http://viewchange.org Videos from ViewChange.org (Filtered by topics: Renewable energy) en-us Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:54:00 +0000 Copyright 2011 Link Media, Inc. http://www.viewchange.org/videos/changing-lives-through-renewable-energy Safe drinking water and household electricity were well out of reach for the rural communities of Candelaria and Malacatoya, Nicaragua, until the arrival of AsoFenix, a nonprofit organization that provides renewable energy projects to improve the lives of rural Nicaraguans. Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:54:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/changing-lives-through-renewable-energy Nicaragua, Renewable energy, Central America, Technology, Environment, Electricity, ViewChange Online Film Contest, Water & Sanitation, Solar power, Hydropower >> TITLE: Nicaragua>> TITLE: Changing Lives Through Renewable Energy: Green Empowerment and AsoFenix, Candelaria and Malcatoya, Nicaragua. Green Living Project>> ROB HOLMES [Host, Green Living Project]: Electricity and immediate access to potable water are things a lot of us take for granted, but not rural Nicaraguans. A local NGO, AsoFenix, in partnership with Green Empowerment, are providing these basic needs through cool, renewable energy projects, like wind, solar, micro-hydro, and biogas. It's exciting stuff that's having an immediate impact on the environment and the lives of rural Nicaraguans. >> JAMIE MUNOZ [Director, AsoFenix]: AsoFenix began in the year 2000. I left the National Engineering University because I saw the need to use the projects of renewable energy to improve the lives or rural people. >> SARAH HAYS [Volunteer, AsoFenix]: AsoFenix has been making an impact in the communities by installing water projects where before people had to carry buckets of water on their head several kilometers in order to have water in their house, as well as providing electricity in communities where there's no road and there would have never been electricity. >> SETH HAYS [Volunteer, AsoFenix]: Up the stream, we built a dam, and we're diverting the water, and, as you know, there's always water. It's a renewable resource, so the water's channeled through pipes, spins a turbine, which generates electricity and goes into the community, and then the water re-enters the stream farther down. >> ROB HOLMES: So, with the two to three kilowatts that this generates, how many households does it power? >> SETH HAYS: Here in the community we're connected to about 29 houses, so it's about 100 watts per house is what they use for electricity.>> CRUZ TORRES BURGO [Project Technician, AsoFenix]: The energy has really helped our coffee production. In order to de-pulp the coffee, we used to have to do it by hand. And we would start working at three in the afternoon, and work until ten at night. And now within a half an hour, using an electric motor, we can remove the fruit that would have taken us seven hours before. >> NIDIA GONZALEZ [Resident, Candelaria]: So before, life was hard. But now we're a lot happier. We have water in our houses. We don't have to go long distances to carry water back to our houses. Less people are getting sick, so life is just a lot happier now.>> JAMIE MUNOZ: So before we start projects, I build relationships with the communities, and through these relationships, I feel a strong tie to the communities. At times I feel even if I were to find a better job, or something where I would make more money, I couldn't give up my promise to these families to help them improve their lives. http://www.viewchange.org/videos/green-power-from-pigs <p>Pig waste stinks, but it can also be a valuable source of renewable energy. We visit a farm in Thailand that is turning unwanted muck into biofuel.</p> Wed, 20 Oct 2010 21:15:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/green-power-from-pigs Renewable energy, Biogas, United Nations Development Programme, Thailand, Methane, Sustainable development, Agriculture, UN in Action, Environment >> VOICEOVER: Pigs, specifically their waste, which is often regarded as a smelly nuisance, has increasingly become a valuable source of renewable energy. When this pig farm in northern Thailand started a few years ago, people living in the surrounding area complained that the pigs created a dreadful smell and a public health hazard. They petitioned the local district office to relocate the farm. Kiangkom Kommalai is the owner. >> KIANGKOM KOMMALAI: Then the local agriculture officer suggested that I install a biogas system to convert animal waste into biogas. >> VOICEOVER: With financial support from the local authority, Kiangkom built a cement container, called a digester, to produce biogas. It's a fairly simple operation, says Yubon Yawai from the local District Administration. >> YUBON YAWAI: First you collect the waste and transfer them into the digester. The decomposed waste inside the container will generate methane gas which is then piped off to the households. >> VOICEOVER: Thailand is a fast-developing