Lao Institute for Renewable Energy 

LIRE 

Final Report 2011 -# HP-ETC-11-001 

Pico-hydropower Innovation and Capacity Building Program – Phase 2 

Thongsanti B. Vongsaly, Sopha Soulineyadeth, Hatthaphone 

Sisouvong, Silvia Vicente, Tom Koskella and Leon Gaillard 

Vientiane Capital 

March 2011 

About us 

LIRE is a social professional non-profit organisation dedicated to the sustainable development of a self sufficient renewable energy sector in the Lao PDR. The institute offers agronomical, technological and socio-economic research services, and works to provide a free public resource of information and advice on the use of renewable energy technologies in Laos. LIRE strives to support the development of the country by exploring commercially viable means to establish renewable energy technologies in rural parts of the country, in areas without connection to the national grid and with little access to technical expertise. 

Table of Contents 

1  Introduction...................................................................................................................... 6 

2  Narrative Report............................................................................................................... 6 

2.1  Project Objectives....................................................................................................... 6 

2.2  People Involved in the Project....................................................................................... 7 

2.2.1  LIRE Staff Team................................................................................................... 7 

2.2.2  Other People Involved........................................................................................... 7 

2.2.3  Government Civil Servants (Provinces and Districts)................................................. 8 

2.2.4  ETC/EASE Contact People.................................................................................... 9 

2.3  List of Activities Conducted......................................................................................... 9 

2.3.1  Information Workshops for Shop Owners................................................................. 9 

2.3.2  Results and Feedback from Information Workshops for Shop Owners........................ 10 

2.3.3  Technical Advisor Training in Three Provinces....................................................... 11 

2.3.4  Results and Feedback on Technical Advisor Training............................................... 12 

2.3.5  Development of a Pico-hydropower Installation and User Manual in Lao Language

and Other Educational Materials...................................................................................13 

2.3.6  Introduction of Electronic Load Controller (ELC) in Lao Market............................... 16 

2.4  National Workshop.................................................................................................... 17 

3  Results........................................................................................................................... 18 

3.1  Information Workshops for Shop Keepers.................................................................... 18 

3.2  Technical Advisor Training in Three Provinces............................................................. 20 

3.2.1  Installation and User Manual and other Educational Materials................................... 21 

3.2.2  Introduction of Electronic Load Controller in the Lao Market.................................... 22 

3.3  Access..................................................................................................................... 23 

3.4  Control..................................................................................................................... 24 

3.5  Sharing.................................................................................................................... 25 

4  Lessons Learned.............................................................................................................. 26 

4.1  Evaluation Summary.................................................................................................. 27 

4.2  Future Vision of LIRE’s Role in the Pico-Hydropower Sector......................................... 28 

5  Financial Report.............................................................................................................. 29 

5.1  Budget and Actual Expenditures.................................................................................. 29 

5.2  Overview Advances and Invoices................................................................................ 31 

5.2.1  Advances........................................................................................................... 31 

5.2.2  Partial Invoices (Actual Expenditures).................................................................... 31 

6  Appendices.................................................................................................................31 

6.1  Appendix I: Testing Questions.................................................................................... 31 

6.2  Appendix II: List of Deliverables.................................................................................35 

6.3  Appendix III: Minute of Project Completion Workshop....................................................36 

6.4  Power Point Presentation of Project Completion Workshop..............................................38 

6.5  Appendix V: Monitoring Protocol.................................................................................48 

Table of Tables 

Table 1: Government civil servants in provincial level and district level............................................... 8 

Table 2: Summary of trained shops in targeted provinces.................................................................... 10 

Table 3: Summary of positive and negative feedbacks from the shops................................................ 11 

Table 4: Number of technical advisors trained in each province and district....................................... 12 

Table 5: Summary of positive and negative feedbacks from VTA training......................................... 13 

Table 6: Summary of manual, VDO, posters distributed in target and non targeted areas................... 15 

Table 7: Feedback summary of technical document............................................................................. 16 

Table 8: Feedback summary of ELC.................................................................................................... 17 

Table 9: Financial report....................................................................................................................... 30 

Table 10: Advances and invoices summary.......................................................................................... 31 

Table 11: Partial invoice summary....................................................................................................... 31 

Table of Figures 

Figure 1: Information workshop session................................................................................................. 9 

Figure 2 Shop owners workshop............................................................................................................. 9 

Figure 3: VTA theory training.............................................................................................................. 11 

Figure 4: Channel improved by VTA................................................................................................... 12 

Figure 5: Pico-hydropower manual  Figure 6: Pico-hydropower VDO training............................................ 14    

Figure 7: Poster posted on the shop...................................................................................................... 15 

Figure 8: ELC tested in the field.  Figure 9: ELC tested at FoE lab before installed at the field........................ 16 

Figure 10: National Workshop in Vientiane Capital................................................................................... 18 

1INTRODUCTION

Pico-hydropower is a term used for small scale hydropower installations, producing up to a 5kW power rating. This is not a new technology in Laos and has existed for more than 20 years in countless villages. One reason for this wide utilisation is the low cost of and the market accessibility to the required equipment and the ease of access the pico-hydropower is popularly used in rural areas where the main grid cannot reach. Estimates give a value of 60,000 low-head pico-hydropower units, providing electricity to around 90,000 households. Current challenges of this technology include the low quality of hardware, risk of electrocution and breaking of electric devices and light bulbs. Many of these problems have been overcome by innovation within the supply chain: users, village technicians, shopkeepers, traders and producers.  

In 2008 LIRE initiated research on pico-hydropower and found opportunities for scaling up and improving the quality, safety, efficiency and reliability of pico-hydropower technology through existing and potential new market channels. Between 2008 and 2010 LIRE undertook the Picohydropower Innovation and Capacity Building Program, funded by the Dutch NGO ETC Energy. The program’s objectives are to provide the required knowledge within communities via various training initiatives, and to create useful and relevant technical documents for dissemination.   Four main activities were ultimately chosen:  

•             Information workshops for shop owners 
•             Technical training for selected technical advisors 
•             Introduction of Electronic Load Controller (ELC) into local market 
•             Development of the Pico-hydropower installation and user manual in Lao language 

This report is divided into three main parts: introduction, further narrative and the financial report. The report as a whole summarizes all activities conducted in three targeted provinces: Xiengkhuang as the pilot province, Huaphanh and Phongsaly as the extended provinces. The outcomes of the four main activities and results from the last two field trips during September and October 2010 on monitoring and evaluation are integrated in several sections of this report. 

2NARRATIVEREPORT

2.1Project Objectives 

Following the completion of capacity building within LIRE during the first Phase of the project (Phase 1), the second phase aims at provincial level implementation. The objectives of this second phase are similar to the first, and include the following outputs: 

1)    Informational workshops for shop owners: These workshops are targeted at shop owners, who sell the pico-hydropower turbines and spare parts such as windings, bearings and cables. The workshops will provide not only information and support to shop owners to improve their sales, but also improve the quality and safety of pico-hydropower units available.  

2)    Technical advisor training: Technical Advisors are trained experts consisting of technical staff from Provincial and District Department of Energy and Mines, literate and experienced picohydropower users in target villages or other technicians in the area. They will be able to provide advice on installing, optimizing and maintaining pico-hydropower systems while focussing on safety. 

3)    Development of a pico-hydropower Installation and User Manual in Lao language and targeted at Lao PDR uses. The manual is written in Lao language and uses graphics to address the main points, ensuring the widest possible access among villagers. The manuals are distributed to shop owners, Village Technical Advisors and government staff to be provided at product purchase, consultation or inquiries.  

4)    Introduce Electronic Load Controller (ELC) into the Lao market: This device is not yet in use in Lao PDR and needs to be introduced into the existing market. The electronic load controller is a device that stabilizes the excess voltage in the pico-hydropower grid. It significantly increases the lifetime of household appliances. 

In summary, the overall goals of the program are to scale up and improve the quality, safety, efficiency and reliability of pico-hydropower technology through existing and potential new market channels in three target provinces in Laos.  

2.2People Involved in the Project 

2.2.1LIRE Staff Team 

Mr. Thongsanti B.Vongsaly, Project Manager (100%, full time): 

Main tasks: Project planning, financial administration and management, report writing, liaison with ETC, liaison with governmental counterparts, advocacy for ETC/LIRE towards external organisations. 

