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Tag Archives: business models
Taita Taveta county lies approximately 150km northeast of Mombasa and 300km southeast of Nairobi in Kenya. Residents of Wundanyi subcounty were approached in 2013 by a newly-formed NGO, Taita Biogas, to pilot new biogas installations, due to the high prevalence of cattle farming in the region. This gives ready availability for high-quality feedstock for biogas digesters in the form of cattle manure. To date, the NGO has installed over 600 household-scale biodigesters in the country, and has completed two institutional biodigesters for schools in the region, with a third under construction. These institutional-scale installations will use human and food wastes as feedstock rather than cattle wastes.
The business model for the NGO provides an opportunity for consumers who would not be able to afford a biodigester installation outright to install a system. Taita Biogas covers half of the cost of installation, and also arranges contractors to construct and commission the system. The households then pay the remaining amount for installation, usually in the region of KSh145,000 (GBP1,035). In recent years the NGO has expanded operations through partnership with the Micro Enterprise Support Project, another Kenyan NGO supporting farmers venturing into macadamia nut and French bean farming. Whilst this partnership has not been successful to date, due to MESP pulling out in 2017, a new partnership with the organisation is to be formed with additional funding, and a loan finance option provided through the MESP to members for biogas installations.
Household biodigester user Honorata Nyange cleaning utensils at her Lushangonyi home in Taita Taveta County, Kenya. Photo/Malemba Mkongo, star.co.ke
There are a range of benefits available to the farmers who have installed these biogas systems, as well as the institutional-scale digesters installed by regional schools. Households have reported a huge reduction in the amount of money and time invested in collecting firewood and purchasing charcoal, and the institutional users have reported a 50% reduction in the cost of purchasing firewood for cooking since installation of the digesters. In addition, this scheme is innovative in that householders are coordinating with the NGO to apply for regulatory permission from the Energy Commission of Kenya to bottle and sell biogas on the local market, as self-producers. Biogas sells for comparable prices to natural gas on the Kenya market (KSh200/kg (GBP1.43/kg), compared to KSh175-250 (GBP1.25-1.78/kg) for natural gas), and should regulatory permission be granted, these biogas installations have the potential to become an additional revenue stream for the farmers. Finally, household users have reported significant improvements in both cooking quality and ease of use when using biogas compared to firewood or charcoal, with a reduction in combustion residues and ease of lighting when using biogas as a fuel source.
The NGO is currently expanding its operations both on a geographical and technology-focused scale. As well as its operations in Kenya, the NGO is conducting feasibility studies for joint biogas/solar photovoltaic/solar water heater applications in Ethiopia, as well as local training workshops in partnership with an Ethiopian NGO, MCMDO-REESDE, for solar water heating technology, both in terms of installation and local construction.
Star.co.ke (2017) Taita Taveta Dumps Firewood for Biogas. Available at: https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2018/02/12/taita-taveta-dumps-firewood-for-biogas_c1707691 [Accessed 10th March 2018]
Taita Biogas (2018) What We Do. Available at: http://biogas-taita.de/home.php [Accessed 10th March 2018]
This entry was posted in UCL Energy Institute and tagged agriculture, biodigester, biogas, biogas cooking, biogas market, business models, clean cooking, farming communities, households, Kenya, local training, partnerships, schools, thermal energy, workshop on May 17, 2018 by danielkerrucl.
Solar Water Heating as an Energy Service – Part 1 – Technology Choices and Markets
Solar water heaters as a product have the potential to contribute considerably to energy demand reduction in developing countries. This exists both as a household-scale technology, and in industrial applications such as desalination in countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and industrial process heat in both developed and developing countries. A number of developing countries around the world, notably those in Sub-Saharan Africa, have had success in disseminating solar water heating products on a commercial basis, in addition to a number of large-scale government dissemination programs. Countries such as South Africa (with around 500,000 systems installed as of 2016) and China (which has over 85 million installed SWH units as of 2016) have developed a robust network of commercial installers and manufacturers of solar water heating units and parts, selling products on a market basis to households and businesses.
Solar water heater installed by ESKOM, South Africa. Image: gmourits, Flickr, via http://inhabitat.com/eskom-installs-solar-powered-heaters-on-south-african-roofs/
There are a number of opportunities in developing country markets to develop a solar water heating sector. A number of developing countries, particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa, have high levels of insolation (sunlight kWh/m2/day), and a consistent demand across income segments of the population for water heating. Industrial process heat is another sector where solar water heating could have an impact, as is institutional process heat, for example heat exchangers for hospital refrigeration, and hot water for use in health centres and schools.
Entrepreneurs and companies looking to enter the solar water heating market space need to consider a number of questions before starting their operations. Firstly, an appropriate technology choice is essential for succeeding in the SWH market, perhaps more so than many other renewable energy technologies. Deciding which consumer segment or income bracket to target informs the technology decision somewhat, but thorough research needs to be done on what the market and consumers can afford before deciding on a technology. Main technology streams for SWH include flat-plate solar collectors, and evacuated tube solar collectors. Both work on similar principles, heating water that passes through the collector, either through capillary action or through the use of an electric pump. Flat-plate collectors can be slightly less efficient than evacuated tube designs due to heat loss through convection, however they are also less expensive and simpler to produce. Evacuated tube designs are generally more efficient at heating water, but are also more expensive to compensate for the increased complexity in manufacture.
Flat-plate solar collector installed on a house in the United Kingdom. Image: uk.solarcontact.com
Flat-plate solar collector efficiency vs evacuated tube efficiency at various temperature ranges for a typical North American location. Source: https://blog.heatspring.com/solar-thermal-flat-plate-or-evacuated-tube-collectors/
When designing a new solar water heating business or intervention, therefore, it is important to consider which variant on the technology is to be used, and at what scale (household, institutional, industrial etc.), in order to plan dissemination based on affordability for the consumer. The next blog in this series will investigate business and financing models that can assist in improving the sustainability and replicability of solar water heating energy service companies.
Clean Technica (2015) World's Largest Solar Powered, Jellyfish-Fightin' Desalination Plant To Be Built in Saudi Arabia. Available at: https://cleantechnica.com/2015/01/22/worlds-largest-solar-powered-desalination-plant-under-way/
Urban, Geall & Wang (2016) Solar PV and solar water heaters in China: Different pathways to low carbon energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 64, pp. 531 – 542
EE Publishers (2016) Solar water heater rollout programme gains momentum. Available at: http://www.ee.co.za/article/solar-water-heater-rollout-programme-gains-momentum.html
This entry was posted in UCL Energy Institute and tagged business models, consumers, desalination, efficiency, energy poverty, evacuated tube collector, financing models, flat-plate, markets, markets for SWH, pro-poor, solar water heater manufacturing, solar water heating, solar water heating business, Sub-Saharan Africa, SWH on June 1, 2017 by danielkerrucl.
The Clean Cookstoves Value Chain and Opportunities for Business
The value chain in private markets for clean cookstoves can broadly be categorised into production (either of full cookstoves or materials, such as ceramic liners), distribution and sales activities. For a prospective entrepreneur entering the clean cookstoves market, it is important to identify where business opportunities exist in the cookstoves value chain, and how to target these opportunities with specific business models.
Production of clean cookstoves is most commonly done by private market actors around the world. These companies take raw materials, such as clay or sheet metal, and form either complete cookstoves or cookstove components. Local producers, often clean cookstove product and fuel consumers themselves, feature heavily in the cookstove materials production market, with markets such as Sri Lanka relying on locally-produced clay liners for the dominant Anagi stove design in the country. Through early donor-led cookstove programs in the mid-1980s by organisations such as ITDG (Practical Action), over 200 potters and 2000 stove installers were trained, with over 400,000 stoves disseminated from 1985-1990. This led to a firm foundation for commercialisation and marketization of cookstoves technology. As of 2012, over 300,000 stoves were being produced annually, with 74 distribution companies active in the country [1] [2] [4]
Mr. Thureirasa Ratnakumar, an 'Anagi' stove producer in Sri Lanka. Image: http://unhabitat.lk/news/promoting-energy-efficient-improved-cooking-stoves-for-better-health-in-the-north-of-sri-lanka/
Some distribution companies operate in an integrated fashion with other sectors of the market, such as being manufacturer and distributor or manufacturer and vendor. Generally cookstove products at a pre-distribution level are sold on a direct purchase basis to distributors or vendors, with little in the way of finance on a non-commercial loan basis.
Distribution companies in the cookstoves sector act as intermediaries between vendors and producers, but these activities can be integrated into a single company. Distribution of clean cookstoves is also commonly achieved with a direct purchase model, although costs can be high in distribution if operating outside of areas with suitable transport infrastructure, meaning that distributors negotiating favourable purchase terms with suppliers is not uncommon due to the high up-front costs of the business.
