Let’s Move Ethiopia Towards Renewable Energy
“Ethiopia has a very high potential for solar, wind, and hydro power, in addition to biogas as alternative energy sources.” Dr. Araya Asfaw, Executive Director of HoA-REC, opened the workshop on renewable energy and welcomed the participants in Debre Zeit.
HoA-REC joined its partners and associates for a 3-day EU Energy Facility Integrated Approached to Rural Household Energy in Ethiopia Project Inception Workshop at the Debre Zeit Management Institute on October 14, 2011.
Abiy Ashenafi, Head of the Energy Partnership Programme of HoA-REC, provided the group with an overview of energy use in Ethiopia. His presentation illuminated the overdependence (over 90%) on biomass – fuel wood, agricultural residue and dung – as an energy source in Ethiopia. This is due to many factors, including the lack of market infrastructure and financing for renewable energy technologies, as well as a lack of awareness. The primary technologies chosen for this project, which are intended to promote the use of renewable technologies in the Ethiopian context, are: fuel saving stoves, solar lanterns, solar cookits, solar home systems, plant oil cookers and biogas technology.
During the lunch hour, participants were given the opportunity to taste traditional dishes prepared with solar cookits.The staff of PISDA provided the participants with cooked carrots and potatoes, tomatoes and onion stir fry and kale and onions. They were prepared in pots sealed off in specialized plastic bags that, when cooked for 2 – 3 hours with direct sunlight, produce the meals featured in the pictures below. On tomorrow’s menu is traditional Ethiopian bread.
The four-year project grant was awarded to HoA-REC by the European Commission EU Energy Facility Grant of the 10th European Development Fund earlier this year; during the project period investments will be made into the construction and operation of renewable energy technology centers in communities not currently connected to the national electricity grid. Project partners and associates in attendance included representatives from the Ministry of Water and Energy, Oromiya Water, Mineral and Energy Bureau, GIZ, ICCO-Kerk in Actie, ENDA, SNV, Solar Cooking Netherlands, SEDA, PISDA, ORDA, FfE, REST and ANCEDA.
The inception workshop is preceding the official launching of the Project at the Addis Ababa Hilton on October 19, 2011.
The EU-HoA-REC Rural Energy Project of Ethiopia – Officially Launched
About 60,000 people, living in kebeles with no current connection to the national electricity grid, will benefit from renewable energy supply in the next four years. On Wednesday October 19, the EU-HoA-REC/N Rural Energy Project of Ethiopia (entitled “Integrated Approach to Meet Rural Household Energy Needs of Ethiopia”) was officially launched at the Addis Ababa Hilton on October 19, 2011. This € 3.25 million project is funded by the European Union Energy Facility (EUEF) and implemented by HoA-REC and several partners.
After a welcoming address from Dr. Araya Asfaw, Executive Director of HoA-REC, H.E. Wondimu Tekle, State Minister of Water and Energy, officially opened the event by acknowledging the EUEF for this programme “which supports the development and spreading out of alternative energy technology promotion initiatives in Ethiopia through financing and contributing to improving the lives and livelihoods of the Ethiopian people.”
He further remarked that this project supports the national alternative energy technology promotion targets of Ethiopia’s Growth and Transformation Plan, which require the combined efforts of the federal Ministry of Water and Energy, the regional Water and Energy bureaus, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, bilateral and international partner organizations and other stakeholders.
Mr. Alemayehu Semunigus, on behalf of the European Union Delegation to Ethiopia, provided an overview of EU Energy Facility Key Strategic Considerations; HoA-REC staff followed with a comprehensive overview of the project and a format for implementation on the ground. A total of 20 renewable Energy Technology (RET) enterprises will be constructed in six weredas, more specifically:
- Ada’a, Arsi Negelle, Boset and Fedis in Oromiya,
- Bati in Amhara, and
- Kolatembien in Tigray.
Partners and associates from ICCO, ENDA, GIZ and ORDA presented their renewable and energy efficient technologies (pictured below). This project shows that a strong collaboration between several partners and the government can create synergy, beneficial to the Ethiopian people.
From Dump to Park - Preparing for the Closure of Addis Ababa’s Repi Landfill
HoA-REC, in collaboration with the Addis Ababa City Administration, held a local stakeholder consultation meeting in preparation for the closure of Addis Ababa’s oldest, and only, landfill - the Repi/Koshe open dump site. Over 80 participants, representing youth currently living on the landfill, members of the local community, federal government bureaus, the local police, and technical experts, attended the meeting that was held at Hager Fikir Theatre Hall.
Ato Haile Fisseha, General Manager of the Addis Ababa City Administration, opened the meeting with a briefing on how this 43-year-old landfill is already in the process of being closed and will serve as a model for Ethiopia in terms of future landfill closures throughout the country. Dr. Araya Asfaw, Executive Director of HoA-REC, explained that as the city’s population grew, the amount of trash also increased and has resulted into the accumulated trash we see today at Repi (see picture below of woman collecting scavenged items at the landfill).
