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Sustainable Energy forChildren in Zimbabwe

2015

Situational Analysis of the Energy Status of Institutions that Support Children in Five Districts of Zimbabwe

ZIMBABWE

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Suggested citation:

© UNICEF, 2015Sustainable Energy for Children in ZimbabweSituational Analysis of the Energy Status of Institutions that Support Children in Five Districts of Zimbabwe

Contact e-mail addressUNICEF Zimbabwe 6 Fairbridge AvenueBelgraviaHarareZimbabweTel: +263 4 703941/2 Ext: 2130Email: [email protected] Website: www.unicef.org/zimbabwe

Design and Layout: Lucia Marisamhuka

Printed by: UNICEF Zimbabwe

ISBN 978-92-806-4850-8


Sustainable Energy forChildren in Zimbabwe

2015


ZIMBABWE



iSustainable Energy for Children in Zimbabwe


We dedicate this study to the late Lasten Mika

The production of this report was made possible through the generous financial,technical and in-kind contributions of the following individuals and partners:

Principal investigator and lead author of the Sustainable Energy for Children inZimbabwe Report: Sara Feresu

Survey coordinators: Collen Matema and Doreen Tirivanhu

Energy survey supervisors: MufaroTamanikwa, Tafadzwa Mataruse, Patricia Nyabadza,Itai Gwelo, Liberty Dube and Fiona Mundoga

Energy audit leader: The late Lasten Mika

Energy audit technicians: Nelson Banda and Livingstone Mutizwa

Energy survey data analysis: Collen Matema, Jacob Feresu and the late Lasten Mika.

Administrative and technical support: Doreen Tirivanhu, Spiwe Chirinda, ChipoNyandoro, Ellen Marufu, MufaroTamanikwa, Kingstone Mbonga and Benias Mandizvidza

UNICEF Zimbabwe Social Policy and Research Section

Engineer Mashamba, Chief Executive Officer, Rural Electrification Agency for technicalsupport and energy framework

The Provincial and District Education Officers of the Ministry of Primary and SecondaryEducation

The Provincial and District Health Officers of the Ministry of Health and Child Care

District Administrators of the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and NationalHousing

Head teachers and teachers of primary and secondary education institutions

Health Care workers at clinics included in the study

The Ministry of Energy and Power Development, in particular the Department ofRenewable Energy

Last, but not least, sincere appreciation goes to all the school children, household heads,communities and business people who participated in the survey.

AcknowledgementsA

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Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iList of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ivList of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vList of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1.1 Introduction to the Situational Analysis of the Energy Status of Institutions that Support Children in Five Districts of Zimbabwe . . . . . . .1 1.2 Definitions of Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1.3 Justification for the Situational Analysis of the Energy Status of Institutions that Support Children in Five Districts of Zimbabwe . . . . . .2 1.4 The Situational Analysis of the Energy Status of Institutions that Support Children in Five Districts of Zimbabwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

CHAPTER 2: THE CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND TO AVAILABILITY OF ENERGY AND ITS GOVERNANCE IN ZIMBABWE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 2.1 Zimbabwe’s Energy Resource Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 2.2 Energy Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

CHAPTER 3: PREVIOUS EFFORTS TO PROVIDE MODERN ENERGY TO RURAL AREAS OF ZIMBABWE AND LESSONS LEARNT FROM PAST INTERVENTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 3.1 Public Sector Service Providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 3.2 Non-Governmental Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 3.3 The Private Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 3.4 Enablers to Adoption of Renewable Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

CHAPTER 4: STUDY SITES, METHODS AND DATA ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 4.2 Desk Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 4.3 Study Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 4.4 Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

CHAPTER 5: HOUSEHOLDS AND CHILDREN ENERGY STATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 5.2 Sample Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 5.3 Results of the Assessment of the Energy Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 5.4 Barriers to Access to Cleaner Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 5.5 Solutions to the Energy Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93 5.6 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95

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CHAPTER 6: THE ENERGY STATUS OF INSTITUTIONS THAT SUPPORT CHILDREN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98 6.1 Definitions Used for the Energy Audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 6.2 Scope of Energy Audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 6.3 Characteristics of Energy Use in Institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100

CHAPTER 7: REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 A typical energy ladder for cooking fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Figure 1.2 The Multiple Energy Mix/Stack Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Figure 2.1 A summary of the existing and potential hydro-electricity sites . . . . . .12Figure 22 Zimbabwe annual mean radiation (global extract) (MJ/m2/day . . . . . . .13Figure 2.3 Zimbabwe’s annual diffuse radiation (global extract) (MJ/m2/day) . . .14Figure 2.4 A map depicting Zimbabwe’s wind power situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Figure 2.5 The Institutional arrangements and mandates within the Ministry of Energy and Power Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Figure 3.1 Examples of improved mud stoves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28Figure 3.2 Examples of Jengetahuni stove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29Figure 3.3 Examples of tsotso stoves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Figure 3.4 Three stone/open fire stove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Figure 3.5 Mbare stove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31Figure 3.6 Chingwa stoves in Sedze, Nyanga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Figure 4.1 Map of Zimbabwe showing districts sampled for the sustainable energy for children study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40Figure 4.2 Map of Chiredzi District showing selected wards and location of households sampled in the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41Figure 4.3 Map of Gutu District showing selected wards and location of households sampled in the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42Figure 4.4 Map of Hurungwe District showing selected wards and location of households sampled in the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43Figure 4.5 Map of Nyanga District showing selected wards and location of households sampled in the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44Figure 4.6 Map of Tsholotsho District showing selected wards and location of households sampled in the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Figure 5.1 Number of children per household . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58Figure 5.2 Religious affiliation of household heads by district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60Figure 5.3 Household head education level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61Figure 5.4 Usual residence of household heads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61Figure 5.5 Monthly income categories (real) for the sample households . . . . . . . .64Figure 5.6 Agricultural equipment ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65Figure 5.7a Main sources of energy for lighting (adult household questionnaire) .67Figure 5.7b Main energy sources of energy for lighting (children day scholars’ questionnaire) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67Figure 5.8 Energy mix for lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72Figure 5.9 Duration of light from clean energy sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

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Figure 5.10 Time of day when children do their homework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76Figure 5.11 Types of stoves used for cooking by district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79Figure 5.12 Proportion of households with children in the kitchen when preparing meals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79Figure 5.13 Households with knowledge of biogas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81Figure 5.14 Energy source for communication and information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85Figure 5.15 Knowledge of clean energy sources and technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86Figure 5.16 Participation of energy organizations in surveyed districts . . . . . . . . . .89Figure 5.17 Proportion of households who reported that they were not consulted before intervention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89Figure 5.18 Perceived mean cost of clean energy sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90Figure 5.19 Proposed energy business model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1 Energy dimensions, indicators, deprivations and sustainability . . . . . . . .6

Table 2.1 Hydro-electricity potential sites along the Zambezi River . . . . . . . . . . .10

Table 2.2 Hydro potential for existing dams in Zimbabwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Table 2.3 The hydro potential for future dams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Table 2.4 Hydro potential from run-off river schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Table 2.5 Biomass resources currently used and potential future resources in Zimbabwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Table 2.6 Potential energy that can be harvested from the various Municipal sewage treatment works in Zimbabwe (m3/day) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Table 2.7 The potential energy that can be produced from livestock manure . . .16

Table 2.8 Classification of wind’s potential to generate electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Table 3.1 Status of biogas digester plant installations as at 31 March 2015 . . . . .27

Table 4.1 A summary of the characteristics of the 5 chosen districts . . . . . . . . . .47

Table 4.2 Target survey sample size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Table 4.3 Questionnaire survey yield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Table 4.4 Distribution of respondents to the household and children questionnaires by district and type of school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Table 4.5 Qualitative data collection yield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Table 4.6 Energy audit yield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Table 4.7 A summary of analysis outputs answering research questions . . . . . . .55

Table 5.1 Sample size and households composition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Table 5.2 Households’ size by district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Table 5.3 Household heads by gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Table 5.4 Household heads age by district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Table 5.5 Dominant ethnic groups by district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Table 5.6 Household livelihoods and income generating activities by district . . .62

Table 5.7 Sample households’ mean incomes by district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Table 5.8 Mean livestock ownership by district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

Table 5.9 Solar panel and generator ownership by district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

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Table 5.10 Access to clean energy source for lighting (electricity from solar, main grid and generator powered) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

Table 5.11 Number of hours when light available from solar home system by district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Table 5.12 Quality rating of the different types of lighting energy by respondents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Table 5.13 Status of household deprivation to energy for lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

Table 5.14 Status of household deprivation to energy for lighting by district . . . .74

Table 5.15 Willingness to change current energy source for lighting . . . . . . . . . . .76

Table 5.16 Household energy mix for cooking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Table 5.17 Health impacts on children possibly contributed to by poor energy sources for lighting and cooking (by gender and age) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

Table 5.18 Sample household energy for cooking deprivation status . . . . . . . . . . .82

Table 5.19 Proportion of households wanting to change from using fuel wood . .82

Table 5.20 Willingness to pay to change from using fuel wood for cooking by district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

Table 5.21 Amount of money households are willing to pay to change from fuel wood energy source for cooking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

Table 5.22 Cooling dimension by district (ownership of refrigerator and fan) . . . .84

Table 5.23 Deprivation of energy for information and communication . . . . . . . . . .85

Table 5.24 Affordability of cleaner energy technologies and price ranges . . . . . . .91

Table 6.1 Characteristics of audited secondary schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

Table 6.2 The energy mixes for Dewure and Tsholotsho Secondary Schools . . .103

Table 6.3 Student and staff statistics for Malipati and Nyafaru Secondary Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Table 6.4 The energy mix for Malipati and Nyafaru high schools . . . . . . . . . . . . .104

Table 6.5 Student and staff statistics for Chikwanda, Sipepa and John Landa Nkomo High Schools and Kapene Secondary Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . .105

Table 6.6 Energy mixes for Chikwanda, Sipepa and John Landa Nkomo High Schools and Kapene Secondary Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Table 6.7 Energy mix of Secondary day schools connected to grid electricity .109

Table 6.8 The energy mix of secondary day schools without grid electricity . . .110

Table 6.9 The energy mix of primary schools not connected to grid electricity .112

Table 6.10 The energy mix of primary schools with solar energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

Table 6.11 Energy mix of primary schools connected to micro-hydro electricity .113

Table 6.12 Energy mix of primary schools generally not connected to grid electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

Table 6.13 The energy mix at Chikombedzi and Sipepa Rural Hospitals . . . . . . . . .117

Table 6.14 The energy mix used by clinics connected to grid electricity . . . . . . . .120

Table 6.15 Energy mix of clinics not connected to the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Table 6.16 Number of households that were audited (by district) . . . . . . . . . . . . .123

Table 6.17 Fuel wood consumption in households that were audited (by district) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123

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BEC Biomass Energy ConservationCBM Coal Bed MethaneCNG Compressed Natural Gas CREET Centre for Renewable Energy and Environmental TechnologyCSP Concentrated Solar PowerCSPro Census Survey ProgramEMA Environmental Management AgencyGPS Global Positioning SystemGTZ/GIZ The Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)HIVOS Humanist Institute for Cooperation

(HumanistischInstituutvoorOntwikkelingssamenwerking)InWent Capacity Building International (InternationaleWeiterbildung und

ntwicklunggGmbH)IPPs Independent Power ProducersKWh Kilowatt hourLED Light-Emitting Diode LPG Liquefied Petroleum GasMW MegawattNGOs Non-Governmental OrganisationsNOIC National Oil Infrastructure CompanyODK Open Data Kit OXFAM Oxford Committee for Famine ReliefProBEC Programme for Biomass Energy ConservationPV PhotovoltaicsREA Rural Electrification AgencySADC Southern African Development CommunitySDG Sustainable Development Goal SE4ALL Sustainable Energy for AllSNV The Netherlands Development OrganisationTV TelevisionUNICEF United Nations Children's FundW WattsW/m2 Wind Power Density per square metreWHO Wealth Health OrganisationZENT ZESA EnterprisesZERA Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory AuthorityZESA Zimbabwe Electricity Supply AuthorityZETDC Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution CompanyZim-Asset Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-economic TransformationZIMSTAT Zimbabwe Statistical Agency ZPC Zimbabwe Power Company

List of AbbreviationsL

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IntroductionI t d1

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Sustainable Energy for Children in ZimbabweSituational Analysis of the Energy Status of Institutions that Support Children in Five Districts of Zimbabwe

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1.1 Introduction to the Situational Analysis of theEnergy Status of Institutions that SupportChildren in Five Districts of Zimbabwe

This chapter provides a background to the situational analysis of theenergy status of institutions that support children in five purposivelyselected representative districts of Zimbabwe, namely Chiredzi, Gutu,Hurungwe, Tsholotsho and Nyanga. It introduces the concepts ofsustainable energy and the importance of access to clean andrenewable energy with a focus on children and their well being. It thenpresents a general overview of energy access in Zimbabwe and howchildren are affected by the energy poverty. It finally presents theconceptual framework used in the study.

1.2 Definitions of Energy

In this study, three broad categories of energy are distinguished,namely, conventional, renewable and alternative energy although someof these categories overlap. Conventional energy sources include coal,hydro, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy. In contrast renewable energyis considered as energy that is generated from natural processes thatare continuously replenished. The energy cannot be exhausted and hasthe potential of being constantly renewed. This includes sunlight,geothermal heat, wind, tides, water and various forms of biomass.

Biomass, is a renewable organic matter, and can include biologicalmaterial derived from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood,waste, and alcohol fuels. Wood energy is derived both from harvestedwood as a fuel and from wood waste products. Energy can begenerated from household, animal, municipal and manufacturing wasteas well as landfills. Biomass is the most used source of energy in Zimbabwe,and although renewable there are issues of supply and demand as wellas management of the biomass which have to be sustainable.

Biofuels are made from plant materials which are converted into oilsand alcohols that can be used in engines. They are typically made ofrenewable organic raw materials such as soya bean, rapeseed, maize,sugarcane, animal fats, waste vegetable and microalgaes. In Zimbabweethanol is derived mainly from sugarcane.

Alternative energy is a term used for any energy source that is analternative to using dirty fossil fuels. Generally, it includes energies thatare non-traditional and have a lower environmental impact comparedwith dirty fossil fuels. These include natural gas, compressed naturalgas (CNG) (made by compressing natural gas to less than 1 per cent ofthe volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure), liquefiedpetroleum gas (LPG) and paraffin. Natural gas consists mostly ofmethane and is drawn from gas wells. In Zimbabwe, there is confirmednatural gas in the Lupane-Hwange area in Matebeleland as well asBeitbridge and Chiredzi. Natural gas is a cleaner fossil fuel whencompared to coal. Liquefied petroleum gas consists mainly of propane,propylene, butane and butylene in various mixtures. It is produced asa by-product during natural gas processing and petroleum refining.Liquefied petroleum gas can be used for cooking, heating and lighting;similar to natural gas. It is not locally available in Zimbabwe and has tobe imported.

Introduction


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1.3 Justification for the Situational Analysis of the EnergyStatus of Institutions that Support Children in Five Districtsof Zimbabwe

“Access to energy is fundamental to improving the quality of life and is a key imperativefor economic development”. Lack of access to energy services dramatically affects andundermines health, limits opportunities for education and development; and can reducea family's potential to rise out of poverty. Thus to those that have it, modern energyunlocks access to improved healthcare, improved education, improved economicopportunities and, even a longer life, while to those that do not have energy, it is a majorconstraint on their social and economic development.

The problem of energy access for the poor has become even more acute because ofthe increased vulnerability brought about by climate change, the global financial crisisand volatile energy prices. Estimates point out that unless stronger commitments andeffective policy measures are taken to reverse current trends, half the population in sub-Saharan Africa will still be without electricity by 2030, and the proportion of itspopulation relying on traditional fuels for household energy needs will remain thehighest among all world regions.

The energy mix in Zimbabwe has traditionally been coal, fuel wood, electricity (hydro,thermal and solar) and petroleum fuels. According to the 2009 National Energy Balance,fuel wood provided the bulk, 61 per cent, of the total energy supply, followed by liquidfuels 18 per cent; electricity 13 per cent; and coal 8 per cent (Ministry of Energy andPower Development, 2012). This energy mix has been the main contributor to thecountry’s greenhouse gas emissions accounting for 60.7 per cent of the total emissionsin the country and is undesirable (Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate, 2015).With the global urgent need for climate change mitigation, there are calls for increaseduse of renewable sources of energy.

Zimbabwe has a population of 13,061,239 people (Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency(ZIMSTAT), 2013) and it is estimated that 8 million are without access to electricity(Africa Energy Outlook Report, 2014). Thus only about 40 per cent of the populationhas access to electricity, with 37 per cent of households having access to electricity thatis connected via power lines. At a greater disadvantage are children below the age of15 that make up 41 per cent of the population who have to grow under these constrainedconditions.

There are huge disparities between rural and urban areas in their access to electricity,with 83 per cent of urban households being connected to electricity compared to 13 per cent in rural areas (ZIMSTAT, 2013). Rural communities get 94 per cent of theircooking energy requirement from traditional fuels, mainly fuel wood while 20 per centof urban households use fuel wood as their main cooking fuel. The majority of urbanhouseholds use electricity for cooking (73 per cent) compared to only 6 per cent of rural households (ZIMSTAT, 2013). Increased load shedding in urban areas has resulted in an increase in use of fuel wood among even households that are connectedto electricity. Less that 1 per cent of households use coal, charcoal and liquefiedpetroleum gas.

Fuel wood is normally collected in rural and peri-urban areas, while it is purchased inurban areas. This has resulted in the depletion of tree resources in rural and peri-urbanareas and led to a decline in the households’ welfare caused by increased use of inferiorfuels; walking long distances in search of fuel wood; and a reduction in the quality andfrequency of cooked meals.

Women and children bear the brunt of collecting and using fuel wood, which seriouslycompromises their time and capacity to undertake other activities. They are reportedly

Introduction


3Sustainable Energy for Children in Zimbabwe


walking longer distances every year to fetch fuel wood as tree resources become furtherapart. In Buhera for example, whereas five years ago women and children got fuel woodwithin a kilometre radius, presently they have to walk between one and thirty kilometresto fetch fuel wood.

There has been an increase in incidences of school children missing classes in ruralschools because of having to fetch fuel wood. Responses from the children included inthe “Children and Climate Change in Zimbabwe” study indicated that 50 per cent of thechildren from rural areas and 40 per cent in urban areas assisted their families incollecting fuel wood (Manjengwa et al., 2014). As the distances became longer and/orthe load became bigger, boys would be mainly responsible for fetching fuel wood.

Further, this fuel wood is burnt on inefficient three stone stoves. In most instances thecooking is done inside poorly ventilated kitchens where dangerous air pollutants arereleased affecting the health of women and girls who are responsible for preparingfamily meals. Women often cook with babies on their backs and in the company of theirother young children. Continuous attendance to fire exposes women and children tohigh indoor air pollution levels that are far above permitted WHO guidelines levels(World Health Organization, 2014).

Smoke is the fourth greatest risk factor for death and disease in the world’s poorestcountries. It is linked to 4.3 million premature deaths per year, of which nearly 600,000are in Africa and which can be attributed to household air pollution, a death toll greaterthan that caused by malaria (World Health Organization, 2014). It is a known cause ofacute respiratory infections, low birth weight among other health challenges. Accordingto the Zimbabwe Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of 2014, about 5.3 per cent of thechildren under 5 years had acute respiratory infection symptoms and one in ten of themost recent live births in the last two years had low birth weight (ZIMSTAT, 2015).

With regards to energy for lighting, most households in rural areas use paraffin lamps,candles, solar torches and cell phone torches. They spend much of their income on poorsources of lighting. For example, households can typically spend 20-25 per cent of theirincome on poor quality paraffin lamps. The quality of light given by a paraffin lampmeasured in lumens is lower than that of an incandescent light bulb or a compactfluorescent bulb and costs 600 times higher than a compact fluorescent lamp whencosted per bulb output measured in $/lumen hour (Organization for EconomicCooperation and Development International Energy Agency, 2014).

Fuel-based light sources are also intrinsically more dangerous than electric onesalthough electricity is not risk-free. The many potential health consequences of fuel-based lighting include respiratory ailments from indoor air pollution (bronchitis andasthma); burns from direct contact with flames; injuries from explosions caused byadulterated fuels; dermatitis from contact with fuel; poisoning and pneumonia from fuelingestion; and adverse impacts on visual health. A study of eight major urban hospitalsin Zimbabwe, including Mpilo Hospital, found that paraffin was the main cause ofchildhood poisonings (Tagwireyi et al., 2002).

Other studies show that the light levels recommended by professional illuminatingengineering societies for electric lighting, based on visual health and eyestrainconsiderations, are often 10 to 100 times greater than the levels achieved by lanterns(Mill and Borg, 1999). Insufficient illumination is one of many factors that can lead tolong-term development of myopia (near-sightedness) (Kittle, 2008; Gaumam, 2013).

Lack of clear sources of lighting has an effect on children’s studies and the teachers’ability to deliver quality service as it is straining to read, mark or plan after sun set.Teachers and nurses have been known to shun rural schools and clinics without electricity.

Introduction I


4

I


Lack of adequate lighting has also caused poor maternity delivery in remote rural clinicsresulting in high mortalities especially of premature children and for complicatedpregnancies. According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of 2014, the infantmortality is 55 deaths per 1,000 live births and has been above 50 for the past 15 years(ZIMSTAT, 2015).

Energy demand is growing gradually in Zimbabwe, with the growth estimated to be 2 per cent annually. The long term scenario predicts that the electricity demand of thecountry will have doubled by 2020 and to meet this demand energy generation capacityshould increase by more than twice the current capacity. There are already shortagesof electricity caused by internal generation shortfalls that are expected to continuebecause of the high demand by the current connected customers and the increasingpopulation. Internal generation supplemented by imports is only meeting 60 per centof the 2,000 MW demand per day (Ministry of Energy and Power Development, 2012).There has been stagnation in new power infrastructure development because of lackof financing, non-viable energy pricing and a slowdown in adoption of new andrenewable sources of energy. It is projected that grid extension will take time to reachthe most isolated of rural communities because of generation capacity constraintswithin the region and lack of financial resources.

1.4 The Situational Analysis of the Energy Status of Institutionsthat Support Children in Five Districts of Zimbabwe

It is against this background that UNICEF Zimbabwe Country Office commissioned astudy to determine the situational analysis of the energy status of institutions thatsupport children in five districts of Zimbabwe. The Sustainable Energy for ChildrenStudy was targeted at designing innovative energy solutions to address environmentallysustainable energy issues affecting children, with the aim of having communitiesempowered to address challenges and associated negative impacts of barriers toenergy. This would enable them to come up with solutions that maximize the use ofindigenous, clean and plentiful renewable energy found in Zimbabwe to ensure longterm sustainability.

Thus a detailed study on the impacts of energy access on children in Zimbabwe wasconducted that was aimed at trying to understand the linkages between energy accessin households and public institutions that support children and how it impacts onprovision of basic services to the children. The study attempted to establish the rootcauses and barriers to enhancing energy access, a step that is critical towards facilitatingthe development of innovative environmentally sustainable energy solutions forchildren.

1.4.1 Conceptual Framework

The following conceptual framework was used to guide the design and analysis of thefindings of the study. The framework recognizes that energy has multiple uses thatinclude lighting; cooking and water heating; cooling of food, medicines and othersupplies as well as space cooling; space heating; and information and communication.Embedded in the overall framework are four sub-frameworks, the child deprivation; theenergy deprivation, the multiple fuel/energy mix and the sustainability frameworks.