[1] Amerasekera, R.M. (2006) Commercialisation of improved cookstoves in Sri Lanka: A case study. Available at: http://www.inforse.org/Case/Case-SriLanka-Stoves.php3
[2] World Food Program (2012) Sri Lanka: 50,000 Fuel Efficient Stoves Change Lives Of IDPs In The North. Available at: https://www.wfp.org/stories/50000-fuel-efficient-stoves-have-been-distributed-among-idps-north-sri-lanka
[3] BURN Cookstoves: About Us. Available at: http://www.burnstoves.com/about/
[4] [2] Rai & McDonald, GVEP International (2009) Cookstoves and markets: experiences, successes and opportunities. Available at: http://www.hedon.info/docs/GVEP_Markets_and_Cookstoves__.pdf
This entry was posted in UCL Energy Institute and tagged Anagi stove, business models, clean cooking, clean cookstoves, cookstove markets, cookstoves, cookstoves business, cookstoves technology, cookstoves value chain, developing markets, distribution companies, entrepreneurship, marketization, markets, Sri Lanka, vendor companies on September 19, 2016 by danielkerrucl.
Direct Dissemination (State Programs) vs Private Sector Models
This post, the second in our business models series, aims to explore the differences between state-led dissemination models and private-sector business models, both in terms of scalability, as well as affordability for consumer and the potential for developing sustainable markets and sustainable businesses.
There are a variety of business models that could be used to develop clean cookstoves businesses, which can broadly be categorised into three spheres: direct dissemination models, where the user receives a cookstove funded by an outside organisation (government, international donors etc.); vendor sales models, where consumers directly purchase a cookstove for a lump sum from a vendor, and micro-credit models, either delivered by vendors themselves or through dedicated micro-finance institutions. [2]
Vendor sales are the most common method of businesses interacting with end-users in the clean cookstoves sphere. These vendors either purchase cookstoves on a wholesale basis from producers or distributors, or are assisted by third-sector financing organisations to enable this purchase. BURN Cookstoves in Kenya, one of the largest integrated cookstoves companies in the country, uses a direct-sales model for its operations.
Micro-credit in the form of dealer credits are another common financing instrument used in vendor purchase models for clean cookstoves, allowing consumers to pay a periodic fee to progressively purchase a clean cookstove. Some vendors have clean cookstoves as their primary business, others use it as an additional income stream to a more traditional goods shop, or as another source of revenue in an energy service company business. For example, some solar home system concessions in South Africa, such as the Nuon-RAPS (NuRa) utility are using clean cookstoves to supplement their business with a smaller, secondary revenue stream, selling both cookstove equipment and fuels. NuRa uses sales of charcoal and ethanol gel cookstoves, as well as integrated fuel/hob LPG stoves, to supplement their main solar home system business.
The Kenyan clean cookstoves market is a good example of one that has transitioned from a direct dissemination model at a donor/state scale to a private-sector led distribution and sales model. Donor/development agency-led clean cookstoves programs in Kenya date back to the 1980s, and designs used in the initial deployment phase, such as the Kenya Ceramic Jiko (KCJ), have become staple designs of the market. Charcoal stoves however are still the predominant cookstove type used in Kenya, with estimates that 47% of the population use some form of charcoal stove, rising to 80% in urban areas such as Nairobi. Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves estimates put the size of the market at 2.5-3 million households using some form of clean cookstove in 2012. As of February 2016, the GACC is continuing to work with partners such as the Clean Cooking Association of Kenya (CCAK) and other governmental and non-governmental organisations, to disseminate 5 million improved cookstoves by 2020.
Ceramic Jiko stove, often referred to as the Kenya Ceramic Jiko. Image: AFREPREN
The cookstove market is fragmented in Kenya, with the majority of cookstove production done on a small to medium scale. Distribution costs can be high because of this, and with a poor road network in some areas, it becomes more feasible for wholesale buyers to collect directly from producers. Cookstoves are sold through a combination of dedicated retailers and traditional vendors, with wholesale buyers acting as further distribution agents to demand centres. [1]
There are a number of reasons why private-sector models can have advantages over state/donor-led dissemination. The Kenyan market relies on private provision of cookstoves from manufacturers at a local level, with vendors purchasing cookstoves wholesale to be sold later. Whilst this can increase costs to end users due to multiple markups in the value chain, offering micro-finance at a vendor level allows vendors to access wider segments of the consumer market, allowing people who could otherwise not afford a cookstove outright the chance to progressively purchase one. Scalability and flexibility are also advantages to private-sector dissemination, with multiple opportunities across the value chain for businesses depending on local consumer preferences and material availabilities. [3]
The next post in this series will explore the concept of the clean cookstoves value chain further, and identify where potential business might be sited within this value chain.
[1] GVEP International (2012a) Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Kenya Market Assessment, Sector Mapping. Available at: http://cleancookstoves.org/resources_files/kenya-market-assessment-mapping.pdf
[2] Gaul (2009) Subsidy schemes for the dissemination of improved stoves. Experiences of GTZ HERA and Energising Development. Available at: http://fsg.afre.msu.edu/promisam_2/references/Gaul_2009_Stove_Subsidies.pdf
[3] SNV (2015) ICS Business Toolkit, Starting, Managing and Growing an Improved Cook Stoves Business in Uganda. Available at: http://snv.org/en/countries/uganda/publications/snv-uganda-integrated-cookstove-business-toolkit
This entry was posted in UCL Energy Institute and tagged business models, clean cooking, clean cookstoves, cookstove businesses, cookstoves, direct dissemination, dissemination, ICS, jiko stove, KCJ, Kenya Ceramic Jiko, micro-credit, private sector models, private-sector, progressive purchase, state programs, vendor sales on September 16, 2016 by danielkerrucl.
Clean Cooking Technologies and Dissemination: Growing Markets
Clean cookstoves, also known as improved cookstoves (ICS) have the potential to significantly change patterns of household and institutional energy use in developing countries. However, access to clean cookstoves for consumers in developing countries remains low, despite high levels of fuel use appropriate to cookstoves being prevalent in developing countries, particularly in rural areas.
Share of population using solid fuels with access to improved cookstoves in Developed Countries (DCs), Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) [1]
The use of clean cookstoves has the potential to improve livelihoods, particularly for women and children, in developing countries through alleviating the time burden of gathering fuel, allowing users to spend more of their time on other activities, for example income generation. Daily collection of firewood for cooking can vary in duration from 3 hours [7] to seven hours [8]. Clean cookstove technologies such as rocket stoves can achieve the same cooking results, in the same time, while using just 60% of the fuel [8]. Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves research has shown that traditional cookstove-using households in India, Bangladesh and Nepal on average spend 660 hours/year on fuelwood collection, while improved cookstove households spend just 539 hours/year [9]. Indoor air quality improvements are another key benefit. Around 3.8 million premature deaths annually are caused by non-communicable diseases, such as heart diseases and lung cancer that can be attributed to indoor air pollution [3].
Removing poorly-combusting, high-smoke fuels such as traditional wood fuels from the household energy mix in developing countries, and reducing indoor air pollution consequently, would have huge positive consequences for public health in the developing world.
Clean cookstoves technologies tend to be demarcated on the type of fuel used, as well as the general design of the cookstove and its technological aims. These cookstoves can also be demarcated through cost, with lower-cost cookstoves made from clay or metal with a clay lining, and higher-cost stoves using factory-machined materials like metals. Differences in cost tend to lead to different target market, with low-cost cookstoves targeting rural consumers, and higher-cost cookstoves focusing on emerging middle classes and high-income employees. Costs for a household clean cookstove can range from US$10 to US$350+, and as such different business models are required to disseminate these stoves to best reach their target markets. High-cost stoves are most commonly directly sold to consumers, whereas low-cost stoves can be available through government or donor programs of dissemination, as well as through direct purchase, vendor-credit or micro-credit models. [4] [6]
Stovetech combined wood/charcoal improved cookstove. Source: http://inhabitat.com/four-cooking-stove-designs-that-can-save-the-world/
Solid fuel cookstoves, for example cookstoves using traditional woodfuels, tend to aim for significantly more efficient combustion of fuels, reducing indoor air pollution in the form of smoke and particulate matter, as well as generating more heat. These efficient designs can focus on combusting fuel more effectively, through designing combustion chambers to allow for more aerobic combustion, whereas others focus on having a heavily-insulated cooking chamber to reduce heat loss, focusing on longer cooking times for the same amount of fuel. Other cookstove designs for developing countries focus on using more efficient fuels with low-cost technology. Some examples of this include efficient charcoal stoves, as well as LPG stoves designed for developing country use.
Lab efficiencies of various established cookstove designs used in the developing world. Table established by D. Kerr derived from http://catalog.cleancookstoves.org/test-results, with standards available online at: http://cleancookstoves.org/technology-and-fuels/testing/protocols.html
However, lab efficiencies do not always translate into real-world efficiencies. A recent Indian cookstoves study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington and the University of British Colombia found disparities in real-world use efficiencies in a recent CDM program of cookstove dissemination from the Indian government. Particulate matter emissions especially were higher than expected, which may have been due to the 'stove-stacking' phenomenon, where families continue to use traditional cookstoves after receiving an improved cookstove. Some 40% of households in this study were found to be doing this [5].
Dissemination of clean cookstoves, and growth in access to the technologies, has the potential to have a significant positive impact on the sustainability of energy use and improvement of livelihoods of consumers in developing countries. Whilst state-run programs have had some success in directly distributing clean cookstoves, market-based measures have been shown to have significant impacts over the medium-long term, and private cookstove markets have developed in a number of Sub-Saharan African countries, such as Kenya, South Africa and Uganda. Markets across the world have disseminated large numbers of cookstoves, with over 12 million disseminated in China in the 2012-2014 period, 4.5 million in Ethiopia, and nearly 3 million in Cambodia [12]. The Kenyan clean cookstoves market was sized at 2,565,954 units in 2012, with high levels of urban and peri-urban penetration (~35%), but significantly less rural coverage [10]. The Ugandan market by comparison is estimated to be around 600,000 households, with urban areas again dominating this group [11].