Mr. Soulineyadeth Sopha, Technical Officer (100%): 

Main tasks: Information collection, field measurements, data entry and analysis, supporting report writing, liaison with French speaking organisations.  

Mr. Hattaphone Sisouvong, Project Technical Assistant (100%): 

Main tasks: Assist in providing training, assist in market surveys and field surveys, assist in monitoring and evaluation, setting up database and Stakeholder profiles, create pico-hydropower ETC materials, document filing, assist in LIRE-ETC administrative tasks. 

Mrs. Chansamone Khaovong, Accountant and Office Manager (25%): 

Main tasks: Review current accounting system and contribute to set up a new accounting system, daily office management and accounting; finance activities related to office and human resources management, in close collaboration with her direct supervisor (for finance control and HR supervisor; Responsible for coordinating the consultancy contracts, planning and budgeting in close collaboration with Project Managers; Report to the Board of LIRE Director and Managing Director about the financial status of LIRE and other matters.  

2.2.2Other People Involved 

Dr. Khamphone Nanthavong, Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, National University of Laos; advisor to the pico-hydropower program: 

Main tasks: Participating in setting up the ETC-LIRE pico-hydropower innovation and capacity building project, participating in discussion and brain storming meetings, liaison for LIRE student project on hydropower and PV, strengthening of LIRE contacts with the Faculty of Engineering, liaise for LIRE and its projects on Faculty level and during government meetings, and providing capacity and resources for LIRE’s research activities. 

Mr. Vonevilay Vilailuck: 

Main tasks: liaison for LIRE student project on hydropower and PV, strengthening of LIRE contacts with the Faculty of Engineering, technical support in terms of electrical field, assist in provide training , assist in market surveys and field surveys, assist in monitoring and evaluation. 

Mr. Matthew Jordan, consultant specialised in user interactions (contributions almost entirely pro bono): 

Main tasks: developing the concept ranking methodology, advising on project strategy and methodology, supporting report writing, input on development of user manual.  

National Interns: Mr. Monivanh Boulom, Ms. Bounthin Somlaka and Ms. Kongmany Chammalay, Bachelor Degree in Environment Studies, Faculty of Environmental Science, National University of Laos: 

Main tasks: Assist in filing documents, translation work, field trip and budget planning, contact government offices, data entry for actor profiles and evaluation forms, assist in organizing meeting room and complete other tasks as being assigned. 

International Interns: Mr. Samuel Stamp, Ms. Silvia Vicente, Master of Physics and Master of Renewable Energy from UK and Spain, respectively: 

Main tasks: undertake field trip, assisting writing report, assisting in project intervention, assisting in poster and leaflet development, and other tasks as being assigned. 

2.2.3Government Civil Servants (Provinces and Districts) 

At this stage of Phase 2, LIRE-ETC activities are conducted in three provinces and nine districts.  Due to this expansion, support from government staff at both provincial and district levels in terms of technical advisors, coordination and field works are necessary.  These stakeholders are listed in the table below: 

Table 1: Government civil servants in provincial level and district level 

Their maintasks include accompanying and leading LIRE team for field visits in their responsible districts and provinces. They are also Provincial and District Technical Advisors who coordinate logistic arrangement and are the main contact people for district and village technical advisors, potentially train non-target-district and/non-target-village upon request. When there is no representative from the District Energy and Mines available, one provincial staff is acting as a district Technical Advisor. 

2.2.4ETC/EASE Contact People 

Ms. Tamara Flink: 

Direct contact person from February to November 2010 (and beyond). 

Mr. Frank van der Vleuten: 

Official contractual contact person for the Pico-hydropower Innovation and Capacity Building Program. 

2.3List of Activities Conducted 

2.3.1Information Workshops for Shop Owners 

LIRE invited local shop owners to a number of workshops where product samples such as ELC, switchboard, cables, draft tubes/channels, quality units etc were introduced to the sellers.  

The information provided during these workshops was oriented to train sellers about          the        product             characteristics, specification and their application to the pico-hydropower systems, including the concept of quality and safety. 

NOTE: Some content may not display correctly, including tables and figures. See PDF for full details

Figure 1: Information workshop session 

The workshops had the aim of providing shop       ownersa           basic    technical background that can be used to improve their      customer          relationships      and  improve the quality of advice. Initially, Xiengkhuang was selected as the pilot province. An initial workshop was performed with shop owners to determine the general workshop structure to roll out in the three selected provinces. According to the feedback obtained from the pilot workshop, the following structure was created: 

¹⁾       Starting point: workshop addressed to all shopkeepers in each target district:  

oGeneral information about pico-hydropower turbines and complementary products 

(load controllers, draft channels, cables, switchboards, light bulbs, etc) o How to supply information to customers (e.g. in the form of the user manual)  oConcepts introduced: 

                                  Village Technical Advisor acting as a broker for the shop owner 

                                  Selling locally manufactured, prefabricated draft tube and draft channel 

                                   Battery charging station 

                                   Acting as a representative for producers from Vietnam 

²⁾       Intensification: Tailor-made follow-up coaching in smaller groups / individual shop owners: working on specific issues listed previously, according to demand. 

2.3.2Results and Feedback from Information Workshops for Shop Owners 

Table 2 shows the summary of vendor shops in target provinces where the program was conducted. It shows that the project cannot reach the initial target number, 45 of shops to be trained.  In fact, only 32 shops were reached.  The target number of shops to be involved with project was targeted at 5 shops per target district at the beginning of the project. However, in reality there are districts that cannot meet the target number due to the low number of existing shops. For example, in Khoun district there were no shops selling pico-hydropower products. End users in this district buy the products in Phonesavanh, the capital district of Xiengkhuang province, due to improved access road and close distance between the capital district and Khoun district. 

Table 2: Summary of trained shops in targeted provinces 

After the training provided by LIRE, impacts were measured and assessed. From the site monitoring and evaluation trips during September and October 2010, it was apparent that improved service was given to customers in terms of explanation on the products description and specification, and distribution of pico-hydropower installation and pico-hydropower manuals to their clients. Shops have become focal points for advice and for the distribution of pico-hydropower installation and user manuals for clients. In certain cases, end users borrow the manual from shop owners. Furthermore, it was reported by many shop keepers that there are more customers buying insulated cables. The shop owners claimed that it is unclear what caused this change, but it may be attributed to the improved awareness of safety concerns raised by the government and LIRE-ETC project intervention. 

Despite the project intervention, the general sales performance of shops visited did not improve due to the reasons summarized in table two. First, it was claimed that sales keep falling due to continuous expansion of the electric grid, with the government target at 90% of the population by 2020. In addition, there is poor sales performance due to pico-hydropower market saturation.  In the past years, people bought a large number of pico-hydropower turbines.  The number of new turbine purchases has slowed but pico-hydropower spare parts continue to sell well.  Furthermore, it will take time for people to uptake new recommended products that are seen as expensive and still not affordable by local people who have low incomes and are acquainted to the existing products.  During the interviews, end users and shop owners explained that in order to convince people to buy new recommended products, it requires demonstration to show and prove to end users that the new product is really efficient and productive. Few shop owners claimed that the lack of ideal site locations is also a reason why people do not use pico-hydropower, especially for the vertical (standing) installation type recommended by LIRE.  

Table 3: Summary of positive and negative feedbacks from the shops 

2.3.3Technical Advisor Training in Three Provinces 

The activity was developed in two steps. First, provincial and district Technical Advisors were selected in consultation with the relevant authorities during the provincial assessment trips. At village level, village technical advisors are chosen by village chiefs in consultation with district authorities and LIRE staff.  Clear criteria are set for the selection processes, including literacy in Lao language, being a picohydropower end user, basic knowledge on picohydropower operation and maintenance and willing to pass on knowledge to others. 

