LIGHTING UP EAST TIMOR

Kate Greenwood, International Projects Manager Alternative Technology Association (ATA)

A BIT ABOUT ME

Ò  Joined ATA in January 2016 Ò  10 years at Oxfam Australia Ò  Experience in international development Ò  Ran a small business Ò  Worked for big corporations Ò  Focus on program quality, relationship

management and business development Ò  Excited to work on a project combining

environmental and social outcomes Ò  First trip to East Timor in March this year

East Timor is one of the poorest countries in the world: 50.6% adult literacy rate Life expectancy 68.2 years 20% or 40,000 homes will never be connected to the mains electricity grid

ATA – LIGHTING UP EAST TIMOR SINCE 2003

International Projects Group (IPG): Ò Team of dedicated volunteers, meet monthly Ò  Installed 1,168 solar systems on East Timorese

homes Ò That is approx 5,840 direct beneficiaries Ò  Installed 105 solar systems on East Timorese

community buildings Ò Developing a toolkit to be shared with others

UNAA WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY AWARDS 2016

Ò  ATA - Village Lighting Scheme has been selected as a Finalist in the United Nations Association of Australia World Environment Day Awards 2016 Clean Energy Award category

Ò  Winners will be announced in Melbourne on 6 June, World Environment Day

Ò  Other finalists include: Moreland Energy Foundation, Citizens Own Renewable Energy Network Australia (CORENA) & Clean Energy for Eternity – Northern Beaches Chapter (NSW)

1) Community Engagement

2) Local Training

3) Technology

4) Maintenance Fund

VILLAGE LIGHTING SCHEME (VLS)

COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

Ò  The technology is not the issue as it works well. Success is based on community buy-in, maintenance, and long term sustainability.

Ò  Proper community engagement and mobilisation is

essential to ensure that solar power is provided to all members of the community (equity), a management committee is set up, money is collected and local technicians can maintain the systems

MIRA FONSECA – COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Ò  The ATA has engaged the services of Mira Fonseca, an experienced local community facilitator

Ò  Mira is visiting each village Ò  Ensuring readiness Ò  Explaining the model Ò  Meeting community leaders Ò  Doing a baseline survey Ò  ‘Insider’ perspective Ò  Eyes and ears on the ground Ò  Working with Friendship Groups

THE COMMITTEE

Ò  Each community agrees to a constitution with rights and obligations of the committee, the technicians and the householders

Ò  3-5 committee members in each village (usually elected). Must be literate and numerate

Ò  Need to be more inclusive, representative (more women) Ò  Communicate with Friendship Group, ATA and householders Ò  Collect money and manage the finances Ò  Organise and pay technicians Ò  Send reports to Friendship Groups and ATA Ò  Resolve issues

MAINTENANCE FUND

Ò  The VLS is not a handout Ò  Each household pays US$10 to have a system

installed Ò  They pay $2 per month into a maintenance fund Ò  This is slightly less than average expenditure on

kerosene Ò  Fund is managed by the committee Ò  Fund used to pay technicians and CNEFP Ò  If households stop paying or tamper with the

system, it can be removed by the committee

HOW IT WORKS

LOCAL TRAINING

Ò  2 technicians trained in each village Ò  Technicians trained by CNEFP, our partner

organisation Ò  Training materials provided by ATA Ò  Technicians paid to attend training and provided

with a toolkit Ò  Technicians install, monitor and repair systems Ò  They are paid by the committee from the fund Ò  Need to look at selection criteria (more diversity)

TRAINING LOCAL TECHNICIANS

CNEFP – CENTRE FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAINING (OUR TRAINING PARTNER)

Ò  2010 – Solar Design, Installation & Maintenance Curriculum - First Certificate L2 training course recognised by Timorese Government

Ò  Team of 6 full time staff who teach students in solar power and are contracted by the ATA to design, install, maintain and modify solar power systems across Timor

NUMBER OF PEOPLE TRAINED BY CNEFP

DORA ELO – CNEFP SOLAR TEAM LEADER

GOAL OF THE VLS

Provide low-cost, environmentally friendly and sustainable solar powered lighting and electricity systems to households to enable increased productive activities and social and economic wellbeing

“We enjoy the night time now, because we don’t go to bed early, because we can do something at the night time because of the Lampu Diak”

INCREASED PRODUCTIVE HOURS

Ò  Imagine each family member having an extra 4 hours of productive time each day

Ò  With an average 5 people per household in East Timor

Ò  That is 20 hours of extra productive time per household each day

Ò  Or 7,300 extra productive hours per household each year

Ò  For study, work, small business and social activities

Improved  economic  wellbeing    

Improved  environment  

VLS  GOAL:  Provide  low-­‐cost,  environmentally  friendly  and  sustainable  solar  powered  lighAng  and  electricity  systems  to  households  to  enable  increased  producAve  acAviAes  and  social  and  economic  wellbeing  

