Kenya: UN Agency to Showcase Interventions in Community Development

 By Henry Neondo

NAIROBI---Foreign Investor Surveys by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNIDO, show that there are many opportunities for increasing local procurement in Africa by transnational enterprises, provided there is sufficient government support or support from private sector associations for strengthening domestic industry-TNC linkages.

According to a statement from UNIDO, the improvement of competitiveness will require governments to begin promoting better technologies and quality assurance and contributing to improved productivity.

The organization, a specialized agency of the UN that works towards improving the quality of life of the world’s poor by helping countries achieve sustainable industrial development as a means of creating employment and income in order to overcome poverty, aims to help governments in Africa by regularly showcasing their interventions in community development and poverty alleviation.

The first showcase is to be held in Kenya at this year’s UN Day exhibition to be held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre 22 – 23 October.

Energy supply is a basic requirement for sustainable development yet it is lacking in most of the rural populations in Kenya.

UNIDO in partnership with the Government of Kenya identified the need to harness renewable energy in these rural areas to produce power that would be used in productive applications that generate income and contribute significantly to alleviation of poverty.

This project was initially designed to establish clusters of Community Power Centres (CPCs) five in each cluster, powered by zero-emission hybrid renewable energy technologies such as micro hydro, biogas, wind, solar and straight vegetable oil fed Engine-Generators. The CPC’s provide power for lighting and productive activities to off-grid villages with a primary focus on the Millennium Villages and districts of Kenya.

The Millennium Villages in Kenya, established in cooperation with the Earth Institute of Columbia University, are located in areas far removed from the electric grid or in areas with erratic and unreliable power supplies.

The development objective of the project is to stimulate local economic development and help alleviate poverty in regions cut off from the power grid. The electricity produced from the renewable energy systems can be used to run small agro-processing and other essential enterprises.

Community-owned business support services at rural district business centres are assisted and educational opportunities improved through CPC facilities.

Through energy- efficient lighting such as LED lamps to replace fossil fuel-guzzling, smoky kerosene lamps, quality of life in the villages would be raised.

For example, a project involving 10 Community Power Centres would offset approximately 5,000 tons of green house gas emissions per year, and avoid the costs of importing 1.5 million litres of diesel every year to produce the same amount of electricity.

Lighting up Kenya - Kerosene Replacement

UNIDO has also been promoting the use of rechargeable LED lamps to replace kerosene lamps countrywide. These lamps contain a simple battery and can be charged by either electricity or solar power at the energy kiosks and cost only Ksh 2000 (US$25)– an amount that UNIDO has arranged for financing with institutions such as the Kenya Women’s Finance Trust.

The UNIDO Initiative, “Lighting Up Kenya”, has so far succeeded in developing over ten energy kiosks, also known as community power centres, around the country. These centres have created employment and act as a distribution point for the sale of UNIDO designed and developed LED lamps, that are currently replacing the kerosene lamps countrywide.

The key objective of a village power centres or energy kiosks is to promote the use of electricity for productive use, instead of restricting it to consumptive use.

The centre also promotes income-generating activities that will in the long run improve the quality of life in rural areas through the provision of clean energy. It will furthermore increase the opportunities for gainful employment by using the energy to add value to local produce.

Presently up to two billion people worldwide lack access to modern energy services. The  vast majority live in rural areas in the poorest regions of the world. The crucial link between energy and poverty has made this an issue of major importance for the international community and governments of developing countries.

Biogas Project - UNIDO- UNEP- KIRDI

A biogas project was set up by the Nyongara Slaughter House management in partnership with UNIDO, UNEP, Rottaler Model and KIRDI. This project was implemented to demonstrate that the waste should not be a health hazard to the community but can be turned into an asset.

The Nyongara Slaughter House is located in Dagorretti on the outskirts of Nairobi. Dagorretti is an area famous with the presence of slaughter houses that supply meat to different regions in Nairobi and its environs.

This region however faces environmental challenges in regard to waste management produced from the slaughter houses leading to some of the slaughterhouses being shut down.

Under the “Cleaning Up Nairobi River” project, UNEP requested UNIDO to develop a business model that slaughterhouses can use to manage their waste. UNIDO identified the High Performance Temperature Controlled (HPTC) biogas digester model marketed by Rottaler as most suitable based on the previous implementations at the Bungoma Municipal slaughterhouse and the Homa Bay Municipal Slaughterhouse, that have also been implemented by UNIDO, KIRDI and the Rottaler Model.

This is the third HPTC Biogas project UNIDO is completing in Kenya and with the support of Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Industrialization would like to implement this model of biogas digesters as a standard in all midsize abattoirs in Kenya.

UNIDO will also look into establishing mini tanneries to process raw hides and skin to wet blue, which would further facilitate effective waste treatment as well as energy and employment generation in and around the slaughter houses.

This project  showcases not only what can be achieved by converting waste into an asset but also the achievements of creating synergies with the private sector, Government and NGOs in producing sustainable energy.