My first trip away with Practical Action, to East Africa, has been with a focus on our energy work, and it’s already been quite an eye-opener to the challenges and opportunities for our organisation in the region.
Practical Action is aiming to develop energy sources that can meet the needs of the very poor, while being affordable and without depleting the already stretched energy resources. Soon after I arrived at the Nairobi office, located in a building shared with the YMCA of Africa, I was involved in the development of an energy strategy to look at the projects planned for 2010.
This includes both on the ground projects to develop ethanol from sugar cane residues, new cook stoves that are efficient and reduce the health related problems of smoke inhalation, and work on developing better policies with regional governments that can tackle poverty reduction while addressing the impacts of climate change and deforestation. 
The various meetings included energy experts from Zimbabwe, Hawaii, UK, Sri Lanka, Nepal as well as Kenya, working very closely together to try and develop a strong strategy.
Although it’s been hard work trying to gain a better understanding of the numerous challenges that need to be overcome, including corruption, nepotism, the harsh environmental conditions many of the poor people in the region live in, its also been hugely inspiring.
Whilst at the Kenyan office I was lucky to be a part of a moving farewell for a colleague who’s just completed a project in the Kiburu slums in Nairobi. It was moving to hear the passion of her colleagues praising her tireless commitment to Practical Action’s work and wishing her well in her future career. At the same time interviews were taking place for a new manager for the consultancy arm of the Kenyan office, who will have the responsibility of leading the small team to take the work of Practical Action to other countries in the region including Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
Today I’m travelling overland to Arusha in Tanzania with colleagues from Sri Lanka and Kenya to attend a 3-day meeting on the 5-year Pisces project to improve policy in East Africa and south Asia on sustainable biomass use. Practical Action is working with organisations in the UK, Tanzania and India to develop vital research which can help decision makers in the two regions to make more informed decisions on using their local resources to sustainably reduce poverty, provide employment and allow people to both adapt to the challenges of climate change whilst mitigating emissions. The trip will include an update on the work going on in the four countries as well as visits to projects currently being implemented in Tanzania, which I’m looking forward to very much.
Ewan Bloomfield
January 30th, 2011 at 7:45 pm
I just saw an advert about zeer pots in the economist and went to this website to read more about them and here you are… Wow Ewan! amazing stuff! beats what the rest of us do from 9-5
Good luck and hope to have a beer one day. I’m in Putney (sw18). Ollie Taylor