GOGLA is the global association for the off-grid solar energy industry. Established in 2012, GOGLA now represents over 160 members as a neutral, independent, not-for-profit industry association. Our services assist the industry to build sustainable markets and profitable businesses delivering quality, affordable off-grid electricity products and services to as many customers as possible across the developing world.
We believe that with the right support, the off-grid solar market can scale to provide affordable solar power products and services to provide electricity to the 840 million people currently living without energy by 2030, in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7. Off-grid solar products and services are also a solution for the estimated 1 billion people with weak grid connections.
The off-grid solar industry needs to deliver quality, affordable products and services to households, businesses and communities in challenging developing markets. It’s a sector that requires coordinated support, the right partnerships, resources, and services to help its businesses scale sustainably and at speed in these complex environments.
kiangure Springs Environment Initiative (KSEI) is a registered Community Based Organization under the laws of Kenya that works towards enhancing resilience of communities towards impacts of climate change in the Aberdare ecosystem of Kenya. The Project is located on the Eastern side of the Aberdare Forest. The Aberdare forest is the source of Rivers that are tributaries of Tana,Kenyas biggest river. Our overall objective is to support the upper Tana catchment community in Poverty reduction through improved livelihood systems and the Conservation of Community natural resources and initiatives for enhanced environmental management and governance.Our beneficiaries include the catholic community in Nyeri Diocese.
Our Programmes are:
1) Renewable energy promotion-(improved cook-stoves, briquettes, solar, and bio-gas) Under this programme we have enabled 1000 households adopt ICS,500 adopt solar lamps ,19 households adopt biogas and 10 secondary schools adopt Biogas technology, promotion and production of Briquettes
http://www.trust.org/item/20150429114132-tnby1
2) Environment conservation- tree planting (bamboo, fruits, indigenous tree species) Planted over 500,000 seedlings in the Aberdare ecosystem
3)Environmental education https://www.apeuk.org/youth-aberdare-art-project/project Working with youth groups, schools and community groups to promote environmental education.
4)Climate change and environmental awareness http://www.paintinganewworld.com/galleries/int-murals-index.htm Working with Canadian Organization to create community level awareness on climate change through mural art.
5)Governance & Democracy The purpose of this program is to create an empowered society that can demand for democratic practice at all levels and participate in governance issues. The main projects under this include Alternative Leadership Programme, Women Civic Empowerment Program, Youth Empowerment program and Natural resource management . The overall objective of this programme is to entrench community participation in governance and democratic processes thereby creating an informed society that can demand for democratic practices at all levels and participate in governance issues.
6)Food Security &Sustainable livelihoods This project seeks to improve food security and ensure sustainable livelihoods through integrated intervention focusing on:
a)Sustainable Agriculture The main activities under this program include crop diversification, promotion of organic agriculture and initiation of community agricultural extension schemes. Similarly, livestock, fish, and poultry farming are encouraged with emphasis on efficient utilization of the small farm sizes. Over 500 households have benefited with poultry ,fish and Dairy goats.. There is emphasis on climate smart agriculture to reduce emissions, improve soil fertility, and conserve our water resources.
b) Community Health & Nutrition This is an initiative through which KSEI trains community health workers (CHWs), and peer educators to promote health education within the community and hence promote best practices in community health and nutrition
c)Gender & HIV/AIDS Project Under this project KSEI has in the last three years been involved in awareness creation, sensitization and behavior change advocacy focusing especially on women as the most vulnerable group
d)Water & Sanitation This component focuses on the improvement of sanitation both at domestic and institutional level. The domestic water supply and quality to mitigate the effects of waterborne and other diseases in the community. This is done through sanitation education and adoption of Integrated Biogas technology and conservation of natural water sources.
Environmental integration offers significant economic development potential: green growth provides a number of opportunities to companies through new markets, especially in the fields of:
- Energy management
- Sustainable natural resources management
- Environmental protection
In developing countries, financing this green growth is a major challenge. Agence Française de Développement (AFD) contributes to this challenge in partnership with banks in the South.
The Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS Network) is a regional conservation organization with the mission to enhance biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in the Albertine Rift region, Africa Great Lakes region and African Mountains through the promotion of collaborative conservation actions for nature and people.
