Public lectures and discussions in Maldive Islands to achieve carbon neutrality by 2020

2.0 Promotional activities in Sri Lanka

One of the best mechanisms to pass new knowledge to the general public is through our younger generations. Therefore, Dharme continues to deliver public lectures to school children, social gatherings and conferences on this subject to improve public awareness on sustainable development using clean energy technologies. During this visit, these lectures were delivered at Nalanda College/Colombo, Gateway Int. Nat. school/Kandy, Pilot solar village/Anuradhapura and in the Solar Asia 2011 conference in Kandy

.Public awareness lectures in Sri Lanka to achieve sustainable development using green energytechnologies

3.0 Third monitoring meeting of the pilot solar village

The third annual monitoring meeting of the pilot solar village was held on 24th July, after the project's opening in September 2008. Over 300 people from the cluster of 3 villages and officials from the Provincial Council and Education Department attended this meeting in the village primary school. This meeting clearly provided evidence and power of empowerment of our village communities for their own development. The signs of economic development are clearly shown by the improvement of housing, rapid increase of motor vehicles in the villages, use of mobile phones etc., but the village temple renovation project completed during the past year was really impressive. The village community managed to raise one million Sri Lankan Rupees and completed the renovation within a year demonstrating their organizing and implementation capabilities. They are also repairing their roads by voluntary work, and decided to build a 20’x 60’ permanent building for their village primary school. The foundation stone was laid during this meeting and the aim is to open the building during the 4th monitoring meeting in July 2012. The positive attitude and abilities of our village communities in Sri Lanka is impressive, and they deserve to live in a fully developed environment. Laying a foundation stone for a new school building during the third monitoring meeting at the pilot solar village at KaduruwewaThree years ago this primary school had only 20 children and it was earmarked for closing due to the low number of children enrolled. The Principal, Mr. Lansakara was instrumental in getting things together and today, it has all necessary facilities (electricity, running water, 2 computers, wireless internet facilities, etc.) and increased the student number to 40. The school has been promoted to a higher grade from the bottom of the ranking list. The Principal has also won a few awards for his good work.Although the rapid economic development is obvious, the real challenge is to get some of the men out of their detrimental habits. In the dry zone of Sri Lanka, the main occupation is farming and most of the men are free from farming activities for nearly 4-5 months. This is the time the vulnerable young men go astray doing nothing useful but smoking, drinking and gambling. In the solar village, about 60% of these people have returned back to the right track over the past three years but some are still in that trap ruining their valuable lives and future of their families.

The secret is to keep them busy in various interesting development activities so that they do not get into that nasty trap.

4.0 “Solar Asia 2011 conference

The “Solar Asia” conference series is another initiative to accelerate and enhance research,development, commercialization and application in the Asian continent. Institute of Fundamental Studies (IFS) has taken the leading role together with APSL members to attract solar energy researchers from local and regional universities and research institutes. As the “solar energy revolution” is taking place round the globe, it is timely to accelerate this process in the region, in order to share new knowledge and capacity building. Fossil fuels have done a wonderful job in developing two thirds of the global population, however it has also created in this process some severe environmental issues. Time has come to use fossil fuel in an efficient way and to rapidly introduce renewables, which are capable of providing “Energy for All” without polluting the environment. Solar energy is at the top of the renewables list and hence these conferences have crucial roles to play at the present time. The first conference in this series attracted about 120 participants from 9 different countries. The events at the conference were excellent and this series will continue well in to the future. Dharme is working with his Nigerian contacts to initiate “Solar Africa” series in order to continue in alternative years. These two continents are blessed with more than enough solar energy and can be tapped effectively to drastically change the living standards of people in these regions.

