Green Empowerment has been selected as one of three finalists for the international Energy Globe Award in the “Water” category, for a series of solar water pumping projects in Nicaragua with partner AsoFenix. To say we’re excited would be a vast understatement!
Nominations were chosen from a pool of 800 projects in 110 countries. A winner in each category will be selected at the Energy Globe Awards ceremony preceding the informal meeting of European Environment ministers in Prague on April 14th. The winner will receive 10,000 euros.
Our own Michel Maupoux will represent Green Empowerment at the formal Energy Globe Awards in Prague. Invitees to the meeting also include Carol Browner, climate advisor of US President Barack Obama, And our Thai partner, Border Green Energy Team. The event will be a televised gala that is viewed worldwide.
Green Empowerment was singled out as one of the top three organizations in the world for its “Solar Water Pumping and Community Empowerment” projects in Nicaragua. Green Empowerment worked with Nicaraguan partner Asofenix to construct three solar water pumps in rural Nicaragua between 2004 and 2007, bringing water to the homes of 960 people who previously had to haul buckets long distances. These projects dramatically improve health and well being with environmentally sound alternative energy.
“Many of the challenges facing rural communities in developing countries can now be addressed by the use of simple, cost-effective sustainable systems like the solar water pump,” said Gordy Molitor, Executive Director, Green Empowerment. “However, moving forward, one of our goals is to assist with extended deployment of these systems by local organizations on a more regional level. The recognition by the Energy Globe Awards jury is a welcome validation of this work.”
Solar water pumping catalyzed community efforts to construct latrines, home gardens, build biogas digesters, showers and hand-washing stations. Each village organized to self-manage the systems, collects a tariff to maintain them, and elects a technician to operate the systems. Green Empowerment helped install a fourth solar pump in 2008 and has further plans for 2009 and beyond for more regional projects throughout rural Nicaragua.
The Energy Globe Award distinguishes projects that sustainably use our resources such as water, earth, energy and air or use renewable energy forms. Awards are given nationally and internationally in the categories Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Youth. The Awards were established in 1999.
In addition to acknowledgment of Green Empowerment’s work, the Energy Globe has also recognized two of its partners. Thai partner Border Green Energy Team is the national winner for Burma and a finalist in the Fire category for the “Burma Solar Clinic and Hospital Project”, and Peruvian partner Practical Action has won the national Award for Peru for “Renewable Energy for Community Empowerment in Peru”. Last year’s top nominees included SIBAT for “Fire” and AIDFI for “Water”.
We are deeply grateful to our partners and to our donors for bringing this distinction to our shared work.