This series of posts aims to explore the variety of models that private businesses can use to achieve scale and sustainability in their operations in the clean cookstoves sector [2]. Direct dissemination will be compared to vendor purchase, vendor credit and micro-credit models in the second blog of this series. Post three will explore the clean cookstoves value chain and identify opportunities for business growth along the value chain, and the fourth post in this series will examine the role of government in promoting clean cookstoves businesses.
[1] Bazilian et al. (2011) Partnerships for access to modern cooking fuels and technologies. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Vol. 3, pp. 254 – 259.
[2] Rai & McDonald, GVEP International (2009) Cookstoves and markets: experiences, successes and opportunities. Available at: http://www.hedon.info/docs/GVEP_Markets_and_Cookstoves__.pdf
[3] WHO Website (2016) Household air pollution and health. Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs292/en/
[4] Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (2016) Clean Cooking Catalog. Available at: http://catalog.cleancookstoves.org/stoves
[5] University of Washington (2016) Carbon-financed cookstove fails to deliver hoped-for benefits in the field. Available at: http://www.washington.edu/news/2016/07/27/carbon-financed-cookstove-fails-to-deliver-hoped-for-benefits-in-the-field/
[6] Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (2016) Business and Financing Models., Available at: http://carbonfinanceforcookstoves.org/implementation/cookstove-value-chain/business-models/
[7] FAO (2015) Running out of time: The reduction of women's work burden in agricultural production. Available at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4741e.pdf
[8] GACC (2015) The Use of Behaviour Change Techniques in Clean Cooking Interventions to Achieve Health, Economic and Environmental Impact. Available at: https://cleancookstoves.org/binary-data/RESOURCE/file/000/000/369-1.pdf
[9] GACC/Practical Action (2014) Gender and Livelihoods Impacts of Clean Cookstoves in South Asia. Available at: https://cleancookstoves.org/binary-data/RESOURCE/file/000/000/357-1.pdf
[10] GVEP/GACC (2012) Kenya Market Assessment: Sector Mapping. Available at: https://cleancookstoves.org/binary-data/RESOURCE/file/000/000/166-1.pdf
[11] GVEP/GACC (2012) Uganda Market Assessment: Sector Mapping. Available at: http://cleancookstoves.org/resources_files/uganda-market-assessment-mapping.pdf
[12] REN21 (2016) Renewables Global Status Report. Available at: http://www.ren21.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/GSR_2016_Full_Report_REN21.pdf
This entry was posted in UCL Energy Institute and tagged business models, clean cooking, clean cookstove business, clean cookstoves, cooking, cooking sector, cookstove business, cookstove dissemination, cookstove markets, cookstoves, cookstoves value chain, efficiency, efficient cookstove, energy efficiency, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, private-sector, public-private partnerships, thermal energy, thermal energy services on September 9, 2016 by danielkerrucl.
Supporting Thermal Energy Services in Afghanistan
Binu Parthan from Sustainable Energy Associates writes on the growing support for thermal energy service considerations in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is often in the news for the wrong reasons such as large swathes of migrants on European shores, armed conflicts, loss of life etc. However it is possible that the country might actually be implementing one of the most innovative energy services projects which has just started implementation with support from the STEPs team.
Decades of political instability and conflict has resulted in low levels of infrastructure access levels in Afghanistan. Over 57% of the Afghan population does not have access to electricity and 81% of the population does not have access to non-solid fuels (World Bank/IEA, 2015). The situation is dire in rural Afghanistan where only 4% of the population have access to non-solid fuels. Many such locations in Afghanistan are located in colder regions with more than 6000 HDDs/Year.
Afghan households use a Tandoor, a traditional cylindrical clay or metal oven for cooking and baking an efficient version of which is shown in the Fig. It is reported that 90% of cooking revolves around making bread called Naan, followed by potatoes. Houses also use a Bukhari, a traditional space heater for heating the living spaces in winter. Some of the traditional houses also have a Tawa Khana which circulates the hot combustion gases from the tandoor under the floor of the living room and releases to the outside through the opposite wall.
Households in Afghanistan use firewood, animal dung cakes, charcoal and shrubs for heating and cooking. Traditionally firewood and charcoal were purchased in rural Afghanistan but increasingly shrubs and animal dung cakes also have to be purchased. The thermal energy use of solid fuels also have their serious health effects, the annual number of pre-mature deaths from indoor-air pollution is estimated to be 54,000/Year (WHO, 2009). In comparison the civilian casualties in 2015 from the armed conflict in Afghanistan was 11,002 (UNAMA, 2016). The use of solid fuels are also a financial strain on the Afghan households as the average rural Afghan household spends over $ 90 on fuels of which only 12% is on kerosene/lighting with 88% on thermal energy. The prices of the solid fuels also increase by 15-25% during winter months as well.
An efficient Tandoor in Afghanistan. Image: COAM/Amy Jennings
Since late 2013, since the inception of the STEPs project, till late 2015, Sustainable Energy Associates (SEA), one of the partners have been working with the Ministry for Rural Reconstruction and Development (MRRD) in Afghanistan and UNDP to develop a project to address these rural energy and thermal energy challenges. These efforts have led to development of a new programme – Afghanistan Sustainable Energy for Rural Development (ASERD) which has business model and financial innovation at the core of the programme design and was finalised by SEA in late 2015. The project agreement was signed by MRRD and UNDP in late December 2015 and will be financed by the governments of South Korea and Sweden. The project will have a financial outlay of over US$ 50 million and will be implemented over 4 years during the period 2016-2019.
The ASERD programme plans to establish sustainable rural energy services in 194 rural communities in 4 years, providing both electrical and thermal energy services. The efforts will bring sustainable energy to over 19,500 households providing health, economic and social benefits. However the major contribution the programme will make to rural energy in Afghanistan would be to establish delivery models that are technology neutral, leverage additional local and international resources, mobilise communities, engage the private sector and financiers to establish a self-sustaining delivery model. The thermal energy service model which will be used by ASERD is shown in Fig.1.
Thermal Energy Service Model of ASERD. Image: Sustainable Energy Associates
Past rural energy programmes in Afghanistan have mainly relied on technology driven approaches which have focused on commissioning electricity generating equipment and transferring ownership, operation and utility management responsibilities to the communities. These efforts have also largely ignored the cooking and heating needs of rural population in a country which has cold winters. The opportunities to go beyond household energy to commercial, enterprise and public service use of energy have not been exploited or capitalised effectively. Similarly private sector and financial institutions have only played a limited role in the programme so far and the aspects of policy, regulation, standards and incentive frameworks have also not received considerable attention.
Against this backdrop, the ASERD programme seeks to graduate from the current approach to establish a technology-neutral, sustainable service delivery arrangement to provide thermal and electrical energy in rural areas of Afghanistan for household, social and productive needs. The programme will also provide energy in rural areas to seek agriculture productivity gains, rural enterprise development, income generation, community social empowerment and cohesion as well as to expand public service to improve access to better health, education and security in rural areas. To deliver these services in rural areas in a sustainable manner the programme will seek to engage the national utility and the private sector in addition to community mobilisation.
The programme will also develop capacities of the government agencies, civil society and the, private sector including the financial sector. ASERD will also create frameworks for policy and regulation, testing and quality assurance as well as will also pilot seven innovative energy service delivery models which will leverage skillsets and resources from communities, private sector and financial institutions some of which are linked to global financing mechanisms for climate change and energy. These models will also result in benefits to women and the marginalised nomadic Kuchi communities.
The design of ASERD has benefited from the learnings on thermal energy services offerings, key challenges and solutions gained by the STEPs project team which will now be used to support about 20,000 families in Afghanistan. SEA will be involved during the implementation of ASERD to support MRRD and UNDP.
– Binu Parthan, SEA
Conservation Organisation of Afghan Mountain Areas (COAM), 2012, Shah Foladi Village energy Use Survey
International Energy Agency (IEA) and the World Bank. 2015. "Sustainable Energy for All 2015—Progress Toward Sustainable Energy" (June), World Bank, Washington, DC. Doi: 10.1596/978-1-4648 -0690-2 License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0 IGO
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), 2016, 'Civilian Casualties Hit a New High in 2015' available at https://unama.unmissions.org/civilian-casualties-hit-new-high-2015
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2015, Project Document: Afghanistan – Sustainable Energy for Rural Development (ASERD)
World Health Organisation, 2009, Country profile of Environmental Burden of Disease: Afghanistan
This entry was posted in SEA and tagged Afghanistan, ASERD, bukhari, business models, capacity building, climate change, delivery models, efficient cookstove, efficient stove, efficient tandoor, energy services, heating, infrastructure, Kerosene, lighting, rural energy, rural energy services, space heating, STEPs, thermal energy, thermal energy business models, thermal energy services, UNDP, utility management on March 24, 2016 by danielkerrucl.