Figure 3: VTA theory training                                   

In the second step, LIRE Technical Officer conducted the workshops to train the selected participants, at provincial, district and village levels. After the workshops, participants acquired enough knowledge to develop the following activities: 

Technical Advisor level: 

•             establish relations with the villagers: introduce concepts including sharing pico-hydropower energy and safety issues 
•             to provide advice on installing and improving new/existing pico-hydropower unit in order to generate extra income  
•             to reinforce safe interactions and maintenance with the pico-hydropower unit 

2.3.4 Results and Feedback on Technical Advisor Training  

Table 4 shows the summary of the technical advisors trained by the LIRE-ETC project team over one year and a half. Originally, the project targeted twelve technical advisors at provincial and district levels. For the project to reach a wider coverage, it was decided to go further, training at the village level as well. The number of trained technical advisors is the same across provincial and district levels. Nonetheless, the number of end users who were trained varies at the village level. 22 villagers in 2 districts in Xiengkhuang were selected.  

In short, the project was able to train 69 technical advisors from provincial (PTA), district (DTA), and village levels (VTA) in three provinces, which is higher than initially planned.  Table 4: Number of technical advisors trained in each province and district 

Various feedbacks were obtained on the impacts of the technical advisors training during the monitoring and evaluation trips in September and October 2010. These impacts are both positive and negative.   

On the positive side, the technical advisors have shared their pico-hydropower installation and user manuals and knowledge with their neighbour. 

Many explained that after training they attended village meetings to inform others of their qualification and their ability to provide services. Some of them have explained the importance for using insulated cable for safety and efficiency reasons. The field monitoring showed that more Figure 4: Channel improved by VTA houses in the target village in Khoun district are now using insulated cables.  This was cross checked with shop owners who explained that the sales for insulated cable have increased.  

However, the shop keepers did not know how much they sold despite the fact that they have been coached on how to monitor the sales performance. The experience from the last field trip also showed that there are some technical advisors who are hired by their villagers to install new systems and also to improve the efficiency of existing systems.  These occurred in three provinces.  In return, technical advisors received compensation between 100,000 to 300,000 kip (15 to 25 US dollars) per installation or system improved. On certain occasion, they were rewarded with foods and drinks. Table 5: Summary of positive and negative feedbacks from VTA training 

On the negative side, it was observed that there is a slow uptake of knowledge by technical advisors. After the evaluation trips, it was found that there are some technical advisors who did not absorb the lesson learnt during the training session. Some of them suggested that the lessons given were sometimes too complicated to understand due to the new terminology used and their lack of a good educational background.  In addition, many trainees are not currently active.  They claimed that they are busy with their harvesting and had no time to go to villages to provide services.  Some commented that there was no one interested in their work as people already know how to install basic systems themselves.  There was also a comment that in order to convince people to pay for their service, it would be necessary to have a demonstration site or unit in their village to show that the installation service is cost effective. The lack of proper locations for vertical installations was also claimed as a reason for lacking work. Technical advisors explained that lessons learnt from the training focussed on the standing installation of the pico-hydropower system, but in their villages, there is no location that provides the necessary head of 1.5 meter.  

2.3.5Development of a Pico-hydropower Installation and User Manual in Lao Language and Other Educational Materials 

LIRE created a pico-hydropower manual based on the technical knowledge of LIRE engineering staff, consultants and on the lessons learned from projects carried out by LIRE. 

The original user manual was written in English and had a high technical orientation.  During the project, this manual was translated to Lao language and technical concepts were adapted to aid the end user.  In order to assure that illiterate users can understand the manual, each subject was illustrated with easily understandable images. 

The guide targets end users, shop owners, Village Technical Advisors and relevant local government authorities.  It is perceived as a tool for: 

•             Helping end users understand the system and give them the instructions to run it in a safe way 
•             Providing shop owners with technical specifications of products and the list of needed system devices. This will let them act as a first customer advisor and improve local market with the introduction of new and more reliable products (such as an ELC) and gaining the trust of customers as the devices will be more efficient. 
•             Giving instructions to Technical advisors about how to manufacture some elements of the system including draft channels and draft tubes. 
•             Providing orientation to Government departments about rural electrification. 

The manual was improved and tested in the field a few times before the final edit into several formats to assure wide dissemination and distribution. The final characteristics of the manual include black and white books for shop owners to photocopy as well as books for the end users with an orange cover.  In total, there are 3003 copies of pico-hydropower installation and user manuals (see Table 6 hereafter) distributed mostly to target and non target project areas.   

Currently, most of the manuals are in districts and village development group offices, which are accessible to the end users. The manuals were distributed by various methods.  One of them was to transport by bus from LIRE office to each province where the PDEM staff pick them up for further distribution by district offices. In an interview with the Xiengkhuang PDEM staff, it was found that the manuals provided had run out and thus a large number of manuals were additionally provided to the province. This shows that there is high demand for the manuals as this was also witnessed by the TA and shop owner in Kham district.  

Furthermore, during the evaluation trip the team brought a large number of manuals with them to give to PDEM, district and village development group offices. Where possible, the books were handed to end users directly.  Besides giving them the materials, end users were told where to obtain the manuals at their nearest station.  Provincial and district staffs were requested to deliver more manuals to villagers whenever they are on mission to the field. For sustainability, advice on lending and sales of manuals was given to shop keepers, government officials and end users who are interested in selling and borrowing the manuals.  

Figure 5: Pico-hydropower manual      Figure 6: Pico-hydropower VDO training

In addition, a pico-hydropower training Video CD was created after the completion of the shared pico-hydropower construction in Angsang village, Viengxay District, Huaphanh Province in order to transfer the practical lessons learnt to other viewers both literate and illiterate. The Video CD also aims to enhance the understanding of low or non-educated people on how the system is installed and to promote the idea of shared pico-hydropower systems in villages. Unfortunately, due to the limited budget, only 158 copies (Table6) were produced and distributed to each target district and province, particularly to village technical advisors in order to allow them to display the training Video CD during village events and gatherings. Some copies were given to provincial and district offices as a master copy so that they can make further copies at a later date. 

Apart from the training Video CD on pico-hydropower installations and operation, posters were produced in order to disseminate the project intervention activity, especially to inform people of the new services available from shop keepers and technical advisors.  It also advertises and introduces the new technology of Electronic Load Controllers and where to get pico-hydropower installation and user manuals in target provinces, districts and village development group.  Posters were posted in prominent places including markets, bus stations, village development group offices, government offices and other public places. 

Figure 7: Poster posted on the shop 

In addition to posters, public announcements through village and market horn speakers were used to promote the service of technical advisors and availability of the manuals.  

The impact of these two methods was not seen to be very effective. Not many people who have experienced announcement and village horn speakers were interested in obtaining the manuals from shops and village development groups. Also the district or provincial energy and mines offices are perceived 

by villagers as a government function, not normally visited by ordinary people.  

There was no measured direct effect of posters or announcements on the VTA services undertaken.  End users who received the TA service informed that they know about the service because they have heard from neighbors saying that a man from his village was selected to be trained by the project.  Others heard about the availability of the service and manuals from the village meeting when promotion of VTA was announced after the training. 

Table 6: Summary of manual, VDO, posters distributed in target and non targeted areas 

Table 7: Feedback summary of technical document 

2.3.6Introduction of Electronic Load Controller (ELC) in Lao Market 

One of the objectives of this project is to introduce an electronic load controller (ELC) to the local market in Lao PDR.  As this is a new element in most pico-hydropower installations, LIRE installed some of these devices in selected households in the village with the aim to demonstrate to villagers the benefit of this device. To ensure that the new element can protect end users, the ELC test was done two times, both in the lab and in the field.  With the positive lab and field testing results, the ELC was introduced to shop keepers and end users through several workshops in order to foster the supply and demand of this device. However, this device was introduced quite late in the project because of the failure of the first pilot test due to a faulty device. 

           Figure 8: ELC tested in the field                           Figure 9: ELC tested at FoE lab before installed at the field

The previous field trip on monitoring and evaluation proved that there was no ELC displayed or sold in shops that were trained nor has it been used by end users in Xiengkhuang and Huahphanh provinces. Very few numbers of this device were introduced and installed in villages in Phongsaly province.  The devices were taken to end users by District Technical Advisor in Bountai district to demonstrate its qualities and technical performance.   

First, the district technical advisor bought the device from the local shop nearby at the price of 110,000 Kip (USD 12) and brought it to village. The village chief used village funds to buy the ELC to demonstrate the product. Any villager wishing to try the ELC with their existing pico-hydropower system was allowed to borrow the device.   Orders can be made through the VTA or DTA at the price of 150,000 Kip (USD 18).  Profits arising from selling these products are shared on a 50/50 basis between district and village technical advisors.   

