Rural Electrification — Why an Understanding of Community Ethos is so Important

Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu — ‘I am because we are’

I was talking recently about my childhood experience of growing up in rural Zimbabwe in relation to some work on clean cooking and the problems of using firewood. Immediately, the memories I associated with open fires came to mind — late-night story sharing and eating mealies and sugar cane. With my science degree, knowledge of what open fires can do, access to the shocking statistics of respiratory diseases and experience preaching to communities to switch to cleaner fuels, my thoughts about my childhood were not about air pollution and people dying but of a sense of community that I have not had in a while. It reminded me that in our pursuit of universal access to clean energy, we must be cognisant of some of the unintended impacts on traditional lifestyles.

Figure 1: My childhood home in Kezi, Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe

Why the pursuit of universal access?

Figure 2: The last time I was home in 2016

My early years were spent living in rural Matebeleland South in Zimbabwe. I grew up in a female-headed household with eight children, of which only two were boys. We used firewood from mopane trees for cooking and heating and candles for lighting. Cooking was done mostly indoors on open fire stoves.

I had the same life trajectory as most girls in rural areas. In the early years, you are responsible for basic household chores such as sweeping the yard, washing dishes, mopping the floors, and assisting the boys to herd the goats in the evening. As you get older, you take up more tasks, such as fetching water from the borehole, collecting firewood, hand washing laundry, and cooking for the family. I hate cooking and have never been good at it. As such, I often opted to collect water, firewood and clean the dishes. I was lucky. We had a wheel barrow so I was spared the back-breaking work of carrying water and firewood on my head. Countless girls and women across the world are not so lucky. Access to electrification and better energy technologies is unquestionably a good thing from this angle.

Figure 3: My aunt’s donkey cart used for firewood and water collection — in this picture it is carrying water. Only boys used the cart. Girls either used their wheelbarrow or their heads and hands.

The darker side of electrification

However, in our pursuit to electrify rural areas we must consider some of the downsides of electrification:

• Sense of community/ubuntu: the struggle to collect water, firewood and bring in the harvest, forces communities to work together and share resources such as cattle, donkeys and carts. Younger children are often ‘outsourced’ to help households with elderly people. Electricity in the home reduces interactions between neighbours thus neighbours are more isolated from each other. Just look at the lack of community in many developed cities.

• Social networks: Unfortunately, we still live in a world where girls are not raised the same way as boys. This is more prevalent in rural areas. I remember looking forward to fetching water at the borehole, because it was the only time we were allowed to go outside with no restrictions. Electrification without developments in social equality means that girls’ movements are further restricted.

• Family bonding: If you have a western upbringing you are probably familiar with the concept of a dinner table, but in many rural areas, fire is the dinner table. Because fire is a precious resource, one meal was cooked for everyone whether it was breakfast, lunch, or supper. In the evenings, everyone gathers around the fire and shares their stories. I remember during harvest time, how after dinner we would eat sugarcane as dessert (before I even knew of the concept of dessert) and we would share inganekwane (folktale stories).

My message

In our mission to electrify households, I believe we need an informed approach that allows communities to adapt to the new lifestyle without losing their essence. While electricity is beneficial, and we need all the resources we can mobilise to ensure we meet SDG 7 by 2030, it is important to have a holistic idea of how to improve people’s lives and to understand that these are complex interventions.

Figure 4: Minigrids built in Kenya by members of the TFE team

With many years’ experience building, managing and consulting on energy access, TFE has seen many technically well designed projects experience unexpected challenges. These are often the result of a poor understanding by the project developers of the local cultural context and not enough time spent thinking through some of the on-ground complexities. Not everyone will be happy with the arrival of a minigrid. What happens to the kerosene seller? How will the young lady, robbed of her chance for a spot of gentle mingling by the well feel? Perhaps the kerosene seller can be employed to sell electricity tokens? Perhaps the young lady can be part of a youth group responsible for maintenance of the mini-grid?

At TFE Energy we have, through the years, learnt that any electrification program should go beyond electrifying households and look at supporting other activities that improve the socio-economic situation of the households. Something as small as an electric light, can extend the working hours of traders and improve the safety of a village — young women would feel safe to walk at night . And, while young women may lose their mingling opportunities at the well, electrification programs should provide them with similar opportunities, such as home-based employment or girls clubs (for example, they could be empowered to raise awareness about clean energy). Electricity has the potential to power an internet cafe, miller, salon and grocery store among other things. Thus, while households get access to clean energy there are also opportunities for them to generate income.

Figure 5: Our TFE Energy colleagues conducting community engagement in Kenya and Nigeria

At TFE Energy we leverage our experience of working on the ground with rural communities and our cutting edge technology expertise to assist minigrid developers and governments ensure that all electrification programs look beyond simply providing electricity. It is not just about ensuring that every village has access to electricity by 2030. It is important that this is done in a way that triggers broad and sustainable rural development while still maintaining the essence of these communities.

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