country. It relies on foreign oil for more than 50 percent of its energy needs. To ensure continued sustainable development, the country has actively encouraged its citizens to find ways to conserve energy, including an effort to spread the use of renewable energy in rural communities. This remote mountainous village in northern Thailand is home to over 200 Lisu ethnic families. Like most other villagers, they lack information about and access to biogas. Loyi did not know that the waste of four pigs is sufficient to produce enough cooking gas for her family. Like everyone else in the village, she relies on firewood as the main source of cooking fuel. Each morning, she gets up at 4:30 to prepare breakfast. It often takes her an hour just to get the fire started -- and longer if the wood is damp. >> LOYI: If it's raining, it's very difficult to get the wood set on fire. It gives out a lot of smoke too. >> VOICEOVER: To encourage villagers to use biogas, the UN Small Grants Program, funded by the Global Environment Facility, launched a pilot project to build a digester in the village. Three other digesters are being built, and another nine are slated to be built over the coming year. Nicholas Keyes is from the UN Development Programme. >> NICOLAS KEYES: The biofuel collectors are intended to demonstrate to people in agricultural communities there is a renewable energy resource in their community that they can use and that they can benefit from. >> VOICEOVER: Despite the obvious benefits, villagers are reluctant to sign up for the service. Manop Yangjar, the Project Coordinator for the UNDP Small Grants Program, explains. >> MANOP YANGJAR: They've never seen this before and they never use this kind of project. So it would very difficult for them to change their attitudes and their behavior. Some villagers they thought that if we produce gas, cooking gas, by pig manure, when we cook it can smell. Actually this is not true. >> VOICEOVER: While some villagers continue their age?old practice of scavenging for firewood, many are beginning to realize the benefits and the convenience of biogas. Today, Loyi and her family have signed up for the service. She is eager to have her stove connected to the biofuel collector. >> LOYI: Then I don't have to spend time to collect wood. And I will also save money, energy, and power. >> VOICEOVER: The 500 pigs at Kiangkom's farm are now providing free biogas to over 100 local residents. Their only cost is a one?time charge of 400 baht, about USD$12, for the purchase of a pipe. >> KIANGKOM KOMMALAI: We are all happy now. Everyone benefits from the biogas system. >> VOICEOVER: There are over eight million pigs in Thailand. The drive to introduce biogas technology to rural communities is one of the latest efforts to provide better living, while conserving energy and reducing the effects of global warming. >> VOICEOVER: This report was prepared by Patricia Chan for the United Nations. >> TITLE: www.un.org http://www.viewchange.org/videos/solar-power-lights-up-remote-communities <p>One third of the world's population doesn't have access to electricity. The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) is helping remote rural communities to harness the power of the sun to give them safe, cheap energy to power lighting, medical refrigerators, and modern communications devices.&nbsp;</p> Wed, 20 Oct 2010 20:41:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/solar-power-lights-up-remote-communities Solar Electric Light Fund, Solar energy, Renewable energy, Electricity, Developing country, Technology, Electric light, Solar panel, Non-governmental organization, Alternative energy >> VOICEOVER: It's called energy poverty. One out of three people in the world don't have access to electricity. Most live in rural areas in developing countries and for them it's a blackout every night. As the world's population grows, so does demand for electricity, and the energy gap between the rich and the poor increases. The poor use wood, dung, or kerosene for fuel. Energy poverty means no power to pump water, refrigerate vaccine, or to connect to the global information network. For some in remote areas, hooking up to the grid is an impossible dream. But there are solutions that are making a difference. Solar energy is changing lives and livelihoods in the most unlikely of places. The Solomon Islands are an example. Let's take a look >> VOICEOVER: They live in Sukiki, a small village on the coast of Guadalcanal. >> TITLE: Sukiki, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands >> VOICEOVER: It's part of the Solomon Islands, an island nation in the South Pacific. They have no electricity, but they do have the sun. Without electricity, the people of Sukiki are forced to use kerosene, and kerosene isn't always their friend. >> DR. SILENT TOVOSIA: The lantern was empty and she was going to fill the empty lantern with the kerosene when the whole thing caught fire and exploded, so she got burns to quite a large percentage of her body. >> DR. HERMAN