Introduction
This toolkit is intended to be used as a resource by Christian Aid Programme and
Partner Staff in order to enable them to design and plan decentralised renewable
energy projects better. The toolkit should be equally useful to staff designing
energy access projects, as well as those integrating energy access elements into
projects with wider objectives (e.g. secure livelihoods).
The toolkit aims to:
• Provide a resource that can be used to increase the awareness of staff
and partners of the opportunities provided by pro-poor energy
interventions
• Provide practical guidelines and advice that can be used to assist project
planning, proposal development and review processes.
It is intended to support the ongoing development of a body of work on pro-poor
energy that supports the development of the Pan Africa Narrative and helps us
achieve the vision and objectives set out in Turning Hope Into Action.
The toolkit is not intended to be prescriptive. It provides case studies and
guidelines that can be adapted to the context of particular countries.
The toolkit is designed as a gateway to a series of other resources, tools,
organisations, approaches and technologies which can be explored in more depth
via links, as relevant to the particular project context. The toolkit is arranged so as
to guide users through the key considerations linked to designing renewable
energy projects, with links to further information provided throughout as well as a
comprehensive references section in the annexes. The toolkit is provided as a
PDF file with clickable links, which can be downloaded, e-mailed or transferred on
CD or memory sticks for easy dissemination.
Although it does not aim to be a complete guide in and of itself, the toolkit aims to
guide practitioners towards best available practice in the sector, and in this way to
assist Christian Aid in optimising planning and promotion of pro-poor and
commercially sustainable decentralised energy installations.
Renewable Energy to Reduce Poverty in Africa
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