The basis of the framework is that energy is critical for the wellbeing of children. Lackof access to energy at household level and at institutions that service children especiallyschools and clinics can lead to child deprivations. Therefore the study took intoconsideration the Child Deprivation Framework when considering energy accessbecause lack of access to energy can lead to child deprivations such as lack of accessto adequate and properly prepared nutrition; education; communication; water andsanitation.

Introduction




With regards to energy deprivation, the energy ladder envisions that households areexposed to a number of fuel choices that could be arranged in an order of increasingtechnological sophistication and efficiency. For example for cooking, biomass fuelsoccupy the bottom of the ladder while electricity is at the top. As a household orinstitution increases its prosperity, there is an increase in their energy source efficiencyand cleanliness (Figure 1.1).

Introduction I

It is assumed that energy transition occurs linearly from the bottom to the top withincreasing socio-economic status of households either through a rise in income or a fallin price (United Nations Development Fund, 2007). However, for rural households useof energy sources tends to be in mixes rather than unitary and linear as suggested bythe energy ladder. Also because of the many uses of energy, households and institutionsusually do not rely on one type of energy but use a multiple fuel/energy mix or aportfolio of energies that are embedded in an energy mix approach or multiple-fuelmodel (Hosier and Dowd, 1987). Thus, a multi-criteria framework is the most suitablemodel for assessing energy poverty which is multi-dimensional in nature. The studytherefore adopted the Practical Action Framework for Energy Poverty. Embedded inthis framework is the use of the energy mix approach or multiple-fuel model that stemsfrom a further development/improvement of the energy ladder approach.

This “multiple-fuel” model (Hosier and Dowd, 1987) for stove and fuel managementmore accurately depicts cooking fuel use patterns in rural households based on theobserved pattern of household accumulation of energy operations, rather than thesimple progression depicted in the traditional energy ladder scenario. The “multiple-fuel” model integrates four factors demonstrated to be essential in household decisionmaking under conditions of resource scarcity or uncertainty:

a) Economics of fuel and stove type and access conditions to fuels.b) Technical characteristics of cook-stoves and cooking practices.c) Cultural preferences.d) Health impacts.

The model also incorporates the fact that there is a transition and overlaps when movingfrom primitive to transition and to advanced fuels, thus it is also referred to as the

Ethanol, methanol

LPG, gas

Kerosene

Charcoal

Wood

Crop, waste, dung Incr

easi

ng e

ffici

ency

and

cle

anlin

ess

Increasing prosperity

Figure 1.1 A typical energy ladder for cooking fuels

Source: United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), 2007.


Cooling Food Householdsapplianceownership

Not owning and using arefrigerator

PolicyEnabling policies

Space Not owning and using aspace cooling fan

Space heating Not owning and using anelectric heater Usingtraditional heater (withoutchimney)

EnvironmentEnvironmentallyclean energySustainable yields

Information andcommunication

Education andentertainment

Gadgetownership

Has no radio, TV orcomputer

Communication Has no phone

6

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Mix/Stack Approach (Figure 1.2). This model also allows better estimates of theexpected fuel wood demand and indoor air pollution in rural households. Thus weadopted the model to understand energy issues that affect households and children.

The study also assessed the community’s access to sustainable energy for economicpurposes since energy is a driver of economic development. Therefore the overallconceptual framework that was used to interrogate the impacts of energy access forchildren in Zimbabwe considered these aspects and used the indicators given in Table 1.1.

Introduction

Figure 1.2 The Multiple Energy Mix/Stack Model

Source: Kroon et al, (2012)

Socio-e

conom

ic sta

tus

Advanced fuelsl LPGl Electricityl Biofuels

Transition fuelsl Charcoall Kerosenel Coal

Primitive fuelsl Firewoodl Agriculturall Animal waste

Advanced fuelsl LPGl Electricityl BiofuelsTransition fuels

l Charcoall Kerosenel Coal

Primitive fuelsl Firewoodl Agriculturall Animal waste

Table 1.1 Energy dimensions, indicators, deprivations and sustainabilityDimension Variable Deprivation cut-off (poor

if...), quantity, quality andclean [Mix]

Sustainability

Lighting Access toelectricity

No access to electricity Supply sideEconomicallyviable Availability

Access to solar or generatorpoweredlighting

Has less than 4 hours oflight from solar or generatorpowered lights at night

Cooking and water heating Type ofcooking fuel

Use any fuel other thanelectricity, LPG, paraffinnatural gas or biogas

Demand sideEfficiencyAffordabilityCulturallyacceptable

Pollution/risk factor/exposure

Cooking using stove/open fire (no chimney) ifusing any fuel other thanelectricity, LPG, paraffin,natural gas or biogas




With regards to lighting, the children were judged to be energy poor if their householdand/or school did not have electricity; or if they had less than 4 hours of light incircumstances where they were using solar or generator powered lighting at night (Table 1.1).

In terms of cooking and water heating two aspects were considered, the type of cookingfuel they used and its pollution/risk factor/exposure. The household or institution wasconsidered energy poor if it used any fuel other than electricity, LPG, paraffin, naturalgas or biogas and the household members and children were considered at risk if theycooked using a un-improved stove on an open fire with no chimney or if they used anyfuel other than electricity, LPG, kerosene, natural gas or biogas (Table 1.1).

For cooling (food and space) and space heating, energy poverty was judged byownership of household appliances such as not owning and using a refrigerator or fanfor cooling; and not owning and using a heater or using a traditional heater for spaceheating. The energy deprivation for information and communication was also measuredthrough not possessing a radio or TV, not having a landline or mobile phone and nothaving and using computers (Table 1.1).

Sustainability is affected by the supply and demand sides, the environment as well asaffordability and is impacted by energy policies pertaining in a country.

The minimum international requirements for electricity, cooking and lighting are asfollows:

Electricity – Provision of 1 unit of electricity per day per household is considered a basicenergy requirement. In many developing countries the 30 units of electricity per monthcategory is provided at a very concessionary rate to enable access to electricity (WorldHealth Organization, 2006).

Cooking – Minimum standard for cooking - 1 kilogramme fuel wood or 0.3 kilogrammescharcoal or 0.04 kilogrammes LPG or 0.2 litres of paraffin per person per day, takingless than 30 minutes to obtain per household per day (GTZ-HERA, 2009; World HealthOrganization, 2006).

Lighting – Effective or standard lighting requires a minimum of 300 lumens, anequivalent of 30 W incandescent bulb (Reich et al., 2010). This is sufficient for readingand doing other household tasks. It has been proven that lighting below 300 lumens isassociated with an increase in work related accidents in a workplace. According toPractical Action 300 lumens should be available for at least four hours per night.

The overall conceptual framework was used to assist in answering the followingquestions:

l What is the current energy poverty status of households, schools and clinics?l What is their energy mix and how sustainable is it?l Does the energy mix include renewable/ sustainable energy? l How does the energy status affect children?l What are the barriers/opportunities to adoption of renewable energy?l What is the best energy mix option and how can we introduce innovative

solutions to make it sustainable?

The main aim of the study was for the energy used by rural communities to movetowards sustainable energy sources that are both efficient and renewable.Recommended sustainable energy solutions should allow communities to evolve andgrow the mix of resources needed to meet their energy needs of present and futuregenerations while enhancing the environment, the economic viability of the communityand achieving equitable treatment of people.

Introduction I


The Contextual Background toAvailability of Energy and itsGovernance in Zimbabwe

Th C2



9

As noted in Chapter 1 this study aimed to gather evidence on the rootcauses and barriers associated with energy access to enable thedesigning of innovative energy solutions to address environmentalsustainability issues affecting children. It also aimed to havecommunities empowered to enable them to address the challengesand associated negative impacts of barriers to energy access usinginnovative solutions which maximize the use of indigenous, clean andplentiful renewable energy to ensure long-term sustainability.Therefore the starting point is to review energy availability inZimbabwe and its governance.

2.1 Zimbabwe’s Energy Resource Base

According to the National Energy Policy (Ministry of Energy and PowerDevelopment, 2012), Zimbabwe is well endowed with sources of bothfossil fuels and renewable energy. It has:

l Twelve billion metric tonnes of proven coal resources.l Approximately 1,132 terra cubic metres of coal bead

methane.l Hydro-power potential concentrated along the Zambezi

river, with potential also at many micro-hydro sites in theEastern Highlands and dams across the country. Existing in-land dams have an estimated 20 MW potential; run-off-riverschemes could generate 150 MW; and proposed dams havea potential of 260 MW. However, more accurate figureswould require feasibility studies.

l An annual daily average solar radiation of 20 megajoulesper square metre which is greatly under-exploited andwhich at 3,000 hours a year could produce 10,000 Gwh ofelectrical energy per year.

l An annual yield of fuel wood from natural forests estimatedat 4.6 million tonnes.

The Rural Electrification Agency has carried out an assessment on theavailability and utilization of the various renewable energy sources inZimbabwe whose results follow.

2.1.1 Installed and Potential Hydro- Electricity Generation Capacity

The potential of developing Large Hydro Schemes in Zimbabwe islimited because the Zambezi River is the only source available for thegeneration of large scale hydro-power. Thus, Zimbabwe has only onelarge hydro-electricity plant with a capacity of 750 MW which islocated along the Zambezi River. There are, however, other potentialsites along the Zambezi River (Table 2.1).

The Contextual Background to Availability of Energy and its Governance in Zimbabwe


10

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Planning, development and operation of dams on the river is the responsibility of theZambezi River Authority, a body jointly owned by Zimbabwe and Zambia. Accordingto the Zambezi River Authority Act, each country is entitled to 50 per cent of theavailable power generation.

There is potential for small scale hydro-electricity in Zimbabwe and this is likely to bean important source of future growth in capacity. The country has other isolateddecentralized mini- and micro-hydro schemes of capacity less than 100 kW. Wateravailability, competition for scarce water resources and broader environmental factorsare key constraints on the future growth of hydro-electricity generation in Zimbabwe.

The assessment of power potential from mini- and small hydro-generating stationsattached to storage reservoirs is based on the yield and height of dams where data isavailable. Of the 253 dams registered as large dams (basically structures over 15 m inheight) in Zimbabwe the majority fall far short of the requirements of the yield andhead necessary for the generation of over 100 kW.

Most of Zimbabwe’s inland dams already have infrastructure adaptable to mini-hydropower. With the exception of the schemes along the Zambezi river (Table 2.1), all otherproposed power plants have the advantage of lower water requirements and smallerenvironmental impacts than larger schemes. The potential of Zimbabwe’s dams remainlargely unexploited despite the confirmed potential. Only Siya dam in Bikita has beendeveloped with a small decentralised 75 kW system.

The hydro potential of existing dams is given in Table 2.2, while that of the potentialfuture dams is given in Table 2.3.


Table 2.1 Hydro-electricity potential sites along the Zambezi River

Dam Power MW Energy GWh

Present

1. Kariba 750 5,150

Total 750 5,150

Future

1. Katombora 390 2,000

2. Batoka 800 4,370

3. Devils Gorge 600 3,000

4. Mupata 600 3,000

Total 2,390 12,370

Source: The Rural Electrification Agency




The Contextual Background to Availability of Energy and its Governance in Zimbabwe 2



Table 2.2 Hydro potential for existing dams in Zimbabwe

No Name River Province Power (MW) Energy(GMWh)

1 Mazoe Mazoe Mashonaland Central 0.17 0.74

2 Sebakwe Sebakwe Midlands 0.82 3.59

3 Mutirikwe Mutirikwe Masvingo 5.00 26.67

4 Bangala Mutirikwe Masvingo 5.51 24.13

5 Manjirenji Chiredzi Masvingo 1.43 6.26

6 Ingwenzi Ingwenzi Matebeleland South 0.11 0.48

7 Mwenji Mwenje Mashonaland Central 0.25 1.09

8 Lesapi Lesapi Manicaland 0.20 0.88

9 Upper Ncema Ncema Matebeleland South 0.15 0.66

10 Manyuchi Mwenezi Masvingo 1.40 5.00

11 Siya Turgwe Masvingo 0.65 2.85

12 Ruti Nyanyadzi Manicaland 0.88 3.85

13 Ngezi Ngezi Midlands 0.45 1.97

14 Mazvikadei Mukwadzi Mashonaland West 0.98 4.29

15 Biri Manyame Mashonaland West 0.75 3.28

16 Masembura Pote Mashonaland Central 0.10 0.44

17 Arcadia Pote Mashonaland Central 0.12 0.53

18 Mteri Mteri Masvingo 0.18 0.79

19 Mundi Matanga Mundi Midlands 0.10 0.44

20 Lilstock Ruya Mashonaland East 0.10 0.44

Total 19.35 86.99

Table 2.3 The hydro potential for future dams

No Name River Province Power (MW) Energy(GMWh)

1 Condo Save Manicaland 24 105.12

2 Mukosi Tokwe Masvingo 12 52.56

3 Tende Runde Masvingo 7.20 31.50

4 Mozwa Tuli Matebeleland South 1.90 8.50

5 Glyn – Mel Manyame Mashonaland West 1.50 6.60

6 Mhondoro Mapfure Mashonaland West 1.60 7.00

7 Dande Dande Mashonaland Central 0.70 3.07

8 Silverstroom Musengedzi Mashonaland Central 0.66 2.89

9 Lions Head Mubvunzi Mashonaland Central 0.97 4.25

10 Muda Mupfure Mashonaland East 0.27 1.18

11 Kudu Munyati Midlands 6.94 30.40

12 Bindura Mazowe Mashonaland East 0.58 2.54

13 Manyange Tuli Matebeland South 0.20 0.88

14 Marovanyati Mweihavi Manicaland 0.19 0.83

15 Silobela Gweru Midlands 0.18 0.79

Total 58.93 258.11


Figure 2.1 A summary of the existing and potential hydro-electricity sites


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There is also potential to harness run-off river schemes for electricity (Table 2.4).

Figure 2.1 shows a summary of the existing and potential hydro-electricity sites.

Exiting Large Hydro Potential Sites

Existing Large Hydro Site

Proposed Dam sites with Mini Hydro Potential

Existing Dam sites with Mini Hydro Potential

Key

Proposed Mini Hydro Runoff river schemes Potential

Area with Micro hydro potential (Runoff river schemes)



Table 2.4 Hydro potential from run-off river schemesSite Power (MW) Energy (GMWh)

Gairezi 30.0 70.0

Tsanga 3.3 8.0

Rusitu 2 4.5 30.7

Rusitu 1 1.0 7.2

Duru 2.3 6.0

Micro Hydro (Manicaland Province)

Total 14.1 121.9




The data for annual normal beam radiation for Zimbabwe were obtained using all dataon global direct and diffuse radiation presently available. Generally the beam radiationin Zimbabwe can be expected to average about 20 MJ/m2/day (2.03 kWh/m2/year)with a peak of 26 MJ/m2 (2.64 kWh/m2/year) around Victoria Falls. The upward gradienttowards the western end of the country is based on observations from one station only(Victoria Falls). More extended measurements should be carried out to confirm orcorrect these figures. Zimbabwe has 300 days of sunshine a year which is more thantwice that in some European countries.

Zimbabwe has about 0.01 per cent (39 km2) of its total land surface area (390,000 km2)from which solar radiation is collectible (Figure 2.3). The net effect is that a total of 202kWh/m2/year and 7.91*1010 kWh/year is collectable.

2.1.2 Solar Power Capacity

Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly usingphotovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). Concentratedsolar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area ofsunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaics convert light into electric current using thephotoelectric effect.

Zimbabwe’s annual mean radiation is shown in Figure 2.2.


Figure 2.2 Zimbabwe annual mean radiation (global extract) (MJ/m2/day)



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2.1.3 Biomass Resources

Biomass can be used as a renewable energy on condition that the use is sustainable.The National Energy Policy, however, notes that most rural areas in Zimbabwe are facingfuel wood shortages as a result of agricultural land-use and unsustainable harvestingof fuel wood (Ministry of Energy and Power Development, 2012). Demand for fuel woodis noted to exceed supply in Manicaland, Mashonaland East, the Midlands and MasvingoProvinces which are heavily populated while Mashonaland Central and MateblelandNorth are approaching the same situation. Estimates are that more than 6 million tonnesof fuel wood are harvested annually when the sustainable output of natural forests is4.6 million tonnes. This translates to a loss of 330,000 ha of forest area, or over 60million trees per year.

Inspite of celebrating tree planting day in Zimbabwe, the current annual tree plantingrate is only 10 million trees. However, fuel wood will continue to be used for cookingand space heating by rural and low-income urban households for the foreseeable future.Thus the National Energy Policy proposes to establish an institutional and fundingframework for developing implementing strategies to deal with the fuel wood crisis.

An estimated 1.5 million tonnes of bagasse is produced annually from waste in theproduction of sugar in the Lowveld at Triangle and Hippo Valley Estates. The two estatesgenerate 72.5 MW of electricity for their own consumption and can sell 10 MW of thisto the national grid. Additional bagasse has come on stream from Chisumbanje andMiddle Save areas where sugarcane plantations are being developed for ethanolproduction.

About 70,000 tonnes of forest residue are produced from commercial forests that havepotential for generating 150 MW power and for creation of a more formalized fuel woodand charcoal market. Biomass resources currently used and potential future resourcesand outputs are given in Table 2.5.


Figure 2.3 Zimbabwe’s annual diffuse radiation (global extract) (MJ/m2/day)





2.1.4 Biogas Resources

Methane can be harvested from Municipal Sewage Treatment Plants and from bio-digesters. The potential energy that can be harvested from the various sewagetreatment works in Zimbabwe is given in Table 2.6.




Table 2.5 Biomass resources currently used and potential future resources in Zimbabwe

Biomass Groups Current Resources Future Resources

Agricultural relatedwastes and theirproducts

Livestock wastes:-Manure-Abattoir wastes solids by-products

Crop and food residues fromharvesting and processing:-Large scale wheat husks-Cotton ginning and cereal straw-Small-scale maize cobs and nutshells

Sugar cane Bagasse, fibrous residue of thesugar cane milling process andC-mollasses

Trash, leaves and tops fromharvesting

Energy crops High yield crops-Sugar cane and starch crops-Oil bearing – sunflower, soyabeans

JatrophaAlgaeNew seed oils

Forest residues Wood from plantation forests Wood from plantation forests and indigenous forests

Wood related waste -Sawmill residues (wood chipsand saw dust)-Pulp and paper mill residue(black liquor and wet wastes)

-

Urban solid waste -Biodegradable waste Food related wastes, gardenorganics, paper and cardboardmaterials

Landfill Methane emitted from landfillsfrom mainly Municipal andindustrial solid wastes

-

Table 2.6 Potential energy that can be harvested from the various Municipal sewage treatment works in Zimbabwe (m3/day)

Sewage (m3/day) Biogas (m3/day) Methane(m3/day)

Harare Firle 1,800 17,000 46,500

Harare Crowbrough 940 8 ,500 23,500

Mutare 30,000 1,07 554

Masvingo 16,800 621 311

Total 72,340


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Energy Production from Livestock

Table 2.7 shows the potential energy that can be produced from livestock manure.

2.1.5 Wind Resources

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, usingtechnologies such as wind turbines to make electrical power. Wind speed determineswind power density (W/m2), which in turn becomes the measure of the wind’s potentialto generate electricity. Wind power density is categorized as shown in Table 2.8.

Wind energy has been used for a power-generation project at Temaruru in Rusape andfor water pumping at various sites around the country. However, generally wind speedover Zimbabwe, averaging 3 metres per second is too low for most wind-based powergeneration technologies.

Figure 2.4 is wind power map depicting Zimbabwe’s wind power situation. As indicatedin the map, Zimbabwe’s density is classified as poor with a highest density in the 80-90 W/m2 range. This density is only concentrated in the central Midlands Provinceand extends to North Western Masvingo. Investing in wind power generation willtherefore be uneconomical for the country given the possible minimum wind speed toproduce power output.




Table 2.7 The potential energy that can be produced from livestock manure

Livestock type Population Annual biogas yield Energy (GWh)

Cattle 25,000 10.0 22

Sheep and Goats 435,000 2.0 95

Pigs 131,000 1.5 30

Poultry 5,428,000 0.1 71

Total 219

Table 2.8 Classification of wind’s potential to generate electricity

Wind Power Density (W/m2) Output

< 150 Poor

150 – 250 Fair

250 – 350 Good

>350 Excellent




Uranium and geothermal energy resources exist but need more exploration work toquantify amounts.

2.2 Energy Governance

2.2.1 The Ministry of Energy and Power Development

The Ministry of Energy and Power Development has the overall responsibility for energyissues in Zimbabwe. The Ministry’s mandate includes policy formulation, performancemonitoring and regulation of the energy sector; as well as research, development andpromotion of new and renewable sources of energy. In addition, the Ministry supervisesand oversees the performance of state-owned enterprises which include the ZimbabweElectricity Supply Authority (ZESA), the National Oil Infrastructure Company (NOIC),Petrotrade, and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). It also regulates IndependentPower Producers (IPPs) such as the Rusitu Power Corporation.

The Government of Zimbabwe subscribes to the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). The proposed SDG number 7 – “Ensure access to affordable reliable, sustainable,and modern energy for all” aims to address this issue by:

l increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix; l doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; l enhancing international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy

research and technologies; l promoting investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy

technologies; and,l expanding infrastructure and upgrading technology for supplying modern

and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries by 2030.


Figure 2.4 A map depicting Zimbabwe’s wind power situation



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Zimbabwe has domesticated some of these objectives in its national energy policiesand objectives. The mission of the Ministry of Energy and Power Development is toachieve universal access to sustainable energy in Zimbabwe by 2030. Its vision is toensure the provision of adequate and sustainable energy supply through formulatingand implementing effective policies and regulatory frameworks.

The right to energy is not captured in the Constitution of Zimbabwe (Government ofZimbabwe, 2013a). However, energy is defined as a key enabler to productive socio-economic development in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-economicTransformation (Zim-Asset) which is Zimbabwe’s mid-term strategy for the period 2013-2018 (Government of Zimbabwe, 2013b). During this period the energy sector willprioritize attainment of optimal generation of power; the production and use of biofuelsas enablers for economic productivity; and growth through the following:

a) Raising the installed generation capacity of existing power stations to theiroptimum.

b) Expanding existing power stations such as Hwange and Kariba.c) Completing new big and mini-hydro-power projects such as Batoka and

Gairezi, respectively.d) Resuscitating small thermal power stations of Harare, Bulawayo and Munyati

to full power generation capacity.e) Utilizing fully alternative forms of energy such as coal bed methane gas.f) Deliberate development of solar and wind energy initiatives.

The energy sector belongs to the Infrastructure Cluster in the Zim-Asset. The target forpower generation is to increase power generation by 300 MW by December 2015;increase power access to rural households and institutes by constructing and upgradingsub-stations; and to complete grid expansion in rural areas.

With regards to renewable energy, the target is to increase usage of alternative formsof energy through implementing the Biogas Digesters Programme for institutions,households and farms with a target of 1,250 biogas plants installed by 2018. Anothertarget on renewable energy is to initiate a Mini-hydro Programme for integrated mini-hydro schemes which should be functional by 2015 as well as installing a 10 MW solarplant. These projects are already being either planned or underway through either REAor Non-governmental organizations in partnership with REA.

Energy and power fall under the Value Addition and Beneficiations Cluster where theSector is envisaged to improve supply of liquid fuels; reduce gas imports usingstrategies such as promotion of alternative sources of energy (biogas, solar and wind);and to encourage and enforce the use of solar energy for lighting and heating.

Zimbabwe launched a National Energy Policy in 2012 (Ministry of Energy and PowerDevelopment, 2012). The Energy Policy’s objective is to ensure that Zimbabwe promotesresearch and development and the use of renewable sources of energy to supportregional and international goals for increasing access to socially and environmentallysustainable energy services.