OBERLI [Central Hospital, Honiara, Solomon Islands]: This patient you have seen is typical for an exploding kerosene light. She's burned all over her front. Those patients, they stay in the hospital an average of at least 20 days per patient. They have no alternative. There's no electricity in the village. It's just what is available, these kerosene lamps. Nothing else. If they could have any other kind of lighting all these burns could be prevented. >> VOICEOVER: This is the story of how the people of Sukiki learned to make their own electricity by capturing the light from the sun. That's Bob Freling. Bob is the executive director of a group called the Solar Electric Light Fund, or SELF. After all the equipment is delivered, the staff from SELF works with the villagers to map out a strategy. They trained some of the Sukiki villagers back in Honiara, in a week-long orientation session, and now everyone is learning, so that the village can continue to build and maintain the system after SELF is gone. So they set about making poles and digging holes and cutting down trees so there would be no shade where they put up the poles. And now it's time to turn on the lights. [cheering] Sukiki has electricity, but its essence will not change because of it. Sukiki will hold on to its nature. The people love this land, they are part of it. And now the light from the sun is more a part of them. >> VOICEOVER: Bob Freling has directed SELF projects in more than 15 countries since 1997. He has received many awards for his work, including the 2008 King Hussein leadership award, presented by Queen Noor of Jordan in March 2009. He speaks with Earth Focus correspondent Miles Benson, about how solar power can bridge the energy gap. >> MILES BENSON: Bob Freling, the Solar Electric Light Fund, what exactly are you trying to do in the world? >> ROBERT FRELING [Executive Director, Solar Electric Light Fund]: Well, Miles, the Solar Electric Light Fund is a Washington DC based nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring solar power to rural and remote villages in the developing world >> MILES BENSON: What is life like in a village where there is no lighting. >> ROBERT FRELING: For approximately two billion people in the world, roughly a third or perhaps a fourth of humanity, whatever number you use, it's a very large percentage of humanity, that even in the 21st century does not have access to electricity. And imagine for these people, when the sun goes down, these folks are retreating into homes that are lit dimly, if at all, by candles or kerosene lamps. Their productive day pretty much comes to an end when the sun goes down. >> MILES BENSON: There are health problems that are exacerbated by the absence of electricity. People depend on kerosene, and burning kerosene emits fumes and smoke and that causes problems, doesn't it? >> ROBERT FRELING: It is said that people who live with kerosene lanterns end up smoking the equivalent of two packs of cigarettes a day. It's a couple of million people a year die from respiratory illnesses that are caused by indoor air pollution: open fires, kerosene lanterns. It's a huge health hazard. If you do nothing but replace those with solar electric lighting systems, you will have made a huge contribution to improving the health of rural families and communities in the developing world. >> MILES BENSON: What changes do people experience when they're given light. >> ROBERT FRELING: The moment when families are able to flip a switch and have an electric light come on for the first time in their lives, the first time that happened for me was in western China. I traveled into these remote mountain villages which could only be reached on foot, and we installed these solar home systems and I observed families experience electric light for the first time in their lives. And they were very moved, as I was. Also, I saw them be able to turn on a television set, and access news from around the world for the first time. So their whole world was basically opening up before them. The power can be used to not just provide lighting but also computers, where children can start to gain computer literacy skills at an early age. And, when combined with wireless communication technology, when you bring both computers and the internet to a rural community, then you've really accomplished something meaningful. >> MILES BENSON: You have a project in Bhutan. Let's take a look. >> VOICEOVER: Light is the language of the universe. >> TITLE: Phobjikha Valley, Bhutan >> VOICEOVER: And in the heart of Bhutan, deep in the Himalayas, where the rare black-necked crane flies south from Tibet, the universe is in the midst of a breathtaking conversation. Each winter, the black-necked crane makes its home here in the valley. The people devote art and prayer to this winged messenger that flies on the light from its summer home in the mountains of Tibet. Bob and his organization SELF are here at the invitation of the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature, to try to