So far, there were four units of the ELC installed and demonstrated in the village and recently four units are ordered from a Vietnamese shop in Bountai District.  Nonetheless, these devices were not imported through the recommended suppliers, but other channels that LIRE was unable to identify.  

Not all the feedback gained from the field trip was positive. It was witnessed that there is no shop selling the ELC device in nearly all of the target districts. Shop owners and end users criticized that the recommended ELC is too expensive, which the poor end users will not be able to afford.  It is further perceived that the device is a new technology which they have never seen before and would not take the risk of selling or buying it until they have actually seen how it works.  This shows again that a demonstration unit would be required. 

Table 8: Feedback summary of ELC 

2.4National Workshop 

As we were near the end of the program, LIRE organized a Project Completion Workshop in Settha Palace Hotel on the 4^thof November 2010, in Vientiane Capital.   

The workshop aimed to present and disseminate the implementation result of pico-hydropower project on Innovation and Capacity Building. Different organisations were invited to attend this halfday workshop, including government and international organisations, private companies such as: PDEMs, Poverty Reduction Fund (World Bank initiative), United-Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Laos, World Vision, Sunlabob Renewable Energy Company, technical colleges and University of Laos.  

The presentations were made in both Lao and English. See presentation in Appendices III and IV. 

At the end of the workshop participants gave few comments and recommendations about the project. Narrative parts are reported here:  

‘Congratulations!’ 

‘LIRE – ETC program was greatly helpful for all involved PDEMs/ PTA and DDEM DDA persons. All wish to see LIRE continuing such similar activities at larger scale in the three project provinces but also in other provinces to able training more persons with the same approach and tools developed.  

‘It is a unique project of this kind in the country, targeting to improve the sustainability of the pico-hydropower sector nationwide through capacity building with genuine useful manuals and information tools.  

‘What are the next steps?’ What are LIRE and ETC’s plans to move forward from now? ‘ 

‘Do you have already secured funding for a next project phase?’  

Although no-one gave any negative remarks about the project, no-one either suggested or proposed any improvement that could be integrated into a next stage of activities.  

Remark: It seems that the whole audience was very pleased about the achievements of the project team and ways of doing the work, and enthusiastic to wished to see a next step to bring all these achievements up to another level that is a larger scale and/or institutional. However, up-scaling requires a solid funding plan that was not in place at the time of the workshop.  

Figure 10: National Workshop in Vientiane Capital 

3RESULTS

The results of the project is based on the assessment of the project monitoring throughout the project timeframe and through final evaluation trips made during September and October 2010 to three target provinces where one targeted village per district is visited.  The main conclusions cover three main aspects such as access, control and sharing.  

3.1Information Workshops for Shop Keepers 

Output 

In total 32 local hardware shops in the target districts received the training course developed by the LIRE-ETC project team. The formal component of this training comprised district level workshops, in which shopkeepers received information and materials to enable them to provide a higher quality of service to their customers. As a result, all of the participating shops are now better equipped to inform pico-hydro users on appropriate product selection, and they are becoming recognised as local resource centres where users can obtain information on the installation and use of picohydropower technology. 

In a more informal capacity, local shopkeepers were approached and involved during most field trips, and they were found to be a particularly valuable group of participants to engage with whilst discussing the project with provincial and district authorities. The shopkeepers provided valuable first hand observations of the market in their area, and offered their views on the likely effectiveness and limitations to the project interventions. 

Outcome 

The project directly confronted the limited size of the pico-hydropower market chain when attempting to achieve the target number of participating shops. The involvement of only 32 shops instead of the desired 45 is a simple indication of the lack of points of sale in the market. Indeed it is interesting to observe the importance of the few shops (and hence the individuals that run them) for relatively large populations when considering that the average population of districts in the Lao PDR is around 50,000 people.  

The capacity and willingness of individual shopkeepers to advise their customers on picohydropower technology was found to be highly variable. The inclusion of follow-up coaching sessions to reinforce the standard course provided during initial workshops was therefore an essential component to this activity, and one that should be replicated for similar initiatives in the future. 

More generally, as well as enabling the project team to pursue specific interests and needs of individual shopkeepers during these sessions, it was found this format of repeated engagement with participants in small groups was a highly suitable approach for the local context and a valuable method to reinforce the significance of the key information. 

Impact 

In terms of improving access to safe and reliable energy resources, a number of positive behaviour changes were observed on the part of shop keepers. It was highly encouraging to see participating shopkeepers easily adopting the promotion of better quality insulated cable, and hence that customers will correspondingly benefit from a better understanding of the greater safety associated to using appropriately gauged transmission lines, and also the economic benefits over the longer term (durability and reduced power losses). As described below, the educational materials were also generally welcomed and served to reinforce the shopkeepers’ responsibility in advising their customers on best practise. 

Regarding other more expensive products (better turbines and ELC), it was clear that shopkeepers alone are unable to significantly change the behaviour of their customers. The value of better quality products relative to their cost remains unproven for most users, and shopkeepers were on the whole unwilling to take on the burden of investing in a high cost and high risk line of products. This challenge is also compounded by the fact that good and poor quality products are not always so easy to differentiate, with the absence of any form of labelling or quality assurance standards. 

Another essentially external factor to limit shop keepers’ effectiveness in improving the use of picohydropower technology was the perceived onset of market saturation. Under such conditions shops are even less likely to make new investments. In reality, the apparent saturation of the picohydropower market is in part linked to the endemic use of poor quality hardware and inefficient installation. Many villagers reported to the project team that they were running out of sites to use for their pico-hydropower turbines. However, the local hydro resources of communities could be sufficient if better technology and better installation techniques were employed. A good example of potential is the LIRE shared pico-hydropower demonstration project, implemented during 20092010 in Angsang village. In this instance, 17 individual pico-hydropower turbines with (approximated) power ratings ranging from 300-1000W  were replaced by two 1000W turbines and a shared distribution network that increased access to electricity from around 70 to 100% in the village. Members of this same community had also reported that some households were previously not using pico-hydropower technology due to a lack of water in the local stream.  

In summary, the involvement of shopkeepers had a positive impact on local behaviour and awareness of quality and alternative products. However, the effectiveness of this group of stakeholders would be strengthened by greater involvement of local and national authorities. The market will remain largely driven by up-front costs until perceptions of product value are reinforced by public endorsement, both by regulation and by technology demonstrations.  

3.2Technical Advisor Training in Three Provinces 

Output 

With the aid of local authorities, the project team successfully identified a good number of suitable candidates for the Technical Advisor training programme, including 6, 8, and 55 trainees at province, district and village levels respectively across the three selected provinces. Training was in phases and adopted the existing hierarchical structure of regional governance, as it was more readily accepted by participating local authorities. Thus provincial technical advisors were trained to become the trainers of TAs operating on a more local scale. This was advantageous in the regard that it fostered a sense of ownership in local authorities, but it also had draw backs as detailed below. 

Outcome 

The project has achieved a first concrete improvement in access to essential knowledge and skills in the target provinces, through relying on members of the community and local authorities as resource points. However the level of improvement was far from uniform. The final capacity of TAs varied widely, largely as a function of pre-existing technical skills and perception of pico-hydropower technology. Although some district and province TAs were highly receptive to the training and their participation in the programme, generally speaking village level TA training was the most successful in terms of how the TAs made use of their new skills and new visibility. The monitoring activities of the programme revealed good evidence of TAs working to improve the standards of existing picohydropower installations following the training, particularly in their own villages. 

The technical advisor approach was found to fit well within the local context, and made good use of the typical structure of rural communities in the Lao PDR wherein one often finds a particular individual who is general relied upon for technical needs of the community. Thus, although the training focused on individuals, the dissemination of information to the wider community occurred spontaneously. The monitoring survey showed this to be the case throughout the target areas. Even so, the capacity of TAs to transform their communities was ultimately limited by habitual knowledge of communities concerning pico-hydropower technology, which has been widely used in some of the target districts for over 15 years. 

