Renewable Energy Technologies
We’re fighting a specific kind of poverty in Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: energy poverty. Electricity and fuel are either unavailable or very expensive, especially in rural areas. Children often learn in classrooms that don’t have enough heat and study by candlelight at night. The limited fuels that are available pollute the environment and damage the health of the people who use them.
Working with local organizations, we're helping families install and use renewable technologies instead. That means solar panels for electricity. Solar water heaters so that houses and schools have hot water. Solar dryers for fruits and vegetables so tha families or cooperatives can preserve and sell produce. Greenhouses to expand vegetable production. Composting toilets that turn waste into compost. Briquette presses so that families can turn yard waste into a fuel source to use and sell.
Through this program, families have electricity. Schools have hot water. Cooperatives have income streams. More people have jobs. And our world is cleaner.
Fighting Energy Poverty in Georgia
Latest Updates
Portable solar panels mean electricity and easier living for families in Herzegovina
Morine is a hut settlement high in the mountains of the Herzegovina region in Bosnia-Herzegovina. For centuries, people in this area have been practicing a nomadic lifestyle and are well-known for cattle breeding and producing cheese. The roughly 20 families in Morine are dedicated to preserving their tradition of cattle breeding far from industrialized farms. But in order to make …
Hot water for kindergartens in Moldova
Energy is expensive in Moldova. The nation doesn’t have fossil fuels of its own, so fuels like coal and natural gas are imported. That means that many of the things that we may take for granted, like electricity and hot water, are extremely expensive for families in rural Moldova. We’re helping change this equation through our Renewable Energy Technologies program. …
Greenhouses and Solar Dryers in rural Moldova
Moldova is one of the poorest nations in Europe, and this is even more pronounced in rural areas. We’re teaming up with local partner Ormax to help families here find sustainable new ways to earn an income without damaging the environment. In the village of Zguriţa, we’re piloting a program that will help families earn extra money and help more …