GreenMicrofinancing

J2008 Tech Awards TONIGHT!  Join a Live Webcast   7:00 pm PST

Mr. D. Vidya Sagar, Director of SKG Sangha, INDIA, is part of an esteemed group of 2008 Tech Laureates, who were selected from hundreds of nominations representing 68 countries.  Today, twenty-five innovators from around the world, recognized for developing and applying technology to benefit humanity, will receive the 2008 Tech Award in San Jose, California.  

These Laureates have developed new technological solutions or innovative ways to use existing technologies to significantly improve the lives of people around the world.  This year, the 2008 Laureates represent the truly global vision of the program, spanning countries such as Senegal, Peru, Hungary, Canada, Namibia, Germany, Egypt, India, United Kingdom, Laos and the United States. Their work impacts people in many more countries worldwide.

Professor Muhammad Yunus, pioneer of microcredit and founder of Grameen Bank, is the recipient of the 2008 James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award. Dr. Yunus will accept this distinguished honor during The Tech Awards Gala tonight! 

GreenMicrofinance team welcomes Mr. D. Vidya Sagar, this coming weekend to Philadelphia as our guest.  On Saturday evening, we are hosting an event, Harnessing Clean Energy to Microfinance: Waste is Wealth, during which Mr. Sagar will be sharing on biogas technologies that address a range of issues including energy, sanitation, poverty, health, and education.  Please check Betsy Teutsch's blog post for more information on our First Delaware Valley Event.   

On Tuesday night I thought I was back in the cellular industry with the start-up of the Qualcomm Indonesian village phone program, Uber ESIA. They had a big launch party complete with dancers and music, and free flowing food and drinks. Professor Yunis was the featured speaker but of course, the real treat was the conversations with people like the movie producer from New York that is working on a film about Grameen. Gayle Ferrario has produced two films about Grameen and the 3^rd promises to be spectacular.

I also had a chance to visit with the visionary founder and head of Grameen Shakti, Dipul Barua. We were able to talk at length about his experience in making clean, renewable energy available to over 100,000 homes.

On Wednesday morning there was a break in our schedule so Dan, Elizabeth and I were able to see a little more of Bali than the hotel and convention center; in this case one of the six Hindu temples in Bali. On the 40 minute drive to the temple, we must have passed 10 other temples and then suddenly we crossed a ridgeline and were looking through the mist at huge (30 ft) breakers rolling in from the Indian Ocean and crashing into the 300 ft cliffs. No wonder Bali is considered a surfers paradise and of course Dan was very disappointed the surfing contest that is currently going on was a kilometer away and 100 meters below.

As we were getting out of the car, our driver warned us about the monkeys; it seems they will take glasses and earrings and trade them back for food; pretty smart little guys. As it turned out, the visit was uneventful, but the scenery was spectacular and the peace divine. This is still an active temple, so we were not able to go in all the parts and since Dan was wearing shorts when we arrived, he was covered with a sarong on the tour.

When we returned, Dan found out that his efforts to setup an interview with Professor Yunus had been rewarded so I got to have a 15 minute, on camera dialogue with him; what a privilege, video to follow!

And then when I got back to my hotel, I had a call from my son who had arrived in Bali. He lives and works in the Middle East and I haven’t seen him in ‘too long’ so this is an extra, special treat!

The energy and microfinance presentation went well today.  I opened my talk, reminding people of the ‘bad omens' Professor Yunus sees on the horizon: rising food and fuel prices, slowing economy, climate change and environmental degradation and the estimate that 100 million people are in danger of slipping back into abject poverty unless these issues are addressed successfully.

It was disappointing there weren't more people at the session, but the people who were there were amazing, as is the work Grameen Shakti is doing in Bangladesh and ESAF in India.  The Managing Director, Dipal Barua showed me his daily solar panel installation count, more 300 yesterday.  When I visited Shakti in 2003 they were doing less than 20 installations a day.  There really is a demand for energy!

This afternoon I did interviews with five amazing women; Gita and Silvia from Indonesia, Maree and Rebecca from Australia and Maaike from the Netherlands via Australia.  All had fascinating stories about their current work and their path to the Microcredit Summit.  The discussions ranged far and wide, but focused on renewable energy and microfinance's role in getting clean energy into the hands of the those at the "Base of the Pyramid'!

Dan will be editing these interviews and will have them on the blog shortly!

Elizabeth and I arrived last night from the states around 11pm after a 27 hour long transit to be greeted with lush tropical breezes and the sounds of light surf in the background. The musicians had all gone to bed and we had to wait until today to experience the ethereal traditional Balinese music; which we did multiple times.

 Speaking of a long time, I’ve waited many, many years to visit Bali; the Air Force scheduled me to fly a trip to Bali and before leaving the states told me I didn’t need a passport – Wrong! But military intelligence is a whole different subject.

On our first day here, Bali is more than living up to its billing; a land of contrasts and beauty. We ran into Prof. Yunus and Sam Daley Harris in the lobby of the convention hotel, got a sneak preview of a really exciting announcement that will be coming from the microcredit summit tomorrow – sorry but I’m sworn to secrecy. And thanks to Dan, we tracked down the elusive Solar Power Indonesia which has lots of cool technology including a wind turbine on the roof and a sun tracking solar panel in the parking lot. We plan on returning later in the week to learn more about their clients and why they are looking for clean energy.

Please note the lack of comments about the beautiful beaches and pools; while we have seen a number of them, duty has called and I have yet to avail myself of their warmth and charm! And so it goes!

We are thrilled that GreenMicrofinance has partnered with USAID MicroLinks  on this blog at the Summit. 

Dan Lundmark, Kathleen Robbins, and I from GMf are all about ready to head out to Bali.    We look forward to a lively Summit and to meeting you there.  For those attending, please look out for us as we welcome your questions and insights on microfinance, MFI clients, and clean energy.  (Can't miss my gray hair; Kathleen is 5'13"; Dan is our video guy!)  

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