What Business Model is Best for LPG Dissemination?
In the previous two posts of this series on LPG in developing countries, we have examined the concepts of fuel-switching to LPG from other, less sustainable fuels, and some ways of promoting LPG access in developing countries through government interventions. However, the development of LPG markets with private and public-private participants in developing countries has been slow, and few interventions attempted by governments and third-sector actors have had success in developing these markets.
Developing a private market for LPG in developing countries requires the existence of business models that are relevant to the technology and fuel source, as well as adaptable to changing consumer and market conditions.
Is fee for service a good model for LPG?
Fee-for-service business models, where consumers pay a monthly fee to an energy service company for their energy services, whilst the company maintains ownership of the system and maintenance/operations responsibility, have been used to great effect in other renewable technology sectors in allowing users to access energy services at a significantly reduced up-front cost, removing one of the primary barriers to business success and market development for renewable technologies.
Applying a fee-for-service business model to LPG equipment and fuels could help to promote the development of an LPG services business in developing countries. The high up-front cost of converting from other fuels to LPG can be mitigated through a monthly payments scheme, allowing the user to access the technology where otherwise they could not. This can be applied to LPG fuels as well as LPG-utilising equipment, such as water heaters or cooking equipment. However, there are disadvantages to the fee-for-service approach as a transaction model for LPG also. Equipment costs for LPG are generally low, particularly for cooking use, with the majority of the cost coming in fuels. Fuel costs are generally very high compared to other renewable thermal technologies. As such, direct purchasing of LPG equipment is within reach of a large proportion of consumers, mitigating the usefulness of a fee-for-service approach to spread out high equipment costs. Applying a fee-for-service transaction model is an approach that has been tested in rare cases: LPG fuel financing is used by some companies, for example VidaGas in Mozambique, where users can pay off cylinder purchases over a period of 2-3 months.
Appropriateness of the most common thermal energy fuel types for common renewable energy business transaction models. Source: Robert Aitken, 2016. [1]
Other models for LPG dissemination
Some countries, for example Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria, have started implementing a cylinder exchange model for LPG fuels, as opposed to previous models where cylinders were bought as a unit for a much higher price. These cylinder exchange models have been used in the domestic LPG sector in Europe for many years, and involve exchanging empty cylinders at central locations for full cylinders, with the user only paying for the fuel in the new cylinder. This involves the energy service company retaining ownership of the cylinders in circulation, allowing the user to access fuel at a lower cost.
A vendor inspects cooking gas cylinders at a cylinder exchange site in Kenya. Source: http://empoweredweb.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/opportunities-in-gas-business.html
Whilst this model benefits the users greatly, from a company perspective it is challenging, requiring a large up-front investment in terms of cylinders and filling equipment for LPG, as well as bulk purchases of the fuel itself, and the need for safe and secure storage of the fuel. However, with policies to promote business development in place, for example start-up grants or low-interest credit underwritten by governments/NGOs, this model has the potential to greatly increase access to LPG in developing countries.
– Xavier Lemaire and Daniel Kerr, UCL, February 2016
[1] Aitken Robert (2016), Technology and Business models for thermal energy services, STEPs toolkit, Under print.
This entry was posted in UCL Energy Institute and tagged business models, clean cooking, cylinder recirculation, fee-for-service, Ghana, Kenya, LPG, LPG business, LPG business models, LPG cylinders, LPG in developing countries, LPG markets, LPG subsidies, maintenance, renewable energy, south africa, sustainable cooking, sustainable LPG on February 26, 2016 by danielkerrucl.
The Challenges and Opportunities of Centralised and Decentralised Biodigesters
The STEPs research project explores the relative benefits and dis-benefits of larger centralised biogas systems at a village scale versus smaller family-scale systems. It also investigates the economic and financing factors (centralisation brings economies of scale but can only really be implemented by organisations/governments, family-scale systems may be out of reach of user capital without financing arrangements), environmental factors, and social and behavioural considerations (do users want to collectively cook, issues with economics of pipe gas supply meaning necessity of group facilities etc) inherent in biodigester development.
Biogas digesters can be a valuable solution to providing thermal energy services to rural and urban households in the developing world. The technology is particularly applicable in rural areas, where access to feed stock for the digesting chamber in the form of agricultural wastes and other organic wastes is greater. In general, digesters fall into two broad categories: household-scale biodigesters, and larger, centralised biodigesters.
Dome-type biodigester in Arusha, Tanzania [1]
Household-scale biodigesters are often seen as the most viable option for rural communities and households. These are generally small, with digesting chambers of volumes in the 4 to 13 cubic metres range. These installations will support the cooking needs of a rural household, as well as providing biogas for heating or lighting if required. Tailoring the size of the biogas system to the availability of feedstock for the household is critical for successful functioning of the system: studies have suggested 4-6 heads of cattle is a sustainable target if using agricultural wastes for feedstock, for an average-sized family of five. Individual biodigesters can produce sufficient gas for a single person on as little as 1 kg/day of feedstock.[2]
However, one of the primary limiting factors in the adoption of household biodigesters is financing and end-user capital constraints. Household-scale systems are still relatively expensive for the majority of rural developing-world users, and experience has shown that without the provision of credit facilities in biodigester programs, or government subsidies, adoption rates remain low.
Centralised biodigester systems offer a different set of benefits and challenges. Economies of scale are the major advantage: one centralised system can serve a medium-scale settlement or several small settlements, with a reduced burden for upfront capital costs and maintenance compared to the same service with household-scale systems, in the range of US$100 – 500 per household. The Chinese National Biogas Program [which will be the subject of a later blog in this series], has been the major implementer of centralised systems, however experience also exists in other South-East Asian countries. Examples of this can be found in the centralised digesters built near Beijing to service rural villages. For an upfront cost of ~US$1 million, 1900 households are serviced through each centralised digester, with biogas available at a 20% discount compared to market LPG prices, and the additional benefit of organic effluent being made available for sale to the local farms feeding the digester.[2] The major constraint, however, to wider dissemination of centralised systems is the significantly higher up-front capital costs. This puts the systems out of reach for private users in the majority of cases, government-scale implementation is more common.
Socio-political conditions are another factor that has proved a constraint in biogas implementation projects in developing countries. Centralised biogas digesters can have difficulty with biogas supply to end-users, particularly given the poor economics of installing piped gas supply in small rural communities. Communal cooking facilities have been a solution to this problem in theory, however experience from India suggests that collective cooking is not desired by the rural population, and this has impacted upon the success of centralised digester installations. As with dissemination programs for clean cookstoves, biogas installations need to take into account the end-users needs and desires in design and installation for product use and performance.
The other posts in this series will cover the question of why biogas hasn't succeeded in Sub-Saharan Africa as it has in South-East Asia, the maintenance question for biogas services, and lessons from the Chinese National Biogas Program.
– Xavier Lemaire & Daniel Kerr, UCL Energy Institute
[1] Laramee & Davis (2013) Economic and environmental impacts of domestic bio-digesters: Evidence from Arusha, Tanzania. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2013.02.001
[2] Hojnacki et al, MIT (2011) Biodigester Global Case Studies. Available at: https://colab.mit.edu/sites/default/files/D_Lab_Waste_Biodigester_Case_Studies_Report.pdf
This entry was posted in UCL Energy Institute and tagged biodigester, biodigesters, biogas, biogas business, biogas development, biogas for cooking, biogas for heating, business models, centralised biodigesters, China, Chinese National Biogas Program, clean energy, clean energy access, constraints, decentralised, decentralised biodigesters, development, digesters, renewable energy business, rural energy, rural energy access, South-East Asia, STEPs, Tanzania, thermal energy business models on August 19, 2015 by danielkerrucl.
STEPs Presentation at the Bengaluru SE4All Workshop
A presentation on 'Rethinking Finance and Business Approaches for Energy Access' was made by me at the Third International Triennial Workshop on Sustainable Energy For All : Transforming Commitments into Action. The workshop was organised by the NAM Science & Technology Centre and Society for Energy Managers (SEEM) at the green Christ University Campus at Kengeri, Bangalore during the period 21-24 February 2014. This was the third energy-related international event organised by NAM S&T Centre and SEEM and brought together a large number of energy sector experts from about 20 countries including 15 developing countries and several of them from Asia and Africa. The five countries participating from Sub-Saharan Africa were from Nigeria, Mauritius, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The workshop also adopted the Bengaluru declaration on sustainable energy for all.
An expert talk was given by me, presenting the current business and finance approaches to energy access and highlighting some of the new and emerging thinking in this space. The talk exhorted equal priority to thermal energy access alongside electricity and also encouraged the use of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). Several energy service business models such as PPPs, PAYG and emerging financing concepts such as crowdfunding, cryptocurrency etc were also presented. The STEPs project and its plans were also presented alongside a number of other progressive finance/business frameworks.. The interventions from the floor showed a keen interest in the issues of finance & business.
So the participation at the third triennial workshop on SE4All provided an opportunity to highlight the challenges with business and finance models in energy access and to encourage new approaches. The workshop also provided an opportunity to introduce the STEPs project, its objectives and plans to clean energy, energy access and development practitioners in Asian and African developing countries.