ARCOS’ overall goal is to enhance conservation of critical ecosystems and promote sustainable development in the Albertine Rift region, Africa Great Lakes region and African Mountains through collaborative actions between various partners.
ARCOS is registered in the UK as a Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee, and in Rwanda and Uganda as an international NGO.
Vision
We make a sustained, effective contribution towards the reduction of economic disparities in an increasingly complex, globalized world.
Mission
We promote economic, social, and environmental development by helping people integrate into local economic life. We thus make it possible for them to improve their living conditions through their own initiatives.
Our Values
Our commitment
- We are recognised as the reference for private sector development in Switzerland and worldwide.
- We believe that market mechanisms and a strong private sector create jobs and generate income, thereby reducing poverty.
- We are personally dedicated to our cause and loyal to our organisation.
- We strive for professionalism and quality in project implementation and adhere to ethical principles to carry out our mission.
- We are a politically independent and non-denominational development organisation.
- We are dedicated to equal rights and opportunities.
Our responsibility
- We respect our beneficiaries and all people with whom we work.
- We respect the environment in which we operate.
- We understand our work as a common effort, working as a team with our donors, partners, and beneficiaries.
- We are committed to safeguarding our Code of Conduct (CoC) and feel personally accountable for our actions.
- We meet our contractual and legal obligations.
- We deliver evidence-based results.
How we work
- We understand our role to be that of a facilitator in project implementation, fostering a sustainable environment for entrepreneurship, access to information, skills, and markets, while meeting the employment and income objectives.
- We deliver practical, market-oriented solutions adapted to local realities to meet the challenges of economic development.
- We strive for sustainability in all our activities, efforts, and resources.
Creeds Energy is a professional renewable energy services and solutions provider addressing electricity and energy challenges by improving access to and promoting adoption of clean and energy efficient technologies.
Our company is setting the pace to realize the development of a green economy with low emissions, resource efficiency and social inclusivity.
This is being achieved through the efforts of our knowledge driven team and network of internationally qualified experts within the fields of renewable energy technologies sustainable development and engineering.
We are dedicated to creating sustainable solutions and enriching lives by reducing energy poverty, providing long lasting and consistent solutions for households, businesses and communities.
In the basalt mountains around Lalibela, stay in local communities. See their ancient world, their churches and their way of life.
Walk through the age-old agrarian landscape of the Ethiopian Highlands following escarpments with birds of prey soaring in the thermals and Gelada baboon scrambling up and down the cliff face. Local shepherd boys keep an eye on their flocks, while their fathers plough the fields, and their sisters collect water in clay pots.
An experience you will never forget!
Please use the links on this site to find out more about these stunning sites and learn how a visit to them could be easily integrated into your holiday in Ethiopia.
See how easy it is to fit a trip to these mountains around your visit to Lalibela, perhaps stopping off en-route from Lalibela to Bahir Dar or Gondar. Let TESFA help you plan one that fits in with your preferences.
TESFA’s Mission Statement (extract)
TESFA seeks to work in partnership with local communities to enable them to generate sustainable improvements in their livelihood through the development of their own tourism related enterprises, while also contributing to the protection of their physical and cultural environments.
SEI Africa is based in Nairobi, Kenya and is hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre. The centre collaborates with African governments, organizations and networks, acting as a hub for SEI’s engagement across the continent. The centre’s work focuses on four key areas: energy and climate; natural resources and ecosystems; sustainable urbanisation; and health and environment.
From its establishment in August 2008 until June 2013, SEI Africa was based at the Institute of Resource Assessment at the University of Dares Salaam. As of July 2013, it is based in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre. Staff members are active across South, East and West Africa.
Solterra was born out of a need and wish to address South Africa’s energy crisis. We understand that in order to bring about the changes required in the South African energy landscape we needed a highly specialized commercial and residential product. South Africa faces a massive shortage when it comes to experienced, competent and technically sound energy consultants. Solterra aim to fill this void. We are the fastest growing renewable energy consultancy in Southern Africa, offering the public consistent, trustworthy solutions nationally.