The Zimbabwe National Energy Policy is aligned to the strategic goal of the SouthernAfrican Development Community (SADC) Regional Energy Access Strategy and ActionPlan of 2010(Southern African Development Community,2010) which is “to harnessregional energy resources to ensure, through national and regional action, that all thepeople of the SADC Region have access to adequate, reliable, least-cost, environmentallysustainable energy services and at the operational level that the proportion of peoplewithout such access is halved within 10 years for each end-use and halved again insuccessive 5 year periods until there is universal access for all end users.”





The National Energy Policy notes that since it is unlikely that there is a single technologythat can meet all the end-use needs for a given consumer, it is necessary to consider aportfolio of energy sources. Thus the ultimate objective of the National Energy Policyis to ensure universal access to a portfolio of modern energy services that fulfill the light,heat, static and motive power needs for enhancing economic productivity and quality of life.

The challenges noted for rural energy supply and adoption of renewable energy arelack of aggressive promotion in the households and commercial market; poor back upservice; limited local experience and expertise for some technologies; high-up-frontcosts for adoption of technology; resistance to new technologies; lack of awareness ofavailable options by end-users; as well as uncoordinated and unfocussed research inrenewable energy.

Policy objectives include increasing usage of, and investment in renewable energy;promoting renewable energy as an environmentally friendly form of energy; diversifyingsupply options and increasing access to modern energy in rural areas. Several policymeasures are enounced including adopting a long-term government-driven renewableenergy technology programme; instituting innovative funding mechanisms and tappinginto financing opportunities such as the Clean Development Mechanism, feed-in tariffsetc; capacity building programmes; raising awareness; encouraging local productionand commercialization of technology; promoting investment into stand-alone solarenergy systems to cater for rural communities; promoting the efficient use of biomasscooking and use of waste biomass for energy purposes; developing incentives forinvestment in renewable energy; and strengthening the institutional framework forresearch and development in renewable energy technologies.

Some of the strategies for biomass include increasing the tree-planting rate from thecurrent 10 million to 20 million trees per year by 2015 and promoting rural fencing usinglive trees; supporting end-user-focussed research, awareness and educationprogrammes to increase the efficiency of fuel wood use; and promoting the use ofalternative heating and cooking fuels such as coal, solar and biogas in rural householdsand institutions (boarding schools and hospitals) and in rural commercial applicationssuch as bakeries, brick moulding and tobacco curing. Strategies for solar relating torural areas include promotion of solar technologies such as solar pumping for off-gridboreholes and river irrigation; and solar PV-charged lights.

The National Energy Policy also notes that there is unexploited potential for using LPGand paraffin to address cooking fuel challenges for the majority of the population, whoeither have no access to electricity or are unable to afford the cost of using it for cookingand heating. This will be targeted at urban households as most rural households areunlikely to have access to LPG. However, they could use biogas as an alternative fuel.Government is planning to roll out the use of biogas in rural institutions (schools andhospitals) for heating and cooking. It also plans to promote use of suitable alternativesto fuel wood such as LPG, paraffin, electricity, fuel wood briquettes and solar cookers.

The National Energy Policy separated policy-making, policy-monitoring and policy-implementation functions by creating an independent regulator and public/private-sector providers. Currently the policy-monitoring is vested in the ZimbabweEnergy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) while the implementation is by ZESA and itssubsidiaries. The institutional arrangements within the Ministry of Energy and PowerDevelopment are shown in Figure 2.5.



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2.2.2 Regulatory Institution

The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority

The Government of Zimbabwe established the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority(ZERA) to deal with regulation of the electricity and petroleum sub-sectors bypromulgating the Energy Regulatory Authority Act of 2011. The Act regulates the twosub-sectors and any other sub-sector. Previously there were two Acts the ElectricityAct of 2002 and the Petroleum Act of 2006 that dealt with the two sub-sectorsseparately.

ZERA was established to regulate the production, procurement, importation,transmission, distribution, transportation and exportation of energy derived from anyenergy source. Thus ZERA was created for policy monitoring and enforcement. The Actgives ZERA independent decisionmaking authority for clearly defined functions thatare critical for ensuring operational, financial and investment efficiency in the energysector. The decision making role of ZERA is concerned with the development,monitoring and enforcement of product and service standards; energy prices; disputeresolution; and the issuing, enforcement, renewal, amendment or cancellation oflicences.

ZERA’s key objectives include ensuring the security of energy supply, encouragingenergy efficiency at utility and consumer levels and encouraging use of renewableenergy and environmental protection, among others.

To this end ZERA has developed the renewable energy feed-in tariff scheme which isyet to be implemented. The renewable energy feed-in tariff is a policy instrument thatmandates power utilities operating the national grid to purchase electricity fromrenewable energy sources at a pre-determined price so as to stimulate investment inthe renewable energy sector. The feed-in tariffs were developed for renewable energy


MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT

RURAL ELECTRIFICATION FUND BOARD

ZERA

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

ZESA HOLDINGS BOARD

ZESA HOLDINGS RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AGENCY

• Generation • Transmission • Distribution

Facilitate rapid & equitable electrification of rural areas in Zimbabwe

Regulate operations of the energy sector

• National Energy policy formulation • Performance monitoring • Administration of the energy sector

Figure 2.5 The Institutional arrangements and mandates within the Ministry of Energy and Power Development




technologies applicable to Zimbabwe such as solar PV, small hydro, biomass, bagasseand biogas. The scheme is meant to promote renewable energy projects up to amaximum capacity of 10 MW.

The Authority has also developed net-metering regulations to support the feed-in-tariffscheme. Net-metering is a billing mechanism that credits renewable energy systemowners for the electricity they add to the grid. The objectives of net-metering are togenerate additional power from renewable energy resources onto the national grid,reducing the investment requirement of utilities and conventional independent powerproducers. It also allows customer-generators to reduce their off-take from distributionnetworks through generating for own consumption, and to export to distributionnetworks excess renewable energy generated. Net-metering also promotes sustainablerenewable energy sources and small-scale investments in the electricity sector. The net-metering regulations are soon to be promulgated.

ZERA has developed a solar PV integration code. The code establishes the basic rules,procedures, requirements and standards that govern the operation, maintenance anddevelopment of solar PV systems in the country to ensure the safe, reliable and efficientoperation of the Electricity System. The code includes governance; off-grid connections;grid connections; protection (to minimize damage to plant and consumer appliances);metering and information exchange requirements.

The Authority is also working with the Standards Association of Zimbabwe and otherstakeholders to develop standards for solar PV system components such as batteries,panels, charge controllers, inverters, lighting kits and lanterns, system installationstandards and for geysers. Once these standards are in place ZERA will enforce themthrough a Statutory Instrument on Solar PV regulations. In addition ZERA is set to fundthe establishment of a dedicated solar PV equipment testing laboratory at theStandards Association of Zimbabwe to certify solar PV system components.

The Authority is also registering all renewable energy and energy efficiency providersoperating in Zimbabwe with a view of developing a database and providingrecommended suppliers.



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2.2.3 Other Government Policies and International Agreements thatSupport Provision of Renewable Energy

The Ministry of Energy and Power Development is currently working with ZERA todevelop a Renewable Energy Policy for Zimbabwe. The Policy is going to give guidelinesand the roadmap for the renewable energy sector in Zimbabwe and will address gapssuch as legislation and incentives for increased uptake and investment in renewableenergy, among other issues. The Renewable Energy Policy is meant to create a moreconducive environment for investment in the renewable energy sector.

The biofuels and climate policies are also being developed and will complement theRenewable Energy Policy. Zimbabwe has recently launched its National Climate ChangeResponse Strategy which has, among many others, actions to mitigate climate changethrough adopting cleaner and renewable energy (Ministry of Environment, Water andClimate, 2015).

The country has joined the global effort to eliminate energy poverty by committing tothe UN goal of universal energy access (SE4ALL) by 2030. SE4ALL is a response toresolution 65/151 of the United Nations General Assembly that declared 2012 as theInternational Year of Sustainable Energy for all. In that resolution the General Assemblyrecognized that access to modern and affordable energy services in developingcountries was essential for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals andfor sustainable development, which would help reduce poverty and improve theconditions and standard of living for the majority of the world’s population. The initiativeis meant to mobilize action from all sectors of society to realize sustainable energy forall by 2030.

In 2012 the UN General Assembly declared 2014-2024 as the Decade for SustainableEnergy for all through resolution 67/215. The resolution stresses the need to improveaccess to reliable, affordable, economically-viable, socially acceptable andenvironmentally-sound energy services and resources for sustainable development. TheZimbabwe National Energy Policy has adopted this resolution in its objectives. However,sector stakeholders do not think that it will be possible to have universal energy accessby 2030 because of the current state of the economic environment in Zimbabwe whichis stifling energy generation expansion. It is hoped that all these policies will lead toincreases in the share of renewable energy in the energy mix of the country, one of thekey objectives of SE4ALL.

The key question is to what extent are these policies sensitive to the needs andaspirations of the children in Zimbabwe and in what ways are they enabling thetransition to clean energy and mitigation of climate change that are negativelyimpacting on the children in urban and rural areas? The renewable energy and climatechange mitigation nexus is a double edged sword as addressing one developmentalchallenge has a direct impact on the other, leading to multiple benefits.







Previous Efforts to Provide ModernEnergy to Rural Areas of Zimbabwe andLessons Learnt from Past Interventions

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A review of previous efforts to provide modern energy to rural areasof Zimbabwe was made to help inform the design and choice of studydistricts of the situational analysis of the energy status of institutionsthat support children. These efforts are being made by governmentalinstitutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the privatesector.

3.1 Public Sector Service Providers

As noted earlier, the Ministry of Energy and Power Developmentsupervises and oversees the performance of state-owned enterprises;the ZESA; NOIC; Petrotrade and the REA as well as Independent PowerProducers (See 2.2.1).

3.1.1 The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority(ZESA) Holdings

The Electricity Act of 1988 [Chapter 13:05] and the Zambezi RiverAuthority Act of 1987 [Chapter 20:23] provided for the amalgamationof all existing power utilities into one integrated parastatal called ZESA.These were the reforms through the Electricity Act of 2002 [Chapter13:19] and the Electricity Amendment Acts of 2003 and 2007 thatrestructured ZESA into a state-owned holding company consisting offour subsidiary companies; the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC)(power generation); the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission andDistribution Company (ZETDC) (transmission, bulk supply, distributionand retail of electricity); ZESA Enterprises (ZENT) (manufacturing andsupport services, mainly for ZETDC and to a lesser extent, the generalpublic); and Powertel (telecommunications support mainly to ZETDCand the general public).

Of special interest to the Sustainable Energy for Children Project isZETDC which is responsible for connecting electricity once it has beendelivered to rural institutions by the Rural Electrification Agency.

3.1.2 The Rural Electrification Agency

ZESA’s rural electrification functions were unbundled by the RuralElectrification Fund Act [Chapter 13:20] of 2002.This resulted in theestablishment of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) whose mainfocus is to spearhead rapid and equitable electrification of rural areasin Zimbabwe. The mandate of REA is to provide energy to rural areasespecially through the main electricity grid. The provision of electricityto rural areas was initially the responsibility of ZESA from 1987 to 2002.Initial expansion of the grid to rural areas was haphazard until 1995when a Master Plan Study was carried out. Implementation of the Planstarted in 1997. The initial target from the Master Plan was to electrify415 rural centres, and did not include schools, clinics or any other publicinstitutions except those within one kilometre radius of the businesscentre. Business centres were provided with access to electricity andall they had to do was internal wiring of their properties.

When REA was established as a stand-alone entity in 2002 its objectivewas to provide electricity to all public institutions including allgovernment extension offices, schools, clinics and chiefs’ homesthrough two main programmes, the Expanded Rural Electrification

Previous Efforts to Provide Modern Energy to Rural Areas of Zimbabwe and Lessons Learnt from Past Interventions


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Programme and the Electricity End-Use Infrastructure Development. Since itsestablishment REA has installed electricity at 7,703 public institutions in the rural areasand has a backlog of 5,327 primary schools; 2,188 secondary schools; 1,338 healthcentres and 266 chiefs’ homes.

All the rural public institutions qualify for 100 per cent capital subsidy through theExpanded Rural Electrification Programme. Entities other than public institutions suchas Community Group Schemes (business centres and villages), qualify for 50 per centsubsidy while individual households qualify for a 40 per cent capital subsidy. This hasmeant that although households have potential access to electricity as electric cables“pass-over their homesteads”, they still are not connected to electricity since theycannot afford the 60 per cent of the cost they have to pay to get connected to the grid.In some communities, villagers have formed cooperatives to raise the funds to enabletheir homesteads to be connected to the grid because they then pay 50 per cent insteadof 60 per cent of the cost. In some instances the cooperatives have negotiated paymentplans. However, when connected, end-users have reported long periods withoutelectricity when their transformers get faulty as REA was reportedly taking long torepair faults. This was mentioned by many end-users similar to a school headmasterwho said:

“There was an accident in which a car got hooked to the electricity line andsince then we have called ZESA and it has not responded…” (P34:21; 138:138),KII; High school headmaster).

In some cases REA has not been able to catch up with the waiting list because of thepertaining economic situation in the country as expressed by a village head inHurungwe:

“We actually joined REA in 2002 but it is now 2015 and still we have not yetbeen connected to the main grid.” (P36:71 197:197), village head Hurungwe.

The Rural Electrification Fund Act provides for the funding of the programme throughlevies, loans, fiscal allocations, customer contributions (50:50 scheme, 40:60 scheme),income generating activities grants and donations. Currently the rural electrificationprogrammes are primarily funded by the 6 per cent levy collected from all electricityconsumers in the country as well as fiscal allocations. However, these funds are notadequate and external support is needed.

The Electricity End Use Infrastructure Development component endeavours to empowerrural communities socio-economically by promoting productive use of electricity inirrigation and cottage industries etc. In spite of these efforts electrification remains lowin Zimbabwe with access rates currently estimated at 20 per cent.

The major challenge to extension of the grid in order to achieve total electrification ofthe country is the sparse distribution of the rural population. Furthermore, some areashave a topography that is not favourable to the main grid with some having haphazard,dispersed and isolated settlement patterns.

These challenges can however be overcome by promoting use of alternativetechnologies such as micro-hydro, solar, biogas and biomass as enounced in theNational Energy Policy. To this end, REA’s expanded mandate is to facilitate rapid andequitable provision of modern energy which includes renewable energy. As a result REAinstalled 415 donated solar systems in rural schools and clinics between 2006 and 2013.This was in addition to the five systems which were installed prior the 2006 intervention.However, the equipment was old and the design capacity of the equipment was toosmall for the institutions. Some of the major challenges faced included lack of clear





ownership of the equipment by the community as well as maintenance of the solar kits.As a result the majority of the installed systems are not functioning. The installationsmade by the Biomass Users’ Network Programme that was supported by the GlobalEnvironmental Fund in the 1980s and 1990s were more successful and sustainable. Thuslessons should be learnt from this programme. ZERA has further distributed 437 mobilesolar units to public institutions.

REA has been installing bio-digesters at public institutions. Table 3.1 shows the statusof biogas digester plants installed by REA whereby it commissioned 24 bio-digestersbetween 2013 and 31 March 2015.

REA availed data bases of all its renewable and non-renewable interventions to thisconsultancy. This information was supplemented by information from key informantsand focus group discussions during this study.

Previous Efforts to Provide Modern Energy to Rural Areas of Zimbabwe and Lessons Learnt from Past Interventions 3

Table 3.1 Status of biogas digester plant installations as at 31 March 2015

Province District Name of Institution DateCommissioned

2013

Harare Harare Roosevelt High School 2013

Harare Central Hospital 2013

Chikurubi Prison 2013

Harare Central Prison 2013

Mashonaland East Goromonzi Domboshava homestead 2013

Pig Industry Board 2013

2014

Midlands Gweru Fletcher High School 24/04/14

Matabeleland South Mangwe St Annes Brunapeg Mission Hospital 27/06/14

Mashonaland East Seke Ruz Farm 03/07/14

Matabelaland North Lupane St Lukes Hospital 21/08/14

Matabeleland South Gwanda Mtshabezi High School 01/10/14

Midlands Gweru Lower Gwelo Mission 30/10/14

Mashonaland West Chegutu Sandringham High School 10/11/14

Matabeleland South Insiza Empandeni High School 21/11/14

Matabelaland North Nkayi Mbuma Mission Hospital 03/12/14

Midlands Kwekwe Shungu High School 10/12/14

Manicaland Chipinge Mt Selinda Mission High School 11/12/14

Matabeleland South Umzingwane Mzinyathini High School 18/12/14

2015

Matabelaland North Tsholotsho Tsholotsho High School 21/01/15

Matabeleland South Insiza J Z Moyo High School 21/01/15

Midlands Gweru Nkululeko High School 14/02/15

Mashonaland West Zvimba Kutama High School 27/02/15

Mashonaland Central Mt Darwin Mt Darwin Hospital 06/03/15

Muzarabani St Albert’s Hospital 06/03/15



Figure 3.1 Examples of improved mud stoves

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As an executing Agency of the Ministry responsible for Energy, REA is responsible forimplementing the National Energy Policy and for meeting targets in the Zim-Asset;hence its new strategy is that of a shift from grid extension to promotion of off-gridsupply of renewable energy. Thus REA is supposed to be transformed from a RuralElectrification Agency into a Rural Energy Agency so that they can take on board thisnew and expanded mandate (Ministry of Energy and Power Development, 2012).

REA has commissioned a study to develop a new Energy Master Plan that will guidethe expansion of energy access to rural areas. The Plan will be informed by anassessment of the current grid, available resources and demand for energy. It willprovide recommendations for best technologies for specific areas. The Master Plan willprovide scope for expansion of partnerships of players in the energy sector as some ofthe ventures could be taken up commercially. Currently REA has partnerships with NGOswith interest in renewable energy such as Practical Action, the Humanist InstituteCooperation (HIVOs) and Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) on somerenewable energy projects.

3.2 Non-Governmental Organizations

There have been several efforts by NGOs to introduce cleaner and renewable energy inZimbabwe. For example the GTZ/GIZ introduced fuel wood saving technologies andsystems. ProBEC supported Biomass Energy Conservation demonstration projectsduring 1999-2004. This was a joint programme between SADC, the EuropeanCommission and the German Government that was implemented by GTZ/GIZ in sixcountries that included Zimbabwe.

Demonstration projects were piloted in Hurungwe District in Mashonaland West;Chimanimani District in Manicaland; and Epworth in the Greater Harare MetropolitanArea. The project was aimed at introducing and promoting fuel wood saving stoves andimproved methods of cooking and managing fuel wood. In Hurungwe, the programmepromoted the use of improved fixed mud-stoves (3 sticks) (Figure 3.1) that reduced fuelwood consumption at household level by over 50 per cent. The focus of theprogrammes was on saving fuel wood and trees but did not also highlight the healthbenefits accrued from using the stoves.





The Institute of Environmental Studies carried out an economic analysis of fuel woodsaving technologies and systems of the ProBEC demonstration projects in 2002(Institute of Environmental Studies, 2002). The aim of the economic assessment wasto identify; attach value; and compare the costs and benefits of adopting biomassenergy stoves (mud stoves) to both households and producers of the stoves inHurungwe District.

Results from the economic analysis using seven economic ratios (pay-back period; totalnet benefit; rate of return; ratio of net benefit of improved stove to expenditure on foodand groceries; total annual cost; net present value and dynamic rate of return)suggested very high incentives for the households to adopt the improved mudstoves.The net benefits that accrued to the households were high and compared favourablywith other household budget items. The fuel wood saving stoves reduced the time spentcollecting fuel wood and conserved the resource base as they used very small amountsof fuel wood and shortened the time spent preparing food.

Despite the economic and time-saving advantages of the cookstoves adaptation waspoor because of critical social and cultural challenges in the adoption of the stoves. Asa result there were about 500 improved stoves in Hurungwe and less than 50 inChimanimani District not long after the end of implementation of the PROBECprogramme (Mangwandi, 2002). However, the trained women in Manicaland are stillactive in production and distribution of the portable clay stoves. They are supplyingthem as far as Harare, but are limited by the volume of production and the level ofawareness which is low.

GOAL Zimbabwe and other development partners have also tried to promote the useof improved cook-stoves such as jengetahuni (Figure 3.2) and tsotso stoves (Figure3.3), which consume less fuel wood in Hurungwe. The stoves were introduced inHurungwe because of the looming scarcity of fuel wood in the district as a result ofmassive deforestation because of use of fuel wood for curing tobacco.


Figure 3.2 Examples of Jengetahuni stove


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GOAL carried out a Community Centred Prevention of Malnutrition Project in threedistricts that included a pilot study to improve the design of improved cook-stoves withsupport from UNICEF during October 2014 to January 2015. Project beneficiariesincluded a total of 480 households and six health facilities. The main aim of the projectwas to promote improved cookstoves by raising awareness on the benefits of using thetechnology.

The project’s main objective was to test the performance of four cook stove types (threestone/open fire (Figure 3.4), Tsotso (Figure 3.3), Mbare (Figure 3.5) and jengetahunistove (Figure 3.2) and the intervention focused on cook-stoves’ performance and theiradoption.)


Figure 3.3 Examples of tsotso stoves

Figure 3.4 Three stone/open fire stove




Controlled cooking tests, (water boiling and kitchen performance) were conducted asa measure of efficiency. The tests also included measuring the efficiencies andeffectiveness of each stove considering their different attributes.

At baseline 43 per cent of the households were using the Mbare stove; 40 per cent wereusing both the Mbare and tsotso stoves1 because the tsotso stove could notaccommodate bigger pots; 6 per cent of the households were using the jengetahunistove and 11 per cent of the households were using the traditional three-stone-stove.

By the end of the project, the use of the Mbare stove was reduced to 26 per cent of thebaseline while use of the tsotso and jengetahuni stoves had increased by 74 per centand 99 per cent of the baseline, respectively. The results from the tests in the studyshowed that the improved cook-stoves reduced cooking time and fuel consumptionand that the jengetahuni consumed less fuel than the tsotso stove and its fuel reductionwas within the minimum range set by the Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves (Mehtaand Chiang, https://cleancookstoves.org/binary-data/RESOURCE/file/000/000/190-1.pdf). Feedback from communities during the review meetings indicated that adoptionof the tsotso stove is low because it can only accommodate one pot at a time and canalso only accommodate smaller pots. GOAL notes that adoption of a stove depends onthe design, whether it meets the needs of the user as well as on its efficiency.

The results indicated that the jengetahuni cook stoves could be used to scale-up theuse of improved cook stoves. It was evident that the adoption of improved cookstovescould bring a halt to the environmental impacts of traditional cookstoves by improvingthe efficiency in the use of fuel wood. This means that food could be prepared faster,using less fuel wood which translates to less time spent by women and children cookingand searching for fuel wood. This saved time could be used for productive economicactivities and children could use the time for educative activities.

Previous Efforts to Provide Modern Energy to Rural Areas of Zimbabwe and Lessons Learnt from Past Interventions 3Figure 3.5 Mbare stove

1 The Tsotso stove was only being used for cooking smaller portions with the Mbare stove being used for bigger household meals. Thetsotso stove is the model being promoted under the nutrition project since August 2013 so this may be why there was a greater numberof people using the tsotso stove than Jengetahuni before the intervention.


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The project included training volunteers who in turn could train other communitymembers on the construction of the stoves. Participants were taught the advantagesof improved stoves before learning to construct them. Local resources were used in theconstruction of the stoves which means that there were no costs incurred by those whoparticipated in the programme. This is what a trainer said regarding the advantages ofimproved stoves in a training session:

“The open fire has so many disadvantages; it consumes a lot of fuel woodcausing forests to be destroyed. The open fire requires more labour as onehas to cut big logs which can last in the fire but now people just require smallbranches (Tsotso). Nowadays, husbands are now able to sit in the kitchen andinteract with their family unlike during the time when they used the open firewhich produced a lot of smoke which was very irritating because it causedteary eyes. The Tsotso stove is very safe when it comes to children, they oftenhave a lot of burns from the open fire. Generally, if we focus on women, theTsotso stove lessens the burden; they are now able to do other tasks ratherthan spend most of the time looking for fuel wood. One can go for at leastone and a half weeks without fetching fuel wood”. (P43:23,147:147), KII;Organization trainer, Hurungwe.

