The main objective of HERA is to further mainstream sustainable household energy management into relevant projects and programmes to ensure basic energy security for households and small businesses. Basic energy security in the context of HERA covers thermal energy for cooking, baking, heating and productive uses. The beneficiaries of the project are households and small businesses; low-income groups, with a special focus on Africa. The intermediaries for integration of basic energy security are projects and partners in development cooperation working in the areas of energy, environment, rural development, food security and health. HERA is working at four different levels: lobbing for household energy, advising projects, coordination of knowledge management and networking and further development of household energy concepts and strategies.
Contact Information
Our Focus
Partner projects/members of the network are found globally: Africa: South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Kenya, Uganda, Namibia, Ethiopia, Senegal, Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso. Asia: Afghanistan. Latin America: Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras target group: rural and semi-urban population; households depending on biomass fuels (financially not strong groups). scale: community up to national and regional level
Our Experience And Interest In The Four PCIA Central Focus Areas
(Supporting) Awareness campaigns, which are supposed to create interest in new technologies. Kitchen/household management techniques are going along with the introduction of improved stoves and provide the necessary skills for efficient fuel-usage.
Improved stove are market products, commercially produced by qualified producers and sold to households, with an increasing demand. Affordable, convenient, attractive and efficient stoves are on the market. Only a commercial approach where all costs of production and selling including benefits are covered will ensure sustainable market introduction. Subsidy and self-help based approaches do not lead to a sustainable usage. In order to keep improved stoves affordable, the public sector (governments and donors) are challenged to support.
Qualification of producers is achieved by technology and marketing trainings. Further steps (undertaken and under development) are labelling and standardizing the different stove types to position them in the market; and to distinguish them from non-quality stoves.
Improved stoves avoiding indoor air polllution. Stoves don't have a chimney, since it is a factor for heat loss. Instead under HERA we promote technologies with improved combustion, so that ideal firing produces very limited up to zero (depending on the stove type) smoke. Cooperation with ITDG, who carried out tests and evaluations considering indoor air pollution. Cooperation with WHO, concerning health & improved stoves.
Relevant Publications or Studies
SADC region: questionnaire assessment on impacts - user enquiry via producers Malawi: impact assessment - social, enviromental and economic impacts were assessed examplarily in Malawi
Our Contribution to the Partnership
HERA is functioning as a network and can contribute as networker and create contacts between groups of similar interest. HERA provides information to its network and could increase the information exchange with PCIA. HERA does lobbying for Household Energy Topics - cooperation can be very effective and efficient in this context. Further exchange in knowledge and experience on - training - technologies - further development - sustainable biomass supply - alternative fuels - awareness campaigns