5.0 APSL Awards Ceremony

The APSL-Awards scheme was introduced in order to positively contribute to the sustainabledevelopment of Sri Lanka. The first stage of APSL-Awards in collaboration with the Institute ofResearch and Development (IRD) was introduced in July 2010 in order to get active engagement of the general public with the Sri Lankan Government’s rapid development process. Sixteen to nineteen year old pupils were invited to write an essay on the five most important issues relevant to the development of their districts, after discussions with their relatives, teachers and colleagues. The island-wide essay competition was widely publicised by the Sunday Times, Veerakesari and Lankadeepa newspapers, and submissions closed on 31st December 2010.A good response was received as 110 essays were submitted from 19 districts. The first stage of the assessment was carried out by teachers at the National Institute of Education (NIE), and the best 20 essays were forwarded to the APSL Committee in London. The second stage of assessment consisted of three independent examiners for each essay and a professional examination board took place to determine the winners. Eight finalists were selected from all three media (Sinhala, Tamil and English) and the following adjudged winners.Name of Winner- SchoolEnglish:Mr Shehan Mohammed-- St. Sylvester's College,KandyTamil:Miss Thamodhiram Ghaanaroobiini - Sri Ganesha Tamil Maha Vidyalayam, KoslanMiss M H Fatima Hasna- St. Joseph Balika Maha Vidyalaya, KegalleMr V. Kobishanth- St. Sylvester's College, Kandy

Sinhalese:Miss E M T Eshani Ekanayake - Ibbagamuwa Central College, KurunegalaMiss H A K Eshani Hettiarachchi- D S Senanayake Jathika Pasela, Meerigama, GampahaMr T H Maduranga Talakotuna- Vijitha Madya Maha Vidyalaya, Pulasthigama, PollonnaruwaMiss R D E Muthumali Wijendra- Ibbagamuwa Central College, Kurunegala

The Award Ceremony took place at the conclusion of “Solar Asia 2011” Conference held at theInstitute for Fundamental Studies (IFS) in Kandy during 28-30 July 2011. The proud winners with their parents and teachers joined over 125 participants of this international solar energy conference. Each winner collected their trophy, a framed certificate and Rs 10,000 cash prize in a ceremony in the presence of a learned scientific community boosting their confidence for rapid progress in their chosen fields. The winners were congratulated by a large group of international scientists after which they faced the photographers including a group photograph with these distinguished guests. The ideas that came through the grass-root level are extremely important and interesting for the rapid progress in sustainable development of Sri Lanka. These ideas will be widely disseminated in the future for the benefit of all concerned.APSL is currently designing the second stage of APSL-Award scheme in order to convert bright and innovative ideas into manufacturing of useful products to help communities. APSL was represented by its Immediate Past President Prof I.M. Dharmadasa, Vice President DrIndrajit Coomaraswamy, and two members, Mr Ajith Weerasinghe and Dr Chesmal Siriwardena.Both IRD & NIE were represented by Dr Godwin Kodithuwakku, Aruna Walisundara, CharmaliJayasinghe and Dr Anushka Adhikari.The APSL & IRD gratefully acknowledge the support of the International Conference on Information and Automation for Sustainability (www.iciafs.org), the generous contribution of Rs 25,000 made to cover expenses of preparing trophies and certificates for the winners in this essay competition. Our grateful thanks go out to IFS and Solar Asia 2011 organisers led by Prof C. B. Dissanayake and Prof Lakshman Dissanayake for their invaluable contributions to make this Award Ceremony a success.

APSL-Awards ceremony took place at IFS in Kandy on 30th July 2011

6.0 Discussions with Industry & Government Authorities for future projects

Dharme also spent considerable time in Colombo and Kandy to discuss with Industrial andGovernment Authorities to design and develop future projects. One project is to introduce smallindustries to the solar villages. These will benefit from enhanced food production in thesecommunities to hygienically preserve food and distribute to required areas such as urbancommunities. Solar dried vegetables and fruits are high quality, and create new jobs and wealth in all parts of the country, eventually developing a healthy export business earning foreign exchange. This kind of job creation within the country is the only way to discourage poor people leaving their young families to work in other parts of the world, with long term detrimental effects. Dharme is due to address all established Industries in Colombo, in December 2011 during “Global Scientists Forum”organized by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Sri Lanka.Discussions were also conducted with the Director of NSF and the Secretary of the Ministry ofResearch & Technology on various other projects. After experimenting with the first stage of “APSL – Awards”, a Team is designing the second stage of APSL-Awards having high impact

on sustainable development. The focus is to convert bright and innovative ideas into manufacturing of products in “Green Energy Technologies”. The above discussions were aimed at getting the right support from the Government and Industry in Sri Lanka.