The Sustainable Energy for Children Study included some of the participants in theGOAL project.

However, despite the focus on reduction of fuel wood used, efforts should be made toeducate communities on the health and environmental benefits of using improvedstoves, and future studies should include indoor air pollution measurements. Projectsshould include health issues instead of only focusing on biomass savings.Other studiessuch as the Situational Analysis of Solid Waste Management in Zimbabwe’s UrbanCentres carried out by the Institute of Environmental Studies in 2011 have shown thatnew technologies are better adopted through using the public health route.

GOAL has spread the promotion of improved cookstoves to other districts such asNyanga. There are Churches in Gutu who are training communities on how to build thesestoves. ORAP is also promoting the tsotso and jengetahuni improved stoves inTsholotsho. In Nyanga the tsotso stove was introduced mainly targeting Nyangomberefugee camp where refugees were involved in massive deforestation of surroundingareas. In Chipinge the United Nations Commission on Refugees conducted training onimproved stoves to refugees at Tongogara Camp in Chibuwe. This was a response tothe shortage of commercial fuel wood and budgetary constraints. GTZ, PROBEC andZim-Ahead have discontinued their assistance in building these stoves.

The Chitsanza Development Association with support from the Global EnvironmentalFacility Small Grants Programme has been promoting the use of cleaner cookstoves byintroducing the chingwa stove (Figure 3.6) in Nyanga District. The Chingwa stove is amulti-purpose stove which can be used to bake bread, dry and store meat and its“warmer” keeps the food warm. The construction of the chingwa stove costs ten dollars.





REA has also trained people to construct the chingwa stoves in Nyanga. Builders weretrained who later would get contracts from households to build the stoves.

Practical Action Southern Africa undertook a study focusing on understanding theenergy supply and demand for meeting cooking energy needs in Seke District.Randomly selected households from four rural wards of Seke district took part in thesurvey which sought to understand the current cooking technologies and sources offuels used; the cost and the impacts on the socio-economic situation of women andchildren; and to quantify the potential market demand for alternative energy for cookingtechnologies and fuel sources.

The study included the assessment of the socio-economic impacts, particularly onwomen and children, of the current energy mix for meeting the households’ cookingneeds, and to get the community’s views of potential solutions to the challenges theyare facing. The research gathered information on common practices used inimplementing cook-stove and fuels projects which could inform decision making inproject development and to assist in the design of a project intervention that couldaddress the cooking problems. The study was funded by UNICEF.

GIZ tried to introduce solar-powered cookstoves and ethanol gel fuel powered stovesin Epworth. The solar technology had serious shortcomings related to the time andavailability of the sunshine that does not match the user's time and requirements forcooking. On some days the sun is low and fails to power the stove. Also it is suited tothose meals that do not need continuous attention to the pot like sadza the staple meal.The ethanol gel fuel is too slow and time consuming, taking 45 minutes for a meal whichwould take less than 30 minutes when fuel wood is used. It is also difficult to extinguishthe fire from the gel fuel.

Previous Efforts to Provide Modern Energy to Rural Areas of Zimbabwe and Lessons Learnt from Past Interventions 3Figure 3.6 Chingwa stoves in Sedze, Nyanga

Energy-efficient cook stoves

Chingwa stoves in Sedze

Nyanga district


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Renewable energy such as micro and mini-hydro, solar PV and biogas is still in its infancywith both the NGOs and private sector supporting the efforts of REA. The energy hasbeen used mostly for lighting and occasionally included cooking.

OXFAM and Practical Action have been promoting the use of renewable energy in ruralinstitutions and households. Practical Action in Zimbabwe facilitated the establishmentof seven micro hydro-electricity schemes in the Eastern Highlands area. The projectcame into effect with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with REAspecifying that Practical Action would provide technical support to REA on hydro-powerdesigns. On the other hand REA would contribute material (mainly transmission linesto schools and business centres) and technical support for the electrical input. Thepartnership also created platforms to influence policy that have seen the changing ofthe mandate of the Rural Electrification Agency to include renewable energy optionsrather than focussing on grid electricity only.

The focus of the Practical Action micro-hydro schemes was on institutions such asschools and rural health centres and provision of energy to households. Below are briefdescriptions on the projects from literature review and Practical Action reports.

l Nyamwanga (30 kW) micro-hydro scheme, in Mutasa District, is run by theTowe Community Cooperative, and has 3,800 beneficiaries.

l Ngarura (20 kW) micro-hydro scheme is in Mutasa District, and is run by theNgarura Community. It has 5,500 beneficiaries.

l Hlabiso (30 kW) micro-hydro scheme in Chimanimani District, is run by theHlabiso Community, and has benefitted 3,800 beneficiaries.

l Chipendeke (25 kW) micro-hydro scheme is in Mutare District, and is run bythe Chipendeke Community. It has 4,000 beneficiaries. The scheme hasconnected 35 households, 5 businesses, a clinic, a school and health centre.

l Himalaya (75 kW) micro-hydro scheme is in Mutare District, and is run byHimalaya Micro-Hydro Association. It is benefiting entities that include acooperative involved in pole treatment and another involved in an irrigationscheme. There is a saw mill that is using the electricity that is being generatedat the micro-hydro scheme. The other beneficiaries catered for in the schemeinclude a business centre which has existing businesses and it is planned toinclude energy kiosks that will provide services such as charging ofcellphones and batteries. It has so far benefited more than 30 households.

Of interest were the Nyafaru and Dazi micro-hydro schemes whose operation andimpacts on children were assessed in this Sustainable Energy for Children Study. Wenoted that Practical Action in collaboration with the communities in Dazi and Nyafaruinitiated micro-hydro projects that were aimed at providing energy to the local schoolsand the community at large. The capital injection from the European Commissioncovered the purchase of transformers, construction of the weirs and power houses.Labour was provided by the communities.

From literature we had ascertained that

l Nyafaru (20 kW) micro-hydro scheme was in Nyanga District and was beingrun by the Community through the Nyafaru School Development Association.It is over 20 years old and has 6,000 beneficiaries. It was rehabilitated inJune 2013.

l Dazi (20 kW) micro-hydro scheme was also in Nyanga District and was beingrun by the Dazi Community. It had 1,000 beneficiaries. It was supplyingelectricity to Dazi school including teacher’s cottages. Connection ofadditional households was in progress using resources from other funders,such as the German Embassy.





However, according to the informants in this study the capacity of the projects wasexpected to meet the needs of Dazi Primary School, Nyafaru Secondary School and thecommunities. However, the projects seemed to have technical faults and were notperforming as had been expected. The micro-hydro in Dazi area had a very low capacitywhich was overburdened by high demand leading to the malfunctioning of thetransformers. The project was reported to have functioned for three weeks and wasnever commissioned. The design of the project has to be looked into so as to improvethe capacity of electricity being generated by the hydro-scheme.

The Nyafaru hydro scheme was functional but its capacity was only enough to providelighting for the primary and secondary schools. It also had ownership wrangles betweenthe school and the community. The Community Secretary for the micro-hydro projectsin Nyanga noted:

“That is where the whole problem sprung from, instead of everyone gettingelectricity from the school, some influential residents who work in Hararedecided to buy their own electricity cables, instead of taking electricity fromthe school. They stole the electricity from the teacher's cottages andconnected it to businesses. Even if you were to go to the business centre, youwill be shocked by what you would see, they are using what we call a 2.5 mmcable, a cable that is supposed to be used by a general household. They areputting their lives at risk because they can be electrocuted or can even burndown the whole business centre. As that is not enough, they diverted theelectricity to feed village 4 of which only two households are benefitting andvillage 5 is also benefitting from the project. So, I think these households arethe ones which are benefitting alone because one has an electric kettle and adeep freezer” (P13:18; 143:143), KII; Community secretary for micro-hydroproject; Nyanga.

Despite the high potential of the micro hydro schemes in Dazi and Nyafaru, the childrenwere still deprived of the communication dimension as the Dazi micro-hydro schemewas not working and the capacity of the Nyafaru Scheme could not powercommunication gadgets such as computers.

HIVOS and SNV have entered into a partnership with the Zimbabwe Ministry of Energyand Power Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and IrrigationDevelopment, and the REA to implement the Zimbabwe Domestic Biogas Programmein order to promote and market biogas digesters. The target of the programme is toinstall 7,400 biodigesters fed by animal manure in 5 years. The programme is targetingdistricts with high populations of cattle at household level as well as boarding schools.The districts include, among others, Tsholotsho, Insiza, Goromonzi etc. The programmeis promoting the uptake of biogas technology through training of masons to site, sizeand construct domestic biogas digestors.

Capernaum Trust is involved in the provision of the lighting dimension to orphans andvulnerable children in Nyanga by donating solar lamps. Malilangwe Trust in Chiredzialso provides solar lamps so as to increase the access to lighting for communityhouseholds.

The Centre for Renewable Energy and Environmental Technology (CREET) was involvedin the installation of solar PV systems and biogas digesters in rural homes, schools,clinics and business centres. It installed a biogas digester for the Kakore Cooperativewhich was rearing pigs in Chikwaka District (Goromonzi) and four biogas digesters forsecondary schools in the Chimanimani area which provided power for cooking indomestic science classes and for lightning.



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HIVOS and InWent started a jatropha project in Mudzi where jatropha was grown as alive fence and the seeds were collected and crushed to produce oil which communitiesused in simple lamps for lighting among other uses. The lamps were produced by localentrepreneurs.

Environment Africa has projects focussed on production of Jatropha biofuel forlightning and is also promoting a saw dust stove mainly meant for urban areas in closeproximity to timber milling companies.

3.3 The Private Sector

The renewable energy market is still in its infancy and slowly growing led by the solarPV market mainly because of the decrease in prices of the solar panels on theinternational market and the availability of low cost Chinese products. Mobile telephonecompanies, among them ECONET and NETone, have started to roll out pico solar PVsystems. These programmes have complimented other formal and informal distributionchannels of solar systems. Such programmes can be tailor-made to target children inschools. Arrangements can be made through “every child a lamp” where all schoolchildren receive a solar lamp which is then bought as part of school fees. Suchpossibilities were investigated during the study to come up with a feasible innovativeproposition.

ECONET has been installing solar fridges at its base stations close to rural clinics. Thisis a countrywide programme. However, there is need to assess the performance of theproject in order to determine its uptake and any barriers and challenges it might befacing.

At the time of the study, Zimbabwe did not have a policy on promotion of solar geysersin public institutions. Most of the solar heaters previously installed at some ruralhospitals were no longer functional because of lack of service backup.

Generally, marked growth of the solar market is in sharp contrast to other sub-sectormarkets such as biogas, improved cook-stoves and wind energy. Lack of innovation,awareness and sensitization about these technologies has been cited as a major barrierto their uptake.

The review shows that there are a number of uncoordinated and dotted renewableenergy interventions across the country. Lessons can be learnt from these interventionsto come up with comprehensive options for nationwide adoption of renewable energyutilization for both institutions and individual households’ multiple energy needs.

3.4 Enablers to Adoption of Renewable Energy

The uptake of renewable energy technologies has remained poor despite the abundanceof these resources in Zimbabwe. This is because the transition to renewable energytechnologies including cleaner cooking fuels and appliances is not straight forward.People continue to use traditional energy sources as opposed to modern fuels, forcultural or affordability reasons. The transition to cleaner cooking using improved stoveshas failed to garner momentum due to a myriad of issues key among them beingtraditional and cultural barriers. This is the same fate suffered by the biogas projects.

A recently completed study that was carried out by the Institute of EnvironmentalStudies and UNICEF Zimbabwe entitled “Children and Climate Change in Zimbabwe”produced findings which highlight children’s poor knowledge of renewable energy. Onlyless than one quarter of the children consulted believed the sun was a source of





renewable energy while 22 per cent of the children perceived wood as a source ofrenewable energy. This identifies a critical need for more understanding and awarenesson renewable energy among the children in Zimbabwe.

Teaching climate change and renewable energy technology in schools would exposethe children to understanding these technologies and issues early in life and they wouldact as the change agents to some of the traditional and cultural challenges. It isimportant to understand the role of children in communicating and innovating aroundtechnologies and techniques that will help to adapt to climate change and also toimprove their well-being by having greater access to renewable energy technologies.Given the opportunity through learning and awareness, children can play a role inchanging cultural perceptions and influencing the adoption of these new technologies.Education on renewable energy in formal and informal education were considered inthe situational analysis on the energy status of institutions that support children.

Some of the barriers encountered in the shift to renewable energy are mainly becauseenergy planning remains highly centralized without grassroots participation unlike othersectors such as agriculture, health and education. This has meant that the needs of therural communities have remained marginalized and policies and strategies that areproduced for these people rarely filter to them. Because of this lack of involvement atthe planning and development stage the few pilot projects and programmes that havebeen introduced have not been integrated or scaled-up and have remained isolatedinterventions that have failed to grow beyond the project participants and projectlifespan.

Energy still remains a very abstract concept to explain and plan for at the lower levelssuch as the village, ward and the district levels. This lack of awareness has led to adisconnection between general development planning and energy planning. Theparticipation and contribution of communities, including children, in how governmentsupports and delivers essential services needs to be expanded. The energy sector hasup to now remained a distant and alien area for poor communities. The proposal is tohave a programme that will enhance participation of poor communities, in particularchildren, in the delivery of essential energy services. One of the major constraints tochildren’s participation is lack of confidence and the absence of suitable platforms forthem to express their needs. This study involved communities, including children, in thesurvey to ascertain their level of energy poverty, knowledge and needs.



Study Sites, Methods and Data Analysis St d Si4



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4.1 Introduction

The overall impacts of low access to modern energy are normallygeneralized and aggregated at the household and institutional level.However, underlying these general impacts are critical and oftenignored micro-impacts on children. This study aimed to understand thelevel of access to modern energy at the household level where thechildren live; access for public services that support the basic needs ofthe children such as education, health, and information as these havea direct impact on the well-being of the child. It also mapped the rootcauses and barriers to enhancing energy access.

4.2 Desk Study

A desk study was conducted to determine the policy framework forenergy at national level. It covered all sectors whose energy usageaffects children and their wellbeing. The desk study included a reviewof the current status of energy available and planned for in Zimbabwe,and the role of renewable energy and cleaner fuels planned for thefuture. It also included a review of previous and current efforts tointroduce renewable energy and identified where such projects hadbeen previously carried out. The desk study was critical for the finaldesign of the study.

4.3 Study Sites

Five districts were purposively selected for conducting the study basedon ethnicity and participation in previous energy provisioninterventions. The districts were selected through a consultativeprocess with stakeholders including participants of the Project’s Multi-stakeholder Inception Workshop which included energy experts fromgovernment, academia and civil society. Insights for site selection werealso obtained from literature and previous studies conducted by theInstitute of Environmental Studies: “Children and Climate Change inZimbabwe” study; and the “Understanding Poverty, PromotingWellbeing and Sustainable Development: A Sample Survey of 16Districts of Zimbabwe”.

The selected districts were Chiredzi, Gutu, Hurungwe, Nyanga andTsholotsho. Figure 4.1 shows the distribution of these districts inZimbabwe.

Study Sites, Methods and Data Analysis


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Generally five wards were purposively selected in each district for the study with theassistance of the relevant District Council personnel responsible for development. ForNyanga and Hurungwe which had known interventions, hydro-electricity andcookstoves, respectively; three of the wards sampled had known previous energyinterventions while two did not have any interventions. In Gutu, Chiredzi and Tsholotshodistricts where the research team was not aware of recent interventions the wards wererandomly selected. The next Section describes the selected districts and wards.

4.3.1 Description of Study Sites

Chiredzi District

Chiredzi District is located at 18° 55′ 0″ S, 29° 49′ 0″ E in south-east Zimbabwe inMasvingo Province (Figure 4.1). It is one of the largest districts in Zimbabwe with asparse population distribution (Figure 4.2).


Hurungwe

Nyanga

Gutu

Chiredzi

Tsholotsho

200 0 200 400 600 Kilometers

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Sampled Districts

Selected Districts

Legend

Figure 4.1 Map of Zimbabwe showing districts sampled for the sustainable energy for children study

Sampled Districts




A large portion of the district is found in region V, although there are some parts thatlie in region IV. The climate is warm and temperate with the district experiencing morerainfall in winter than in summer. The temperature averages 22.5°C and the averageannual rainfall is 566 mm. Many parts of the district are unfit for agriculture; hence thereis need for irrigation development particularly in the South East of the District. Withthe arid climate, most people grow sorghum which is drought tolerant and requiresminimal rains to grow to maturity. The red soils found in the district are also suitablefor growing sugarcane under irrigation. The majority of the District is, however, takenup by Gonarenzou National Park and some conservancies.

In terms of vegetation, the District is characterized by the Mopane woodlands whichare often associated with low altitude and hot areas with sodic or alluvial soils.Vegetation is varied depending on soil type. Large areas of sodic soils are covered byColophospermum mopane (mopane) whilst the deeper sandy soils have very diversewoodland and good grasslands. Riparian woodland along the major rivers (Runde, Saveand Mwenezi) is dense and is characterized by closed canopy woodland consisting ofCordyla africana (wild mango), Kigelia africana (sausage tree), Xanthocercis zambeziaca(African Nyalabean) and various Combretum spp (bushwillows). These trees arebecoming less available for the provision of fuel wood for use by the people in thedistrict.

The areas that are remaining with substantial amounts of trees are in the conservanciesand in the Gonarezhou National Park. This means that people walk long distances toareas where the trees are still available and risk being attacked by wild animals or beingarrested for trespassing onto private land. In an effort to ensure continuous availabilityof fuel wood, communities in Chiredzi have put in place some tree harvesting measuresthat ensure that people harvest some parts of the trees, leaving the tree to coppice and

Study Sites, Methods and Data Analysis 4

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Samba Dikiti

Chikombezi

Maose

Tshovani

40 0 40 80 Kilometers

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Sampled Household#

Sampled Ward

Chiredzi District

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Figure 4.2 Map of Chiredzi District showing selected wards and location of households sampled in the study


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provide more fuel wood. People in some areas of the district use the green hedge called‘Mutovoti’ as a fuel although the tree produces a lot of smoke making it unsuitable forcooking.

The district’s population was estimated to be 275,759 in the 2012 national censuscomprising of 142,880 females and 132,879 males (ZIMSTAT, 2013). The Shanganis formthe majority of the population, with everybody in the district speaking Shangani, a dialect that is related to both Zulu and Ndebele. In terms of social development,Chiredzi District has one town and a large rural area. The urban area is administered bythe Town Council while the rural area is administered by the Rural District Council.Chiredzi has 70 primary schools 21 secondary schools and 35 health Institutions.

The wards selected for the study were Ward 1, Dikiti; Ward 3, Tshovani; Ward 15, Maose;Ward 11, Chikombedzi and Ward 17, Samba (Figure 4.2).

Gutu District

Gutu District is located at 19° 39′ 0″ S, 31° 10′ 0″ E in southern Zimbabwe, MasvingoProvince (Figure 4.1). It is in the northern-most district and the third largest district inthe Province (Figure 4.3).


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Magombedze

Munyikwa

Munyaradzi

Chikwanda

Matizha


N Sampled Households#

Selected Wards

Gutu District

Legend

Figure 4.3 Map of Gutu District showing selected wards and location of households sampled in the study

Gutu falls under Natural Region III. Soils in Gutu are predominantly coarse-grained sandyloams ranging in depth from shallow to deep with low organic and mineral nutrients aswell as negligible proportions of clay and silt. They have poor water retention capacityand friable characteristics that make them susceptible to erosion. The area’s climate ismainly driven by unreliable and extremely variable rainfall with a mean annual rainfallof 768 mm. Rainfall distribution is very erratic, with pronounced inter-annual variations,prolonged mid-season dry spells and erratic distribution that often leads to severedrought and total crop failures. Despite these conditions that are unfavourable fordryland agriculture, the main economic activity of the district is subsistence farming.




With regards to vegetation, the district used to be characterized by the Miombo typeof vegetation that included Julbernardia paniculata (mutondo), Brachystegia spiciformis(msasa) trees. There were also occurrences of Diospyros mespiliformis (mushuma),Parinari curatellifolia (muchakata) and Azanza garckeana (mutohwe) trees with someareas having the baobab trees. The district now has sparse woody vegetation with mostof the indigenous trees replaced by thorny Acacia species. People have resorted tousing any tree that can burn and produce heat for example they now use thePeltophorum africanum (muzeze) tree for fuel wood which produces a lot of smoke.

The district’s population was estimated to be 203,083 in the 2012 national censuscomprising of 108,603 females and 94,480 males (ZIMSTAT, 2013). It is one of thedistricts in the country that suffers from over-population. Its population density of 22.08per square kilometre is among the highest in the country. The majority of the peopleare Karangas.

In terms of social development, the district is mainly rural with Gutu-Mupandawanawhich was designated as a "growth point" during the early years of independencegraduating to town status in 2014. The district has 83 primary schools, 6 mission highschools and 42 government secondary schools. Gutu has 29 health service centresmostly clinics. There are 2 tertiary institutions namely; Gutu Mission School of Nursingand Hubvumwe Training institute.

The wards selected for the study were Ward 5, Matizha; Ward 12, Magombedze; Ward15, Munyikwa; Ward 21, Munyaradzi and Ward 26, Chikwanda (Figure 4.3).

Hurungwe District

Hurungwe is located 16°30'0" S 29°30'0"E in north western Zimbabwe, MashonalandWest Province (Figure 4.1). It is located approximately 200 km from the capital cityHarare.


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10Magunje

Doro

Kapfunde

Tengwe

Hesketh

60 0 60 Kilometers

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Sampled Households#

Sampled Wards

Hurungwe District

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Figure 4.4 Map of Hurungwe District showing selected wards and location of households sampled in the study


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Hurungwe district covers an area of 19,200 square kilometres which lies in NaturalRegions II, III and IV (Figure 4.4). The District produces cash and food crops combinedwith livestock. The area has potential for successful cotton and tobacco productionwhich are grown as cash crops.

The vegetation of Hurungwe is typical of the Zambezi ecoregion and is diverse withColophospermum mopane (mopane) being predominant on sodic soils, with pocketsof ecologically important dry forests consisting of Commiphera spp (muchabobo),Acacia spp (the wattles), Sterculla spp (munera) and baobab. Brachystegia spiciformis(msasa), B boehmii (mupfuti) and Julbernardia globiflora (mnondo) occur on the higherground. These trees are under a lot of pressure from the tobacco farming operationsthat are wide spread in the district. More and more of the trees are being cut down fortobacco curing. The tobacco companies have tried to put in place programmes thatensure that there is alternative fuel available and in some instances the local authoritieshave tried to introduce the use of coal for tobacco curing.

The district’s population was estimated to be 329,197 in the 2012 national censuscomprising of 164,711 males and 164,486 females (ZIMSTAT, 2013). The Hurungwepopulation is predominantly comprised of the Kore-Kore ethnic group with someKaranga and Zezuru groups having migrated into the area.

Hurungwe district is administered through the Rural District Council. In terms of socialdevelopment, there are 37 primary schools and 21 secondary schools. All 21 secondaryschools are day schools. The Rural District Council owns 20 of the schools, the remainingschools are farm owned. There are 28 health centres in Hurungwe.

The wards selected for study were Ward 2, Tengwe; Ward 10, Magunje; Ward 12,Kapfunde; Ward 21, Hesketh; and Ward 26, Doro (Figure 4.4).