save the habitat of the black-necked crane, while preserving the path toward modernization for the people of Phobjikha Valley. >> ROBERT FRELING: There are a lot of conservation efforts going on which often overlook how the needs of people that live in and near these ecosystems are so critical to the preservation of these ecosystems, because a lot of people haven't made that connection. >> LAM DORJE [Executive Director, RSPN, Royal Society for the Protection of Nature]: This here for example, Phobjikha, is a very pristine environment, habitat for the endangered black-necked cranes, not ... ecologically very significant, and at the same time we have people with aspirations for development. There are ways by which both can be brought together. Conservation can be a basis for human welfare. >> VOICEOVER: The 500 families who live in Phobjikha still cut down trees to make wood chips to light their homes. Even when supplemented with kerosene and its noxious fumes, the light is so meager that it is difficult for children to do homework, for weavers to weave, for tailors to sew, and for doctors to practice their art. Kerosene must be brought many miles over the mountains, often by hand, and at great expense. To discourage the people of Phobjikha from leaving for the city, and to help preserve the habitat of the black-necked crane, the people of Bhutan ask SELF to bring in a clean, renewable source of energy for the valley. And so into this world steps the Solar Electric Light Fund. >> JEFF DAHL [Project Director, Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF)]: It's been a pleasure just walking into each house and seeing how people are living, and then just seeing the instant transformation from the time you show up at the house to the time you leave. Their house and their lives have been transformed. >> ROBERT FRELING: We also electrified the health clinic in Phobjikha Valley, as well as the education center that is run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature. >> MILES BENSON: Two billion is a lot of people to be living without light. SELF can't raise enough money all by itself to solve this problem. Governments are going to have to get more involved, aren't they? >> ROBERT FRELING: Well, most of our projects have been focused at the village level at the household level, and we've typically worked with local NGOs, non-government organizations, to manage the projects. So we will always have a local partner that we work with. And training and capacity building is a very important part of our approach to project design and implementation. But if our models can be adopted by governments and they see that these solutions are actually working and they can be scaled then I think that we will have really accomplished something significant. >> MILES BENSON: Do you see a day coming, perhaps not too far off, when solar power will provide most of our energy needs? >> ROBERT FRELING: Within the next few years it is predicted that solar will achieve what is referred to as "grid parity," where it becomes as cheap to use solar for grid electricity than conventional fossil fuels. It's an opportunity for us now to take the lead in bringing advanced energy technologies to the developing world because at the end of the day creating a world that works for everybody, bringing social justice to the parts of the world that have been so lacking in resources and opportunity, that will go a long way, in my opinion, to making the world safe and secure for everybody. >> MILES BENSON: Bob Freling, thank you very much. >> ROBERT FRELING: My pleasure Miles. >> TITLES: [end credits] http://www.viewchange.org/videos/empowering-lives-with-pico-hydropower <p>Small-scale hydroelectric projects are helping to transform lives in rural Laos. Villagers not only receive electricity from a renewable source, but are also encouraged to take ownership of the project, thanks to an innovative financing model designed to ensure the system is sustainable in the long term.</p> Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:15:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/empowering-lives-with-pico-hydropower Renewable energy, Southeast Asia, Lao Institute for Renewable Energy, Laos, Hydropower, Alternative energy, Technology, ViewChange Online Film Contest >> JAKOB RIETZLER [Managing Director, LIRE (Lao Institute for Renewable Energy)]: LIRE is a young institute dedicated in the renewable energy sector in the Laos PDR that tries to be a catalyst to speed up the development of the renewable energy sector, especially focusing on the rural areas, providing energy where the national grid does not reach that area. >> THONGSANTI B. VONGSALY [Pico Hydropower Project Manager, LIRE]: In mid-2009, we began looking for a few places in Houaphan district. We found one place in Angsang village which was a good place which was quite far from the city and has high potential for installation of the system. So we approached the German embassy and BORDA organization to request for funding the project. >> JAKOB