With head office accountability, ethical standards and integrity we do not only exist to sell products – we exist because we are a group of individuals who believe in making a significant difference. We undertake comprehensive client engagement in order to understand their requirements, making the correct recommendations, ensuring that sustainable and accurate solutions are provided. We do not compromise on quality, and will only offer the best in class products, matched with industry leading design and implementation
ATE’s research arm, the Amboseli Elephant Research Project, has made many important contributions to elephant research over the years. The knowledge gained from the AERP team has profoundly altered the way we think about, conserve and manage elephant populations. Our research has highlighted the ethical implications of dealing with sentient, long-lived, intelligent and social complex animals and our knowledge base provides powerful and authoritative support to elephant conservation and advocacy campaigns worldwide. For more than four decades AERP’s presence has helped ensure the survival of the elephants as well as the Amboseli ecosystem.
AERP research covers many areas including: social organization, behavior, demography, ecological dynamics, spatial analyses and mapping, communication, genetics, human-elephant interactions and cognition. Our long-term datasets underpin all these research topics.
CORE RESEARCH
Our team of Kenyan research assistants and visiting scientists are in the field at least six days a week. We record all demographic events in the population; births and deaths, musth, oestrus and mating. Our routine daily observations note associations between family units and independent males, geographic location, group size, composition, activity and habitat type. Within families we monitor female affiliation and the dispersal of young males from their family to analyze family dynamics. We have systematically monitored the size and growth of over 600 individuals from 1976 to the present. Since 1999 we have collected dung samples for genetic analyses of population origins, paternity and within- and between-family relatedness. We are constantly maintaining and updating our individual records, and we also carry out basic ecological monitoring through vegetation plots, water table measurements and rainfall.
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH
ATE hosts visiting researchers who contribute to the growing understanding of African elephants in general, and the knowledge base for the sustained future of the Amboseli population in particular.
Researchers interested in collaborating with ATE should address their enquiries to our Director of Science, Prof. Phyllis Lee (phyllis.lee@stir.ac.uk). ATE has always enjoyed a dynamic collaboration network and we welcome the opportunity for new partnerships to continue that tradition. Our collaborations extend across many subject areas:
Communication
Communication is the glue that binds the social network of an intelligent species. Joyce Poole and Petter Granli recorded and analyzed Amboseli elephant vocalizations as part of the work of their NGO ElephantVoices. Their aim is to build our scientific understanding of the intelligence and social complexity of elephants and enhance the toolbox for their conservation and management. At the same time they act as a voice for elephants in a strong advocacy component. You can follow some of their work and activities on the ElephantVoices Facebook page. Other communication studies have focused on elephants’ capacity for individual recognition: Karen McComb pioneered the playback approach and demonstrated that each female elephant recognizes around 100 other females from voice alone.
Elephant Life Histories and Reproduction
Ongoing studies provide vital information on how elephants grow, mature and learn to cope with their physical and social environments. This work, guided by Phyllis Lee asks how longevity and developmental processes contribute to fitness and reproductive success. The four-decade-long Amboseli dataset is now yielding exciting insights into these questions; Phyllis’ work has recently demonstrated that early life experiences have survival and fitness consequences across individual lifetimes. The role of old, experienced females in guiding family decisions has become apparent: families with older matriarchs have improved calf survival and shorter inter-birth intervals for all females in the family. An extreme drought event in 2009 caused the death of many of these important leaders. Vicki Fishlock’s work, supported by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, aims to assess the social and reproductive effects of these losses. As a result of Vicki’s work, we are developing further studies into what leadership and negotiation means for elephant families.
Human-elephant conflict and co-existence
ATE is bringing its specialized knowledge of elephant behavior and society to bear on developing conflict-reduction strategies that are consistent with rural agriculture and Maasai livestock husbandry (see also Community Outreach). Work by Kadzo Kangwana, Christy Browne-Nunez, Patrick Chiyo and Winnie Kiiru has guided and developed our approach to conflict and coexistence.
Genetic analysis
Scientists from Duke University have mapped DNA profiles in order to define family relationships and origins of the Amboseli population. Cross-referenced to behavioral observations, the DNA analysis by Beth Archie examined survival strategies based on relatedness. Beth’s student Patrick Chiyo studied the socio-ecology of crop-raiding elephants using genetic techniques. Patrick’s work expanded to examine male association patterns and the impact of these on high risk activities such a crop-raiding.
