Annual report-2005 - Karl Kübel Stiftung

Karl Kuebel Stiftung fuer Kind und Familie, www.kkstiftung.de
International Conferences
Example: Renewable Energies and Poverty Reduction
From the 8 th until the 11 th March 2005 the international conference “Poverty Reduction through
Renewable Energies” took place in the Karl Kuebel Institute for Development Education. For four
days approximately 120 experts of private and governmental aid organisations discussed the
possibilities to reduce poverty in developing countries through the application of renewable
energies. Locally the event has been organised by KKID and the well-known Indian organisation
“Action for Food Production” (AFPRO) from Delhi. The conference has been supported by the
German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German
Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
More than 1.000 interested participants visited the special exhibition on the issue of renewable
energies on the compound of the Institute. In this context for example solar lanterns or biogas
plants have been presented. The experts agreed very soon: the distribution of renewable energies
especially in the rural areas of India is indispensable.
Visitors of the product exhibition
“Renewable Energies“
Numerous initiatives that are successfully
applying resource-saving technologies have
been introduced in the course of the
conference. The private aid organisation
“Barefoot College” in the Indian Union State of
Rajasthan for example provided more than 100
communities with electricity from solar cells.
Two women have been trained as “solar
engineers” in each of the communities. For a
fee they maintain the solar plants and are in
the position to conduct minor repairs. Another example shows how a decentralised biomass plant
could successfully be built up in a huge delta area in the eastern part of India. Three years before
local small farmers had started to cultivate fast growing plant species as biomass fuel. Now twelve
villages are provided with electricity from the gasification and combustion of the biomass.
However, as promising those examples are, the experts agree that it has not come to an area-wide
distribution of decentralised renewable energies in India yet. The high investment costs as well as
the insecure financing were named as the reasons. On the basis of further models it has been
pointed out that those problems have been overcome where renewable energies were directly
linked to income generating schemes. For instance this has been the case in Uttaranchal in
Northern India where women Self-Help-Groups were working with solar spinning wheels. With the
earnings it has been possible to cover the maintenance costs of the solar plants.
The conference of several days’ duration ended with the positive conclusion that renewable
energies can contribute substantially towards the reduction of poverty. A plan of action on how to
tackle concrete activities to promote renewable energies in the rural parts of India has been
adopted.
The documentation of the conference and the plan of action are available in English as a brochure
under the title “Combating Rural Poverty with Renewable Energy” including one CD at the Karl
Kuebel Stiftung.
Annual Report 2005 Page 7 /26