Renewable Hubs

1.0 The Concept of Renewable HubsMission: To Educate, Inspire & Facilitate renewable energy projects or ‘hubs’ whichaccelerate the social & economic development of underprivileged communities in thedeveloping world.A renewable ‘hub’ describes a stand alone, easily reproducible renewable energy projectthat benefits a community both directly and indirectly through spin-off enterprisesfacilitated or inspired by the original hub. In the future we envisage many different typesof renewable hub, but our flagship renewable hub which was successfully piloted in Sri-Lanka in 2008 focuses on the use of solar energy to provide free running water tounderprivileged rural communities.2.0 BackgroundThroughout the world there are many isolated rural communities that do not have easy oraffordable access to running water. Communities who do have a nearby water source areforced either to spend many hours fetching water by hand or to rely on increasinglyexpensive (and polluting) diesel pumps to transfer water into reservoir tanks.Villages are finding it increasingly difficult to meet the cost of running these waterpumps. The alternative of fetching water by hand inevitably leads to wastage of manyhours of productive man power that could be better used for agriculture, commerce andeducation within a community.As the cost of fossil fuel increases, the problem of supplying affordable running water toisolated communities will intensify and stifle the social and economic development ofsome of the world’s poorest communities.

3.0 Pilot Project: Solar Water Pumping Hub, Kaduruwewa Village, Sri-Lanka 2008

Through a donation to the Helasarana charity and under the guidance of Prof.Dharmadasa, an old and expensive diesel water pump in the Kurunegala district (part ofSri Lanka’s Dry Zone) was replaced by a solar driven water pumping system. Thepumping system provides about 500 Watts of power to pump water, free of charge, froma closed well to 125 village homes via a storage tank. The original infrastructure for thewater supply system was built by the World Vision programme and villagers in the area.Prior to the installation of the solar water pump, each village home paid approximatelyRs 150 per month into a central village fund, which was then used to purchase diesel forthe original water pump. With the cost of fuel increasing, the cost of running the originalpump was becoming prohibitively expensive for the villagers, many of whom make avery modest living through farming.Since its installation in June 2008, the solar water pump has been a great success,providing free running water for over 125 homes. An unexpected benefit from thisproject has been that it has brought the villagers together and they have collectively madethe decision to continue contributing what they would normally have paid for diesel intoa new village managed fund to develop their local school through new equipment, booksand scholarships.

Kurunegala Renewable Hub Quick Facts:

Capital cost of solar powered water pumping system = c.£3000 Sterling. Number of homes provided with free running water = 125 Annual saving for village = Rs 100,000 (c. £500 sterling) Storage tank capacity = 30,000 liters Lifespan of solar panels = 25 yrs Lifespan of water pump = >10 yrs Potential and actual spin-off benefits from the solar water-pumping hub: A village fund from saved diesel money for purchasing equipment andproviding scholarships to the local school. Education of rural communities of the potential benefits and widerapplications of renewable energy- an educational display is planned at the siteof this first pump explaining what solar energy is, how it works and its widerapplications as a resource for local villagers and schools. Drip irrigation systems for local agriculture and commerce.

4.0 Reproducibility

This pilot solar water pump has great potential for reproducibility both within Sri Lankaand throughout the developing world. It meets the criteria for a renewable hub because itis a stand alone project that can be installed in nearly any rural community, it providesfree water for a large number of villagers through a sustainable, clean energy source andit has already spawned the first of many indirect benefits, namely a village fund fromsaved diesel money to develop a local school.It is hoped that future funding of similar renewable hubs across the developing world willbe through a mixture of individual altruism, regional and international companies as wellas governmental and non-governmental organisations. In addition to the obvioushumanitarian benefits of assisting with the social and economic development of some ofthe poorest rural communities in the world, organisations are encouraged to note thepositive PR and publicity they will gain through their sponsorship of these hubs. Thewebsite www.renewablehubs.com will showcase individual case studies of successfulrenewable hubs as a way of educating and inspiring further projects and linking likeminded individuals and organisations.

5.0 Off-setting Carbon Emissions

Companies and organisations that are looking to offset their carbon footprint to meetinternational targets may in the future be able to use their funding of these projects tooffset their own carbon emissions.

6.0 Other Potential Renewable Hub Ideas

Solar/wind powered drip irrigation systems for organic farming Solar/wind powered computer labs for schools Solar/ wind powered charging stations for battery powered agricultural equipmentProf. I.M. Dharmadasa Correspondence: E-mail: dharme@shu.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)114 225 6910Dr Krishan DeheragodaDr Asela Dharmadasa

Mr Mervyn Silva