Dr Parthan presenting at the SE4All Workshop. Image: Sustainable Energy Associates
Rethinking Finance and Business Approaches for Energy Access – Presentation – Sustainable Energy Associates
Dr. Binu Parthan, SEA
This entry was posted in SEA and tagged access to finance, Bangalore, business models, financing, PAYG, PPP, public-private partnership, SE4All, STEPs on March 7, 2014 by danielkerrucl.


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Contemplative and active faith of Hammarskjöld
Sir, — Canon Michael Bourdeaux's otherwise excellent review of Susan Williams's book Who Killed Hammarskjöld? (Books, 19 May) lacks mention of the deep Christian faith that underpinned Dag Hammarskjöld's life and work.
Inspired by the medieval mystics, Hammarskjöld's faith combined contemplation and action, and fortified him to face down dictators and stand between rival power blocs during times of great international tension. His relentless determination to imitate Christ motivated him to pursue dialogue at all times and to place himself in great personal danger, ultimately leading to his death.
There is an argument for including Hammarskjöld alongside Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King in the list of 20th-century martyrs. Perhaps the time is right for a new volume on Hammarskjöld's spirituality and its relevance to our current situation.
BOB THOMAS (Reader)
31 Lodge Road, Locks Heath
Southampton SO31 6QY
From the Revd Richard Wyber
Sir, — In his otherwise interesting review of the latest book on the death of Dag Hammarskjöld, Canon Michael Bourdeaux shows a very limited appreciation of the world awareness of young people: "Only if you were born before the end of the Second World War will you remember . . .".
At the time, I had just turned 14. I well remember hearing the troubling news of this untimely death, and have never forgotten doing so.
RICHARD WYBER
7 Mornington Close
Essex IG8 0TT
Shakespeare's Richard III at Leicester Cathedral
From Professor Nicholas Orme
Sir, — It is quite inaccurate of Mrs Kim Harding (Letters, 19 May) to call Shakespeare's Richard III "not a depiction of the historical Richard" and a "malicious fiction".
The play's assertions that Richard caused the death of his brother and his own wife are indeed improbable. But the portrayal of Richard's likely involvement in the death of Henry VI, his usurpation of the throne of his nephew the legitimate king, his attempt to impugn the king and his brother as bastards, his responsibility for their deaths (as children) in the Tower, his murder of Hastings, his alliance with and then execution of Buckingham, his splitting of the Yorkist party so as to allow the emergence of Henry VII as a rival, and his final demise at the hands of Henry's army — these accord with the conclusions of all reputable professional historians.
Shakespeare's play is a parable of what happens to a man overwrought by ambition and the country unlucky to be ruled by him: a story eminently appropriate as a lesson for our own times.
NICHOLAS ORME
Rennes Drive
Exeter EX4 4RJ
C of E investments and fossil-fuel companies
From Mrs Nicky Bull
Sir, — I am writing in response to the letter (12 May) from the chief executive of the Church of England Pensions Board regarding its investment in fossil-fuel companies.
The letter states that the Church of England National Investing Bodies "retain the right to disinvest if companies are unresponsive, and we will do so, as previously evidenced when announcing the [climate-change] policy in 2015".
At the ExxonMobil AGM in 2016, 62 per cent of shareholders rejected the resolution on climate change proposed by the Church Commissioners, as they were recommended to do by the company's Board of Directors.
This year, ExxonMobil's Board of Directors is once again recommending that shareholders vote against the climate resolution being supported by the Church of England and others at the company's AGM later this month.
Given the unwillingness of ExxonMobil to respond, surely the time has come for the Church of England to disinvest from Exxon?
The Church of England should join other Churches around the world, including the Church of Sweden, the World Council of Churches, and Anglican Church of Southern Africa, in disinvesting from fossil fuels and investing in clean alternatives.
NICKY BULL
Chair, Operation Noah
40 Bermondsey Street
London, SE1 3UD
From Mr Phil Kingston
Sir, — A minor misprint in the caption to Christian Climate Action's protest against the Church of England's engagement with the fossil-fuel industry (News, 12 May) states that we think that there is not enough time to prevent runaway climate change, implying that there is nothing that can be done.
What we said in our statement was that there was not enough time for engagement (that is, trying to influence the fossil-fuel industry by holding shares in it) to prevent runaway climate change.
The work of Carbon Brief shows that the world has just four years of current fossil-fuel use before we exceed the carbon budget required for the Paris target of 1.5°, and uncontrollable temperature-escalation becomes more likely. There is simply not time for the slow and carefully managed transition for which engagement aims.
Although there are ample reasons to give up on this particular planet, we pray that God has not, and choose to have a hopeful view of the future, which requires such a rapid transition away from fossil fuels that disinvestment and non-violent resistance must play a part.
Even if there is no chance of averting climate chaos, we do not believe it to be within the mission of the Church to profit from the demise of civilised life on earth. Either way, it seems to us that the only moral position for the Church is an immediate commitment to disinvesting from all fossil fuels, and to investing, instead, in clean energy and other sustainable solutions.
PHIL KINGSTON
Christian Climate Action
53 Littleton Court, Blakeney Road
Patchway BS34 5RT
A columnist who turned looking into seeing
From the Archdeacon of St Albans
Sir, — I always prefer to save the best wine till last, and Dr Ronald Blythe's Word from Wormingford was always the final piece I read in the Church Times; an anticipatory joy. Others, I am sure, turned to it first for the sheer pleasure that reading it affords.
Whatever order we read the Church Times in, we owe Dr Blythe a huge debt of gratitude. He has that wonderful gift of enabling his readers to see the Godness of things, sometimes initially hidden, but then discernible when looking turns into seeing. He stands in the great tradition of Herbert, Traherne, and Clare in discerning the glory of God in that which is both ordinary and extraordinary.
I remember a simple sentence that he wrote about Christ's ascension which has given me a greater understanding of that great mystery than any other numerous books and sermons.
God bless him for giving us this glimpse of "Heaven in ordinarie".
6 Sopwell Lane
St Albans AL1 1RR
Rebranded: St Thomas's, Heigham, in Norwich, now advertised as "STN Earlham Road" during a metamorphosis that is said to have left members of the congregation that existed before in tearsChurch-plant that swept away a congregation and its liturgical life
From Judith and David Paston
Sir, — Church-plants (Features, 21 April) are not always painless or positive for all. St Thomas's, Heigham, in Norwich, became a plant four years ago. This is how it happened.
It was a middle-of-the-road traditional Victorian church, in a suburb of the cathedral city. It had had a robed choir and organist for more than 100 years, and a strong Anglican musical tradition. The electoral roll was about 100. The average attendance at the Common Worship eucharist at 10.30 a.m. was about 50. There were two other services: BCP communion at 8 a.m., and sung evensong at 6.30 p.m. — sparsely attended but greatly valued by those who did attend.
There was a problem paying the Parish Share in full, as it had much increased over several years, but there was no problem with the enthusiasm, dedication, loyalty, and faith of the congregation. Many money-raising events also brought in the wider community: Christmas and spring fairs and jumble sales, coffee mornings, and Christian Aid collections, among others.
After a sudden bereavement in 2012, the Vicar at that time was advised to exercise ministry elsewhere, and the living was suspended by the Bishop. Enter the next Priest-in-Charge in 2013: a curate from HTB, who stated that he had a mandate from the Bishop to change and improve, and encourage growth, and with it attendant giving.
The initial expression of this was to move the choral eucharist to 9.30 a.m. This was to give time for some supporters from London to get to a new informal service at 11. Many PCC members were against this, but were overruled, and the Priest-in-Charge said that he would accept only unanimous agreement in favour. When it was suggested at the PCC that a "plant" was taking place, it was vehemently denied. This denial was untrue, as has been admitted in your article.
The move to 9.30 was extremely inconvenient for many of the existing congregation, some elderly people, and members living outside the parish. It went ahead, however. Large screens were introduced, and hymn books and service sheets were discouraged. Many elderly people could not see the screens well enough to read them.
As time went on, the parish magazine was discontinued: it was said that the website was where people should go for information, and listen to recordings of recent sermons; but many do not own computers or smartphones.
The robed choir was gradually undermined. Evensong was changed from 6.30 to 4.30 to accommodate a service at 7 p.m. for students and young people. Several choir members and the organist of nearly 20 years left, with much heart-searching and sadness. This organist and choirmaster had been dedicated and faithful, responsible for choir practice and two choral services every week, and organising many concerts; several famous organists had given recitals on the fine organ. There had also been a link with a rural-benefice choir, and an exchange of services twice a year. The choir was moved out of its vestry without any discussion or warning: the room was needed as an office.
A new organist and choirmaster was appointed. Not long after this, evensong became a once-a-month service, and the organ was needed at only three 9.30 services a month, a music group taking its place at the fourth. Eventually, the new music director left, after the eight services a month which he had been appointed to play for were reduced to four. Evensong was abolished: it was said to be not "missional" enough, and the congregation was too small.
The choir and two volunteer organists were required at only two services a month. More choir members left. A new music director (not an organist) was appointed with no experience of traditional church music. The choir members were told not to robe, to stand on the new stage that had been built over and extending the chancel steps, and to wear black and white — this at the Common Worship 9.30 a.m. eucharist. The pulpit, lectern, clergy stalls, and screen were removed. The pews were sold. There was even talk of removing the font. Most of the original choir had left.