Nyanga District

Nyanga District is located 18° 13′ 0″ S, 32° 45′ 0″ E in the Eastern Highlands of theManicaland Province, northeast of Zimbabwe, close to the International border withMozambique (Figure 4.1). The district lies about 115 kilometres north of Mutare.


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NyadowaNyamutowera

NyafaruSedze

20 0 20 Kilometers

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Sampled Households#

Sampled Wards

Nyanga District

Legend

Figure 4.5 Map of Nyanga District showing selected wards and location of households sampled in the study




Nyanga District together with the Chimanimani Mountains and Chirinda Forest formpart of the Afromontane region which has the largest level of species endemism. Theyare characterized by high altitude between 1,500 – 1,900 m above sea level. The forestis referred to as the moist montane forest. The characteristic tree species areyellowwood and African cedar, which occur on drainage lines of rain shadow areas andon eastern windward slopes. Other plant species occurring on these mountains show aclose similarity with eastern and southern African flora. Examples of some of theseinclude some species of Helichrysum (mupumhanhuka), heather, sugar bush and aloe.A number of these forests are being threatened by plantation forest development,agricultural expansion and invasion by alien species such as jacaranda and wattle.

About 71 per cent of the plantation area is under softwoods (pines), 13 per cent underhardwoods (eucalyptus) and 16 per cent under wattle. Parts of Dazi and Nyafaru wardsare under forest plantation. The wattle tree is invading some of the areas hence the reluctance by people in these areas to change from using fuel wood for cooking asit is in abundance and they can use it as part of controlling the growth of wattle trees.Some areas of the district such as Nyadowa are characterized by the Brachystegiaspiciformis (msasa), B boehmii (mupfuti) and Julbernardia globiflora (mnondo) that areshowing signs of re-establishment. In the Nyamutowera area the vegetation ischaracteristic of the dryer Combretum spp (mudziyaishe) as well as the baobab treespecies.

The south of Nyanga district falls within Agro-Ecological Region I which is a region ofrelatively high rainfall with an average annual rainfall of 1,237 mm. Thus south Nyangahas a high agriculture potential. The north of Nyanga District however falls in RegionIV, which is dry. The greater part of the district is mountainous and generally has cooltemperatures except some wards in Nyanga north. The climatic conditions in parts ofthe district are conducive to agricultural production which is the predominant sourceof livelihoods for communities in the district.

The district’s population was estimated to be 126,599 in the 2012 national censuscomprising of 60,461 females and 66,138 males (ZIMSTAT, 2013). The majority of thepeople are from the Manyika ethnic group. In terms of social development, Nyanga has25 primary schools and 26 secondary schools. Infrastructure is generally good since thedistrict is a major tourist attraction in the country. There are 27 health facilities inNyanga.

The wards selected for the study were Ward 7, Nyamutowera; Ward 10, Nyadowa; Ward 19, Sedze; Ward 21, Nyafaru; which also includes Dadzi (Figure 4.5).

Tsholotsho District

Tsholotsho District is located 19° 45′ 59.77″ S, 27° 45′ 0″ E in Matabeleland NorthProvince (Figure 4.1). Its administrative centre is the Tsholotsho business centre whichis located about 65 km north-west of Nyamandlovu, and 98 km north-west of Bulawayo.

The district falls under the Kalahari ecoregion. It is covered by dry dense forestcharacterized by indigenous forests. Tree species include the Baikiaea plurijuga(Zambezi teak), Ricinodendron rautanenii (umgoma), Guibourtia coleosperma (falsemopane) and the shrubs Paropsia brazzeana (umdlampofu) and Combretum molle(umbhondo). Among these are a number of other trees of the Highveld such asBrachystegia spiciformis (msasa), Pterocarpus angolensis (mukwa) and Strychnosmellodora (monkey oranges). The rivers are flanked by a strip of riverine woodland thatverges into forests in some areas, with species such as Acacia albida (apple–ring Acacia),Ficus species (fig tree), Garcinia (Malabar tamarind) and Diospyros mespiliformis(ebony).



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People in the district mainly use mopane tree as fuel wood as it is abundant in most ofthe district. However, as one moves due north towards the border with Lupane there isan increase in the occurrence of the Pterocarpus angolensis (mukwa) and the Baikiaeaplurijuga (Zambezi teak). These are of high commercial value and are controlled by theForestry Commission as well as private timber companies. In these areas there is needfor the villagers to find alternative wood for cooking purposes and they are using treessuch as the Paropsia brazzeana (umdlampofu) and Combretum molle (umbhondo).There is a problem with access and quality of fuel wood in the district especially duringthe rainy season. People have resorted to harvesting, drying and storing fuel woodduring the dry season, hence there are heaps of fuel wood at most homesteads duringthe dry season.

The district’s population was estimated to be 115,119 in the 2012 national censuscomprising of 52,930 males and 62,189 females (ZIMSTAT, 2013). Tsholotsho is home tothree ethnic groups, these being the Ndebele, Kalanga and San. The district has 59primary schools and 15 secondary schools as well as 17 health facilities. The maineconomic activity in Tsholotsho is agriculture (crop and livestock). The soils are notsuitable for cultivation except the black clay soils along Gwayi river. The Kalahari sandsare good for cattle rearing though there is need for massive investment in terms ofreliable water provision and disease prevention.

The wards selected for the study were Ward 3, Mlevu; Ward 5, Sipepa; Ward 12, Mange;Ward 15, Dinyane; and Ward 16, Nkunzi (Figure 4.6). A summary of the characteristicsof the five districts is given in Table 4.1.


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Dinyane

Nkunzi


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Tsholotsho District

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Figure 4.6 Map of Tsholotsho District showing selected wards and location of households sampled in the study




4.4 Data Collection

The survey was carried out during June and July 2015. It consisted of quantitativemethods using household and children questionnaires; qualitative methods such asfocused group discussions and key informant interviews as well as energy audits ofhouseholds, schools and clinics.

The various elements of the study were aimed at understanding the linkages betweenenergy access in households and public institutions that support children and how itimpacts on provision of basic services to the children. The use of several methods,triangulation, helps in validating collected data.

4.4.1 Questionnaire Survey

The questionnaire survey recognized that the child lives in a household and is thereforeaffected by the availability of energy at the household level. The children also spend alot of their time at school. Therefore questionnaires were administered to householdheads at their homes and to children in a school setting. This enabled children toparticipate and to input into the possible solutions to their energy problems. Thechildren’s questionnaire also aimed to ascertain their knowledge of the different typesof energy.

The first stage was to determine the minimum sample size of questionnaires to administer to households and children in each district. The Dobson Formula (Formula 1) was used to determine the minimum statistically significant sample size

Study Sites, Methods and Data Analysis 4Table 4.1 A summary of the characteristics of the 5 chosen districts

District Province Population Agro-EcologicalZone

MainEconomicActivity

Schools

Gutu Masvingo 203,083 III SubsistenceAgriculture

83 PrimarySchools 48 SecondarySchools

Chiredzi Masvingo 275,759 IV & V

SubsistenceAgriculture ContractFarming


Hurungwe MashonalandWest 329,197 II

SmallholderAgriculture Small-scaleMining


Nyanga Manicaland 126,599 I & II SmallholderAgriculture


Tshlotsho MatebelelandNorth 115,119 IV Livestock

Production



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that could be used to make generalizations about the population from which the samplewould have been drawn.

The sample size was calculated as follows:

z²pq Formula 1(d²×Responserate)

Where n= the minimum required sample size

p= proportion of households who are energy poorq= 1-p (proportion of households who are not energy poor)d= desired precision or error marginz= desired level of confidence

1.75²(0.5)(0.5)(0.05²)(0.8)

0.960.002

n ≥ 383

Therefore at 92 per cent confidence level, 0.5 prevalence, an error margin of 0.05 (5 per cent) and response rate of 0.8 (80 per cent) the calculated minimum sample sizefor each district was 383 which was adjusted to 450 questionnaires per district. The450 questionnaires were further allocated as follows: 300 for households and 150questionnaires for school children. For the five districts this would translate to 1,500household questionnaires and 750 children questionnaires and a grand total of 2,250questionnaires. A summary of the target survey sample size is given in Table 4.2.


Table 4.2 Target survey sample size

Parameter District (n) Total sample size (n)

Calculated minimum sample size 383

Adjusted sample size 450 2,250

Children Primary (grades 5 & 6) 2 schools 50 250 Primary children

Secondary (non-exam) 3 schools 100 500 Secondary children

Households (heads and spouses) 300 1,500 Households

Wards 5 (3 energy interventionand 2 without) 25 wards

4.4.1.1 Household Questionnaires

In wards where energy interventions had taken place, the villages were stratified intobeneficiary and non-beneficiary villages with the assistance of the ward councillor. Threevillages with interventions and one village with no energy intervention were selectedto give a total of four villages. Four villages were randomly selected in wards where theresearch team had assumed that there were no interventions.

n ≥

n ≥

n ≥




A minimum of 15 households were randomly selected in each selected village from thevillage register with assistance from the village head. Overall there was equal randomselection of households with modern energy/interventions and traditional energy usersfor each ward wherever possible. However, in many cases there were a few modernenergy users and the sample size was made up by randomly selected traditional energyusers.

In Nyanga the 300 households targeted for the district could not be met because ofthe rugged terrain and sparse household spread. The yield for Nyanga district was 282households, while in other districts the yield was above the minimum target of 300households.

The questionnaire was designed to collect data on the energy status of the household,including demographic characteristics of the sample, their assets, economic and socialactivities as well as their level of access to energy for lighting, cooking, space heatingand cooling food and space, for information and communication as well as for use ineconomic activities (See Table 1.1, Chapter 1).

The questionnaire also gathered information on the barriers to accessing renewable ormodern energy and the willingness to pay to change to cleaner energy.

4.4.1.2 Children Questionnaires

A target of 150 questionnaires was to be administered to children in each district, 100to secondary school pupils and 50 to primary school children. In order to achieve fiveschools, three secondary and two primary schools which fall within or closest to theselected wards were included in the study. Convenience sampling was sometimesemployed where sister primary and secondary schools were included in the study. Thefifth school in each district was a secondary boarding school and where there was noboarding school in the district a day secondary school was selected. Equal numbers ofboys and girls were randomly selected from the sample schools to either fill in the childquestionnaire or participate in a focussed group discussion.

Two types of questionnaires were designed, one for day school pupils and the other forboarding school pupils. The questionnaire for the day school children was similar to thehousehold questionnaire while that for boarding scholars only concentrated on theiraccess to energy at the school. The questionnaires assessed the children’s access toenergy, their role in the provision of energy; knowledge and their perceptions on barriersto renewable energy.

4.4.1.3 Questionnaire Survey Yield

In Chiredzi a total of 307 households were sampled in the five selected wards (see Section 4.3.1). There were no previous energy interventions in the area and wardswere selected on the basis of potential use of wind as an energy source. Childrenquestionnaires were administered to two primary schools (Chikombedzi and Zungudza)and three secondary schools (Malipati High, Crown Ranch Secondary and ChiyambiroSecondary). The locations of the sampled wards and households are shown in Figure 4.2.

In Gutu, a total of 332 households were sampled from the five selected wards (seeSection 4.3.1). Only Ward 12 (Magombedze) was involved in an energy intervention withsome households using grid electricity/generator/solar and Magombedze Schools andClinic in a solar intervention.



50

4


Children questionnaires were administered at two primary schools (Hunduza andMatizha); at two day secondary schools (Muchekayaora Secondary and MagombezeHigh) and at a boarding secondary high school (Dewure). The locations of the sampledwards and households are shown in Figure 4.3.

In Hurungwe, a total of 298 households were sampled from the five selected wards (seeSection 4.3.1). Wards 2, 10 and 26 were selected on the basis of having been previouslyinvolved in an improved cookstove project.

Children questionnaires were administered to two primary schools (Nyamupfukudzaand Kapfunde) and three day secondary schools (Nyamupfukudza High, Kapfunde Highand Mushowe High) as there were no boarding schools in the sampled wards. Thelocation of the sampled wards and households are shown in Figure 4.4.

In Nyanga only four wards instead of five wards were studied as Ward 21 had two micro-hydro power interventions at Nyafaru and Dadzi. Assessment of the two power stationsand surrounding communities needed a day each as the terrain was mountainous whichmade travelling of both the vehicles and enumerators difficult and slow. Thus 282households were sampled from the selected four wards (see Section 4.3.1). The childrenquestionnaires were administered to three primary schools (Nyamutowera, Dazi andMtetwa) and one secondary school (Nyafaru High). The location of the sampled wardsand households are shown in Figure 4.5.

In Tsholotsho 328 households were sampled from the five selected wards (see Section4.3.1). The children questionnaires were administered to two primary schools (Dinyaneand Kapane); two day secondary schools (Kapane Secondary and Sipepa High) and ahigher secondary boarding school (Tsholotsho High). The location of the sampled wardsand households are shown in Figure 4.6.

An overall summary of the questionnaire yield is shown in Table 4.3; with a detailedsummary by district in Table 4.4.


Table 4.3 Questionnaire survey yield

Administered Questionnaires Number Total

Household Questionnaires 1,547 1,547

Child Day Primary School Questionnaires 287 -

Child Day Secondary School Questionnaires 327 -

Child Boarder Secondary School Questionnaires 137 751

Total - 2,298




4.4.2 Qualitative methods

Qualitative methods were used to compliment quantitative methods. These includedfocus group discussions and key informant interviews.

4.4.2.1 Focus group discussion

Focus group discussions and general observations were conducted for bothtriangulation purposes and to get in-depth information about the multi-dimensionalnature of energy poverty and associated risks to children. Views from communities in anon-structured way are valued as structured interviews often miss critical issuesaffecting communities. About six adult focus group discussions were held in eachdistrict, about four with community people and two with mothers at health institutionsin or near the sample wards. In addition two focus groups were held in each districtwith school children where possiblle.

a. Focus group discussions with community peopleFocus group participants in sample villages were organized with theassistance of village heads. One half of focus group participants wereselected from households using modern energy sources or technologies andthe other half using traditional sources of energy. In non-beneficiary villagesparticipants were selected simply on availability. The village chosen for afocus group discussion was dependent on the availability of householdmembers in the village, and the ease to mobilize the participants.

b. Focus group discussions with mothers at health institutionsHealth is critical to the well-being of children and therefore a survey of healthfacilities was conducted in all five selected districts. The two sampled clinicsfor focus group discussions in each district depended on the availability ofmothers at the health centre. A total of 9 focus group discussions wereconducted with mothers at clinics.

Study Sites, Methods and Data Analysis 4Table 4.4 Distribution of respondents to the household and children

questionnaires by district and type of school

District Numbers

HouseholdsPrimaryschoolchildren

Secondaryday schoolchildren

Secondaryboardingschoolchildren

Total samplesize perdistrict

Chiredzi 307 54 69 32 462

Gutu 332 51 61 41 485

Hurungwe 298 50 99 0 447

Tsholotsho 328 50 64 34 476

Nyanga 282 82 34 30 428

Total 1,547 287 327 137 2,298


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4


c. Focus group discussions with childrenTwo focus group discussions, one with secondary and one with primaryschool children were held in each district except in Chiredzi where one focusgroup discussion was held. The targeted day for the focus group discussionin Chiredzi was a Friday and children in the target ward had gone for asporting tournament. Each focus group discussion had ten child participantswith equal sex distribution. Primary school participants were drawn fromGrades 6 and 7, while in secondary schools participants were drawn fromForms 3 to 6.

d. Focus group discussions with teachers, school development committeemembers and development agents promoting renewable energyOnly one focus group discussion was held with teachers. This helped todetermine the respondents’ knowledge on renewable energy sources andbarriers to energy access and its adoption.

4.4.2.2 Key informant interviews

Key informant interviews were conducted with individuals in authority or possessingvaluable information. Target key informants included village heads, village healthworkers, ward councillors, district level officers, school headmasters, nurses in chargeof clinics, energy intervention organizations, general dealers and any other individualsthat were relevant. Some of the respondents were specific to a district, for example anenergy kiosk attendant in Gutu. A target of a minimum of 12 key informant interviewswas set for each district. Ward councillors and Rural District Council personnel weresometimes too busy and only a few of them were interviewed. It was also difficult tomake appointments with District Council personnel as the team would be working in award far away from the District Council offices.

People in the private sector providing energy related services to visited districts orcommunities were interviewed to understand constraints from the supply side. Theseincluded hardware and general dealers and individuals supplying different appliancesor energy sources. Table 4.5 presents the qualitative data collection yield.


Table 4.5 Qualitative data collection yield

Method and type of participant Number

FGD Community/parents 17

FGD teachers 1

FGD Primary Schools 4

FGD Secondary Schools 5

FGD Clinics 9

KII village heads/Community Leaders 44

KII Community Workers 15

KII Clinic personnel 10

Business people 23

Public Institutions 3

School authorities 13

Trainers and beneficiaries of previous projects 8

Total 152




4.4.3 Energy audits

Technical audits were carried out at 16 primary schools, 15 secondary schools, 18 clinicsand 93 households as shown in Table 4.6.

The audits were used to determine the current energy utilization of the institution orhousehold; determine the appropriate energy requirements and to propose sustainableenergy options. The focus of institutional audits was on key services provided by theinstitution; operation schedule to give energy use intensity; service consumption figures;and to check whether an energy management system was in place. The audits involveda physical assessment of energy infrastructures such as installed metres and heatconsumption systems.

A checklist of lighting and time series energy consumption over a year, key functionsof the institution and size of the institution, were used to determine the amount of energy consumed by different energy units. Energy needs were assessed throughinterviews with key informants on what the institution or household needed energy for,what resources they had and the domestic, human and other waste they had.

The audits identified and quantified the energy mixes being used by the institutions,shortfalls of the energy demanded or required by the institution or household; resourcesavailable for alternative energy, cost of the alternatives, and ability of the institutionsto invest in alternative energy. The technical evaluations were conducted at institutionswhere renewable energy had been introduced as well as where they had not beenintroduced. The technical audits were important in quantifying the energy requirementsof institutions, identifying the barriers to adoption of sustainable energy in theseinstitutions and recommending the best energy options.

4.4.4 Pretesting of study tools

The study tools (questionnaires and guides for key informant interviews and focus groupdiscussions) were pre-tested using households and a school at Erin Farm in Bindura toensure that the data collection tools were appropriate and the questionsunderstandable. The pre-test experience also enabled clarification and improvement ofthe instruments.

4.4.5 Field team organization

The survey team was divided into two main groups. One group was meant forcommunity and household survey while the other group was meant for institutionalassessment and interviews. The group for the household survey consisted largely ofenumerators. Enumerators were divided into two teams of four enumerators each to


Table 4.6 Energy audit yield

Type of institution Total number audited

Household 93

Primary Schools 16

Secondary Schools 15

Health facilities 18

Total 142


54

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administer household questionnaires and each enumeration team was under asupervisor. Each team was allocated two villages in each selected ward where thesupervisor further allocated two enumerators per village.

The supervisor liaised with the village heads to organize either key informant interviewsor mobilize participants for focus group discussions. The supervisor had an assistant torecord and transcribe key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Thesupervisors monitored the completeness of household surveys and adherence to thesample frame by enumerators. They also monitored transcriptions by their assistantsto ensure that all proceedings were captured correctly.

The team for the institutions had six members and was divided into three pairs, eachwith a supervisor and an assistant. One pair carried out energy audits of the schools,clinics, some shops and a sample of ten randomly selected households in each of thefive survey districts. The second pair administered child questionnaires and conductedfocus group discussions with children and key informant interviews with schoolauthorities at selected day and boarding schools in the sample wards. The last pairconducted key informant interviews with health personnel and focus group discussionswith mothers at clinics as well as key informant interviews with the business community,energy intervention organizations, Rural District Council personnel and ward councillorswherever they were available. Each supervisor monitored interview transcriptions tosee if what transpired during interviews and group discussions was captured properly.

4.4.6 Data capture and analysis

The household questionnaire survey data was collected using the real-time Open DataKit (ODK) collect software loaded on android devices. It was then transferred intoMicrosoft excel and cleaned. Consistency checks were conducted before the data wasanalyzed using STATA version II and SPSS for multiple response variables.

Apart from capturing the interview responses, the android devices also automaticallycaptured the global positioning system (GPS) location of each respondent and was,where necessary used to capture pictures of sample households, homesteads andstoves.

The children questionnaire was printed and completed individually by the schoolchildren. The data was then captured using the Census Survey Programme (CSProversion 4.0). This was followed by cleaning and consistency checks before the data wasanalysed using STATA version 11.

Descriptive statistics were generated for the household and children questionnaires foreach variable to establish the prevalence or proportion of the different response units.Cross tabulations were run to determine district variations. In addition cross tabulationswere also run for different variable units of energy access with potential explanatoryvariables of interest for example gender, ethnicity, education, and livelihoods, amongothers. The potential explanatory variables were also tested for correlation with thedifferent energy access variables using the chi-square procedure. Variables which werefound to be significantly correlated with target energy access variables were then testedfor co-linearity. A logistic regression was run to determine explanations of variation inaccess to different energy dimensions by the sample households.

The key informant interviews and focus group discussions were recorded using voicerecorders and then transcribed. The transcriptions were then analyzed thematicallyusing CAQDAS-ATLAS.t. V7.1 software that helped to organize participants’ responsesinto themes through the memo procedure. Transcriptions were disaggregated intofamilies and coded to see the frequency of responses from the different groups of





respondents. Quotations from the different transcriptions were then extracted and usedto support or explain results from quantitative analysis. Some of the transcriptions wereused to write case studies especially for interventions encountered during the survey.

A summary of the analysis framework is given in Table 4.7.

Ethical Considerations

This study did not expose any risks to the participants. The only costs to the participantswas their time. Prior Informed Consent by adults and Prior Informed Ascent for childrenwas sought from all participants in the study. Permission was officially obtained fromall the relevant authorities.

Although the individuals participating in the research will not benefit directly, theknowledge from this research will be useful for promoting evidence-based policies andinterventions for cleaner energy for children in Zimbabwe.


Table 4.7 A summary of analysis outputs answering research questions

Parameter Analysis Procedure/Output

Household energypoverty

Lighting Proportion without access to adequatelighting at night

Cooking

Heating

Proportion without adequate fuel forcookingProportion without fuel for heating water

Proportion without space heatingappliances/fuel

Cooling informationand communication

Proportion without cooling appliancesProportion without information andcommunication devices charged at home

Children energy poverty Proportion of children in householdsexperiencing energy deprivation in thedifferent dimensions

Impact of energysource/carrier choiceon children

Education Proportion of children without access to ≥ 4 hours of light at night

Health Proportion of children exposed tohazardous fuels

Household energy mixes/portfolios Ratio of tradition to modern energysources

Barriers and bottlenecks Multiple regression

Modern energy demand and feasibility Proportion demanding modern energy and technical feasibility

Sustainability (household and business) Socio-cultural acceptability, environmental friendliness, economic viability matrix


Households and Children Energy StatusH h5



57

5.1 Introduction

This Chapter presents the energy status of households and childrenthat was obtained through the survey. It starts by describing thesample characteristics including demographics, culture, religion,education level of household head, economic activities, incomes andtheir sources, as well as ownership of assets including those related torenewable energy. It also describes disease prevalence in sampledhouseholds, especially among children.

The Chapter then addresses the energy poverty status of samplehouseholds and children and describes the households energy mix forlighting in households, cooking and cooling and for information andcommunication. It also presents the sample’s barriers to modernenergy including knowledge barriers; perceived costs; affordability;socio-cultural barriers as well as supply-side barriers and proposessolutions to the energy poverty crisis in the country.

5.2 Sample Characteristics

One thousand five hundred and forty seven (1,547) household headswere interviewed and the households consisted of 7, 844 individuals.Approximately 89 per cent of households had children with an averageof 2.8 children per household and a total of 4,319 children (Table 5.1).

