Country Context

The remote Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua is the poorest region of the country in economic terms. The communities living there have little access to electricity which is not only a barrier for education and income generating activities but severely restricts the level of health care available. For the community living in Monkey Point, a three hour boat trip (or ten hour walk if the sea is too rough) from the nearest hospital, renewable energy is not just important for powering lights or charging mobile phones but it can save lives too.

Programme Summary

At the start of 2011, Renewable World supported local partner blueEnergy to install a solar system in the community of Monkey Point to provide power for lighting and appliances at the local health centre, including a solar powered fridge for storing vaccines and medicines. However, access to clean water for medical purposes is still a problem.

The health centre has a well which provides water for basic needs (washing hands, boiling water, cleaning the centre etc) but the extraction of water is manual and the buckets are for common use which can lead to the contamination of the water that will be consumed at the health centre. The time and effort involved in lifting water manually from the well also presents an issue in the case of an emergency. In order to reduce the labour involved in collecting water and to improve the hygiene of the water used inside the health centre, Renewable World will support blueEnergy to install a solar powered electric pump to pump water from the well to a central tank with a piping system that will distribute water from the tank to the health centre by gravity.

Partner Support

Renewable World’s input into this programme activity is the provision of social investment and financing. On a longer term basis we aim to provide support in the area of governance and institution building to support blueEnergy through a period of growth. We also aim to support and enhance their analysis of the long term cash flows of interventions, in particular the consideration of both supplier and end user finances.

Implementation

Installation of a solar powered electric pump and storage tank with piping system

Training of a local community member in the maintenance of the system

Impacts

Reduction of time and effort in collecting water manually – a job which is usually left to women or children, allowing them to spend time on other more productive things like attending school or earning an income.

Improved facilities at the health centre through a continuous supply of clean water for use in medical procedures as well as to keep the centre clean.

Improved health of the local community through preventing contamination through reducing the need to use communal buckets for water collection.