Cognition
Dick Byrne and Lucy Bates have examined elephants’ formidable reputation for memory and intelligence by investigating specific cognitive skills designed to probe elephants’ ability to manipulate and respond to their world and each other. Karen McComb and Graeme Shannon have expanded Karen’s early work on elephant communication and vocal recognition into the cognitive sphere by presenting elephants with a series of acoustic “threats” via playback experiments. Their studies show that elephants and discriminate and appropriately respond to varying levels of threats from lions and from humans, and that these abilities are strongest amongst experienced (older) elephants.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
The long-term survival of elephants can only be assured by creating a niche for free-living elephants that is compatible with the needs and aspirations of the surrounding human communities. Elephants and humans have shared the Amboseli landscape for approximately 500 years. With the expansion of settlement, agriculture and livestock numbers inevitably encounters between people and elephants are increasing. ATE’s approach is aimed at maintaining the conservation ethos which has been part of Maasai tradition, but which is increasingly threatened by the pressures of 21st century human society.
Community Relations
Our field staff maintains daily contact with the surrounding Maasai community. This friendly interaction is essential to ensure that landowners maintain a tolerant attitude to the presence and passage of elephants on their group ranch land. We estimate that at any one time 80% of the wildlife in Amboseli is using community lands; without community participation there is simply no future for wildlife. Our approach is to allow a two-way exchange of understanding with communities. Concerns are aired in constructive dialogue, not in retaliatory killing of wildlife. We had proof of the value of this approach in 2012, when a local Maasai man waited for five hours beside an elephant calf trapped in a well. He patiently protected the little calf until he could reach ATE staff via an unreliable mobile phone network, and we then rescued the calf with the help of DSWT staff. Without this man’s care and respect, the calf, who we called Lemoyian, would certainly have died.
Consolation
ATE has an innovative and successful consolation scheme to assist members of the community who lose livestock to elephants. Started in 1997 the program pays an owner of a cow, sheep or goat a set amount when an elephant kills any livestock on community lands. Previously, Maasai custom dictated an elephant had to be speared and killed in retribution for livestock deaths. The number of elephants speared dropped by more than half after the initiation of the consolation scheme. This scheme has since become a model in other areas and for other species.
Maasai Elephant Scouts
ATE operations outside the park include employing fifteen Maasai elephant scouts who patrol the ecosystem on foot, reporting elephant presence and signs, injured elephants and conflicts, as well as signs of poaching and the bushmeat trade. Their work is coordinated with that of the Amboseli-Tsavo Game Scouts Association (ATGSA) and the Big Life Foundation. The ATE scouts support our monitoring work by augmenting our elephant sightings data, especially during the wet season when elephants range widely. Scouts also assist in verification of consolation claims. Support to the scouts contributes to improved community participation and understanding of human-wildlife interaction as well as providing employment in a depressed rural area. We are also beginning a collaboration with the Lion Guardians programme to fund the work of two conflict mitigation scouts, at the request of the Kaputei community.
ADEC Innovations advances sustainable practices around the world, and helps organizations grow and operate responsibly. Seamlessly delivering fully integrated, cost-effective consulting, data management and software solutions, ADEC Innovations helps clients save time, reduce costs, optimize resource use, and drive operational efficiencies in a world where sustainability matters.
We have over 30 years of group experience in data management, software solutions, professional services and workforce solutions. Our products and services cover various industry sectors such as education, health information, environmental services and compliance.
The Northern Rangelands Trust is a community conservancy membership organisation. Our mission is to develop resilient community conservancies, which transform people’s lives, secure peace and conserve natural resources.
We do this by supporting communities to:
- Develop locally-led governance structures that complement traditional systems
- Run peace and security programmes
- Take the lead in natural resources management
- Manage sustainable businesses linked to conservation
We fundraise for our member conservancies, and provide advice and guidance on management. We support a wide range of training, monitor performance, and work as an independent third party in support of conservancy partnerships with county and national government, investors and development partners.
Global Hand is a matching service: a non-profit brokerage facilitating public/ private partnership.
Although today’s world sees many parties wishing to respond to global issues, the problem they often face is connectivity. Who should they partner with and how?