The parish hall had been let to various non-church groups: in fact, it had been a stipulation that it should be used by the wider community when grants from secular bodies were given for its refurbishment after a disastrous fire in 1997. Very few non-church groups use it now, after charges for non-church groups were significantly increased.
It has been stated that the congregation has increased by eight or nine times. This is probably true: some of them are students, but many have come from other churches. Some local clergy have expressed disappointment that a number of their congregation left for St Thomas's.
Many of the original congregation have left, including two Readers, some to other more traditional churches or the cathedral, but some to no church. Some elderly people in the parish and beyond have become unchurched in their old age, to their great distress.
All this has come at great cost and heartache to the original congregation. Of course, a lot of money is involved: a very expensive sound system, screens, computers, and many paid staff, who have evidently come from other churches.
Obviously, it has not been possible to keep faithfully to different traditions in the same church. Although "Common Worship Eucharist" continues at 9.30, it has no procession, no robed choir or clergy, some of the liturgy is missed out, hymns and organ are used at only two services a month, and the communion is administered sometimes by lay people who do not have the permission of the Bishop. Apparently "anybody" can do it, and take communion to people's homes.
To plant a church into a building that has become redundant, or has an extremely small congregation, is one thing, but to impose a different tradition of worship, priesthood, and even theology on an existing 50-plus congregation, many of whom had worshipped and served there for 30 to 40 years, or their whole lives, causes sadness and even heartbreak. Many were in tears that their spiritual home was no longer there, and they felt adrift.
Fortunately, some of the original choir have joined the choir in a neighbouring parish, and have found a warm welcome. Others have joined that congregation, too. They are happy that they can celebrate the seasons and festivals of the Church again, such as Advent, Epiphany, Candlemas, and even Ascension, which had not been recognised in the "new" St Thomas's, and can worship in the tradition to which they have been accustomed.
Owing to lack of transport, however, that choice is not open to all. The ministry specifically to older people at St Thomas's seems to be limited to a fortnightly lunch club (which has existed for 30 years), with no other afternoon meetings. The many evening meetings (Connect groups), scattered over the parish and in satellites far afield, are for those who have transport, and are aimed at younger people.
Two more churches in the neighbourhood have been or are being "planted" by St Thomas's. One, St Alban's, has become a café church, leaving that parish without a real parish church, and no traditional or Common Worship services. The other, St Barnabas's, has only just been taken over. It has a liturgical Catholic tradition with a small congregation; it remains to be seen what will happen there. There are now four stipendiary clergy in the extended parish of St Thomas's, Norwich (no longer Heigham), now expecting to be known as STN Earlham Road and STN Grove Walk (formerly St Alban's)
The Vicar of St Peter's, Brighton, the Revd Archie Coates, was quoted (Features, 21 April) as saying that Holy Trinity, Brompton, hadn't "always got it right"; and he believed that it was better to have a model of partnership rather than planting, which recognised the need to "keep the identity of the church that we partner with". Is the story of St Thomas's, Heigham, an example of not getting it right, and effectively destroying its existing identity, and alienating many of its original former faithful congregation?
Of course, there has been a significant increase in the congregation, large financial gains, and prizes for the website, all proudly proclaimed by clergy and people. It seems, however, that there is little to be proud of in the insensitive and even cruel way in which this plant was carried out. May it not happen like this again.
JUDITH PASTON
DAVID PASTON
1 Hall Farm Cottages
Gowthorpe Lane
Swardeston
Norfolk NR14 8DS
Rattling the tin?
The Chilcot report and the morality of the Iraq War: further reflections; Ministry Bank proposed; Shared Conversations and the sexuality debate; Striking Petertide poses; Resources for the well-being of those in ministry and under stress; The Church plays a part in social mobility, too; Christ and St Mary Magdalene; Christian Aid's attitude to the situation in Gaza; Don't make your website a stumbling-block; Tribute to the CT — and its reliable purveyors;
From Mr Andrew Collie
Sir, — Mr John Boddy (Letters, 28 April) and subsequent correspondents have effectively been advocating a "pay for what you get" model of funding diocesan-provided clergy and support; this is fine for those who can afford to pay for what they want, but not for others. In that model, what happens to diocesan-provided support that a parish needs but does not want? Parish Share says what it is on the tin: we share the cost of supporting parishes, and, in different systems and to different degrees, according to our means.
ANDREW COLLIE
Rowan Cottage, Parwich
Ashbourne DE6 1QB
Germany's welcome
From Dr David Winston
Sir, — Prebendary Gillean Craig's television review (Media, 12 May) contrasts "the generous welcome to refugees afforded by Angela Merkel with that of our own government".
The German birth-rate has been rising in recent years, but until recently has been far below the natural replacement rate. Perhaps there was an element of calculation in Mrs Merkel's generosity.
DAVID WINSTON
24 Longton Road
Salford M6 7QW
Origins of the Church of England in South Africa
From the Revd Dr John Bunyan
Sir, — The Church of England in South Africa (CESA) did not split from the Church of the Province soon after the latter was founded ("Jesmond is robust in defence of its new curate-bishop", News, 12 May).
The CESA emerged in the 20th century and has no link with the 19th-century diocese of Natal, except perhaps through an incorporating of some small Zulu congregations.
Bishop Colenso, the winsome 19th-century missionary, fearless defender of the Zulu people, and persistent seeker after the truth, was confirmed as the lawful (Church of England) Bishop of Natal. The Church of the Province appointed a rival "Bishop of Maritzburg", William Macrorie.
Macrorie's All Saints' Cathedral, in Pietermaritzburg, has, however, long since been moved, and the schism ended more than a century ago. Next to the tiny St Peter's Cathedral in PMB, in which Bishop Colenso preached his "Natal Sermons", and where he lies buried, is the great new Cathedral of the Nativity. Happily, its two large meeting rooms are named after Colenso and Macrorie.
Whatever the grounds for CESA's position (one with which my own diocese of Sydney has long had sympathy), they cannot include a historical and tactual association with the original Church of England, or with a Bishop of Natal noted for his liberal biblical scholarship.
Colenso Corner
Richard Avenue
The cost of living in a post-truth society
The battle for the soul of Europe
Paul Vallely: More than just a Brexit election
Christ is with the Manchester victims
Malcolm Guite: Poet's corner
Angela Tilby: Hail the Ascension hymns
Leader commentAudio & VideoFeatures
This two-parish benefice, embracing both rural and urban communities in South Somerset, is situated in a pleasant location with good road and rail links. We long to reach out with the love of God more widely into our communities and to see God's kingdom grow.
London and Home Counties
Unique and exciting opportunity to establish a new congregation with a passion for environmental issues that will have an impact locally, across the capital, and nationally.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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GP Mexico: Mercedes will not put limits on their riders on track
November 1, 2015 by jason
Lewis Hamilton snatched the first place in Austin Nico Rosberg behind to overtake him on the inside into the first corner and force the German out of the track on the outside. Both came even to touch and that caused Rosberg to lose several positions, but Hamilton says that he did it on purpose and that simply came past, and the humidity of the track prevented him from closing the path.
Toto Wolff admits that, after the incident, had "conversations regularly and we discuss it after Austin, both are absolutely aware of the situation", emphasizing that "there is no need to talk about it" in relation to the race in the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Mercedes has always taken a neutral position, giving freedom to their pilots in most of the occasions, something no doubt influenced by the great superiority that the team takes on their rivals. "we Want to see them compete and not agree to anything before the start of the race about who reaches first the curve and who comes second", stated Wolff, who asserted that this "would that everything were a lot less interesting. We continue encouraging both to compete with energy and optimize their results and, obviously, for the team it is very important that there is no controversy. Of course, if both cars collide, this will cause controversy", " he said Wollf dropping that, even if you have freedom, you do not want to step out of line.
Faced with the question of what he thought about what happened in Austin, Wolff commented that his conclusion was that "both competed very hard between them under very difficult conditions on a curve difficult", but also taking into account that it is not "the professor and they are the two best pilots. There comes a point at which the responsibility is in your hands. The fundamental rule remains the same: we don't want controversy or tension in the team".
The 33 sport's most frightening roaring in a single video (that you can't miss)
Before putting a tire of imitation to your car you should see this video


Reveal/Revile: Collaborative, interdisciplinary show with collaborative works by seven teams of writers, artists, and composers, co-curated with Tyler Dilts and Sigtru Nesland, Gatov Galleries, CSULB, 23-28 April 2005.
This entry was posted in collaborations, curatorial, exhibitions, installation, visual and tagged CSULB Art Department, Long Beach, Sigtru Nesland, Tyler Dilts by glenncbach. Bookmark the permalink.


Get inspired to make our favorite fill-you-up soups that warm you inside and out. From a weeknight Thai-inspired soup with shredded chicken and lime to a Spanish Caldo Gallego (a white bean soup), to a classic Pasta Fagioli with a twist, there's a soup—or stew, or chowder—for every soup lover. Plus, the gang tries the new season of Jovial's organic olive oil from 1,000 year-old varietals and a new up-and-coming green peanut oil from Oliver Farm in Georgia. We stay in the south with special guest Ronni Lundy, the author of the beautiful book, Victuals. Ronni is an authority on the foods, people, and customs of the southern Appalachian mountains. She shares recipes for Colcannon, Rösti, and Slow-Cooked Roasted Pork Shoulder.