RIETZLER: The project in Angsang village, it's a first time to demonstrate the shared pico hydropower technology in the country. It was a good site to make a kind of prospectus installation and we will use it also for later on to make ongoing studies, surveys about the operational models, and we'll learn from that demonstration site. >> THONGSANTI B. VONGSALY: Pico hydropower is not new technology to local people. Many villagers in the northern part of Laos have been using it for some time already. There are two types of pico system: one system is a free-standing type, while the other is a standing one. The standing installation system consists of the pico turbine itself, a civil structure which includes a draft channel and a draft tube. The water flows into the draft channel, drops into the draft tube, causing the turbine to spin. The suction of the draft tube enhances faster spinning, and, finally, the power is produced. >> MR. VANPHONE [Village Technician, Angsang]: In our village, there are two groups of village technicians. Each group consists of two people in charge of daily operation and maintenance. Their main responsibilities are to ensure steady supply of electricity, to check the meter and voltage, and to clean up the rubbish at the inlet, as well as fee collection. >> MS. VONEPHIEN [Village Accountant, Angsang]: At the beginning of each month, village technicians are assigned to collect the monthly fee to give to the village accountant in order to keep in the village fund, which will be used for future renovation expenses and operation of the system. >> JAKOB RIETZLER: The plan is to visit the village in this year various times, a couple of times. We will make social studies over there -- what is the impact of the new system? We want to evaluate it, and the system should work for the next 10 years. That means we also will show up for the next years to observe the progress, and so on. >> MR. SITHONE [Village Chief, Angsang]: After this electricity system had been installed, lives of people here are more convenient. We have our own technicians, village energy committee, and village account to manage the system. >> MR. THONGPHUN [Resident, Angsang]: In the past, we didn't understand what electricity, grid, or pico hydropower were. What we used was only kerosene lamp for the purpose of lighting at night. >> MR. SOUPHANH [Deputy Head of Viengxay District Energy & Mines Office]: I am very glad that Lao Institute for Renewable Energy helps people in the Viengxay district, especially Angsang villagers. People are happier and can do lots of things at night, especially women, who can now weave at night, and children can study during the nighttime. >> JAKOB RIETZLER: So a valuable lesson learned would be the involvement of the villagers is so important, but they also feel a kind of project ownership. It's not like the donor comes, implements the system. This is not the solution. Villagers have to get engaged from the beginning. Plus, they will get an understanding and also a commitment to the project. >> SOPHA SOULINYADETH [Project Technical Officer, LIRE]: Due to this being the demonstration project, we would like to promote this project as a model of shared pico hydroelectric power use in Viengxay district in Houaphan province and other provinces in Laos. http://www.viewchange.org/videos/lighting-up-laos-and-beyond <p>Solar rechargeable lamps are helping to transform life in remote rural regions far from the national grid. This has allowed villagers in Laos to stop burning kerosene at night, while also creating new business and educational opportunities.</p> Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:15:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/lighting-up-laos-and-beyond Sunlabob, Developing country, kerosene lamp, Ghana, Social entrepreneurship, Solar energy, Laos, Solar power, Renewable energy, ViewChange Online Film Contest >> MAN 1: How much would he estimate as the money he spends on buying kerosene for lighting? >> MAN 2: Two Ghana cedis [GHC]. >> WOMAN: So, two cedis is spent on kerosene, and then three ... other three cedis, is spend on their food, hospitals, other things. Two cedis, USD$2 per day -- per month, USD$60, then that's a lot that they spend here. >> VOICEOVER: It's the same story in most parts of the developing world, or the south as it's called in development speak. But here, solar rechargeable lamps, like these, are helping to transform life in villages in remote regions far from the national grid. It means that villagers like Nuoi can work long into the hours of darkness on products that she will sell at the local market. Lee can now help her younger brothers with their homework, when before they would sit in total darkness. And Mae-Nam can get on with her tailoring orders while her husband puts the baby to bed, all thanks to a new form of social entrepreneurship that is bringing power to the people at a price that even the poorest can afford. >> MAN 3 [Lantern Owner]: We would use kerosene lamps when we returned