News

Clean energy and sustainable mountain communities

12.03.2018

A round table to discuss the outcomes of the pilot project "Clean energy: sustainable communities" was held on 9 February 2018, in Yapshorv Village, Savnob Jamoat (municipality), Gorno-Badahshan Autonomous Region, Tajikistan. The event was attended by the jamoat officials, women from the project’s target group, village advocates and the staff of Little Earth and local non-governmental organization "Oyandasoz". The round table provided an opportunity for the project’s stakeholders and mountain beneficiaries to evaluate its outcomes, share their views about the work accomplished and existing problems, and discuss future plans.

As part of the round table programme, Malabek Malabekov, chairman of Savnob, provided an overview of the jamoat’s development plans for the next few years and answered participants’ questions. He also thanked Little Earth for their long-standing support in addressing social and environmental issues faced by local communities.

Gulbahor Gulomshoeva, a resident of Roshorv Village, presented her experience of using energy-efficient equipment, which she had received in 2017 as part of a similar project implemented by Little Earth. She explained how using the energy-efficient equipment helped her save fuel and money. "Apart from other things, collecting firewood takes up much less of my time now. I have more time to spend on raising my child and my own self-development," said Gulomshoeva.

Women participating in the project also shared their views on the training and equipment they received. Gulanor Shikorieva, a resident of Barchadiv Village, said, "Taking part in the workshops was an interesting experience for me. The knowledge I gained enabled me to take a look at our life here and its challenges from a different perspective. I learned that there are technologies available that could help us improve our living conditions while conserving the environment. Our family received a solar cooker, a lantern and an energy-efficient stove. We are using the lantern on a daily basis. It has been extremely useful for our household. I look forward to the warm season so that I can start using the solar cooker."

Rahmatnazar Mamadamonov, a local artisan who led a hands-on workshop on the construction of solar-powered fruit dryers, described his experience of constructing and disseminating various energy-saving devices. The availability of such artisans is a great asset to remote communities, where the delivery of such equipment from outside would be difficult.

Rozik Yaftaliev, Head of Oyandasoz, discussed the importance of local public groups and the significant role they play in community mobilization and mobilizing additional resources.

Anton Timoshenko, Executive Director of the Little Earth, emphasized that it was crucial to ensure greater involvement of women in the design, implementation and monitoring of local community development plans and programmes. He called on local authorities to heed the voices of women and ensure their views and needs are included in the decision-making process.

"Clean energy: sustainable communities" was implemented by Little Earth with support from the Democracy Commission Small Grants Program (US Embassy in Tajikistan). As part of the project, twenty women from the most vulnerable families in Yapshorv and Barchadiv took part in training and hands-on workshops devoted to sustainable energy. They also received sets of equipment.

News and photo by Little Earth/Timur Idrisov