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Doctor Who: Snakedance (Review)
Posted on June 4, 2013 by Darren
To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the longest-running science-fiction show in the world, I'll be taking weekly looks at some of my own personal favourite stories and arcs, from the old and new series, with a view to encapsulating the sublime, the clever and the fiendishly odd of the BBC's Doctor Who.
Snakedance originally aired in 1983.
I know exactly what you want.
Yes, you've come to pester me with some extravagant theory you've dreamed up concerning the Mara, and should I, the Director, fail to take sufficient notice of your colourful improbabilities, it will be the end of civilisation as we know it at least. How am I doing so far, hmm?
– Ambril and the Doctor
I think it's quite a compliment to the concept of the Mara, introduced the previous season in Kinda, that the relatively new alien menace was chosen to take part in the celebration of classic villains that was Peter Davison's second season. It was only a year old at the time, and hadn't exactly been stunningly realised, so it seems like a massive vote of confidence in the monster to see it measured against foes like Omega in Arc of Infinity and the Master in The King's Demons. Common knowledge will tell you that Snakedance is a perfectly entertaining serial, but can't really measure up to one of the better stories of Davison's first season. I'm not so convinced, and think that the two stories actually complement one another perfectly.
Don't let this get out of hand...
To some viewers, Snakedance might lack the philosophical complexity of Kinda. For example, the adventure does feature any number of dreams, but none seem anywhere near as surreal as we witnessed in Kinda. The story is much more straightforward and there's none of the ambiguity that the original series suggested. On the other hand, some viewers could argue that the serial is much less pretentious than its direct predecessor, simply making a decision to favour character and plot rather than atmosphere and mood. It's really a matter of preference.
Certainly, there's less of Bailey's Buddhist themes to be found here – though some ("the great crystal – the great mind's eye!") do remain. Still, there are some faint echoes of the ideas, as is somewhat fitting. Snakedance isn't an attempt to repeat a story that we saw only one season ago, and I think that's fair. Instead, it's more of an expansion of ideas. So concepts like "the wheel", the idea that time repeats and the past and future can be the same without the use of time travel remain, suggested somewhat fleetingly in the history of Manussa, a planet that has been home to not one, but two great empires.
Serpent's tooth...
Hell, the Manussans even regressed, moving backwards from a position of technological advancement. "It's quite clear that the Manussans of the pre-Sumaran era were a highly civilised people," Ambril explains. "Their technology in some senses was considerably in advance of our own. Then, suddenly, almost overnight, the Manussan civilisation simply disappeared. It was certainly subjected to a cultural catastrophe of unimaginable proportions." The culture, once the pinnacle of civilisation, had devolved "to such an extent that when the Federation record begins some six hundred years later, they speak of the Manussans as a primitive people in thrall to the Mara, sunk in barbarity, degradation and cruelty." It's very similar to what Kinda suggested.
And while the story touches on the core theme of the earlier adventure, it also feels appropriate that it develops further something fleetingly suggested in the original story. Kinda touched on the importance of drama and theatre as a means of exorcising demons, with the Doctor portrayed as a "Jester" figure, one who banishes demons and primal fears. No wonder that serial has drawn a large volume of academic discussion. Here, Bailey takes the idea and pushes it to its extreme. The celebrations on Manussa are pure theatre, with street vendors, and performers, and puppet shows.
We're all puppets...
In Snakedance, the line between reality and illusion sort of blends. I've argued that the earlier Doctor Who adventures work best when then treat their material in a relatively theatrical manner, with the self-aware set design and stage-like performances, so setting an episode inside a theatrical festival suggests recursion. Here, the natives carry around a giant puppet of the Mara, which is itself a giant puppet. The Mara on Manussa stands in for the fears of the natives, while the Mara on the show stands in for the viewers of the show, and both have to use their imagination to fully realise it. In effect, it's an effigy for an effigy, infinitely recursive. Facing the Mara, Tegan insists, "I'm safe if I don't look!" In that regard, she's arguably much like the viewers at home.
And so the barriers break down. Throughout the serial, it becomes clear that the festival and its staged conflicts of good and evil are not enough for people. "It's just a fake," Lon insist. "Your whole ceremony is a fake." A man running a hall of mirrors reflects on how the magic is gone from his line of work. "I'm not a curious man. I was once, a long time ago. I was a humble student of life's mysteries. A treader of the secret pathways, a delver into the darker corners and so forth. All rubbish, of course. At the end of the day, when the lights come up, as in one form or another they always do, there's always somebody standing there with their hand out, waiting to be paid." And difficulties develop when Lon turns a fake ceremony, an excuse for catharsis, and acts it out "for real" by using real implements instead of fakes.
Into the mouth of danger...
In quite a clever meta-fictional twist, years before the Weeping Angels, the Doctor deduces that the Mara is actually a creation of our collective subconscious. After all, aren't all the monsters in all fiction? "I suspect that when they built the Great Crystal they overlooked one vital factor," the Doctor remarks. "The nature of the mental energy would determine the nature of the matter created. The Great Crystal absorbed what was in their minds. The restlessness, the hatred, the greed. Absorbed it, amplified it, reflected it." Nyssa finishes the thought for him, "And created the Mara." The Mara was literally conjured into being by the collective subconscious. "What if our dreams no longer needed us?" the Doctor would ask years later, and I think the Mara is the answer. I do like the fact that the Doctor has absolute faith in defeating the Mara, stating, "You won't succeed. In the end, evil never does." It's like he watches the show, or is at least aware of the rules of narrative governing monsters.
I'd argue that all this stuff is at least as clever as the ideas propose in Kinda, in that it explicitly renders the Mara as a sort of meta-monster. It's a great take, and I'll be entirely honest and confess that I'm surprised that the Mara hasn't been used in the revived series. I think Moffat could do wonders with a concept like that. Still, at least every story featuring the creature has been a hit, which is more than most recurring monsters can argue.
Face your fears...
Even outside of the clever meta-fictional stuff going on, the serial has a lot going for it. You could argue that, if Kinda was one of the few stories perfectly suited to Davison's Doctor, Snakedance feels like a story more typical of his later stories. The Doctor has all the answers, but nobody will listen to him, creating the perfect recipe for tragedy while the character insists, "There's no need for this." I've always seen Davison's Doctor as the character's most inherently tragic personification, and this story really typifies that. He explicitly states the he feels responsible for what's happening, insisting, "It was my fault."
Of course, Bailey avoids a lot of the problems that would confront the later serials featuring this version of the character be avoiding Eric Saward's infamous "kill 'em all" approach. Nobody dies for the entire serial, which allows Davison's Doctor a rare "everybody lives!"moment, and one that definitely feels well-earned. Bailey manages to amp up the tension without resorting to killing the majority of the cast, which makes the story quite a bit easier to watch.
It all becomes crystal clear...
Speaking of things that make the serial easier to watch, the serial features some wonderful design work. Even the Mara looks slightly better than it did in Kinda – though I remain perplexed as to why the Restoration Team didn't do a similar computer-generated enhancement here. Outside of the still embarrassing (but less than last time) snake puppet, the production looks good. It helps that everything is intended to look theatrical. In particular, the Mara's cave looks impressive, a rather wonderful set for this era of the show.
The guest cast is superb. In particular, Martin Clunes makes a wonderfully subtle Lon, the heir to the throne, who is occasionally cheeky and occasionally worse. It's a performance that refuses to go over the top, and is the stronger for it. His wardrobe might be roundly mocked on clip shows, but it's a solid guest appearance. Equally impressive is John Carson as the bureaucratic Ambril, who seems to be having great fun refusing to listen to the Doctor.
Boys behaving badly...
Even the TARDIS crew is on fine form, with Davison repeatedly seeming quite frustrated by his companions, without ever seeming too aggressive or adversarial. There were times when the passive-aggressive sniping got a little bit too much (never reaching the levels it would with Colin Baker, when it became aggressive-aggressive). Davison's Doctor seems like he's genuinely had enough when the coordinates mess up, declaring, "Somebody's been playing around!" When handling the snake, Nyssa suggests, "His bite could be deadly." Davison proves himself the master of snarky delivery when he calmly replies, "Yes, I do know." Although, what the hell was up with Davison's sideburns? The seventies were well over!
I liked Snakedance. I think I may even have liked it as much as Kinda, even though that represents some for of blasphemy. I think the Mara is long overdue a trip to the twenty-first century. After all, if the Macra can do it…
I invite you to take the most exciting journey of all. The voyage inside. The journey to meet yourself. I address you in the silence of your own hearts. I offer my personal challenge. Dare you bare witness to what the Mara shows? Will you gaze upon the unspeakable? Dare you come face to face with the finally unfaceable?
– the hawker
Filed under: Television | Tagged: Arc of Infinity, bbc, doctor, doctor who, DoctorWho, John Carson, Kinda, King's Demons, mara, Martin Clunes, Peter Davison, snakedance, Weeping Angels |
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sittininthetardis, on June 4, 2013 at 1:09 pm said:
Reblogged this on Something Old Something New .
Darren, on June 10, 2013 at 12:28 pm said:
Thanks for the reblog!
