Practice and learning

Practical Action aims to increase poor people’s access to energy technology options, through improving the efficiency and productivity of biomass use, and through small scale, low cost, off-grid electricity supply.

There is no “one size fits all” answer, which is why we don’t start with the technology, but with the people who use and benefit from it. Practical Action begins by talking to the people we are working with. What are their energy needs? Do they have the knowledge and skills to keep the technology going? Can it be fixed and maintained?

We help identify and implement practical, sustainable technologies that people can use to improve their lives. We research, test and demonstrate how they can have a significant impact on poverty. But we also go further than this. We adapt existing technologies, making sure that success in one country can form a template for success in another. Consequently, our projects make an impact far beyond the communities that initially benefit.

Smoke - indoor air pollution

Nearly two million people die each year as a result of inhaling lethal smoke from kitchen stoves and fires. Most victims are women and children under five.

Decentralised energy schemes

There are enormous challenges of providing access to modern energy services for the rural poor. A lack of financial resources is not the only constraint; there are numerous other barriers including a lack of technology, a lack of financial mechanisms, and in particular a lack of capacity in the l...

Energy

Our solutions

Poor people’s energy outlook