During his stay on the farm he checked out if the necessary equipment was there for a proper monitoring of the project. Everything was all right in this department. After that came the field visits. Naturally we had to show him what SEDS had already accomplished in 30 years of development experience. This proved to him that we had good rapport with the communities where we would be building the biogas units. After this we showed him some villages and introduced him to the people who will become the owners of these biogas units. During the meetings Ole asked some questions regarding the possible benefits of the project for the people. The women were adamant that a lot of time and money (e.g. rent for an ox cart to carry the wood) would be saved. When asked what they will do with the extra time and money, the women replied that they will invest it in their children. On the question if only the richer families would benefit from the project - at least one cow/buffalo is needed for the working of the biogas unit - they answered that especially the middle class farmers will install the biogas units because the wealthier farmers already have the economic power to purchase normal gas tanks.
The results of the visits proved to be very positive. Ole was convinced that SEDS could take on the project.
A visit to a watershed construction
A CDM meeting in Thurukalapatnam
The significance of his visit should be seen in the broader light of the NGO-financing. The time that development NGO’s can solely survive on gifts and donations is becoming more difficult. Donors are becoming more demanding without understanding individual visions of NGO’s who are living organisms .This gives a lot of organizations insecurity in funding. Alternate resources are thus needed to keep the projects going and the CDM project is one of them. As a substitute of simply being handed over the money, SEDS gets money to invest in the building of biogas units. These units will reduce the CO2 emissions. Reducing the carbon footprint will help in combating the effects of climate change. In stead of burning wood the people will now be able to use biogas for their cooking. Next to the obvious advantages for the families there will also be the carbon credits. This is money coming from countries that have to pay for their excess CO2 emissions, according to the Kyoto protocol. The first seven years the larger part of these credits will flow back to the investors with interest. For these investors it is just business as usual. This is no more charity but business with a social character. This is a shift in the NGO-financing. Is SEDS worth investing in or is it better to put the money in the bank?