 Func4oning  lights  inside  house  (x3)

Technicians  are  paid  to  successfully  install,  

maintain  and  repair  VLS

Functioning night light inside or

outside house

Addi4onal  4me  to  do  work  aEer  

dark    

Reduction in inside smoke and kerosene

use

Households  pay  into  Community  Maintenance  

Fund

Provision of clean

energy

VLS  system  installed  at  household  level  

Func4oning  USB  outlet  (phone,  torch)  

Technician  training

Community  and  partners  empowered  to  own  and  

manage  VLS    

Maintenance  fund  

Ligh4ng  systems  are  repaired  

Addi4onal  opportunity  to  study  aEer  dark    

Phone  charged  to  increase  

connec4vity  

Light  at  night  increases  safety  

Fewer  health  concerns  

associated  with  kerosene  and  

smoke    

Improved  health  

Improved  learning  outcomes    

Improved  security  

Management  CommiLee

Technical  Design  and  Development  of  VLS  system  

Capacity  building  of  partners  

Local  partners  learn  necessary  skills  to  implement,  manage  and  monitor  VLS    

Partners  have  improved  

knowledge  and  skills  to  generate  

income  

Sustainability  of  VLS  is  increased  

through  local  ownership  

OBJECTIVE 1: IMPROVED ENVIRONMENT

Provision of clean energy with no fumes or ongoing waste

Reduction in inside smoke and kerosene use

“Lampu Diak is clean, it doesn’t stain my clothes.” We can see what comes into our house now… our food is safe.”

OBJECTIVE 2: IMPROVED HEALTH

Household members, especially children, experience fewer health problems (particularly respiratory problems and eye strain) by reducing the use of kerosene and indoor wood burning for lighting

“Life is better with Lampu Diak… My family is safer. The children can study at night and their eyes don’t hurt anymore while they study”

OBJECTIVE 3: IMPROVED LEARNING OUTCOMES

School children have improved literacy and numeracy as a result of having the opportunity to engage in study after dark

“The Lampu Diak is good for the children. They can do their homework in the night after we collect the firewood (for cooking) and do the work.”

OBJECTIVE 4: IMPROVED SECURITY

Household members feel more secure in their homes due to improved lighting at night and increased phone connectivity during an emergency This is especially true for women “Lampu Diak keeps the devil away at night”

OBJECTIVE 5: IMPROVED ECONOMIC WELLBEING

Households generate and/or save money Ò  Less money spent on kerosene and candles Ò  Generate extra income from new or existing livelihood

activities “The solar light is good for us. It is less expensive than the kerosene. We used to pay $10 and we also had to get to the shop.”

“With the Lampu Diak we can make Tais at night. We also make carpeting at night”

GOOGLE IMPACT CHALLENGE FUNDING

$250,000 grant to: Ò Prototype the next model of the VLS system Ò  Install 550 VLS systems Ò Train 30 village-based technicians Ò Development of online mapping database Ò  Independent assessment of the project Ò Share VLS methodology with other countries

NEW FEATURES OF THE VLS

Ò  Data logging – the new systems have in-built system IDs and data files to enable monitoring of system performance over time

Ò  Addition of USB rechargeable torches – an additional security feature

Ò  Investment in robust monitoring & evaluation framework for accountability and learning

Ò  Investment in community engagement Ò  Increased incentives to retain local technicians

USB RECHARGEABLE TORCH

COORDINATION WITH THE GOVERNMENT

Our aim is to provide solar lighting for every East Timorese household that is not and will not be connected to the electricity grid or benefit from the government’s renewable energy program.

Electrification is a key dimension of poverty reduction and economic development in East Timor, and will reduce the inequality between urban and rural populations.

COORDINATION WITH THE GOVERNMENT

Ò  Working closely with the Director of Renewable Energy Ò  Govt has nominated households in need of solar

electricity Ò  Received Govt endorsement for our 2016 plans Ò  ATA doing up to 800 solar installations in 2016 Ò  Govt doing 640 solar installations in 2016 Ò  Agreement to resolve double up in 2 villages Ò  Govt systems are different to the ATA’s (they are free, no

regulator and no maintenance plan) Ò  Influencing Govt to replicate our community-managed

maintenance model

VLS PILOTS - NOVEMBER 2015

Ò ATA sent 2 groups to Timor in November 2015 to pilot the new systems

Ò One group went to Besilau, Aileu to do training and install 20 systems

Ò Another group went to Baukmeke, Lacluta to do training and install 27 systems

Ò Learning from these pilots to inform project development (e.g. spare parts, system performance and retention of local technicians)