Impact 

Several TAs installed pico-hydropower systems shortly following their training and provided advice to other users. However there was little evidence of such activities extending beyond the villages where the TAs lived. These two observations give a good indication to the scale of impact achieved by this intervention: in general, the impact was positive but quite localised. The TAs themselves reported either a lack of locations or difficulty to overcome the preconceptions of existing users as the main limitations to their following activities. The impact considering province and district TAs was less significant, which in part is a reflection that pico-hydropower power is still not seen with the necessary level of importance at government level. Clearly the importance of pico-hydropower is most clearly understood by those who rely on the technology. 

It is now apparent that the impact of the TA training programme could have been greater had certain opportunities been more fully recognised and exploited. One of the main weaknesses associated to this component was a lack of continuity from training through to practice. The transition from trainee to expert was not clearly defined, so ultimately it was left to the initiative of individuals to make use of their training. In some cases this presented no difficulty and certain individuals demonstrated good entrepreneurial spirit, but more generally this aspect of the intervention had not been given sufficient attention in the project planning.  

As for the shopkeepers, it was difficult for TAs work in isolation to improve the supply chain and confront the cost-driven nature of the market. In future it could be interesting to develop greater interaction and interdependence between TAs, by forming a network. This could serve to reinforce the credibility of individual TAs whilst also introducing a support structure. In such a scenario the impact of having province and district TAs could be more significant, as their roles could be to visibly demonstrate the support of the government, and to maintain a line of communication from urban and peri-urban areas to rural areas. 

Most of the participants demonstrated good entrepreneurial initiative and were keen to transform their training into new business activities. This opportunity could have received greater attention by the programme. Although the training equipped the TAs with good technical skills, there was no specific attempt to improve basic business skills such as marketing and bookkeeping, and thus success in terms of follow-up activities was largely dependent upon the existing capacities and experience of the individual. Such aspects could have been better integrated into the training programme had the primary purpose of the TA training been to introduce technical services rather than develop capacity in rural areas.  

3.2.1Installation and User Manual and other Educational Materials 

Output 

The target areas each received significant numbers of manuals and the other materials, which should remain as valuable references over the medium term. Interest for the manual and VCD was such that distribution was extended to other districts in the target provinces and a few copy were also sent to neighbouring northern provinces in the Lao PDR. 

The development of educational materials in participation with the target beneficiaries was in itself a great success. Beyond their direct utility for pico-hydropower installation in the Lao PDR, these resources have long term value both in terms of promoting the visibility of LIRE, and in serving as a guide for LIRE to produce educational and informational tools in the future. Distribution on a significant scale was an excellent learning experience for LIRE, and it should be noted that the figures achieved by the project team are comparable to the larger INGO and state programmes in the Lao PDR that dedicated to this activity alone.  

Outcome 

Access to the resources was limited by the number of available copies, but also by the location where they were stored. Most of the manuals were retained by village development groups. These limitations could have been mitigated by introducing additional means to copy the manuals (for example, if shopkeepers and TAs were to print off-copies and sell these for a nominal fee).  

Although efforts were made to ensure the clarity and simplicity of explanations in the manual, those users unable to read Lao language would be limited to interpreting the pictures. The utility of educational materials were thus higher because they were introduced in parallel with the training and demonstration activities.  

Impact 

Awareness rising through the distribution of the materials was good, as confirmed by the monitoring activities. It is more difficult to evaluate the specific impact of the materials in terms of improving access, safety and reliability of pico-hydropower technology as they were often used in conjunction with other activities. In terms of the manual standing as a resource for people in rural communities to use directly to improve the quality of their experience,  awareness of its existance was observed to be good in the target communities. Since the programme relied primarily on local authorities and village chiefs to reach communities, it can be observed that conventional communication in rural areas is quite effective. Less encouraging was the level of access to manuals for individuals. In most cases the manuals were highly value by their custodians, and hence there was some hesitancy to distribute irreplaceable documents. This could be overcome by encouraging district authorities and shopkeepers to make copies and hence sustain and extend distribution of the manuals. 

Activities undertaken by LIRE concurrently with those included in the ETC-partnership programme indicate that other approaches to awareness raising may be more success. In particular, LIRE’s engagement with demonstration projects has drawn considerable spontaneous interest by the public and also state media. Many workshop participants also made reference to the demonstration projects of the organisation. For future initiatives in the pico-hydropower sector, it may therefore be interesting to include small scale (but permanent) technology demonstrations as an integral part of training programmes. Similarly for efforts to establish supply chains, these could offer a useful device with which to engage local enterprises. 

3.2.2Introduction of Electronic Load Controller in the Lao Market 

Output 

Following the programme, the local potential for ELC technology is now well understood by LIRE. As well as confirming electrical instability as a major cause of failure for light bulbs, the durability of ELCs produced from neighbouring countries (Vietnam and Thailand) was tested under real conditions. The latter also presented an opportunity to observe the response of end-users to this new technology. Thus the cost and benefit of introducing ELCs has now been determined. 

Outcome 

The potential sources of ELC technology from neighbouring countries have been identified, but further action would be required to encourage the development of a supply chain. The project team’s understanding of ELCs and the opportunities to represent for end users was included in the education materials developed by the programme and disseminated through the training programmes. Thus the awareness of ELCs by TAs and shopkeepers is good, which could be valuable to future efforts focussing on developing supply and encouraging demand. 

The ELC trials in the laboratory and in the field were a good internal capacity building activity for LIRE, laying the foundations to undertake similar assessments of new and alternative technologies in future. 

Impact 

Over the short term, the uptake of ELCs in rural areas as a result of this activity was very low, primarily due to high product cost and no supply chain established. A further challenge is presented by the use of relatively inexpensive voltage regulators by wealthier households. Although they are quite different technologies, there is a clear confusion because they are used (rightly or wrongly) to overcome the same problem. This, combined with substantially higher prices for the ELCs that are currently available for import, suggest that the introduction of these products would be highly challenging, except for the case of larger systems and wealthier households. 

The field and laboratory trials stimulated a great deal of discussion within the project team and also with the local project partners at the National University of Laos. The collaboration built stronger relations LIRE and this major local educational establishment. More specifically, the activity revealed some opportunities to develop simpler, cheap and more appropriate ELCs for the Lao market. This could be very interesting to pursue, if combined within a wider programme to establish domestic supply chains for pico-hydropower technology. 

3.3Access 

Output 

The main objective of the project is to make pico-hydropower power easily and safely accessible to end users and extend this system generation amongst poor families in the North of Lao PDR. 

An important justification of the approach adopted by the programme rests on the fact that picohydro technology was already in widespread use in the target areas, but access to it and its potential to improve livelihoods was limited by poor quality products and practices. Rather than undertaking a series of hardware installations in the target communities, the programme thus adopted an information and skills approach to improving access to energy, thereby engaging both existing and potential users. It was also essential to fully involve key stakeholders such as shopkeepers upon which the supply chain relies. Thus, when evaluating  the project outputs in terms of access to energy, the  32 hardware shops and 73 Technical advisors trained in the 9 districts and the 3003 pico-hydropower manuals distributed (see table 6) equate both to potential new users of picohydro and also an improved experience for existing users. Indeed the two are correlated, since one of the limiting factors to uptake of pico-hydro technology on a village level was observed to be the apparent shortage of available sites and water capacity. With improved standards, the potential of local resources have been made more available. 

Outcome 

As per in the first phase, the outcome of the project has been limited in terms of sheer numbers, since the main objective is to offer information and training to the people involved in the project.  

Manuals were distributed to 41 Villages through 73 Technical advisors in the target districts. This resource can be directly utilised for the 82 pico-hydropower installations in these areas by 2010. Hence, it is estimated that about 861 people benefit from access to manuals in the same year. 

Considering that most village’s TAs were found to be focusing on the needs of their own communities rather than any larger area, the number of people benefiting from these enhanced skills can be broadly estimated to be the sum population of the 41 villages involved. Over the longer term it is expected that these skills would spread to other neighbouring communities, but since the programme did not make specific attempt to ensure such an expansion, including neighbouring populations in the total is viewed as an overestimate. 