from the fields, but now we use the battery lanterns, as they are much brighter than kerosene lamps, and the villagers know they are much more convenient. Once night falls, I stay at home and wait for the villagers to come and rent the lanterns. >> MAN 4: This was our idea when we started to create our portable battery lamp. So our approach is to have a central charging station in the village. The village entrepreneur is taking care, it's his business. Here, again, our red line and strategy, not paying for the hardware, paying for the service. >> VOICEOVER: And these lanterns are innovative. They contain an integrated microprocessor with a unique identification number. This calculates the number of hours the lantern is on and can be used for carbon trading. The lantern can also be used to charge mobile phones, which is increasingly relevant, as the telecommunication network now covers 86 percent of the country. http://www.viewchange.org/videos/burning-in-the-sun <p>When there are chores to be done during the day and it's dark in the evening, children find it difficult to learn. But Malian entrepreneur Daniele Dembele is bringing electricity to remote rural areas, so local schools can light their classrooms long into the night.</p> Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:06:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/burning-in-the-sun Solar energy, Africa, West Africa, Mali, Skyheat, Daniele Dembele, Developing country, Alternative energy, Renewable energy, Afriq-Power >> TITLE: Banko Village, Mali >> AMADOU COULIBALY [School Principal]: I have 300 students, and the graduation rate is close to 20 percent. >> JENEBOU [Student]: When we go to school, our parents have no one to help with chores. They pull us out because there's no one to work in the house. >> AMADOU COULIBALY: We are now approaching the exam period. In the nighttime, we give classes. And, with one or two lamps, it is difficult to see the blackboard. >> DANIELE DEMBELE [Owner, Afriq-Power]: Over here in Mali, 80 percent of the villages, they don't have ... they have no light. It's even not 80 percent, it's 99 percent. Here, we're talking about natural selection. The environment you are living in is really tough. So, to survive we've got to be tough. My name is Daniel Dembele. This project is about building some solar panels in Mali, with local material. To make it as cheap as we possibly can. And we can try to make it possible for villagers to buy it. My final purpose would be to have a business in this field. Why should I not make money helping my people also? This we can make in Mali. This also. The back you can assemble, if I teach you how to do it manually. >> RICHARD KOMP [Director, Skyheat Associates]: So, we will make a 30-watt panel out of these. >> DANIELE DEMBELE: First panel made in Mali? >> RICHARD KOMP: These are the very first PV [photovoltaic] modules ever made in West Africa, as far as we know. >> CAROLINA BARRETO-CAJINA [Fulbright Scholar]: Electricity was invented more than a century ago. And, for me, it's just inconceivable to think that there are still places in the world that they are not able to have electricity. I think that it's becoming a right. >> DANIELE DEMBELE: Look over there, what is happening over there. You're going to see the difference. Over there they've got the fire. You can see, there's a kind of light over there. That's the old way to get light. That's the new way. >> JENEBOU: If you're educated, you can do things an uneducated person cannot. If you're educated, you could help develop your village. >> DANIELE DEMBELE: I count on helping thousands of people, not just 10 or 20 villages. If God's willing I live long enough, I would like to make a lot of villages every year, so I'm talking about thousands of people every year. Maybe at the end of my life I could tell you I've been helping over 100,000 people in this country: building wells, building solar power installations, solar cookers, and all the stuff. My main goal is help them and make my life. >> TITLE: Before Banko's school had electricity, every year 20 percent of students passed their national exams. After Daniel installed lights, 97 percent passed. Today, Daniel's business, Afriq-Power, continues to electrify schools and health centers in rural Mali. >> TITLE: From the documentary film "Burning in the Sun" http://www.viewchange.org/videos/ted-william-kamkwamba-how-i-harnessed-the-wind <p>At age 14, in poverty and famine, a Malawian boy built a windmill to power his family's home. At age 22, William Kamkwamba spoke at TED for the second time, sharing in his own words the moving tale of invention that changed his life.</p> Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/ted-william-kamkwamba-how-i-harnessed-the-wind Energy poverty, Malawi, Africa, William Kamkwamba, Wind power, TED, Electrical generator, Empowerment, Tanzania, Arusha >> TITLE: Remarkable people ... unmissable talks ... now free to the world. TED: Ideas worth spreading.