Table 5.1 Sample size and households composition

Number Percentage

Total number of households 1,547 100

Households with children 1,379 89.1

Households without children 168 10.9

Total individuals in samplehouseholds 7,844 100

Total number of children 4,319 100

Children under 5 1,265 29.3

Boys 5-17 1,607 37.2

Girls 5-17 1,447 33.5

Mean children per household 2.8 -

Households and Children Energy Status


58

5


The mean household size was 5 and ranged from 1 to 18 members (Table 5.2).

The majority of the households had between 1 and 5 children with 1,265 of the childrenaged below 5 (Figure 5.1).


Table 5.2 Households’ size by district

District Parameter Household size

Chiredzi Mean 5.7

Min 1

Max 18

Gutu Mean 4.3

Min 1

Max 14

Hurungwe Mean 5.4

Min 1

Max 12

Nyanga Mean 4.5

Min 1

Max 14

Tsholotsho Mean 5.5

Min 1

Max 14

Total Mean 5.1

Min 1

Max 18

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14

Tota

l num

ber

Number of children per household

Number of households

Number of children

Figure 5.1 Number of children per household




The largest proportion of respondents were females (71 per cent) as most of thehousehold heads (defined as husbands) were reportedly in urban areas or had gone forsome productive work locally. Table 5.3 shows that 28 per cent of the surveyedhouseholds were in reality female headed. Gutu district had the highest number offemale headed households followed by Tsholotsho, while Hurungwe had the leastproportion.

The mean age for the household heads was 52 and ranged from 15 to 99 years (Table 5.4)

Households and Children Energy Status 5

Table 5.3 Household heads by gender

DistrictFemaleheads Household Male household heads Total

Households Per cent Households Per cent Households Per cent

Chiredzi 69 22.48 238 77.52 307 100

Gutu 125 37.65 207 62.35 332 100

Hurungwe 56 18.79 242 81.21 298 100

Tsholotsho 112 34.15 216 65.85 328 100

Nyanga 75 26.6 207 73.40 282 100

Total 437 28.25 1,110 71.75 1,547 100

Table 5.4 Household heads age by district

District Parameter Household head age (years)

Chiredzi Mean 47.52

Min 15

Max 97

Gutu Mean 55.24

Min 20

Max 97

Hurungwe Mean 49.29

Min 19

Max 99

Nyanga Mean 49.72

Min 15

Max 95

Tsholotsho Mean 55.17

Min 24

Max 95

Total Mean 51.54

Min 15

Max 99


60

5


Culture and religion influence people’s knowledge and practices which impacts onpeople’s choice and use of the different types of available energy resources. The ethnicgroups found in each of the sample districts are shown in Table 5.5. Gutu, Nyanga andTsholotsho were predominantly Karanga, Manyika and Ndebele, respectively whileChiredzi and Hurungwe had more mixed populations. Hurungwe had a significantproportion of immigrants largely from Zambia and Mozambique.

Most households in the sample belonged to the Apostolic Religion, which was thedominant religion in Tsholotsho, Nyanga and Gutu (Figure 5.2). The largest proportionsof households in Chiredzi and Hurungwe were not affiliated to any religion (Figure 5.2).Protestant churches had less followers than Apostolic churches in all districts.

Apart from religion, education influences people’s practices and their adoption oftechnologies. Thus knowledge and understanding of cleaner energy sources is likely tobe influenced by the level of education that household members, especially householdheads have.


Table 5.5 Dominant ethnic groups by district

Chiredzi Gutu Hurungwe Tsholotsho Nyanga

Dominant Per cent Dominant Per cent Dominant Per cent Dominant Per cent Dominant Per cent

Shangani 41.83 Karanga 96.39 Korekore 46.46 Ndebele 71.04 Manyika 89.01

Ndau 24.51 Manyika 0.9 Zezuru 18.86 Kalanga 21.04 Buja 2.13

Karanga 22.22 Zezuru 0.6 Immigrants 17.51 Suthu 2.13 Zezuru 1.77

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Chiredzi

Gutu

Hurungwe

Tsholotsho

Nyanga

Total

Propor�on (%)

Protestant

None

Apostolic

Figure 5.2 Religious affiliation of household heads by district




The majority of the sample had not completed their secondary education with somerespondents not having any formal education.

Knowledge of new technologies and better income has historically been brought toremote areas by household members who either work in urban areas or neighbouringcountries. Figure 5.4 shows that the sample rural households’ heads largely residedlocally (85 per cent) with a small proportion reported to be in urban areas and SouthAfrica. Hurungwe had the largest proportion, over 90 per cent of the sample householdheads resident in the district. Tsholotsho had the largest proportion of household headsin South Africa, while Chiredzi also had a sizeable number of household heads in SouthAfrica. Nyanga had the largest proportion of household heads in urban areas.

Households and Children Energy Status 5Figure 5.3 depicts the level of education of sampled household heads.

05

1015202530

Prop

or�o

n of

hou

seho

lds

Houseold head educa�on level

Figure 5.3 Household head education level

0102030405060708090

100

Prop

or�o

n of

hou

seho

ld h

eads

District

Local

Urban area

South africa

Figure 5.4 Usual residence of household heads


62

5


Households in urban areas and in the diaspora have been known to support theirhouseholds through remittances and by sending new technologies to their families.

Livelihood activities pursued by households influence disposable income that they haveand their likelihood of accessing cleaner, efficient and renewable energy sources.Livelihood activities and income levels among the sampled households were ascertainedto determine whether households would afford to pay for improved energy sources andto compare with the amounts they would be willing to pay for the improvement. Thesurvey results showed multiple livelihood activities, however, crop production is thecommon livelihood activity among all respondents (49 per cent) in all the five districts(Table 5.6) followed by casual work and remittances. Very few households wereengaged in permanent or temporary employment.


Table 5.6 Household livelihoods and income generating activities by district

Livelihoods/Income activities Chiredzi Gutu Hurungwe Tsholotsho Nyanga Total

Crop production Households 115 162 235 69 172 753

Per cent 37.95 49.39 79.66 21.1 62.32 49.25

Casual work Households 94 81 68 101 64 408

Per cent 31.02 24.7 23.05 30.89 23.19 26.68

Remittances Households 40 66 22 87 47 262

Per cent 13.2 20.12 7.46 26.61 17.03 17.14

Petty trade Households 41 40 30 46 18 175

Per cent 13.53 12.2 10.17 14.07 6.52 11.45

Other (gardening,brick moulding)

Households 38 41 10 31 24 144

Per cent 12.54 12.5 3.39 9.48 8.7 9.42

Permanentemployment

Households 30 25 15 17 48 135

Per cent 9.9 7.62 5.08 5.2 17.39 8.83

Poultry Households 11 15 19 10 22 77

Per cent 3.63 4.57 6.44 3.06 7.97 5.04

Temporaryemployment

Households 18 8 10 16 9 61

Per cent 5.94 2.44 3.39 4.89 3.26 3.99

Livestock keeping Households 12 11 18 7 10 58

Per cent 3.96 3.35 6.1 2.14 3.62 3.79

Seasonalemployment

Households 18 6 12 6 5 47

Per cent 5.94 1.83 4.07 1.83 1.81 3.07

Pension Households 9 13 5 13 4 44

Per cent 2.97 3.96 1.69 3.98 1.45 2.88

Cross boarder Households 4 2 1 5 0 12

Per cent 1.32 0.61 0.34 1.53 0 0.78

Forest produce Households 5 1 1 2 3 12

Per cent 1.65 0.3 0.34 0.61 1.09 0.78

Domestic Households 0 6 1 2 1 10

Per cent 0 1.83 0.34 0.61 0.36 0.65

Total Households 303 328 295 327 276 1,529




The livelihoods mixes that households engaged in generated a wide range of incomelevels which in turn were likely to determine the energy sources households could afford.In the event that households were not accessing some cleaner energy sources, theincome diversity might reflect the potential market for different energy technologies.Table 5.7 shows incomes that households in each of the surveyed districts earned.Normal monthly income is the income households earn per month while adjustedincome takes into account income sources generated in periods beyond a month suchas income from crops which is obtained once a year. Such income was adjusted bydividing it by 12 months then added to the normal monthly income reported. The grossannual income is the adjusted monthly income multiplied by 12 months. From Table 5.7,the mean adjusted monthly income for the sample households was USD95.

However, a further analysis of the income shows that the majority of the householdsearned incomes below USD20.00 per month (Figure 5.5). Therefore the market formodern energy technology is poor in terms of real income flow.


Table 5.7 Sample households’ mean incomes by district

District ParameterNormal monthly income (USD)

Monthly income USD(adjusted)

Gross annual income USD

Hurungwe Mean 42 122 1,470

Min 0 0 0

Max 1,500 2,733 32,800

Nyanga Mean 86 107 1,282

Min 0 0 0

Max 6,250 6,250 75,000

Tsholotsho Mean 83 100 1,203

Min 0 0 0

Max 3,000 3,000 36,000

Chiredzi Mean 81 90 1,075

Min 0 0 0

Max 2,000 2,000 24,000

Gutu Mean 53 60 724

Min 0 0 0

Max 1,400 1,400 16,800

Total Mean 69 95 1,141

Min 0 0 0

Max 6,250 6,250 75,000


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Table 5.8 shows livestock ownership across the five districts. Goats and sheep were themost owned, followed by cattle, donkeys and poultry. Tsholotsho had the highestlivestock population with an average of 4.4, 3.6 and 1.8 livestock units for goat/sheep,cattle and donkeys, respectively. Hurungwe had the least livestock unit ownership.Livestock is a source of income and the number owned is important in consideringintroduction of renewable energy technologies such as biogas and also as an indicationof ability to pay for using the technology.


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0- 20-

40-

80-

120-

160-

200-

240-

280-

300-

400-

500-

600-

700-

800-

1000

-

Prop

or�o

n (%

) of s

ampl

e ho

useh

olds

Income categories

Figure 5.5 Monthly income categories (real) for the sample households

Table 5.8 Mean livestock ownership by district

District ParameterNumber

Goats/sheep Cattle Donkeys Poultry

Chiredzi Mean 3.85 2.70 0.38 0.03

Min 0 0 0 0

Max 57 30 9 4

Gutu Mean 3.20 3.53 0.12 0.35

Min 0 0 0 0

Max 22 25 6 23

Hurungwe Mean 1.54 2.53 0.07 0.03

Min 0 0 0 0

Max 30 17 6 4

Tsholotsho Mean 4.40 3.60 1.78 0.00

Min 0 0 0 0

Max 30 35 13 0

Nyanga Mean 2.82 2.99 0.02 0.00

Min 0 0 0 0

Max 35 28 2 0

Total Mean 3.20 3.09 0.50 0.09

Min 0 0 0 0

Max 57 35 13 23




A minimum ownership of three livestock units is required for some of the biogasinterventions making it feasible to introduce the technology to most districts if all thelivestock is combined.

Figure 5.6 shows that most households owned hoes which is reflective of thesubsistence agricultural activities that households were engaged in. Hurungwe had thehighest mean number of hoes, while Tsholotsho had the highest mean of numbers ofaxes, shovels and picks. The practice of felling trees tends to be prevalent in Tsholotshowhere each homestead is fenced by tightly knit poles hence the high ownership of axes.

Energy generating assets included generator and solar panels. More than 50 per centof the sample households owned at least a functional solar panel although they variedin size. However, a large proportion of the respondents were not using them as theirmain sources of energy for lighting. Generator ownership was low with less than 10 percent of households in the districts owning generators. Tsholotsho was an exception with17 per cent generator ownership. It also had the highest proportion of households withsolar panels and had more households who reported owning more than one solar paneland a generator (Table 5.9). Ownership of renewable energy assets by the Tsholotshocommunities may be linked to their having more household heads working in thediaspora.


0.000.501.001.502.002.503.003.504.004.505.00

Mea

n as

sets

ow

ned

per h

ouse

hold

District

Hoes

Axes

Shovel/pick

Ploughs

Wheelbarrow

Scotchcart

Cul vator

Figure 5.6 Agricultural equipment ownership


66

5


A large proportion of households owned information and communication gadgets suchas mobile phones, televisions and radios.

5.3 Results of the Assessment of the Energy Dimensions

As noted in Chapter 1 Section 1.4.1 the study used a conceptual framework that examinedfive dimensions (lighting; cooking; space heating; space and food cooling; andinformation and communication) to assess the energy status of households. ThisChapter will consider the responses by households and children relating to access toenergy at household level. The energy poverty status for households was calculatedfrom the household and children surveys as a way of triangulating the data.

5.3.1 Access to Energy for Lighting

The lighting dimension is critical for children at home and school. The provision of lightto read or do homework at night at home prepares the child for the next day’s schoolwork improving performance. Performance will remain low even when textbooks areissued to children who do not have access to adequate lighting at home. Proper lightfor not less than 4 hours at night is considered appropriate. The choice of energy forlighting has a bearing on the vulnerability of children to respiratory related diseases;eye diseases as well as risks to burns. Dirty energy sources are also likely to triggerasthmatic conditions among children. The main sources of energy for household lightingwere home-made paraffin lamps, solar, candles, ordinary torches, cellphone torches andfuel wood (Figure 5.7a and 5.7b).


Table 5.9 Solar panel and generator ownership by district

DistrictNumber of house-holds

Solar panels Generator

House-holdswithpanels

Per cent

Totalnumberof solarpanels

Householdswithgenerators

Per cent

Totalnumber ofgenerators

Chiredzi 306 156 51 187 23 8 24

Gutu 332 219 66 251 12 4 13

Hurungwe 294 190 65 239 24 8 24

Tsholotsho 295 208 71 240 49 17 54

Nyanga 282 154 55 174 13 5 15




There was some variation in the proportion of responses from adults and children aboutthe main sorces of energy but generally the most common sources of energy weresimilar.


0 5 10 15 20 25

Paraffin_lamp

Solar

Candles

Phone torch

Torch

Firewood

Electricity_zesa

Solar lamp

None/daylight

Grass

Car ba ery

Radio light

Broken slippers

Other

Generator

Lp_gas_lamp

Co on with oil

Propor�on of sample households (%)

Figure 5.7a Main sources of energy for lighting based on responses to adult household questionnaire

Paraffin/Diesel lamp

Candles

Firewood

Electricity (ZESA)

Solar

Ba ery

Inverter

LP Gas Lamp

Generator

Other

Propor�on (%)0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Figure 5.7b Main energy sources of energy for lighting based on responses to children day scholars’ questionnaire


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5.3.1.1 Access to Modern Energy

a) Grid energy

Approximately 20 per cent of the sample households had access to electricity frommain grid electricity, solar and generators (Table 5.10).


Table 5.10 Access to clean energy source for lighting (electricity from solar, main grid and generator powered)

Electricityas mainsource oflighting

Chiredzi Gutu Hurungwe Tsholotsho Nyanga Total

Households

Percent

Households

Percent

Households

Percent

Households

Percent

Households

Percent

Households

Percent

Solar 61 20 68 21 54 18 46 14 43 15 272 18

Main gridelectricity 0 0 8 2 6 2 1 0.3 19 7 34 2

Generator 1 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.07

Total 62 21 76 23 60 20 47 14 62 22 307 20

Gutu had the highest proportion of households with access to the clean energy mix forlighting, at 23 per cent. Generally grid usage was very low at an average of only 2 percent largely driven by limited accessibility. There were grid lines from which householdscould access electricity where the grid was available, however, the initial cost ofconnection inhibited household access. Nyanga had the highest proportion,approximately 7 per cent, of households connected to the grid. The households whichwere connected to the main grid electricity reported that they had electricity for fivedays a week on average. Using connectivity to main grid as a measure of energydeprivation, only 2 per cent of the households in the sample were not deprived ofelectricity for lighting.

The households that had access to main grid electricity reported having an average of3 hours of light in the main sitting room at night. The mean time that light was reportedto be available in other rooms where children slept or studied was approximately 4 and3 hours, respectively.

b) Solar panels and solar lanterns

The common solar home system type noticed during the survey was the 75 Watt solarpanel connected to 12 volt, 12 amp batteries and powering a radio, lights and a cellphone charger.

Most households stated they had purchased their solar products from general dealers.Open flea markets were found in every business centre visited during the survey andshowed a strong and vibrant trading system for solar related items including solarpanels, (10 – 75 Watt solar, mono and polycrystalline), inverters, dry cell 12 volt batteriesand charge controllers. The quality of solar panels sold was the poorest found on thesolar market, of monocrystalline type coupled with wrong type batteries. Interviewedgeneral dealers had no technical skills required to effectively install and repair solarhome systems. Most small businesses reported that they did not trade in solar panelsbecause they would risk losing money if the panels malfunctioned.




There were some energy kiosks in Gutu District initiated by OXFAM which sold solarsystems and lanterns. The intervention also trained local people in general maintenanceof solar systems and repair of some of the solar lanterns. However, the pricing of thesystems and lanterns was higher than in urban areas making uptake low.

Households that were using solar for lighting had wide variations in the amount of timethey had access to light. Of the 270 households that had access to solar home systemsfor lighting, 36 per cent indicated that they had light in the main sitting room at nightfor 4 or more hours (Table 5.11).

In some cases the light was available throughout the night especially for householdsusing large solar panels, 75W and above. This is evidence that if large and good qualitypanels and solar bulbs are made available to households they would make a differencein children’s lives. If a business approach is used then very low cost options should beused to avail the solar technology to households as they have low incomes, and canonly afford very cheap options.

c) Generators

Focus group discussion results indicated that the use of generators was limited in ruralhouseholds because they were expensive to run, and therefore they were rarely usedfor lighting in homes. Thus most of the sample households could not afford generatorsgiven their limited incomes. The few households who had generators indicated thatthey used them during special holidays, such as Christmas.

The suppliers of generators were generally hardware shops normally found in towns.Generators were not being sold at most shopping centres in districts where the surveywas conducted. The shop owners indicated that they needed a huge cash outlay toprocure generators which most rural general dealers did not have. Therefore, inspite ofbeing a better option for lighting and other uses, there were difficulties in generatorspenetrating the rural market as they were less economically sustainable at both thehousehold and supply or business levels.


Table 5.11 Number of hours when light was available from solar home system by district

District

Numberof

hours1

Numberof

hours2

Numberof

hours3

Numberof

hours4

Total

Households

Per cent

Households

Per cent

Households

Per cent

Households

Per cent

Households

Per cent

Chiredzi 12 20 12 20 15 25 22 36 61 100

Gutu 14 21 20 29 11 16 23 34 68 100

Hurungwe 7 13 9 17 15 28 23 43 54 100

Tsholotsho 12 27 8 18 10 23 14 32 44 100

Nyanga 5 12 14 33 8 19 16 37 43 100

Total 50 19 63 23 59 22 98 36 270 100


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5.3.1.2 Access to Traditional and Other Energy Sources for Lighting

A high proportion of households used either home-made paraffin lamps, candles,ordinary torches and cellphone torches as the main sources of energy for lighting.

a) Lamps

The majority of households in all districts used home-made lamps as the main sourceof energy for lighting. The fuel used for the lamps were diesel and paraffin. Diesel was,however, preferred because it was cheaper and lasted longer than paraffin but itproduced a lot of fumes and smoke when compared to paraffin.

In the qualitative assessment users of home-made lamps pointed out that the lampsproduced a lot of air pollution. A key informant ward councillor noted that:

“The quality (of paraffin) is poor because it produces toxic fumes.” (P4:58110:112), KII, Nyanga.

Another councillor in the same district also confirmed that:

“It (light from paraffin lamp) is average and it can produce toxic smoke whichchokes and burns the eyes.” (P6:79 115:117), KII, Nyanga.

The distribution network of paraffin was well established in all areas through petroleumfuels networks. There were fuel filling stations at the main business centres in all thefive districts where 47 per cent of rural households bought the paraffin. The price ofparaffin averaged US$1.50 per litre. Rural consumers were paying a higher premium,due to higher costs incurred during the transportation of fuel to remote areas.

General dealers in rural areas were an alternative supplier of paraffin because of theconvenience they offered as one-stop shops to their client-base. It was common forgeneral dealers to stock a variety of items including groceries and handy fuels such asparaffin.

Some respondents had innovated by using cooking oil as a fuel for their home-madelamps. However such lamps produced poor lighting that the children could not use themfor reading. One woman among several similar comments said:

“Cooking oil lamps have poor light” (P33:115 164:167), FGD, woman inHurungwe.

b) Candles

Candle use was relatively high, 18 per cent, as they were reportedly easier to use. Thebusiness sector reported candles as fast moving energy products. However, householdsreported that the candles were more expensive at their business centres compared tourban areas.

The distribution networks for candles were well established through formal generaldealer shops as well as informal systems of tuck shops. About 41 per cent of householdsbought candles from suppliers who were located at distances over a kilometre awaywith 29 per cent of rural households travelling distances well over 5 kilometres to getto the suppliers. Purchases of either single units or multiple packaged units could bemade.





c) Ordinary torches

About 15 per cent of the sample households were using low-cost ordinary torches asthe main source of lighting. The torches were considered a clean source of lighting asthey did not produce smoke or fumes. However, their light was perceived to be poormaking it difficult for children to effectively use them for reading. A respondent hadthis to say in focus group discussions:

“The quality of light (from torches) is very poor because its not that brightand we do not have many alternatives.” (P8:58 199:121) FGD, Chiredzi.

In addition, a women participant in another focus group discussion at a cliniccommented:

“Mine (children) do not even read at home as it is difficult for a child to readusing a torch because it will damage their eyesight” (P12:66 257:257), FGD,Gutu.

Ordinary torches were not common in shops at most surveyed shopping centres. Theywere common in Hurungwe where they were bought by tobacco farmers for use duringtobacco curing. Torches were said to be slow moving goods by general dealers in mostdistricts. Respondents also indicated that torches were risky items to sell because ifthey malfunctioned they usually did not have a warranty from the suppliers. Themajority of households with torches were getting them from relatives in urban areas orthe diaspora.

d) Mobile Phone torches

Mobile phone torches were popular as the main sources of lighting because of themultiple uses of the phones. Approximately 17 per cent of the surveyed householdswere using phone torches as their main source of lighting. Focus group discussions andkey informant interviews confirmed the increased use of mobile phones as the mainsources of lighting in rural areas. Several village heads interviewed reported that theirsubjects were increasingly using mobile phones as their main sources for lighting citingthe high cost of other options. One village head said:

“For lighting people mainly use torches and cell phones because paraffin isvery scarce to find.” (P3:59 112:112), KII, Nyanga.

However, mobile phones were rare in shops except at growth points as they are moreexpensive and less lucrative for the rural market. The majority of mobile phone ownersgot them as gifts from relatives in urban areas or the diaspora.

e) Fuel wood

Approximately 7 per cent of households were using fuel wood as the main source ofenergy for lighting. This shows high levels of poverty whereby households could notafford other sources of energy. Fuel wood could be obtained free of charge and withmultiple use options as it was also used for cooking. Households which were using fuelwood for lighting had monthly incomes below USD20.00 with some actually reportingno income at all.

f) Miscellaneous fuels

In some cases household heads and children reported burning tyres and old slippersfor lighting which are known to produce cancer causing toxic gases.



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5.3.1.3 Energy Mixes for Lighting

There were 31 different energy mixes for lighting that households in the sample used.This high level of energy mixes among households indicates that households switch toenergy sources they can afford at a particular time.

The most popular mix was the use of the ordinary torch and mobile phone light, withapproximately 24 per cent of the households using this combination (Figure 5.8). Therewere a number of combinations that included clean energy sources such as solar andgenerator.

5.3.1.4 Perceptions of Household Heads and Children on Energy Used forLighting

Perceptions of users of energy sources have a bearing on their choice and willingnessto adopt the energy sources and technologies. Table 5.12 shows that grid, generatorand solar electricity were viewed as giving adequate lighting.