Sustainability and gender balance 

Impact over the longer term depends primarily on the sustained relevance of the pico-hydro for communities, and the sustained awareness of the information and skills that are available in the target areas thanks to the activities undertaken in the programme. Considering the second condition first, the programme has created several centres of knowledge. These include LIRE, district and province authorities, and the shops in the target areas. LIRE continues to be active in the pico-hydro sector in the Lao PDR and thus shall continue to make the resources available to rural communities. 

By maintaining activities in the pico-hydro sector, LIRE shall maintain its technical capacity. The Faculty of Engineering, National University of Laos also assists in sustaining the technical expertise, through the professors who participated in the programme and continue to collaborate with LIRE. 

Local authorities can play a significant role in making the resources accessible to future development interventions by other organisations, since all such projects would work with the cooperation of province and district offices. However, although good communication is maintained on a one to one basis with several of the rural stakeholders, neither of these bodies have a specific engagement with the shopkeepers and TAs involved in the programme, who are ultimately responsible for maintaining the results of the programme in the target areas. Whilst still visible, the promotional materials introduced will serve to reinforce communication to LIRE and local authorities. 

Regarding gender balance, the project has engaged with improving knowledge and access to information resources in communities as a whole. Hence, both male and female members are now more able to evaluate their circumstances, and thus contribute to the decision-making process. Importantly, as an external and neutral source of information, the materials made available through the project activities also serve to give a louder voice to those who have previously had to submit to conventional wisdom. 

The gender balance is implicit in the project without extra interaction required. In general, most shops are run by a husband and wife, sharing equally in the work load. When it comes to electricity use, these are mostly the women who benefit from electricity from light during cooking hours. Entertainment, watching television or listening to music, is often a shared benefit, not just within the household but also outside. As such, it is an important social function as well.   

3.4Control 

Output 

As happened in first phase, ACCESS and CONTROL are interrelated. Workshops carried out with shop dealers and Technical advisors will increase the ACCESS of population to the pico-hydropower energy.  The CONTROL will come through the deeper knowledge of technical characteristics picohydropower installation. That includes the introduction of the ELC device and the maintenance and proper use instructions included in the Maintenance & user’s Manual in Lao Language.  As a result, pico-hydropower installations will be safer, and will include also the use of switchboards and electricity plugs 

Figures of CONTROL told us that about 2,849 installations will be improved as a result of the Lao Manual distribution that will implies about 25,641 people belonging to poor households will be benefited. 

Outcome 

The main outcome in terms of control is improving the quality, reliability and safety of picohydropower, obtained by means the selection of the proper pico-hydropower components and a correct installation and maintenance of the generation and distribution system.  

By introducing more control over the technology, through manuals, load controllers and advice, the End-users satisfaction increase as a result of the higher efficiency of the system and a drastic reduction of the broken parts or lights and devices. This was observed during the field trips through the interest shown towards purchasing ELCs by households that participated in the field trials, and the positive response to information concerning the primary sources of inefficiency and loss in a typical pico-hydro system. 

Sustainability and gender balance 

Sustainability is largely covered under the ACCESS part. On the other hand, although Lao user and maintenance Manual is addressed to all population, males and females, it will be mostly the men who would benefit from increased control over pico-hydropower, because they are the ones usually maintaining and repairing the system. 

Risk and mitigation 

The project has not given any subsidies. Besides the already mentioned risk of grid extension, it might also be hard to change the existing the pico-hydropower market because it is a mature one. After 20 years of existence without a real technical development, end-users and shopkeepers could be unwilling to use new and complementary products as the ELC.  

As mitigation measure, the shop owners were engaged in the project from the beginning to win their trust on the new elements. 

An additional risk is the communication difficulties due to many shops are owned by Chinese people. It was mitigated with the participation of a translator.  

3.5Sharing 

Output 

Main sharing of this second phase is the creation and distribution of the Pico-hydropower-hydro Installation and User Manual in Lao language as well as development of posters, training VCD, brochures, and workshop for shop owners aimed at supporting market developers, and technical advisors training aimed at developing technical advisors. The manuals were distributed in different places such as PDEM, DEMO, village development group, shops, village office and directly to end users. 

Additional sharing is done through the EASE toolkit and within the EASE network and LIRE website. Duringthe project, fourteen reports were edited, included this final one.  

Outcome 

SHARING will be done through the EASE toolkit and the other deliverables which will be shared within the EASE network, the LIRE network and through the LIRE website. There are also the invention methodology for sharing, for instance when LIRE participate to other workshop or organize other workshop, LIRE will take the opportunity to disseminate the information.   

Sustainability and gender balance  

The sustainability of the SHARING aspect is guaranteed by focusing on the capacities of the shop keepers and Technical advisors and improving those during the workshops carried out. As mentioned before, the shopkeepers are well balanced when it comes to gender. As a result of all the project activities, end users being a 50% female will be benefited with more reliable and safer picohydropower installations. 

Risk and mitigation 

The main risk about sharing is that the knowledge and benefits does not to reach targeted population.  The mitigation action had two actions plans. First one was to spread technical knowledge by inviting all local shop owners to the workshops and selecting the appropriate Technical advisors in each district. The second one was that 3,003 copies of the Pico-hydropower Manuals that were distributed to various stations that are closer to end users these places can be at shop owners, technical advisors, local authorities, villages targeted and also to general public accessible locations as bus stations, PDEM, DEMO, shops, development group office, village office. The latest figure on 28 December indicates there were only 476 manuals left at PDEM and DEMO.  

See “Appendix V: Monitoring Protocol” for further details. 

4LESSONSLEARNED

From the implementation of this program, lessons learned can be summarized into various aspects. 

Strengths 

•             The EASE team within LIRE is established and functioning well. Administrative tools have been put in place. 
•             Training needs for shops owners and technical advisors were identified and intervention strategy were clearly defined and formulated. 
•             Capacity within the project team has been built through the formal training in Vietnam, working with consultant and practical experience at field. 
•             Master trainer, LIRE-ETC project staff, has passed on knowledge to provincial, district and village technical advisors which made service available to other end users. 
•             Informal networks of technical advisors were established. These actors are well filed. 
•             Pico-hydropower installation and users’ manuals in Lao are developed and distributed to end users, which made available in different places such as PDEM, DEMO, District Administration Office, Village Development Group Office, village office and shops. 
•             Government support in terms of project coordination.  Weaknesses 
•             The quality and type of installations vary greatly from village to village and even within villages. To address all this diversity is difficult. 
•             High incidences in individual systems, resulting in high cost bearing by an individual, one person paying for hardware.  Unwilling to go for shared pico-hydropower system. 
•             Delay in organizing informational workshop for shop owners and training for technical advisors due to the first failure of pilot testing of the ELC which the project team requires the test results to convince shop keepers and end users about the benefits of ELC. 
•             No subsidy provided despite the actual requirement from shop owners and end users. 
•             Recommended products were viewed as expensive where people get used to existing products - slow uptake new technology and new products. 

Threats 

•             Grid expansion in some of the potential target areas makes pico-hydropower obsolete. Similarly, the relevance of the project results is assured so long as communities do not have access to larger grid or decentralised energy services. 
•             Un-informed planned of grid extension in certain districts due to lack of coordination between local authorities. This relates to the impact of the project: in some communities people are concerned about investing in pico-hydro systems because they believe the grid will soon arrive in their neighbourhood. Poor coordination and information of grid extension results in false hopes in certain communities, and missed opportunities to improve energy access through pico-hydro power. 
•             Lack of suitable locations for installation exists in many villages; this is true for standing installation type.  However, end user still keep on installing free standing type of picohydropower. The project focussed primarily on the use of pico-hydro for individual households. Although easier to implement and maintain, household pico-hydro is considerably less efficient than shared systems and village grids. The risk associated to prioritising household pico-hydro is that in some cases negative experiences could result in poor perceptions of the technology in general. 
•             Difficulties in changing behaviours/beliefs when end users believe they already know how to install a system and when they feel “royal”  to the existing products. 
•             Pico-hydropower is still considered as an informal renewable energy in Laos despite the fact that it is one of the cheapest sources of the renewable energy.  Opportunities 
•             Cross checking for plan with more authorities: PDEM, DEMO, District Administration Office, and EDL provincial branches. 
•             More awareness raising and promotion of pico-hydropower technology recognition and its importance as formal renewable energy source of the country through lobby and advocacy among national stakeholders. 
•             Capacity building: 
  • Formal - Vocational and technical school (development of curriculum); oInformal - local technicians/end users, specifically training on installation, operation and maintenance. 
  •             More research:  
    • Technology e.g. free standing installation;  
    • Supply chain: cheaper and better quality products thanks to locally produced accessories such as draft tube & draft channels. 
  •             Promotion of shared pico-hydropower model through demonstration site in order to increase access to electricity in off-grid areas, raise awareness of the technology and to change people attitudes.  
  •             Strong government support/international organization of this technology - recognize this type of energy as important source of power. 