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I became interested in freshwater and marine fishes through camping and diving in Tasmania. I studied marine biology/zoology at James Cook University in Far North Queensland then completed a PhD at the University of Adelaide. I have been employed by the South Australian Research and Development Institute in South Australia since 1993 and have worked on a variety of projects related to commercial and recreational fisheries with an interest in estuarine fisheries, in particular long-lived, large bodied native fish species associated with the Lower Murray River. Redmap provides an opportunity for community knowledge to contribute to our understanding of changes in fish populations over long time periods and large spatial scales.


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News, Reviews and Features DAPHNE ORAM'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF SOUND – Touring
DAPHNE ORAM'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF SOUND – Touring
In News, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews, Scotland, Touring by Thom Dibdin 26th May 2017 Leave a Comment
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh – until 24 May 2017
Guest reviewer: Hugh Simpson
There is a freshness and infectious enthusiasm to Daphne Oram's Wonderful World of Sound. This, allied to a magnetic central performance, overcomes oddities in the script and staging to create a thoroughly pleasing whole.
Blood of the Young and the Tron Theatre's touring production was written by director Paul Brotherston and Isobel McArthur, who plays composer and pioneer of musique concrete Daphne Oram. Oram was largely responsible for the foundation of the BBC's groundbreaking Radiophonic Workshop in the 1950s, but her name – unlike that of Delia Derbyshire, for example – is now largely forgotten.
The energy and commitment of this play should go some way towards remedying this state of affairs. For a self-contained touring production, this has an admirable display of resource and ambition, epitomised by Ana Ines Jabares-Pita's set, with its office desks resembling Aladdin's cave. Strange to relate, then, that Brotherston and McArthur's script favours a conventionally chronological and somewhat superficial retelling of the life of such a pioneer. What is even odder is the comparative underuse of electronic music.
Anneke Kampman's live score confines itself largely to a repeated pattern which seems to resurface between every scene, accompanied by some slow-motion movement that does not seem completely thought through, and soon palls.
There are odd detours in the story, furthermore. The story of the setting up of the Workshop becomes an extended exploration of internal BBC politics in the 1950s, which continues long after its point has been made. That point, however, is a very important one – that the Corporation was a paternalistic and patriarchal body, hidebound by old-school-tie procedures and governed by unspoken rules about class and gender. McArthur's cut-glass accent as Oram seems exaggerated today but is an accurate representation of the voices the BBC favoured in that era.
McArthur's performance is a complex, subtle and thoroughly engaging one, portraying a woman underestimated and belittled by male colleagues. She has a spiky self-determination that makes her at best a curiosity to her more clubbable co-workers, and leads to her achievements being airbrushed from the official BBC version of events.
This is all done with a lightness of touch that steers well away from any potential heavy-handedness. Not all of the humour finds its mark, and the various characters portrayed by the ensemble (Robin Hellier, David James Kirkwood, Dylan Read and Matthew Seager) are often more caricatures than realistic portraits, but they rarely outstay their welcome and provide a useful contrast to McArthur's more nuanced approach. Hints of Oram's interests in the spiritual world surface, but – thankfully – these are not laboured either.
There is still room, furthermore, to allude to how a system geared not to giving the public what they wanted, but rather to providing what was perceived as being good for them, produced extremely interesting results ranging from Beckett's All That Fall to Nigel Kneale's Quatermass and the Pit.
What holds all of this together is McArthur's central performance. The comparatively unsuccessful portrayal of the older Oram, which slides a little uncomfortably into clichéd 'aged lady' acting, only highlights how thoroughly she inhabits the character the rest of the time. She communicates her fascination with using technology to create entirely new sounds and experiences; more of these type of sounds, and Oram's compositions in particular, would have been welcome. What is presented, however, has a definite charm.
Thom Dibdin
Thom Dibdin has been reviewing and writing about theatre in Scotland since the last millennium. He is currently Scotland Correspondent for The Stage newspaper. In 2010, he founded AllEdinburghTheatre.com. The city's only dedicated theatre website, it covers all Edinburgh theatre year-round - and all theatre made in Edinburgh during EdFringe. Thom is passionate about quality in theatre criticism and is a member of the Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland. He tweets from @AllEdinTheatre and, personally, from @ThomDibdin.
Read the full article from Thom Dibdin, published on 26 May 2017
Tags: All Edinburgh Theatre, Ana Ines Jabares Pita, Anneke Kampman, Blood of the Young, Daphne Oram, Daphne Oram's Wonderful World of Sound, David James Kirkwood, Dylan Read, Edinburgh, Hugh Simpson, Isobel McArthur, Matthew Seager, Paul Brotherston, Review, Robin Hellier, Scotland, Thom Dibdin, Traverse, Tron Theatre


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So Chocolate Bar! Two U.S. Kids Raise Over $1m for Research Into Rare Genetic Disease
The proceeds from six-year-old Dylan Siegal's book, 'Chocolate Bar,' are used entirely to fund Glycogen Storage Disease research.
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A screenshot from the Chocolate Bar book website.
A fundraising campaign started quietly by two first graders two years ago to help find a cure for a rare genetic disease just passed the $1 million mark, with donations streaming in from all 50 states and 60 countries across the globe.
The million-dollar achievement has been celebrated as the perfect feel-good story, but the trigger for this global effort was a somber diagnosis at the birth of Jonah Pournazarian.
The playful, redheaded youngster was born weighing four pounds and with an extremely rare metabolic malfunction, known as Glycogen Storage Disease, or GSD.
GSD predominantly afflicts children, targeting different parts of the body. Jonah's case is identified as Type 1b, in which glucose is stored in the liver and "can't get out," says his doctor. (Type 1a of the disease affects mainly Ashkenazi Jewish kids.)
Because Type 1b of GSD is so rare – fewer than 100 children in this category have been identified in the United States — that medical researchers and potential grant givers have long ignored it.
One 6-year-old wasn't willing to ignore it, however.
Dylan Siegel, now 8, was Jonah's best friend at the Wise School, affiliated with Stephen Wise Temple, a large Reform congregation in West Los Angeles – and he wanted to do something.
When he heard his mother talk about an effort to raise money among the temple's members to support the work of a leading GSD researcher, Dylan said he, too, wanted to give some money.
As Dylan's mom, Debra Siegel, recalls, "I suggested to Dylan that he set up a lemonade stand, but he said he wanted to write a book." She took her son's plan as a childhood fantasy, but the next day Dylan presented his parents with the finished product.
The cover of the richly illustrated 14-page booklet reads "Chocolate Bar by Dylan Siegel," and the tone is set in the first entry, which reads, "I like to go to Disney Land. That is so Chocolate Bar."
Other "Chocolate Bar" (read "awesome") experiences recalled by the young author/illustrator include going to the swimming pool, aquarium, bowling alley and so forth, ending with "I like to help my friends, that is the biggest Chocolate Bar."
As with almost every first-time author, the writing was just the beginning. Dylan kept pushing the project, drafting his marketing consultant father for the production phase of the project, with an initial print run of 200 copies.
At the temple's Mitzvah Day, the two boys and their parents sold enough autographed books (at $20 each) and $5 chocolate bars (donated by a neighborhood market) to raise about $7,000.
Augmenting the sales force were the boys' two teachers, Orlee Raymond and Kimberly (Kim) Snyder, sporting T-shirts that read "1st Grade Is So Chocolate Bar." (Full disclosure: Raymond is this reporter's daughter and tipped him off about the story.)
In late 2012, the Los Angeles Jewish Journal ran an article about Jonah and Dylan and their mission to help find a cure for GSD. The article came to the attention of an NBC producer, who asked Chelsea Clinton, then doing feature segments for the network, to look into the story. She did, and the story aired on the national NBC evening news a short time later.
Amid the media's generally gloomy string of disaster news, the Chocolate Bar segment resonated with viewers. Other major TV networks, newspapers and social media spread the story across the globe, and the results have been spectacular.
By early December, David Siegel, Dylan's father and pro bono coordinator of the project, could report the sale of 25,000 "Chocolate Bar" books. Overseas, letters and money came from 60 countries, including India, Kuwait, Nigeria, Slovakia, Mongolia, United Arab Emirates and Thailand.
Every Chocolate Bar dollar supports the GSD research of Dr. David A. Weinstein, initially at the Harvard Medical School and now at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he directs the largest GSD treatment and research program in the world.
The disease was almost always fatal until 1971, when researchers developed the first effective therapy for GSD. A major breakthrough came a decade later with the discovery of a simple "medication" in the form of cornstarch, injected through a surgically implanted feeding tube.
However, the prescribed doses have to be administered every three hours, without fail, and missing just one dose can lead to a hospital stay or even death.
Weinstein's research, entirely underwritten by the Chocolate Bar campaign, has been able to extend the intervals between feedings, and his aim is to give his patients (and their parents) full nights of uninterrupted sleep.
In the long run, he is looking toward gene therapy as a cure, something that has been successful in dogs. He hopes to start trials on humans when the federal Food and Drug Administration gives the green light.
Weinstein, who visits Israel frequently on a collaborative project at Sheba Hospital, is upbeat about Jonah's future. "Our treatment is working," he said, "and I expect Jonah to do very well."
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