By Mr. Simon Yontu, Director ACREST

1. Using Renewable Energy Technology's knowledge to fight poverty in Africa By Mr. Simon Yontu, Director ACREST

2. ACREST is a non profit organization based in a rural area of Cameroon, • The main focus of the Centre is to promote the use of renewable energies and appropriate technologies base on WHAT WORKS; • The main objective is to diffuse knowledge and know-how of sustainable technologies.

3. ACREST has 4 main areas of activities: • Information, demonstration, benchmarking, testing and dissemination of technology; • Production of technology that can be used to achieve sustainable endogenous development; • Training of local artisans and school leavers; • Apply research on renewable energy technology and sustainable technology.

4. ACREST focus on 2 main categories: • Renewable Energy Technology: • Solar energy; Water energy; Wind energy; biomass; biogas; Muscular energy; and energy efficiency etc.. • Sustainable Technology for: • water supply (pumps); • food processing and conservation (); • transport (hand carts, wheels, ); • low-cost building techniques etc.

5. ACREST main tasks consist in: • Collecting information and know-how on appropriate technology from both developed and developing world; • Adapt it to the local - social, cultural and economical – context; • Demonstrate how it works; how it can save time by avoiding tedious handwork; • Promote its replication by local artisan, and diffusion through the local market.

6. Context and issues:Poverty & Ignorance • Poor access to energy (out of 9000 villages in Cameroon, only 2700 have access to electricity); • Diffuse poverty and un-employment; • Ignorance; • Poor access to technical and practical information and know-how;

7. Context or issues: • Poor productivity: hand work and human labour are the most diffuse system of work with inefficient outputs; • Inefficient technology use; • Big gap between traditional and modern technologies; • Diffuse ignorance on appropriate technology.

8. Context or issues: Energy potential • Less than 2 % of the African's hydropower potential is used; • Less than 0.1 % of renewable energy potential in Cameroon is used; • The challenge of ACREST is to show people how to tape existing energy potential to bring power to people and create wealth.

9. Assets of the center: • Two floor building with local material; • Library; • Exhibition room; • Demonstration site; • Micro hydro power station; • Wood and metal workshop.

10. Energy potential: • Some of the thousand unused water fall in Cameroon; only 3.6% hydro energy potential is in used.

11. Transfer of technology: The use of waterwheel - for example - to pump water for domestic and irrigation purposes was very diffuse in Europe (London in 1400s) and in Syria (Hama). This efficient and simple technique is still not known in Sub-Saharan Africa. ACREST intends to bring this affordable technology to people.

12. Transfer of technology: • Watermill were very common in Europe two centuries ago to carry out all sort of work. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the technology is still ignored and human labour remain the main sources of energy. • These technologies can make a great difference in rural areas

13. Our expectations from the International Solar cooker conference: • Networking among Solar Cooker practitioners, experts and business people; • Capacity building; • Learning from the wide experiences in this field; • Exchange experiences with other countries; • Establish partnership collaboration.

14. ACREST is committed to bring technology that can make a difference in African rural areas. This can only be possible if all stakeholders: the community; the civil society, the private sector, the government and the international development partners are involved. Our approach is to use the knowledge that is in the public domain to promote affordable and reliable development: ACREST does not intend to reinvent the wheel! Thank you!

15. Thank you! www.acrest.org info@acrest.org