4.1Evaluation Summary 

This programme set out to make pico-hydropower power easily and safely accessible to end users and extend this system generation amongst poor families in the North of Lao PDR. 

The monitoring activities towards the end of the programme showed encouraging signs of improvements in the target areas. Above all, there was a raise awareness of safety issues and inefficiencies introduced due to poor installation techniques. Each of the activities made positive contributions to achieving this goal, and were perhaps most successful because they were conducted in parallel and with a high degree of interaction. For instance, testing of ELC technology directly fed into the training and development of education materials. Another advantage of carrying out multiple activities in parallel has been a significant improvement in the visibility of LIRE at national level, which is now widely regarded as a major local platform for the energy, environment, and development sectors. LIRE now regularly receives invitations to the national workshops and consultations hosted by government and international development organisations, indeed too many for LIRE to participate in all of them. 

In engaging with this goal LIRE has made a logical progression: building upon a comprehensive, but essentially academic, survey of pico-hydropower use in the Lao PDR in 2008, Phase 1 of the LIRE-ETC hydropower programme successfully identify promising bottom-up interventions to develop with the participation of the target groups. In phase 2 these interventions were rolled out in several districts across 3 provinces, at a sufficient scale to evaluate their effectiveness. A general outcome of this direct attempt to raise standards in the target areas is a clear insight into the endemic challenges to improving the use of pico-hydropower technology in the Lao PDR.  

Two main issues continue to limit the effectiveness of interventions such as those undertaken in this programme:  

1)     A lack of recognition of pico-hydropower power at government level, and  

2)    An inadequate domestic supply chain that keeps the price of the technology relatively high for the end user.  

The first was frequently observed during the course of the project, most notably by the different results of TA training at province, district and village level. Provincial government still fails to see the full potential of pico-hydropower technology in terms of national development objectives. As described in the results section above, national and provincial government institutions could play a significant role in reinforcing local support networks and the supply chain through a general endorsement of best practice, but also through regulation and certification. If pico-hydropower technology were to be viewed in the same light as other rural electrification efforts, including grid extension, then the later would follow by necessity. 

The second limitation must also be engaged with at a scale that is not limited to the areas where the target beneficiaries live. LIRE’s own experience has shown that access to materials and skilled labour, for example for the construction of draft channels and tubes, can be very challenging in rural areas. Were this situation to be improved, the overall efficiency and cost effectiveness of picohydropower, and hence access to energy, could be significantly improved. In parallel efforts to engage with the domestic supply chain would work complementarily to the capacity already developed by the LIRE pico-hydropower programme. 

4.2Future Vision of LIRE’s Role in the Pico-Hydropower Sector 

Following three years of activity in the Lao pico-hydropower sector, today LIRE is equipped with both a solid experience and knowledge of the situation in the field, and perhaps more importantly, a level of recognition that was only a distant aspiration in 2008. LIRE is in a unique position and has a real opportunity to make a major impact at national level. As detailed in the preceding sections, the institute learned valuable lessons in terms of effective intervention approaches, and in parallel has developed a refined understanding of the key bottlenecks that limit the wider uptake of improved practices and products. The natural progression for LIRE is thus now to tackle these bottlenecks in a more targeted fashion, and taking full advantage of its elevated status. 

LIRE is neither structured to lead large scale implementation, nor it is able to act as an authority on appropriate technology in isolation. Thus, rather than launching an expanded set of activities of the kind considered in phase 2, LIRE’s future vision is to encourage and facilitate those organisations, public and private, that do possess the mandate and the resources to engage with the key issues. 

Acting therefore as a lobby, LIRE’s future objective should be to advocate pico-hydropower technology as an opportunity for all stakeholders, and the development of the Lao pico-hydropower sector as a mechanism to achieve national development objectives pertaining to rural livelihoods, energy access, and environmental sustainability.  

The core future activities of LIRE must therefore first address the perception of pico-hydropower technology at national government level, and then furnish decision makers with the necessary information and tools to enable regulatory, educational, and commercial interventions into the market. Examples of such interventions could include the introduction of standards and economic incentives to certifying pico-hydropower installations; vocational education focusing on the domestic supply chain; and trade agreements with neighbouring countries. A key challenge for LIRE shall be to convey the significant value of the existing market chain to organisations that are more familiar with top-down development actions. In this regard, the participants of the phase 2 programme can be a considerable asset in promoting a more inclusive approach. The embryonic TA network should be developed further and incorporated into the delivery of the next wave of interventions resulting from lobbying national government. Similarly, the materials already developed by LIRE can be integrated into government led activities, thereby achieving greater dissemination and perceived value for the end-user.  

5FINANCIALREPORT

5.1Budget and Actual Expenditures 

This financial report covers the period from 1 May 2009 to 31 November2010.  The approved budget for the Pico-hydropower power Innovation and Capacity Building Program Phase 2 is 75,600 Euro where 74,916.73 EURO has been spent for carrying out project.  In addition to agreed budget items, various requests and amendment were made by LIRE and approved by ETC.  These include: 

•             Approval on increase of overhead cost of LIRE from 350 EURO to 600 EURO per month starting from 1 January 2010 in order to cover LIRE administrative costs derived from office relocation and expansion
•             Using unspent budget items which then exceeds 10% of some budget items for: 
  • Additional field trips for monitoring and evaluation in equivalent of 6,000 EURO. oIncreasing budget item on national workshop from 2,000 EURO to 6,500 EURO oAdditional cost of dissemination of Pico Installation and User Manuals/VCD in equivalent to 2,700 EURO 
  • Technical Assistance: 1,250 EURO 

Table 9: Financial report 

5.2Overview Advances and Invoices 

5.2.1Advances 

Table 10: Advances and invoices summary 

5.2.2Partial Invoices (Actual Expenditures) 

Table 11: Partial invoice summary 

6APPENDICES

6.1Appendix I: Testing Questions 

1)What are the needs of shop owners and how can they best be addressed through informational workshops and individual coaching? What improvement in the functioning of the market is feasible? 

The capacity of shopkeepers to inform and advise their customers on pico-hydro technology is clearly limited by their own knowledge of the products and their use, and also by their access and control of products (a shopkeeper is less likely to advise a customer to buy something not available at his/her shop). In this context control relates to the fact that if a shopkeeper cannot provide sufficient assurances of value for money, the customer is likely to resort to the cheapest option.  

Access to information about pico-hydro was regularly reported by shopkeepers during the various interviews undertaken during the first phase of the program, and so this was identified as the main need of these stakeholders. Informational workshops and individual coaching directly tackled the lack of technical capacity amongst shopkeepers, whilst raising awareness about the key issues related to safety and reliability. Above all, shopkeepers participated in the programme because they recognised a business opportunity. The core need of shopkeepers is to have a compelling business case for offering higher quality products and services to customers. The workshops and coaching satisfied this need to some degree by providing expertise on call to the shopkeepers so that they could fully understand the opportunities, and decide themselves whether it was worth changing their behaviour. In this respect the activities were successful in partly meeting the needs of shopkeepers. However, the content of these activities was perhaps overly focused on the technical aspects of the products, at the expense of enabling shopkeepers to develop a business plan and take the next steps towards providing new products and services. An important need associated to those is to offset risk on the part of the shopkeeper. This was not tackled by the programme. 

Despite the shortcomings mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the informational workshops and individual coaching did have a positive impact upon the way in which the market functions. Most importantly, the project activities served to foster a greater sense of responsibility on the part of shopkeepers, as essential actors in the sector. By equipping each with a better understanding of the products they sell, the project has enabled shopkeepers to actively contribute to the customer's decision process. This is a significant improvement in the role of shopkeepers, and one that is beneficial to both sets of stakeholders. 

