Transform A Samoan Village With Biogas!

Project 2013-09-25 03:48:00 +1200

Collab Project with The Ākina Foundation The Ākina Foundation supports social entrepreneurs and ambitious communities to deliver game changing work in the areas of energy, housing, transport, land-use, and consumption and waste.



Here's your chance to use your donation to make a real, positive impact in the world with some exciting technology, and really see the truly transformative results!

Help make a real difference for the people of Piu Village, Samoa and free them from daily open-fire cooking and expensive electricity by unlocking the free, green energy all around them. Stay involved and see the final outcome through a continuing series of video diaries!





I'm intrigued. Tell me more!



To begin, please watch the video above (or even better, on the vimeo site so you can see it in HD!) as it should give you a good general idea of what we want to do and why it's so important. Watched it? Great! So, you'll know that we need $36,000 for the Piu Village home biodigester programme. With this money we will supply six households with full biodigester systems along with clean, new biogas cooktops and biogas lights. This will make a tremendous difference in the lives of these people.









That sounds great! But why Samoa?

First of all, the warm climate of Samoa makes it ideal for a biodigester programme (the digesters love the heat!). But more importantly, Samoa has both an endless resource of green waste to fuel the digesters, as well as a terribly high price of electricity in a nation with a large amount of poverty. In every way, Samoa is an ideal place for projects like this. And the warm, generous people of Piu Village couldn't be more deserving. With this project you will truly see the impact of your donation.





How much of a difference will this programme really make?

A huge difference. For Piu Village the days of cooking daily meals over dirty open fires will be over – no more collecting firewood, no more smoke in the eyes and lungs. For the mothers of Piu Village this will give them more time with their children, with quick, clean cooking facilities right in their homes. Adjustable gas stoves will allow for more options for meals. No longer will households have to go without evening lighting due to the fear of an unaffordable power bill – the biogas lights will provide free illumination. And they can get rid of some of that invasive Merremia vine that has covered croplands and trees!

While Piu is just a small village, by showcasing these energy solutions there, this opens the door to larger programmes getting going in Samoa and other Pacific Islands with the support of international development assistance donors and philanthropic foundations.





I'm wondering how my donation would actually be spent - what creates the costs?

The majority of the cost goes towards the materials - we will need to import equipment including the biodigester bags, biogas appliances and other custom, speciality items for the project. Another key point is that at this stage there is no local industry for this sort of project in Samoa, so costs also go towards bringing in a small expert team from New Zealand to build the digesters and teach the villagers how to use them. But it's important to note that we see this being the first step in a bigger goal - we want to get things to a point where future systems could be handled by a local company. That would make future biogas projects a lot cheaper. This is just the beginning!





Fantastic! So how long will it take to implement the system in Piu Village?

When we reach our funding goal we'll get to work immediately and hope to have the system up and running in about three months. We’d love to have it ready for Christmas!





If I contribute how can I be involved with the project as it moves along? How will I see the results?

We want you to fell involved! All contributors will have the chance to sign up for a mailing lost or just choose to follow our blog. This will include regular updates on the project as well as photos and videos from the construction through to the moment the gas cooktops are being used! We want you to feel like you're there with us, because it's your donations that will make this happen.

Along with the chance to be involved in something really special and change lives in Samoa, we're also offering some great rewards including LIMITED EDITION FINE ART PRINTS of original watercolour images of Piu Village children painted by Kristy Barlow. Two of the series of three paintings are below:

We're also offering genuine lava-lavas from Samoa and for our top donors the chance to be included on an engraved plaque on the site. Plus all donors of $30 or more will receive a dvd of all the videos we make at the end of the project!





Thank you so much to all who have shown an interest in our project and donated. Your contribution means the world to us and we can't wait to get to work in Piu Village, turning your contributions into real change. Please forward this page on to anybody you know who might be interested!

With your help we can permanently transform life in Piu Village for the better! Thanks!





About us





Murray Ward Principal, Global Climate Change Consultancy (GtripleC)

Murray’s career as an environmental professional spans over 35 years. In the last 15 years he has specialised at the forefront of international climate change policy and finance. His role with BioEnceptionz now adds very tangible ‘on the ground’ results to complement two decades of mostly written reports and presentations. “It’s great to get back to some engineering design and technology – where my career started.”

For more details on Murray’s work see www.gtriplec.co.nz

Bill Rucks Principal, Water Alchemy Ltd

Bill is a bio technology expert – and the ‘hands on’ specialist in the BioEnceptionz team. In particular, he has broad experience with biodigester and algae photobioreactor technologies – the core of BioEnceptionz renewable energy work.

For more details on Bill’s work see www.water-alchemy.com

Sean Weaver Principal, Carbon Partnership Ltd

Sean has over 25 years experience in practical solutions to resource management problems in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, principally in the forest conservation sector but extending to climate change policy, carbon markets, bioenergy and education & training.

For more details on Sean’s work see www.carbonpartnership.co.nz

www.bioenceptionz.com



Video shot and edited by Matt Ward [email protected]

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