Global Hand is designed to bring together people from all parts of the spectrum. You can use this site to find partners wherever you fit. Your area of interest may be:
- Social Entrepreneurship
- Philanthropy
- Disaster response
- Poverty alleviation
- Advocacy
- Microcredit
- Job Creation
- Guidelines/Best Practice
- Doing business with the poor
- Sustainable Development
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Gifts-in-kind
- Services-in-kind
- Humanitarian Aid
- Fair Trade
- Corporate Volunteering
The African Climate Technology Centre (ACTC) is a project hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to support sub-Saharan African countries in scaling-up the deployment of low-carbon and climate resilient technologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
This is delivered by:
- Enhancing networking and dissemination of knowledge, with respect to climate technology transfer and financing.
- Enabling the scaling up of technology transfer through policy, institutional and organizational reforms of the country and regional enabling environments.
- Integrating climate change technologies into investment programmes and projects.
The ACTC was established in July 2014 and is housed in the Climate Change and Green Growth Department of the AfDB.
The project originated within the policy arm of the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP16) Technology Mechanism, established to support adaptation and mitigation activities in developing countries. Consequently, the Global Environment Facility set aside funding to finance the set up of regional climate technology transfer and financing centres, and networks with regional multilateral development banks.
The centre focuses on the water sector for adaptation and on the energy sector for mitigation. For the Energy part, the ACTC supports the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SEforALL).
PCLG international is a network for people who work in conservation, development and indigenous/local community rights. We share information and promote exchange on the links between people and conservation, including on issues of governance, equity, and human wellbeing.
The international network shares the latest news, opportunities, and research through our newsletters with a specific focus on Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean and Latin America. Key themes of people and conservation that we include are:
- ‘Community-based’ conservation, forest managament, wildlife management, and natural resource management
- Conflict, including human-wildlife conflict
- Culture, indigeneity, and religion
- Ecosystem services
- Gender
- Governance, justice, equity and human rights
- Human wellbeing and poverty
- Hunting (subsistence, traditional, trophy)
- Incentives, including payments for ecosystem services
- Social impacts of protected and conserved areas
- Wildlife trade (legal and illegal)
The network is coordinated by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
There are three PCLG national groups located in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Each group has a particular interest in the conservation of critically endangered great ape species. PCLG national groups define their own agendas related to conservation and development and are involved in research, communication and advocacy activities. IIED provides technical support to the national groups.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION OF TANZANIA was formally registered as Non Governmental Organization (NGO) on 17th August 1992. The Association earnestly seeks to assist the development of the environmental preservation and also to supplement the efforts and endeavors undertaken by the National Environmental Management Council and other various authorities and bodies at the expertise level.
The Association formed on 28th August 2008 ENATA Ltd as a commercial wing to carryout consulting services in the areas of Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) and Audit inspection, Technical feasibility studies, Economic and Financial evaluation, Sustainable Consumption and Production.The company is registered with BRELA Certificate No.67242.
Ajima Farms Energy Division is an exciting, young social enterprise located in Nigeria that seeks to promote energy access in rural off-grid communities. Their Waste-2-Watt project uses biogas to generate electricity. Through targeting energy access to productive activities, Fatima, the founder of Waste-2-Watt, seeks to ‘transform off-grid communities by expanding energy access for socio-economic development.’ We asked Fatima and Sabrina, from the finance advisory team at BfE, for some more insights into the journey that Ajima Farms has taken so far.
The Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP) is a partnership between the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) and the Born Free Foundation, which provides an ideal platform from which to address wildlife conservation. The EWCP operates under the auspices of the IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group, and additionally collaborates with the University of Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Debre Zeit, Gonder, and Wondo Genet in Ethiopia, and Universities of Glasgow, Leiden, South Bohemia and the Zoological Society of London, among others.
EWCP operates in Ethiopia under Memoranda of Understanding agreements between the WildCRU and the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA) at a federal level, and the Oromia Forest and Wildlife Enterprise (OFWE) and Amhara Culture, Tourism and Parks Development Bureau at a regional level. In addition, EWCP works closely with the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) and the Born Free Foundation Ethiopia (BFFE). EWCP has long established and excellent working relationships with all these organisations. In addition, the Programme seeks the support and cooperation of local authorities for all field activities in all areas.