In terms of improving the functioning of the market, the project was limited by the difficulties in introducing new products, largely the cost and risk to the shop. Any follow up activities to engage directly with the market would need to tackle these challenges as a major component of the activity plan. 

With difficulties in communicating with Chinese and Vietnamese shop owners, translators were hired to translation the presentation slides for training as well as giving instant interpretation during the training and site visits. Apart from introducing new quality products, contact details of new and reliable suppliers from Vietnam are introduced to these people as they claimed of interesting of selling the recommended products. It is further suggested by the shops that the project should assists shops in terms of providing sample products to be sold in shops first in order to test the sale performance. It is also advised by them that the project coverage areas should reach the real remote which there will not electricity from the main grid for at least the next ten years. 

2)What is the best model and target group for technical advisors on pico-hydropower? 

The project has chosen three main groups of people to become technical advisors.  One of them is the staff of provincial department of energy and mines. Their main functions are to coordinate project works with project team members and also to give training to district or villages whenever requested. Similarly to districts level, a staff from district energy and mines office or district administrative office (where there is no district energy and mine office exists) is chosen to become a district technical advisor.  The roles of this person are almost the same as those provincial technical advisor, in exception to that they are more closed to village technical advisors and somewhere between PTA and VTA.  The last group is at village level (a grass-root level). Five to ten literate villagers in each target village who have experience in installing the pico-hydropower system and would like to transfer knowledge and experience to others are chosen by village chief in consultation with project team and district staff.   

Village Technical Advisor acts as a consultant who provides technical services on site survey, system installation and maintenance for end users in order to obtain financial compensation in return.  Beside this, the technical advisor also plays important role in disseminating and passing on knowledge and experience to other end users/villagers through a word of mouth and manual loan. They are people who are more in touch with local villagers than those district and provincial staff.  

This makes them become key people to bring new innovation to villages. Moreover, technical advisor acts as a broker on certain occasions.  For example, ELC was brought to target villages as demonstration unit. As a result, orders were placed and profit was shared between DTA and VTA. This benefits all market players: shop owner, technical advisors and villagers. 

It is believed the VTA model was most successful due to the proximity to end users and first hand understanding of both the challenges and the potential for picohydro. This meant that VTAs were generally more enthusiastic about applying the skills they gained, and so even though the training was to the same level for all groups, the impact of VTAs was greater. 

3)    What is the best design for the pico-hydropower manual? How can the manual be made accessible for end-users and shopkeepers in the Lao PDR? What are the best ways to spread the installation and introduce the manuals?  

The best design of the pico-hydropower installation and user manual is to have it written in Lao language, using as simple technical wording as much as possible in order to allow low educated readers to understand it quickly.  Apart from that, more illustrations of local context character are also contained which helps to attract attention of readers and also assist those who are illiterate to capture contents by just seeing the pictures. After several tests and feedbacks gains from end users, the manual was finally divided into two main sections.  With the first section, it contains shortened version which try to capture Lao end users who traditionally do not read long text with more illustration and short description only.  The second part describes all steps in details.  It contains full description that helps to enhance further understanding whenever the first part was not fully understood or the readers acquire detailed explanation. 

Numbers of manuals were distributed to shop keepers and end users in target and non-target provinces in the northern and central parts of Laos and delivered through public and private transportation.  Hard copies of pico-hydropower manuals were given to these provinces, including Xiengkhuang, Huaphanh, Oudomxay, Phongsaly and Khamouane as they have high incidence of the pico-hydropower use. However, soft copies are only given to the target provinces and districts. Whenever the manual was run out at shops, shop owners can ask for more copies or ask for a soft copy from the provincial and district designated offices in order to reproduce the manual.  

There is no single best way to distribute the manuals, but rather mixed strategy. Manuals were sent to Provincial Department of Energy and Mine which then are delivered to either district administration offices or District Energy and Mine Offices. PTA and DTA were asked to give them shop owners selling pico-hydropower products and directly to end users or pass on to heads of village development groups who go to attend meeting in district office at least once a month.  During their way back, they can bring the manuals with them to give to end users. Officials concerned were requested to bring with them when going for field trips to remote village some manual to hand it to village offices and/or end users. This is a way to save money spending on transportation and delivery costs. Another method was used to increase demand for manuals.  Posters are posted in public prominent places such as public offices, bus station, village notice boards and others in order to increase awareness on the availability of manuals at their nearest stations.  This helps audience to collect manuals at shops and village offices.  Direct distribution was also applied during project team field visits.  Manuals were given to villagers, village chiefs and shop owners visited.  Public announcement could help on this also but could be more effective in other regions in which audiences are interested in listening to horn speaker radio. 

4)    How can electronic load controllers be introduced to the market?  

Pilot testing and demonstration in villages and laboratory are one of the best ways to introduce the technology to people. It allows them to compare the system efficiency with and without the use of ELC.  The results of lab and field tests as well as the concepts and technology of ELC were disseminated and presented in various workshops with shop keepers and technical advisors. Moreover, support was given to shop keepers to put them in contact with suppliers. Furthermore, posters are used to introduce and explain more on this technology to end users while also permit them to contact trained shop owners to obtain the products.  Finally, ELC can be introduced to the market through technical advisors.  The experience of the project show that district technical advisors and village technical advisors acted as brokers to bring in the ELC into target villages. The products was bought from a local market and brought to village chief to demonstrate the product within a village.  End users who wish to use them are allowed, but compensation must be made if the device broken.  ELCs were bought and ordered by end users.  Profits from selling the products were shared between the district and village technical advisors.   

5)    What is the optimal role for LIRE in this market toward market players and other stakeholders? (capacity of LIRE and innovations) 

LIRE performs various roles in this market toward market players and other stake holders.  One of the optimal roles is to be a capacity builder. LIRE exploited bottom up approach to interview and identify training needs of shop keepers and technical advisors for training and formulate strategy for intervention. Finally, it could select the project participants in consultation with local authorities according the project characteristics and the expected results. 

While providing training to these people, LIRE has tried to influence shop owners for supply side. It has introduced new technology such as ELC and better quality pico-hydropower products to shop owners as well as pico-hydropower installation and user manuals in order to make available at their shops.  In parallel, it has tried to stir up the demand side by giving training and manuals to technical advisors who most of them are end users in order to let them know the availability of the products and technology.  As consequence, there is a starting demand of ELC in Phongsaly where purchase orders were made through district and village technical advisors to shop owner.  

Over te longer term LIRE will increasingly act as a platform for stakeholders in the energy subsectors of the Lao PDR, rather than making the kinds of direct interventions included in this project. This is a necessary move in order to maximise the impact of LIRE's cumulated expertise and information, especially given the small size of LIRE. Another reason for prusuing this opportunity is that ther are very few such linking organisations in the Lao PDR that are equally adept at serving the public and private sectors. 

6)    Does improvement of the safety and quality of turbine and installation lead to increase in number of end-users? 

Pico-hydropower systems are one of the cheapest electricity sources in the isolated rural areas. However end users are usually discouraged to install them due to they see that the current “hand made” installations of their neighbours are not as reliable as expected.  The program aims to improve the efficiency, quality, security and reliability of the installations by means the understanding of the pico-hydropower systems and the introduction of good quality products. Workshops and practical demonstrations during the field trips showed the benefits of picohydropower to the end users. However, it showed that improvement of safety and quality of turbine and installation provided by village technical advisors create demand for improvement of existing systems and for new system, but does not indicate at what speed.  

Through working to dispel misconceptions of pico-hydro technology limitations, raising the profile of the technology for rural communities by demonstrating government interest, and lore directly by improving installation practices in the target areas, this project has increased the uptake of picohydro technology. Safety and quality issues are often related for this technology. For instance, inappropriate choice of transmission line is both unsafe and wasteful. Improving the quality and safety increases the power output of individual turbines and the period of time that they can operate. This increases the number of people that can utilise electricity, and may encourage informal sharing between neighbouring households. Similarly by making better use of available water resources, more turbines can be installed. 

6.2Appendix II: List of Deliverables 

6.3Appendix III: Minute of Project Completion Workshop 

Minutes of Meeting 

6.4Power Point Presentation of Project Completion Workshop 

(please, see next pages)