0 5 10 15 20 25 30

torch mobile_phones

paraffin_lamp candles

candles

candles torch

solar torch mobile_phones

candles solar

paraffin_lamp solar

firewood candles

firewood solar

electricity_zesa gene

electricity_zesa fire

electricity_zesa sola

firewood candles sola

candles solar torch mobile_phones

generator paraffin_la

lp_gas_lamp candles

Propor�on of households (%)

Figure 5.8 Energy mix for lighting




These results indicate that poor people may regard poor light sources such as candles,and mobile phone torches and fuel wood as average or good sources of energy becausethey have not been exposed to better energy sources.

5.3.2 Energy for Lighting Deprivation

As noted earlier, households that were connected to main grid electricity, or had accessto at least four hours of lighting from clean/modern/alternative energy sources such assolar or generator were considered to have no lighting energy deprivation. Childrenliving in these households were therefore regarded as having access to enough energylighting to engage in reading. On the other hand households who were not connectedto the main grid electricity and who had no access to at least four hours of light fromsolar or generator powered lighting were considered to be deprived of energy forlighting. Households using other sources of lighting such as candles, torches andparaffin lamps were deprived of energy as the lighting systems did not provide enoughlumens (300) considered the threshold light for a normal room. In addition the use ofparaffin was a health risk because of the fumes produced by the lamp that may causerespiratory infections. Children in such households were consequently considered to bedeprived of energy for lighting.

Availability of light in the main sitting room was used as the indicator of the household’saccess to energy to lighting. Table 5.13 shows that the perceptions from the householdand day scholar children questionnaire survey on their light deprivation status wassimilar at 91 and 95 per cent, respectively.

Households and Children Energy Status 5Table 5.12 Quality rating of the different types of lighting energy by

respondents

Type of energy Number

Rating Per cent

Verypoor Poor Average Good Very

good Total

Grid electricity 34 0 2.9 9.8 11.8 76.5 100

Solar 320 1.3 4.7 12.8 40.3 40.9 100

Generator 6 0 0 0 33.3 66.7 100

Paraffin 487 4.7 18.1 36.8 13.0 9.5 100

Candle 131 1.5 11.5 37.4 39.7 9.9 100

Ordinary Torch 190 2.6 15.8 30 38.4 13.2 100

Phone torch 253 10.3 26.5 35.6 20.2 7.5 100

Fuel wood 169 14.8 26.0 26.0 30.2 3.0 100


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5


Tables 5.14 shows that Tsholotsho had the highest proportion, 95 per cent, while Nyangahad the least, 88 per cent, of households which were deprived of energy for lighting.

Thus results from both adult and children surveys showed that the majority of childrenwere not getting adequate lighting at home. The majority of children who had accessto clean energy sources of light, including main grid electricity, had access to less thanfour hours of light during the night (Figure 5.9).


Table 5.13 Status of household deprivation to energy for lighting

Energy for lightingdeprivation status Number of households Percent

Household

Deprived 1,401 91

Not deprived 132 9

Total 1,533 100

Children (day scholars)

Deprived 581 95

Not deprived 33 5

Total 614 100

Table 5.14 Status of household deprivation to energy for lighting by district

District Not deprived Deprived Total

Households Per cent Households Per cent Households Per cent

Chiredzi 22 7 279 93 301 100

Gutu 31 9 299 91 330 100

Hurungwe 29 10 267 90 296 100

Tsholotsho 15 5 311 95 326 100

Nyanga 35 13 245 88 280 100

Total 132 9 1,401 91 1,533 100




This observation was supported by focus group discussions where some typical quoteswere:

“Children generally have light for a short period of time in the evening, onlyto be able to see where to sleep” (P5:84 133:135), FGD, Nyanga from aparent.

“In my household light is only available for the children to make their bedsbefore they sleep.” (P37:75 129:129) FGD, community, Hurungwe.

“We just look for where we sleep and go to bed since we cannot afford to buycandles.” (P26:17 228:228), Hurungwe.

“If the (phone) battery is low or flat they do not read.” (P146:61 108:108) FGD,community, Chiredzi.

“… at the times of the full moon I use moonlight to read to help myself…”(P33:123 299:299) FGD student at high school, Hurungwe.

“Children read normally in the afternoon when they are at school”.


23.53

29.4132.35

14.7

18.52

23.3321.85

36.3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1 2 3 4

Prop

or�o

n (%

) of h

ouse

hold

s

Hours of light available from clean energy sources

Main grid

Solar

Figure 5.9 Duration of light from clean energy sources


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5


In extreme cases some children reported that at times they had to use fuel wood lightto read or do their homework.

This implies that children are forced to do their homework under unhealthy lightingconditions that may strain their eyes leading to eye problems as well as to respiratoryinfections. One teacher at a day school indicated that sometimes when he gave childrenhomework, only a quarter would do it and from this he could determine which childrencame from households without proper lighting.

5.3.3 Willingness to Change, Pay More for Preferred Energy Sourcesfor Lighting

This study reviewed the willingness of energy users to change from current sources,willingness to pay, how much they were willing to pay, the reasons they were willing tochange from their current energy sources as well as their preferred energy sources forlighting. The analysis was done by disaggregating the end users into main sources ofenergy used for lighting. Table 5.15 shows that over 40 per cent of sample householdswere willing to change from the energy source they were currently using for lighting.


21.03

78.45

0.520

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

A�ernoon Evening Both

Propor on of sample children

Time when children do their homework

Figure 5.10 Time of day when children do their homework

Table 5.15 Willingness to change current energy source for lighting

Current household source of lighting

Total number ofhouseholds

Willingness to change source of energy for lighting

Households Per cent

Solar 322 138 42.9

Paraffin 489 293 59.7

Candles 487 225 46.2

Fuel wood 171 72 42.1

However, most children indicated that they did their homework at home (Figure 5.10).




The highest proportion was for paraffin users at approximately 60 per cent. The mainreason given for wanting to change was because they viewed paraffin as not producingbright light and felt that it produced a lot of smoke; was expensive; and was riskyespecially for children.

Current candle end users had the second largest proportion of households whichwanted to change their energy source for lighting. They wanted to change to solarenergy because candle light was not bright enough.

Approximately a fifth of solar light end users were willing to pay more to change to gridelectricity. The majority of the respondents who wanted to change were using smallsolar panels or solar lanterns. With regards to households that wanted to change fromfuel wood, their preferred choice for lighting was candles.

From a market perspective there is demand for cleaner energy sources with the endusers willing to pay more to upgrade their current energy sources for lighting. Thisimplies that a market based approach to dissemination of cleaner energy technologycould be initiated and could gain momentum if the technologies were readily availableat an affordable price and able to mimic grid electricity in terms of end use applications.There is the likelihood to improve children’s access to energy for lighting, improvingreading and consequently performance with a well targeted supply of cleaner andefficient energy sources for lighting.

5.3.2 Access to Energy for Cooking

The cooking dimension is important for children’s nutrition and disease prevention andthe choice of energy for cooking also determines the frequency and adequacy of mealpreparation of households. Most rural households usually use fuel wood in kitchenswithout proper ventilation and/or improved stoves and are considered deprived ofenergy for cooking. Children may spend long hours in the rooms where meals areprepared making them vulnerable to indoor air pollution and its impacts.

a) Fuel wood

Almost all sampled households (98 per cent) used fuel wood as the main energy sourcefor cooking and heating of water with less than two per cent using grid electricity and0.13 per cent using crop residues. Biomass is likely to remain the predominant fuel forcooking for rural households for the foreseeable future as even households with accessto the main grid electricity were also using fuel wood as the main source of energy forcooking.

Fuel wood used for cooking by the sample households was mainly fetched byhouseholds members (89 per cent), with 11 per cent buying and less than 1 per centeither barter trading or getting it as a gift. Children were tasked with fetching fuel woodin more than 50 per cent of the surveyed households. The most affected were childrenof ages 5 to 17 years who were reported to fetch fuel wood for the family, especially ifthe parents were old. Children below the age of five accompanied their parents on fuelwood collection excursions.

Children and their parents in all districts walked an average of 2 kilometres spendingan average of 2 hours 20 minutes to fetch fuel wood. At times children had to walkclose to 9 kilometres at weekends, spending the whole day to get the fuel wood andwould not be able to do their homework during the day when daylight is available.Usually the amounts carried would be heavy for the children.



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5


Key informant interviews and focus group discussion results confirmed the longdistances that children had to walk to collect fuel wood. A participant in one focus groupdiscussion noted:

“P1: They have to travel to the forests which are about 4 km away.” (P5:86147:149), FGD, Nyanga.

Table 5.16 shows the energy mix for the sample households by district. The majority ofthe households (96 per cent) were using fuel wood only for cooking, three per cent hadother sources of energy for cooking which, in addition to fuel wood included paraffin,LPG and main grid electricity. No household reported using biogas for cooking acrossall the surveyed districts.

i) Improved cook stoves

Improved cookstoves may use less fuel wood thus abating deforestation and may alsoreduce air pollution. The majority of sample households were using either a three stone(see Figure 3.4 Chapter 3) or the Mbare stove (see Figure 3.5 Chapter 3) which bothuse open fire and are inefficient systems.

A small proportion of sampled households were using improved fuel wood stoves forcooking. The stoves included tsotso (see Figure 3.3 Chapter 3), jengetahuni (see Figure3.2 Chapter 3) and the chingwa stoves (Figure 3.6, Chapter 3).


Table 5.16 Household energy mix for cooking

Householdenergy mixfor cooking


Households

Percent

Households

Percent

Households

Percent

Households

Percent

Households

Percent

Households

Percent

Fuel wood 301 98.69 321 96.98 276 92.62 324 99.08 266 94.33 1,488 96.44

Fuel woodOther_(cropresidue)

0 0 3 0.91 12 4.03 0 0 3 1.06 18 1.17

Electricity_zesa Fuelwood

0 0 3 0.91 2 0.67 0 0 9 3.19 14 0.91

Fuel woodParaffin 4 1.31 1 0.3 4 1.34 0 0 3 1.06 12 0.78

Fuel woodLpg_gas 0 0 2 0.6 3 1.01 1 0.31 0 0 6 0.39

Electricity_zesa 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.61 0 0 2 0.13

Electricity_zesa Fuelwood LP gas

0 0 1 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.06

Electricity_zesa Lpg_gas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.35 1 0.06

Paraffin 0 0 0 0 1 0.34 0 0 0 0 1 0.06

Total 305 100 331 100 298 100 327 100 282 100 1,543 100




Figure 5.11 depicts the usage of these stoves for cooking in the five sample districts.Hurungwe had a diverse range of stoves as a result of intervention programmes thathave been piloted in the district over the years.

Tsholotsho had 99 per cent of the households using three stone stoves while Gutu had60 per cent using the mbare stove. The jengetahuni and chingwa stoves do not emittoo much smoke as they are constructed with a chimney or some ventilation, reducingthe likelihood of health risks for the users. Energy efficient stoves are an alternativeappliance that could be used by households that use fuel wood and could help inreducing the negative effects of using fuel wood for cooking.

ii) Impacts of fuel wood use on children

A high proportion of children were reported to be in the kitchen when meals wereprepared increasing children’s vulnerability to respiratory related illnesses (Figure 5.12).


0

20

40

60

80

100


Prop

or�o

n of

dist

rict s

ampl

e ho

useh

olds

Three stone stove Mbare stove

Tsotso stove Improved mud stove

Jengetahuni Tradi�onal mud stove

Figure 5.11 Types of stoves used for cooking by district

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Prop

or�o

n of

hou

seho

lds w

ith

child

ren

who

will

be

in th

e ki

tche

n du

ring

mea

l pre

para

�on

Districts

Under 5 Girls 5-17 Boys 5-17

Figure 5.12 Proportion of households with children in the kitchen when preparing meals


80

5


According to a 1999 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey Report; there is an 18 per cent chance of children under five years contracting acute respiratory illness inhouseholds who use fuel wood or dung as a cooking fuel. Table 5.17 shows theproportion of children with ailments that could be contributed to by poor energysources for lighting and cooking. There was a high proportion of children with chestproblems (1,429) that include acute respiratory infections, asthma and tuberculosis.

Respiratory related illnesses were reported at most health centres visited and wereattributed to the use of fuel wood. A senior nurse had this to say about fuel wood:

“P. Yes, the number of children complaining of chest problems and childrenwho come with burns increases during the cold weather”.

I. “What do you think contributes to such a trend?”P. “During winter, it will be very cold hence most children spend most of theirtime in the kitchen where they will inhale smoke causing a lot of respiratorycomplications” (P27:39 177:183), KII, nurse, Hurungwe.

b) Liquid Petroleum Gas

Only eight households, 0.5 per cent of the sampled households in the five districtsreported using LPG as an alternative energy source for cooking, no household used itas the main source of energy. The reason for this low uptake is the cost of LPG which is


Table 5.17 Health impacts on children by gender and age possibly contributed to by poor energy sources for lighting and cooking

Diseases Children

Household light deprivation statusTotal

Not deprived Deprived

Number of children

Pro-portion

Number of children

Pro-portion

Number of children

ARI Boys 24 9.16 238 90.84 262

Girls 24 9.09 240 90.91 264

Under 5 24 9.20 237 90.80 261

Asthma Boys 11 8.80 114 91.20 125

Girls 11 8.94 112 91.06 123

Under 5 11 8.94 112 91.06 123

TB Boys 2 2.20 89 97.80 91

Girls 2 2.22 88 97.78 90

Under 5 2 2.22 88 97.78 90

Eye diseases Boys 34 9.91 309 90.09 343

Girls 33 9.71 307 90.29 340

Under 5 33 9.65 309 90.35 342

Burns Boys 8 8.08 91 91.92 99

Girls 8 8.08 91 91.92 99

Under 5 8 8.00 92 92.00 100




quite high, especially for lower income households. The initial costs of the gas stoveand gas tank which ranged from USD60.00 to USD120.00 depending on the size of thegas tank and stove, were beyond the reach of many as the majority of the respondentsearned less than USD20.00 per month. The average cost of a single plate stove was$20.00 and depended on the make. The operating costs of using LPG varied dependingon volumes of LPG purchased and frequency of use.

Suppliers of gas in the rural areas were the filling stations at growth points and in somecases the nearest town. Most rural shopping centres visited had no gas filling stationsand those using gas would have to travel long distances to get it. There were safetyconcerns of handling the inflammable fuel outside the filling stations with only a fewvendors found at busy shopping centres. The unavailability of LPG thus reduced itsuptake.

However, general dealers preferred LPG for refrigerators as they viewed it as moreeffective in cooling in the absence of main grid electricity. A few general dealersreported that they once used solar for cooling but the solar refrigerators did not functionfor long. Some, however, preferred paraffin for cooling refrigerators because of itsavailability and perceived less risk compared to LPG.

c) Biogas

Biogas production technology is considered as an alternative to fuel wood and issuitable for decentralized or off grid energy provision. It is based on the biologicaldecomposition of organic material in the absence of air (oxygen). The most suitableorganic material recommended is animal waste, human waste and agricultural residues.Under suitable conditions for anaerobic decomposition the organic material producesa cheaper and better fuel for cooking, lighting and for running engines as well as a goodquality manure to supplement the use of fertilizers.

Sixteen per cent of households indicated some knowledge and awareness of the biogastechnology. Hurungwe had the highest proportion that were aware as a result of some biogas intervention in the past. Knowledge of biogas by district is shown in(Figure 5.13).


21.68

19.2218.04

12.38

9.97

16.14

0

5

10

15

20

25

Hurungwe Nyanga Gutu Tsholotsho Chiredzi Total

Prpo

r�on

of h

ouse

hold

s with

kn

owle

dge

of b

ioga

s

Districts

Figure 5.13 Households with knowledge of biogas


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5


In view of the crucial role cooking plays in people’s lives and its impact on the localenvironment, biogas, where technically feasible, seems a logical solution in order tosolve the energy supply problems at household level. Using locally produced biogaswould substitute and also save the time and labour required for collecting fuel wood.Studies carried out in different parts of the world indicate that 1 m3 of biogas canproduce an equivalent of 5.8 KWh of energy.

5.3.2.2 Energy for Cooking Deprivation

As noted in Chapter 1 energy for cooking deprivation is defined as using any kind ofenergy other than electricity, LPG, paraffin, natural gas or biogas. However, if thehousehold cooks using fuel wood with an improved stove that has a chimney then it isnot deprived, as there is less risk of indoor air pollution exposure to household members. Table 5.18 shows that 98 per cent of the sampled households were deprived of energyfor cooking. Approximately 2 per cent of the households were using either electricityor fuel wood with improved stoves with ventilation/chimney (jengetahuni andimproved/chingwa stoves) as their main energy sources for cooking.

5.3.2.3 Willingness to change from using fuel wood for cooking

A large proportion of sample households in all the 5 districts wanted to change fromusing fuel wood as a source of cooking. Approximately 65 per cent of the fuel woodusers were willing to change to using cleaner fuels (Table 5.19). This presents a hugemarket for potential uptake of alternative cleaner and more efficient sources of energyor technology for cooking.


Table 5.18 Sample household energy for cooking deprivation status

Energy for cooking deprivation status Households Percent

Deprived 1,518 98.13

Not deprived 29 1.87

Total 1,547 100

Table 5.19 Proportion of households wanting to change from using fuel wood

District

Did not want to change from using fuel wood

Want to change from using fuel wood Total

Households Per cent House

holds Per cent Households Per cent

Chiredzi 112 37.7 185 62.3 297 100

Gutu 129 39.3 199 60.7 328 100

Hurungwe 50 17.2 240 82.8 290 100

Tsholotsho 129 40.4 190 59.6 319 100

Nyanga 109 39.4 168 60.7 277 100

Total 529 35.1 982 65.0 1,511 100




Most households wanted to change from using fuel wood because of the distance thatthey had to travel to collect it. A potential market intervention would be one that limitsthe frequency of visits to collect fuel wood such as more efficient cook stoves, or readilyavailable and cheap options. Other reasons included that fuel wood produced smoke,caused environmental degradation; was hazardous and costly.

More encouraging was that a large proportion of the sample (79 per cent) were willingto pay more to change from using fuel wood as a source of energy for cooking whichpresents a huge market (Table 5.20). Hurungwe had the highest percentage ofhouseholds (93 per cent) willing to pay more while Tsholotsho had the least percentage(51 per cent). This is possibly because of the scarcity of fuel wood now pertaining inHurungwe because of using fuel wood for tobacco curing; their exposure to improvedstove interventions as well as their having income from tobacco. For Tsholotsho this isprobably because fuel wood is readily available. A change from fuel wood use wouldhave a significant impact on reducing the exposure of children to pollution and theirinvolvement in fetching fuel wood.

Households were prepared to part with significant amounts of money in order to changefrom the use of fuel wood for cooking. On average respondents were prepared to partwith USD36.00 with some prepared to pay as much as USD1,500.00 to change fromusing fuel wood as a source of energy for cooking (Table 5.21).


Table 5.20 Willingness to pay to change from using fuel wood for cooking by district

District

Not willing to pay more Willing to pay more Total



Chiredzi 23 12.5 161 87.5 184 100

Gutu 52 26.1 147 73.9 199 100

Hurungwe 16 6.7 224 93.3 240 100

Tsholotsho 93 49.0 97 51.1 190 100

Nyanga 24 14.2 144 85.7 168 100

Total 208 21.2 773 78.8 981 100

Table 5.21 Amount of money households are willing to pay to change from fuel wood energy source for cooking

District Mean (USD) Median (USD) Min (USD) Max (USD)

Chiredzi 20.66 10 0 200.00

Gutu 36.43 10 0 1,000.00

Hurungwe 59.46 15 0 1,500.00

Tsholotsho 21.32 10 0 300.00

Nyanga 32.36 15 0 500.00

Total 36.31 10 0 1,500.00


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The most preferred energy source for cooking among households in all areas was gridelectricity. After grid electricity, the next two choices were LPG and paraffin, which canbe promoted in view of the limited capacity in electricity generation in the country.

5.3.3 Access to Energy for Space Heating

Access to clean energy for heating was also assessed in this study. Not owning andusing a modern heater or using a traditional heater such as an open fire for spaceheating was considered a deprivation. Approximately 99 per cent of households in Gutu,Nyanga and Tsholotsho and all households in Chiredzi and Hurungwe were deprived ofenergy for space heating.

5.3.4 Access to Energy for Cooling

The access to energy for cooling of food and space was less critical in rural householdsettings. The deprivation status for a household was determined by considering whethera household owned or used cooling appliances such as a refrigerator for storingperishable food and a fan for space cooling. Approximately 96 per cent of householdswere deprived of energy for cooling (Table 5.22). The results indicated that the sampledhouseholds’ lack of access to grid electricity also affected their ability to use coolingappliances.

5.3.5 Access to Energy for Receiving Information and forCommunication

Deprivation to energy for receiving information was measured through ownership ofradio, TV or computer while that to communication was through lack of landline ormobile phone. Table 5.23 shows that about 48 per cent of households were deprivedof energy for information with households in Chiredzi being most deprived (61 per cent)and Hurungwe least deprived (35 per cent). Overall 739 households with 1,944 childrenwere deprived of information. On average only one per cent of the sampled householdsowned a computer; with 19 per cent owning a television while 49 per cent owned radios.Hurungwe and Tsholotsho had the highest per cent of television and radio owners.


Table 5.22 Cooling dimension by district (ownership of refrigerator and fan)

DistrictDeprived Not deprived Total



Chiredzi 302 98.4 5 1.6 307 100

Gutu 319 96.1 13 3.9 332 100

Hurungwe 288 96.6 10 3.4 298 100

Tsholotsho 320 97.6 8 2.4 328 100

Nyanga 263 93.3 19 6.7 282 100

Total 1,492 96.4 55 3.6 1,547 100




Deprivation to energy for communication, measured by proxy ownership of landlineand mobile phone was only 13 per cent with Chiredzi again showing the highestdeprivation (16 per cent) compared with Tsholotsho with the least deprivation (9 percent). As noted earlier Tsholotsho had more household heads in South Africa providingthe households with technologies such as cell phones. Most households (87 per cent)owned mobile telephones.

The majority of the households used solar generated energy to power the informationand communication media (Figure 5.15). Very few households used main grid electricity,battery or generators as sources for energy for powering their information andcommunication media.

The information or entertainment dimension needed a boost to improve children’saccess to information through the broadcast media. The main challenge that washighlighted was the lack of reliable energy to power the broadcast media. Focus groupdiscussions with both children and parents, and key informants at schools indicatedthat the energy that they had access to was not reliable. The solar home systems thathouseholds owned were mostly the small panels which were not sustainable.

Households and Children Energy Status 5Table 5.23 Deprivation of energy for information and communication

District Deprived

Information Communication

Chiredzi 60.9 16.3

Gutu 53.3 13.3

Hurungwe 35.2 15.1

Tsholotsho 37.8 8.8

Nyanga 51.7 9.9

Total 47.7 12.7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Solar Electricty Ba�ery Generator

Prop

or�o

n of

hou

seho

lds u

sing

Energy source for communica�on and informa�on

Figure 5.14 Energy source for communication and information


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5.4 Barriers to Access to Cleaner Energy

Failure by households to use cleaner and sustainable energy sources was driven by theknowledge people had of alternative sources, their experience with different sources,educational levels of household heads and their disposable income. The study thereforeexplored the knowledge barriers, perceived costs of cleaner technologies, theiraffordability, socio-cultural barriers and supply side barriers.

5.4.1 Demand Side Barriers

5.4.1.1 Knowledge Barriers

The knowledge of household heads and children about types of cleaner energies andtechnologies available in Zimbabwe and whether they had used them in the past wasdetermined. The questions focussed on solar PV, LPG, biogas and small-hydro energy.In addition respondents were interrogated on the use of cleaner energy technologiessuch as improved stoves (tsotso and jengetahuni stoves); pressurized paraffin stovesand gel stoves. The questionnaire also sought to find out from those using the differenttechnologies whether or not they were still using the technology and if they hadstopped the reason for stopping to use them.

