GreenMicrofinancing

Since learning about GreenMicrofinance’s mission, connecting the world’s poorest to clean, renewable energy, I’ve been reading about village life with no electricity.  Activities which for us are so insignificant here in the first world – plugging in an appliance, turning on the light – are still dreams for many in the world.  One of the articles I read spoke of “rural electrification” and a light – sorry about the pun – went off in my head.

I heard this term last when I was a little girl.  I was born in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1952.  North Dakota is a vast prairie state, predominantly agricultural, sparsely populated. 

 Rural electrification programs were launched during the Depression, and in the 1950’s, the state was still actively proud of the electric coop movement which supplied power to farms.  (We learned all about North Dakota’s lignite coal reserves in grade school.  Electricity in North Dakota was generated by burning it, creating very dirty energy, but of course we didn’t see the implications of that in the 1950’s.)   I remember one election when I was a little girl – it took three days for the last precincts to report in.  Imagine how much technology we’ve transversed in 55 years in the United States.  Now Off-Gridders are eco-pioneers who want to generate their own clean energy to avoid fossil fuel energy generation and its polluting emissions, intentionally unplugging from the grid.

GreenMicrofinance gives us an opportunity to extend the benefits of clean energy to those who do not take these activities for granted, for whom they would be a giant step forward.  Even the presence of a recharging flashlight is a giant upgrade in quality of life – so imagine what an overhead light, refrigerator, and a stove could do?  And greenmicrofinancing means delivering sustainable energy, so it adds nothing to the world’s climate change/global warming challenges.  It is a golden opportunity for us to help the world’s poorest enjoy the benefits of electricity without the environmental detriments – leapfrogging right to the clean energy options of the future! 

 You can read more of the specifics at our very loaded website – www.GreenMicrofinance.org
Betsy Teutsch, Director of Special Projects @ GreenMicrofinance