>> TITLE: William Kamkwamba>> WILLIAM KAMKWAMBA: Thank you. Two years ago I stood on the TED stage in Arusha, Tanzania. I spoke very briefly about one of my proudest creations. It was a simple machine that changed my life.>> TITLE: July 2009, Oxford, England>> WILLIAM KAMKWAMBA: Before that time I had never been away from my home in Malawi. I had never used a computer. I had never seen an Internet. On the stage that day, I was so nervous: my English lost, I wanted to vomit.>> TITLE: Recorded at TED Global 2009>> WILLIAM KAMKWAMBA: I had never been surrounded by so many "azungu," white people. There was a story I wouldn't tell you then. But, well, I'm feeling good right now. I would like to share that story today. We have seven children in my family. All sisters, excepting me. This is me with my dad when I was a little boy. Before I discovered the wonders of science, I was just a simple farmer in a country of poor farmers. Like everyone else, we grew maize. One year our fortune turned very bad. In 2001, we experienced an awful famine. Within five months all Malawians began to starve to death. My family ate one meal per day, at night. Only three swallows of nsima [cornmeal] for each one of us. The food passes through our bodies. We drop down to nothing.>> WILLIAM KAMKWAMBA: In Malawi secondary school, you have to pay school fees. Because of the hunger, I was forced to drop out of school. I looked at my father, and looked at those dry fields. It was the future I couldn't accept. I felt very happy to be at the secondary school. So I was determined to do anything possible to receive education. So I went to a library. I read books, science books, especially physics. I couldn't read English that well. I used diagrams and pictures to learn the words around them. Another book put that knowledge in my hands. It said windmills could pump water and generate electricity. Pump water meant irrigation: a defense against hunger, which we were experiencing by that time. So I decided I would build one windmill for myself. But I didn't have materials to use. So I went to a scrap yard where I found my materials. Many people, including my mother, said I was crazy. >> WILLIAM KAMKWAMBA: I found a tractor fan, shock absorber, PVC pipes. Using a bicycle frame and an old bicycle dynamo, I built my machine. It was one light at first. And then four lights, with switches, and even a circuit breaker, modeled after an electric bell. Another machine pumps water for irrigation. Queues of people start lining up at my house to charge their mobile phone. I could not get rid of them. And the reporters came too, which lead to bloggers and which lead to a call from something called TED. I had never seen an airplane before. I had never slept in a hotel. So, on stage that day in Arusha, my English lost, I said something like, "I tried. And I made it.">> WILLIAM KAMKWAMBA: So I would like to say something to all the people out there, like me, to the Africans, and the poor who are struggling with your dreams, God bless. Maybe one day you will watch this on the Internet. I say to you, trust yourself and believe. Whatever happens, don't give it up. Thank you.>> TITLE: TED: New TED Talks each week at www.TED.com http://www.viewchange.org/videos/the-greenhouse-project In the inner city of Johannesburg, The GreenHouse Project is turning one urban park into a seedbed for sustainable communities. The program takes a holistic approach to the city's challenges, integrating green building and design, efficient and renewable energy, recycling, organic farming, and nutrition. Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:00:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/the-greenhouse-project Africa, GreenHouse Project, Alternative energy, Dorah Lebelo, Agriculture & Food, Sustainable development, Hillbrow, Green building, Organic food, Passive solar >> TITLE: Global Oneness Project >> TITLE: The GreenHouse Project >> DORAH LEBELO [Director, The GreenHouse Project]: The area here is called Joubert Park; it is very close to Hillbrow, which is the largest residential place in the city of Johannesburg. A highly transitory place, it is a place where people arrive into South Africa. Many people from outside the country, from African countries, neighboring African countries, as well as from overseas, other continents, as well as from other provinces of South Africa that are mostly remote and rural, they arrive in Johannesburg to here. >> DORAH LEBELO: And what we are doing here at the GreenHouse is actually giving the people power, it's about empowering the people so that they can realize that they've got all the knowledge. Many of them here, they all come from rural communities. They have once lived like this. They have once produced their own food. They have once built their own houses. They have once fetched their own water. They have once dealt with their own waste. >> DORAH LEBELO: The GreenHouse project has got five programs, and the first one is green building and design where we focus on buildings and how we design [inaudible] passive solar design so we