Dr. Araya Asfaw explained that a new, modern trash dump site is being developed to replace the 36-ha Repi landfill, and continued: “But the question of what Repi should be in the future must always keep in mind the best interest of the surrounding community members.” Currently, a park, recreational area, and or sports facility is envisaged. For residents of the community, the closure will provide them with better livelihood opportunities and safer health conditions. The closure of the Repi landfill is expected to cut carbon emissions by more than half for the next 10 years. The methane capturing system is part of a planned CDM project that will generate income for trash collection and the maintenance of a future landfill in and around Addis Ababa (see before and after diagram below).
Participants (seen below) welcomed plans to move forward with the closure, several mentioning that the closure of the landfill has been discussed and met with inaction many times in the past. “Our primary concerns are centered on future opportunities for residents living on and near the dumpsite, the current conditions in the surrounding community - wastewater treatment, the accompanying smell, and burning of plastic, etc.- and the coordination of future public hearings regarding the closure,” said one neighborhood resident.
Participants also submitted evaluation forms of current conditions related to the landfill. They engaged the panel of experts (representing the Addis Ababa City Administration, HoA-REC, ENDA-Ethiopia and AfD) with first-hand accounts of life in the neighboring community of Koshe and their desire to fully participate in the facilitation of the Repi landfill closure.
In the meantime, the 2-year process of closing the landfill and future plans to welcome a beautiful, public green space within Addis Ababa will be much anticipated.
The National Geographic Map Guide of Ethiopia is Published
“Ethiopia should be wrapped in a format and travel around the world,” Dutch Ambassador Hans Blankenberg is very proud of the new Map Guide of Ethiopia’s Central and Southern Rift Valley. It is a product of the nine month collaboration between HoA-REC, ESTA (Ethiopian Sustainable Tourism Alliance) and National Geographic Society. The project was funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economics, Agriculture, and Innovation, as well as USAID. It is a big step in providing tourists with updated mapping and ideas for weekend outings and activities in the Central and Southern Rift Valley, only 170 kilometres outside of Addis.
On Thursday, December 15th the Map Guide was officially launched at the Hilton hotel in the presence of Ato Yonas Desta, the General Director of the Ethiopian Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism). He was very impressed by the Map Guide and the community improvement that comes along with the development of the newly established eco-tourism projects. “Here and now, I will make a promise to develop this at the national level,” he said. Local communities in the Central and Southern Rift Valley are being trained to receive guests, to offer horse riding tours, to make handicrafts and to guide tourists. With this opportunity of alternative, and improved, livelihoods the people will be less vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and poverty.
For National Geographic, this Map Guide is a new one in a row of significant destinations in the world that travellers really need to know about. Jim Dion of the National Geographic Society: “By providing knowledge, people get inspired to care about Ethiopia.” He explained that the Map Guide takes the reader to the area, before they even set foot on Rift Valley grounds. Bird watchers, nature-lovers, eco-tourists and those interested in the Ethiopian culture and history are welcomed to have a fulfilling trip in a very special part of Ethiopia. This is especially important for Ethiopia which, despite a plethora of historic and natural treasures, is oftentimes depicted negatively in the media.
The Map Guide will be distributed through the shops of Bookworld and Shamabooks in the near future. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism will present it to foreign tour operators and distribute them at international trade fairs.
Dr. Nigist Asfaw Receives Prize for Developing Green Chemistry in Ethiopia
Addis Ababa - December 27, 2011
Dr. Nigist Asfaw Receives Prize for Developing Green Chemistry in Ethiopia
Dr. Nigist Asfaw from Addis Ababa University is one of three recipients of the 2011 Distinguished Woman in Chemistry prize as part of the Pan Africa Chemistry Network/ Royal Society of Chemistry (PACN/RSC) International Year of Chemistry Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Marie Curie’s Nobel Award in Chemistry. The Distinguished Women were honored at a special ceremony during the 1st PACN Congress on Agricultural Productivity which was held from November 21-23, 2011 at the Accra International Convention Centre in Accra, Ghana.
Dr. Asfaw was recognized for her achievements in developing green chemistry in Ethiopia. She is a Natural Product Chemist and has served the industry in different capacities as a researcher; head of research & quality control department and as acting manager before joining the Department of Chemistry of Addis Ababa University in 2002. She has over 20 publications in the area of essential oils and green chemistry and co-authored a book entitled “Aromatic Plants of Ethiopia” with her husband Prof. Sebsebe Demissew. She has been a Special Lecturer (2010-2012) in the School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, UK and has been nominated for the 2011 Keiser Distinguished Lecturer in Life Sciences at Ohio Northern University, USA.
Professor Motaza Khater from Cairo University, Egypt and Professor Tebello Nyokong from Rhodes University, South Africa, also received the prize alongside Dr. Asfaw.