Voices from the Field

Dipal Barua was the Founding Managing Director of Grameen Shakti, which was a pioneer and remains a leader in partnering with microfinance networks for the distribution of clean energy products. He was the recipient of the first Zayed Future Energy Prize, given in 2009, and has recently founded a new company, Bright Green Energy Foundation (www.greenenergybd.com). In this podcast, he shares his ideas on how Bangladesh can become a “solar nation”!

This special Energy Links podcast features interviews recorded in the field, in Nyanza Province in Western Kenya, with savings group members who have purchased solar lamps. The lamps have been sold by one of the entrepreneur franchisees working for CARE to train savings groups - Leonida Bironga. Leonida confidently thinks she can sell a thousand lamps a month if she gets the supply, and that is about to happen. The future for village life looks much brighter all of a sudden in Western Kenya!

Roey Rosenblith, co-founder of Village Energy (Uganda) Ltd, talks with host Paul Rippey about his start-up solar lighting company (http://tinyurl.com/VillageEnergy) which seeks to add maximum local value by assembling products in country. Roey also shares about his recent experiences as a passenger on NorthWest Flight 253 on Christmas day, which barely escaped being blown up, and reads part of his blog post on that experience, which appeared on the Huffington Post (http://tinyurl.com/DetroitSkies).

Asif Dowla talks with host Paul Rippey about the new paper, sponsored by Grameen Foundation and Oxfam USA, on Climate Change and Microfinance. Professor Dowla discusses how MFIs can “climate proof” their financial products, and of the importance of remittances and savings in a changing climate. The report is available at:

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/pressreleases/grameen-foundation-and-o...

In this 13th episode, Paul Rippey interviews Jacob Moss of the EPA, who has led the effort to create the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air. Jacob and Paul talk about stoves, including some breakthrough models that might change everything! Check out the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air at www.pciaonline.org.

Nick Sowden of ToughStuff talks about their success selling solar lamps in Madagascar and other countries using existing distributors, and a business in a box model. He also talks and about, well, how tough their solar lamps are. But they still haven't put one in a blender... Get more information at http://www.toughstuffonline.org/

Patricio Boyd, the Director for Rural Operations at Emprenda in Argentina, talks about how their MFI has installed over 1000 home lighting systems, all driven by consumer demand, and of their plans to expand in the region. Our first podcast from Latin America! Contact Patricio at pboyd@emprenda.com.ar.

In this special podcast, Paul Rippey interviews poet Jay Thompson, who discusses a poem by Robert Hass, the former Poet Laureate of the United States. The poems seems to have something to do with decentralized energy production in the developing world. Now, that was unexpected! Jay and Paul go on to discuss how poetry sometimes has a long term unanticipated impact on laws and attitudes. Give this one a listen...

Paul Breloff, Vice President for Business Development and Strategy at SKS Microfinance in India, talks about SKS’s support of solar lamps. SKS has been called the Starbuck’s of microfinance, and Paul explains why!

In this 8th episode of the Energy Links Podcast series, Dr Ibrahim Togola of Mali Folkecenter talks about the activities of MFC, and about why they have set up both a for-profit company, and a microfinance institution. www.malifolkecenter.org