minimize the amount of energy to warm them up and to cool them off, and what kind of materials. The second program is making efficient and renewable energy. What are the various options that are available for us to have energy other than the normal coal-based electricity? The recycling project was started about two-and-a-half years ago, and mainly just to showcase that waste, it is a resource that can be utilized economically. The fifth one is organic food production and nutrition, so we are looking at having food security, how people can start growing their own food in the city. >> DORAH LEBELO: We are also looking at the principle of doing more with less, also starting from a place of abundance, knowing that we've got what we need, and we almost ... we've got everything that we need, and operating from that. And saying that we really are not going to look at some other people to give us what we need, but actually we've got what we need and we only want the people to maximize our own potential. If we want to create sustainable communities, we are going to have to look at things in a holistic way. We just cannot come and say, "Oh, my responsibility is health and I'm just going to ... I'm not going to come here and only look at health, and I'm just going to give these people drugs, and help them survive AIDS." You need to look at what it is they are eating, where they are living, and what kind of houses are they living in, what kind of energy are they using, because if they are using coal and they are inhaling the smoke at night, it's not going to be helpful. It's not only about one thing, it is about a number of things and most of them have got a local effect, so once you start addressing this it's going to lead you to that, and once you own that one it's going to lead you to the other. How do we design interventions and programs that are looking at the lives of the people in a very holistic way rather than just one thing? >> TITLE: www.globalonenessproject.org http://www.viewchange.org/videos/unia-0872 <p>An innovative solar experiment is helping to bring electricity to a remote part of Swaziland for the first time, powering classrooms, water pumps, and even the community's first pay phone.&nbsp;</p> Wed, 26 May 2010 00:52:24 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/unia-0872 Solar power, Africa, UNESCO, Manzini District, Southern Africa, United Nations, Swaziland, Renewable energy, UN in Action, Foreign Assistance >> VOICEOVER: In rural Africa, most villages are still without electricity. One of them is the village of Mphaphati in the Manzini region in the landlocked Southern African kingdom of Swaziland. The nearest electricity line is more than five kilometers away from the community, and there are no plans to extend it. In cooperation with a number of government agencies including the Ministries of Education and Natural Resources and Energy, in 1998 UNESCO selected Mphaphati for the Solar Village project. Piet Nkosi is from the Renewable Energy Office: >> PIET NKOSI: The Solar Village was a concept of UNESCO. They are the ones who funded the project and they asked the ministry to choose a school that would benefit from solar power. >> VOICEOVER: Through batteries charged by the solar panels, there's enough power to light all classrooms of the primary school in the village for several hours a day. Teachers are also able to use audiovisual equipment in their classroom instruction. The panels also provide enough power to light the school surroundings, to discourage break-ins and vandalism. The teachers' lounge and living quarters are also supplied with electricity. And modern communications are now easy to use. The availability of solar power made it possible for the only shop in the village to install a solar-powered pay phone. This important communication service is a blessing for the local community. The community vegetable garden is another beneficiary of the solar power. For years, irrigation water had to be carried from the river to the plots. It's hard and time-consuming work. A water pump run by power generated by solar panels now pumps water from the river to a storage tank above the garden. The constant availability of irrigation water has increased the garden's yield. Members of the community are pleased with the results says Regina Hleta, chairman of the group. >> REGINA HLETA: With the availability of water, we are able to cultivate more. Now we have a few more vegetables at home to eat and sell the surplus. >> VOICEOVER: To avoid theft and vandalism to the solar panels, the group is being provided with a portable system. The panels have to be dismantled and reinstalled when they're used. Providing basic electricity requirements to rural areas is a step in the right direction for sustainable rural development in one of the poorest countries in Africa. With continued assistance from the international community, Swaziland hopes to improve the standard of living of its rural population. This report was prepared by Kamil Taha for the United Nations.