunch in Kuching (the Sarawak state capitol in Malaysian Borneo) to discuss the future of energy in the region. The consensus reached by the end of the dialogue offered hope and cautious optimism for indigenous people,…
Read MoreNos Vemos, Nicaragua!
[By: Claudia Aber, Stanford University student and GE/AsoFénix summer intern in Nicaragua]10 weeks after arriving in Nicaragua, August 25th was my last day working with Green Empowerment and AsoFénix. I spent this day reflecting on the work done, friends made, and opportunities had during my time here. This summer flew by, and I will cherish…
Read MoreQ&A with Patrick Pawletko, Former GE Fellow in Myanmar
[Conducted by Eleanor Burke. Questions and responses edited for brevity and coherent continuity.]Patrick graduated from Purdue University in 2014 with a degree in Civil Engineering. While studying there, he participated in a team collaboration to develop a locally sourced, locally fabricated micro-hydropower facility in the rural community of Bangang, Cameroon, where he gained his early…
Read MoreGreetings from Nicaragua!
By: Claudia Aber, Stanford University student and GE Intern in NicaraguaI arrived in Nicaragua four weeks ago to work with Asofénix and Green Empowerment, two sustainable development organizations that work together on a broad range of projects in rural communities. Before leaving Stanford University in California, I had my favorite meal, pizza with a chocolate…
Read More