BESILAU – NOVEMBER 2015

BAUKMEKE – NOVEMBER 2015

SCALING UP IN 2016

Ò  Google funding has enabled ATA to leverage other funding

Ò  We have ordered 800 systems in 2016 Ò  500 for Google (excluding the pilots) Ò  160 extra for KVRP Ò  140 balance for Rotary project, Timor Adventures

and spares Ò  Production, freight and logistics at this scale has

been challenging Ò  Going to new areas that are more remote

SIZE OF EAST TIMOR IN RELATION TO VICTORIA

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR VLS

Ò  May/June – community visits, baseline survey, prepare training and community engagement materials

Ò  Late June - Michael O’Connell delivers intensive training to CNEFP (train the trainer)

Ò  Early July - Freight arrives in Dili Ò  Mid July - Assembly and testing and logistics Ò  Late July - Systems delivered to Besilau (and data collection) Ò  Late July – Training & installs in Triloka Ò  Early August - Training & installs in Lacluta Ò  Early September – Training & installs in Remexio Ò  October and beyond – ongoing monitoring Ò  2017 – impact evaluation

WORKING BEE AT PLASMATRONICS

WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?

Ò  Finalising implementation schedule and logistics with CNEFP, Mira and volunteers

Ò  Signing MoUs with Friendship Groups (co-funding) Ò  Assembling 800 solar units Ò  Delivering to Rotary – ship leaves 6th June Ò  Updating VLS toolkit (technical training manual

and community engagement documents) and getting them translated into Tetun

Ò  Getting ready to launch the mapping database

MAPPING DATABASE – FUNDED BY GOOGLE

The mapping website has 3 purposes: Ò  Marketing and fundraising – showing the breadth

of ATA’s solar projects – current and future - in East Timor (for the public and donors)

Ò  Project Database – data management and analysis (for ATA and CNEFP)

Ò  Maintenance – for audit purposes (for ATA and CNEFP) – currently on hold

*Website to be launched in June*

HTTP://MAPS.ATA.ORG.AU/MAPGUIDE/IPG_PORTAL/INDEX.HTML

THE FUTURE OF VLS

Ò  Skilling up CNEFP for improved in-country training, monitoring and stage 2 of the database

Ò  Lighting up the Latrine Ò  Availability of spare parts – local kiosks? Ò  EnergyPlus – initiatives for productive use of energy for

livelihoods improvement Ò  A rigorous evaluation for greater accountability, learning

and evidence of impact Ò  Improved case studies and photographs Ò  Focus on sharing and replication – who with and how? Ò  Business development – securing more funding

LIGHTING FOR LITERACY – PILOT PROJECT

LIGHTING FOR LITERACY – ROTARY

Ò  New proposal being developed, will be submitted to Rotary International.

Ò  If successful, will be implemented from 2016-2018 in conjunction with Rotary Club of Doncaster and researchers from La Trobe University. ATA budget $82K

Ò  To improve literacy levels of children and adults in remote communities by installing solar lighting in homes and the local school and providing literacy support programs

Ò  Plan to pilot and evaluate the project in a village of 100 homes with the aim of packaging a replicable model for communities in East Timor and other developing countries.

ATAURO ISLAND FEASIBILITY STUDY

ATAURO ISLAND Ò  ATA working with a local NGO, Roman Luan, on the island of Atauro, 30km from the

capital Dili. Ò  Hundreds of solar systems installed by the government have failed due to lack of

maintenance. This has led to a lack of trust in solar technology. Ò  Feasibility study aims to provide access to a solar power maintenance service

through the employment of a skilled Solar Electrician for the island, and adoption of a community funded maintenance model.

Ò  6 month project, April to September 2016. Funded by Australian Ethical grant of $10K. Incorporate learning from VLS and Besik (Australian funded water and sanitation program)

Ò  Friends of Atauro (Indigo Shire) have agreed to fund scholarships for 2 students (one male, one female) from Atauro to train in solar PV at CNEFP in 2017.

ROMAN LUAN ATAURO – MARCH 2016

TIMOR ADVENTURES – LIGHT UP EAST TIMOR

Ò  Run by Shirley and Dave Carlos - commitment to community work and passion for adventure travel

Ò  Aim to create economic development in the villages Ò  Work in partnership with the ATA to light up houses and community

buildings in remote villages Ò  Tour participants have a hands on experience and make a donation

to the ATA Ò  In 2016, there are 2 tours:

É  13th – 21st July (9 days) – Atauro Island É  10th – 18th October (9 days) – Baguia For more information:

http://www.timoradventures.com.au/tours/light-up-timor-leste/

WANT TO HELP OR GET INVOLVED?

Ò  Volunteer (time and/or expertise) É Email: ipg@ata.org.au

Ò  Spread the word – tell your friends about us! Ò  Donate - Support ATA’s work in East Timor with a

tax deductible donation: É Donate $30 to buy 10 USB rechargeable torches É Donate $50 to buy a solar panel for a family É Donate $300 to buy a whole solar system for a family É Donate other amount – give as little or as much as you

like. Every dollar counts Visit: www.ata.org.au/what-we-do/ipg

THANK YOU