The main barriers were:

l Lack of knowledge of cleaner energy technologies.

l Technology development not adequately participatory.

l Limited knowledge of impacts of using traditional sources of energy onhealth, environment and well-being.

l Lack of decision support information for use in choice of appropriatetechnology.

l Lack of financing for cleaner energy and technologies.

Figure 5.15 shows the proportion of respondents of sample households with knowledgeabout the cleaner sources of energy and technologies by district.


0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Prop

or�o

n (%

) of d

istr

ict s

ampl

e ho

useh

olds

with

kno

wle

dge

of c

lean

en

ergy

sour

ce &

tech

nolo

gies

Districts

Solar pv

Pressurised paraffin stove

Tsotso stove

Jengetahuni

Lp gas

Gel stove

Biogas

Small hydro

Figure 5.15 Knowledge of clean energy sources and technologies




People tended to have less knowledge about cleaner energy technologies that wereless prevalent in the sample population, such as biogas, gel and micro-hydro electricityand this acted as a barrier to technology uptake. For example in one key informantinterview, a teacher noted:

“If people had more knowledge about the technologies and if the technologiescame to people at prices that suit their pockets they would adopt them.”(P18:49 181:181).

The view was also supported by a general dealer in Hurungwe who said:

“Our community lacks people who can really teach them about thesetechnologies. There is no one to explain to us the benefits of thesetechnologies. We also have no access to these technologies.” (P28:55208:208), KII, general dealer, Hurungwe.

An analysis of past experience with the use of clean energy sources helped inunderstanding why a small proportion of the households was using clean energysources. The largest proportion of the sample (71 per cent) had previously used solarenergy while a small proportion (11 per cent) had used LPG and about 1 per cent biogas.

Barriers to solar energy were that the solar panel sizes were small 10 W and had limitedutilities that they could power. Approximately 63 per cent of the households hadstopped using solar power for the following reasons:

l In 18 per cent of the cases the solar panel had broken. Breaking of the panelswas common as most panels were not mounted and were put out on a dailybasis and moved from time to time in order to capture the sunlight.

l The solar system had stopped functioning for 21 per cent of the households.

l In 14 per cent of the cases the panel had been borrowed and had not beenreturned.

l Some households had sold the panel to meet other immediate family needs.

l Only 5 per cent of the households indicated they had stopped using solarsystems because they had installed electricity.

Results of the study showed that 52 per cent of households who were not using solarhome systems either had other commitments; did not have the gadgets which neededsolar power or had no money to buy the solar home systems. The majority felt that therisk factors were that solar damaged radios, televisions and mobile phones as the outputfrom solar system was not regulated in most cases. Households indicated that whenthe battery malfunctions they were forced to connect the solar power directly to thegadgets. Some indicated that the batteries they used with solar panels were likely tobe damaged. Such perceived risks prevented households from fully embracing the solartechnology. This was mainly driven by lack of knowledge of the proper connectionswhen using solar panels as sources of energy.

Another major reason for stopping using solar panels was because of the poor qualityof the panels used or lack of knowledge on how to operate them especially how tomatch the panel size and the size of battery for storing the energy with the type andnumber of gadgets used by the household. There is therefore need to educate thecommunities about how to use solar power.

With regards to biogas lack of local resources necessary for its production washighlighted as the main constraint. In Nyanga most of the councillors and the



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community felt that the low ownership of cattle made biogas a less attractive option.In one focus group discussion the concern was put across thus:

“P5: There are no cattle in the area for people to get cow dung to feed biogasdigesters” (P5:60 308:310)

However the major challenge was how people perceived biogas and therefore the needfor raising awareness for households to appreciate its use. There were mixed feelingson the use of biogas with about 60 and 29 per cent of sample households willing touse biogas from agricultural waste and human waste, respectively.

Some respondents associated biogas with bad odour and would not want to use it.They also associate biogas with health risks as it came from rotten waste or humanwaste. The use of human waste was viewed with a lot of scepticism.

Asked the question – would you be willing to use human waste for energy generation?Responses were:

P3 “It spreads diseases”.

P2 “Cooking with human waste???????”

P4 “My heart will not be free if I were to cook using biogas from human waste”

P1: Nyanga FGD “No never that sounds too unhygienic to use human wastefor cooking”.

P5: “I think it is difficult to use such a fuel because I cannot imagine usinghuman waste for cooking some food”. (P5:61 304:306), FGD, parents,Hurungwe.

P5. “I would rather use cow dung than using human waste, cow dung can cookproperly just in case there is nothing to use”. (P2:84 318:318), FGD, Chiredzi.

Thus there was a general feeling that using waste to generate energy for cooking wasunhygienic worse using human waste. Lack of knowledge about how biogas is producedand how it works was the major constraint in the likely adoption of the technology evenamong households who had the capacity in terms of cattle ownership and access tofinance.

Hurungwe and Nyanga households were more aware of the cleaner energy sourcesbecause there were civil society organizations working on energy issues in their districts(Figure 5.16).





However, the energy intervention beneficiaries reported that they usually were notconsulted but were incorporated in training programmes. Figure 5.17 shows theproportion of households that reported that they had not been consulted before anintervention.


29.63

19.86

6.545.14

2.77

12.33

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Hurungwe Nyanga Chiredzi Gutu Tsholotsho Total

Prop

or�o

n (%

) of h

ouse

hold

s rep

orte

d pr

esen

ce o

f en

ergy

org

anis

a�on

s ass

is�n

g

District

Figure 5.16 Participation of energy organizations in surveyed districts

34.36

28.88

20.6217.54

12.33

22.72

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Chiredzi Tsholotsho Nyanga Hurungwe Gutu Total

Prop

or�o

n (%

) hou

seho

lds w

ho

indi

cate

d th

at th

ey a

re c

onsu

lted

befo

re in

terv

en�o

n

Districts

Figure 5.17 Proportion of households who reported that they were not consulted before intervention


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Lack of consultation usually leaves a gap between the aspirations of the communityand that of the development organization leading to low uptake of technologies.Beneficiaries were usually active during the presence of the organization but did notcontinue with the initiative once the project came to an end because of lack ofcommitment. Some respondents had perceptions that some development organizationscame to communities to make their own money using them to access funding. They feltthat they were short-changed and were very sceptical about organizations who camepretending to help communities. This might lead in communities being unwilling to pilotinterventions in future.

5.4.1.2 Perceived Costs of Cleaner Energy and Technologies

Perception is a key component in the adoption of clean energy sources by households.It determines the acceptability of technologies from both a financial and socialperspective. If perceived costs of technologies are high then potential customers shunfrom demanding them. Perception therefore acts as a barrier for technology uptake,because even when costs are very low people will not put an effort to find out theirreal cost.

Figure 5.18 shows that the mean perceived costs are within reasonable ranges for allthe clean energy sources. However there was great variation within the sample as somerespondents perceived the initial cost of the solar home system to be as high asUSD5,000 and a maintenance cost of USD500 because of lack of information andknowledge of solar energy systems.


0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Biogas(Agricwaste)

Biogas(Humanwaste)

LP gas Solarhomesystem

Mea

n co

st (U

SD)

Perceived ini al cost

Perceived running costs

Perceived maintenancecosts

Figure 5.18 Perceived mean cost of clean energy sources

The perceived costs of LPG and biogas were similar to the actual cost. Wind energytechnology was perceived to be the most expensive. Therefore, there is need forprovision of information on the types of energy technologies available and their pricesto communities so that they can have a choice to meet their demands. Currently peoplehave perceptions on, for example, provision of solar technologies as follows:




“Solar is expensive and most households do not have it.” (P33:126 345:347),FGD, children, Hurungwe.

“Solar... Not all people can afford the panels and the lights.” (P145:73203:203), KII, village health worker, Chiredzi.

“The problem with getting solar lanterns is that we have to go all the way toGutu to get them which is about 15 km away. Another problem is that we donot have money to buy these lanterns.” (P141:63 159:159), KII, councillor,Gutu.

5.4.1.3 Affordability

The study explored the nature of the market for cleaner energy sources by askinghouseholds the range of products they could afford. Over 70 per cent of the householdsindicated they could afford most solar gadgets (Table 5.24). Only 32 per cent indicatedthey could afford the water heater while 22 per cent could afford biogas.


Table 5.24 Affordability of cleaner energy technologies and price ranges

Products Price range (USD) Per cent could afford Valid responses

Solar lighting 5-60 93 1,282

Phone charger 10-15 83 1,281

Solar kit 35-50 80 1,282

Solar bulbs 1-6 95 1,283

Batteries 15-300 73 1,280

Solar regulator 10-60 79 1,281

Inverter 10-350 76 1,280

Water heater 200-2,000 32 1,283

Biogas 700 22 1,283

5.4.1.3 Socio-cultural Barriers

The majority of households who did not want to own a biogas system expressed fearthat gas could burn the homestead and people if not properly used and because theyhad children in their households, the likelihood of misusing biogas by children was high.Such fears were expressed in most focus group discussions whenever reference to theuse of LPG and biogas was made.

In Hurungwe for example, there was mention of a village head who was burnt by biogaswhich was installed at his homestead as a demonstration. Therefore using biogas wasviewed as risky.

Other barriers had to do with the lack of capacity to manage the energy resource. A number of conflicts were reported in Dazi where there was a micro-hydro schemewhich were affecting the use of the electricity. A teacher at the beneficiary schoolcommented about why the school was not using the micro-hydro:

“…there are complicated issues among the community members…” (P1:36138:140).


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In addition the conflicts extended to the water course where upstream water users werediverting water into their fields leading to less water reaching the hydro powergenerators.

Conflicts also affected the Nyafaru micro-hydro scheme. The Rural District Councilpersonnel responsible for projects had this to say about why people were not accessingelectricity from the micro-hydro scheme:

“The one in Nyafaru started in 2013 but the conflicts there are actually makingeveryone's head go round. There was no proper communication between thecommunity and the school and this caused them to frequently fight betweenthemselves. The community just decided to disconnect the micro-hydrowithout communicating with the school. There were food stuffs in the coldroom and the school ended up ferrying some of them to a school 50 km away.Some food stuffs perished”. (P14:39 141:141), RDC, Nyanga.

Some of the respondents would not want to change their energy source because theywere used to it and it was cultural. A shop owner in Nyanga noted that:

“The challenge is that these people are very comfortable with using fuel wood.They say that the wattle tree is very reliable and it is abundant. They have puttheir trust on this tree. Even if you plough somewhere for five consecutiveyears the trees will sprout any time”. (P21:71 239:239), KII, Nyanga.

5.4.1.4 Supply Side Barriers

There was general lack of knowledge among most general dealers to separate goodfrom poor quality products. Interviewed general dealers dotted in the study districtsindicated that they did not have any knowledge and technical expertise to judge thequality of energy technologies such as solar home systems. As a result they avoidedtrading in the products for fear of incurring losses.

In addition lack of technical skills made it impossible for general dealers to trade in atechnology that may fail to perform when they cannot fix it. Over 50 per cent of thedealers said they could not risk having gadgets returned and incurring losses especiallyof solar technologies as they could not fix them.

Access to finance was also highlighted as a major reason why some general dealers donot trade especially in energy products that require huge capital outlay. Nearly allgeneral dealers interviewed highlighted the issue of having difficulties in accessingworking capital, even credit lines from suppliers. A general dealer noted:

“We have no access to loans and people are always on our case every timethey buy a product and it is not working properly or has expired. Also there isa challenge of getting faulty products from suppliers as they do not refund usso the loss will be on our hands.” (P35:62 176:176), KII, general dealer,Hurungwe.

The same sentiments were expressed by almost all of the 23 general dealers interviewedduring the survey in the 5 districts.

Other retailers indicated that they were shunning away from trading in some solarproducts because the turnover period was long. The products took long to be bought.Thus when the energy products are not on the market their penetration rate or uptakeand use is low. In a number of cases respondents indicated that they were not usingsome energy sources and technologies because they were not available on the market.





The use of paraffin and LPG for example were reported to be low because of theirscarcity at local shopping centres. A village head in Nyamutowera ward had this to sayabout energy for cooking:

“The main issue when fetching fuel wood is the distance we have to travel toget to the forests. The problem with getting paraffin is that its not alwaysavailable at the shops.” P10:54 149:149), KII, village head, Nyanga.

Children confirmed the view:

“P5: Yes in shops candles and torches are readily available. Paraffin is notreadily available so people have turned to torches.” (P33:110 149:151), FGD,children, Hurungwe.

“We can only get the paraffin that we use in Karoi which is about 40 km away.”(P40: 20 139:139), KII, village head, Hurungwe.

With regards to the supply side of cookstoves, the current types of improved cookstoves have had a number of challenges cited by end users. Tsotso stoves were reportedto be fragile, with one respondent in Hurungwe reporting having bought up to sevenstoves within four months because of breakages. In addition the tsotso stoves requirea special type of clay which is usually difficult to find in most areas. The tsotso stovewas also viewed by potential beneficiaries at one training session attended by theresearch team as not being able to perform a number of essential services such asroasting green mealies, drying meat and space heating. When the trainers from GOALtried to explain that it could do all these services the beneficiaries were adamant thatit could not.

The programmes are characterized by gender imbalance with low participation frommen due to the cultural norm that the kitchen utensils belong to the women. A keyinformant noted:

“First, these stoves have a problem of cracking; it is difficult for one to go fora week without cooking so people will go back to using the open fire. Theother challenge is that the grading machines pull down trees and fuelwoodfrom those logs will be big logs that do not fit into the tsotso stove. One willhave to hire someone to cut those logs into smaller pieces which is costly. Themoulding frame which has a specific measurement for the pot stand has tobe bought from someone who has it”. (P46:14; 134:134), KII; AGRITEXofficer, Hurungwe.

The construction of the tsotso and the jengetahuni stoves has implications on the uptakeof the technology. The use of clay is viewed as child’s play by would be beneficiaries.Innovation around the challenges pointed out by beneficiaries would improve theuptake of the technologies.

5.5 Solutions to the Energy Crisis

Interviewees felt that the energy crisis could be solved in a number of ways, whichwould improve the lives of children. Key informants, children and parents were askedwhat could be done to improve access to energy for institutions, households andchildren.

The majority of respondents in all categories highlighted the need for continuedinterventions by both the public and the private sector. They made reference to pastinterventions and how that had made a difference. One teacher for example noted that



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the work that REA has been doing was the right course of action if the energychallenges were to be solved.

P. “I think (REA) Rural Electrification Agency is doing a very good job, if theyextend their services even more, the community will benefit a lot”. P1:42230:236), KII, teacher, Nyanga.

Thus continued rural electrification should be a long-term on-going process. In additionto the on-going electrification process some discussants felt that training ofcommunities especially in clean energy sources and technologies would go a long wayin solving the energy problem. For example the majority of participants in focus groupdiscussions felt that with training they would use the clean energy sources andtechnologies. One councillor in Gutu had this to say:

“If I am trained on how to use it I would be willing to use it...” P4:67 233:235),KII, Councillor, Gutu.

“People just need to be educated, they are not aware”. P10:67 200:201), KII,Councillor, Nyanga.

Another option highlighted was the provision of energy for income generation. The business community was particularly interested in energy for income generation.

“Yes everyone wants to have electricity to be able to start businesses likegrinding mills and sewing clubs .” (P7:78 276:280), FGD, Nyanga.

Availing energy technologies is also a powerful option as people are eager to invest inthese technologies that would make their children have access to cleaner energy,however, the products are not on their local markets. In a number of focus groupdiscussions people expressed their willingness to pay, as noted by one focus groupparticipant:

“People will be willing to pay because we already pay for torches andbatteries.” (P34:65 102:102), FGP, Chiredzi.

This is supported by a village head in Nyanga who said:

“People want it but in the village there are a lot of money problems. Somepeople would be able to pay and others would not ,first people have to betold how to pay because we cannot make the decision by ourselves.” (P9:57231:237), KII, village head, Nyanga.

People were willing to pay even if they faced financial challenges, and in some districtssuch as Nyanga people were involved in horticulture and therefore could afford someof the technologies if made available and if they are aware. The council representativeresponsible for development in Nyanga district said the following in response to whetherpeople were able to sustain energy sources:

“Yes, people from here will be able to cater for their expenses because theygrow potatoes to earn a living. They have good soils and the rains can sustaintheir livelihoods.” (P14:40 155:157), KII, Nyanga RDC.

He further gave the option of approaching different areas in the same district differently.For example for Nyanga this is what he said he would do:





“I would first divide my district into two parts, the major part, Ward 1-19 is veryhot. So, I think solar panels will be appropriate but Wards 20-21 are very cold,the sunshine is poor such that the solar panels would not work because it isalways cloudy…” (P14:43 181:181), KII, Nyanga RDC.

The business model approach to the provision of solar lighting to communities is a wellthought intervention. The major barrier for most communities to access solar systemsis the high cost of the gadgets and unavailability on local markets. OXFAM has taken adifferent approach to providing low cost and flexible payment credit facility plans forcommunities in Gutu. Communities were provided with solar lanterns which they wereto pay for within 12 months whilst already using the lanterns and also being able tocharge these at an Energy kiosk for free for the duration of the period which they werepaying the instalments for the solar lanterns. These energy kiosks were being run bylocal people who had been trained to repair malfunctioning lanterns to ensure thesustainability of the project.

One of the kiosk attendants said:

“Personally I was trained on how to fix the lights at a workshop done byOXFAM”. (137:17; 129:129), KII, Energy Kiosk Caretaker, Gutu.

OXFAM also provided solar water pumps such as that installed at Magombedze tosupply water to Magombedze Secondary School and to the clinic. The SchoolDevelopment Committee Vice Chairman said:

“OXFAM had a project for solar that powers the clinic and also the water pumpthat serves the clinic and both this school and the primary school.” (91:35;173:173)KII; SDC vice chairman; Magombedze High School.

5.6 Conclusions

There are high energy poverty levels among rural households that invariably affectchildren in terms of:

l Inadequate light to read at night leading to education deprivation.

l Inadequate energy for cooking leading to inadequate food preparation andlimited choice of what to cook resulting in nutrition deprivation.

l Limited access to information thus leading to child deprivation forinformation, communication and education.

l Impacts on health from air pollution from the dirty fuels used contributingto chest and eye diseases and posing a risk to burns.

l Child labour from fetching fuel wood.

There was opportunity for business as most households were willing to change (andpay) from using fuel wood because of the distance that they have to travel to collectfuel wood. A potential market intervention would be one that limits the frequency ofvisits to collect fuel wood such as more efficient cookstoves, or readily available andcheap options. There were opportunities for low to no cost options because of the levelof poverty and low income of households found in rural areas.

The findings from this study show that there is a high potential market on the lowincome end of the population. The energy market is characterized by different needs,which will require an energy mix that suits the needs of all. An intervention for example



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targeting one technology or energy source will not suffice as the market is complexand has different needs, tastes and financial capabilities.

Main grid electricity was the preferred type of energy in the five districts. The most usedenergy sources were fuel wood for cooking and paraffin, torches, solar and cell phonesfor lighting. Reasons for the choices were easy access and perceived efficiency. Thusaccessibility is a critical factor that can drive use among potential households and theirchildren.

The pricing regime is also important as the households’ income was low. Affordabilityis a reflection of disposable income and the ability to pay. Lessons can be learnt fromthe OXFAM energy kiosk intervention in terms of providing financial resources to enablepayment schemes to meet the needs of the rural households. The kiosks are run by thecommunity and payment of solar lanterns is over a period of a year at a premium ofUSD3.00 a month. Such kinds of schemes are likely to improve the use of clean energysources and technologies as they are tailored for the needs of the poor.

Bartering presents another opportunity for those households that have livestock andother assets of value to exchange in place of money in order to secure cleaner energytechnologies.

Generally households lacked sufficient information needed to make value judgmentson the quality of energy products they bought. Ways should be found to help low-income consumers understand the benefits of new clean energy technologies versustraditional fuel and technologies.

Many of the poorest consumers may still require financial support. Access to consumerfinance such as micro-finance options and alternative financing schemes may be neededto enable consumers to obtain modern clean energy products.

Solar: Solar home systems have different sizes and prices. An analysis of whetherhouseholds would afford the system show that almost every household in the samplefound an option that it is able to buy. This is encouraging and reflects the presence ofa huge market/demand for the solar home systems of different ranges. This has a greatpotential on access to energy for lighting and the hours children have access to lightingfor their homework.

Energy- efficient stoves: Lessons from current interventions in cook stoves show thatthe uptake is low with households complaining of the fragility of the stoves, theirinability to carry more pots, and in some cases not aware of the technologies. Innovationshould be directed towards improving the current stock of stoves at low cost butmeeting the social needs of the end user population. The chingwa stove for exampletends to be a better option as it has more plates to cook from, it therefore needs to bepromoted vigorously.

Biogas Technology: The feasibility for implementation of the biogas technology isdependent on the availability of organic waste, adequate water and technical skills toconstruct the bio-digester units. End users are eager to learn and adopt the technologyif it passes their test. There is need for awareness campaigns or learning centres wherepotential end users can learn and be able to compare efficiency with their traditionalcooking technologies. This may take the form of REA‘s approach in Tsholotsho wherethey installed biogas and a pilot centre from which others can learn. Biogas technologyneeds to be demonstrated at the household level so that would-be beneficiaries couldlearn. In the interest of children such intervention at the school level would make quickimpact especially at boarding schools where huge amounts of fuel wood are used tomeet cooking energy needs.





Torches and cell phones: Torches and cell phones are becoming major sources of energyfor lighting. As an immediate short term option suppliers need to stock LED torcheswhich have better illumination. LED torches with better pricing would be a short termoption for children’s reading.

Wind technology: Wind technology seems to have limited application at householdlevel in Zimbabwe. At the institutional level it can be used for pumping water. A windmillwas pumping water for a clinic in Gutu, at very low cost. While initial capital may behigh, payoffs are likely to be better than for solar energy. The wind technology needsto be promoted especially for water pumping.

The results show that most low-income earners across Zimbabwe can currently affordto purchase any of the lowly priced clean technologies. However they would need tobe provided with flexible payment mechanisms. The mechanisms should take intoaccount the local context with respect to sources and patterns of income; attitudes toborrowing; availability of micro-credit agencies; and ability to repay over long and shortperiods. These mechanisms should be for both end users and suppliers and should beinformed by past experiences.

The study proposes an energy business model presented as Figure 5.19 where there isdemand from customers who are willing to change to cleaner energy and to pay more.On the supply side the technologies should be affordable, efficient and culturallyacceptable. Further the suppliers should be willing to participate and they should havetechnical know-how while business in energy technology should be profitable.


With regards to support to introduction of cleaner energy, government should introducelegislation that promotes cleaner energy technologies and together with civilorganizations provide infrastructure, finances and knowledge for the process. Thereshould be monitoring and evaluation to determine progress towards cleaner andrenewable energy.

Support [Gvt-legisla�on & infrastructure,

civic/NGO]

Supply/suppliers [private & public/community

Enterprises]

Demand /customers [Households/children,

schools & clinics]

•Legisla�on•Infrastructure•Knowledge•Monitoring & evalua�on•Financial

•Availability of clean energy•Profitability •Technical knowhow•Willingness to par�cipate

•Willingness to change to cleaner energy •Cultural acceptability•Willingness to pay more •Affordability [price regime]•Efficiency

Figure 5.19 Proposed energy business model


The Energy Status of Institutions that Support ChildrenTh E6



99

In Zimbabwe there exists a gap in understanding the level of access tomodern energy in the institutions that serve children and in householdsin which they live. However, these institutions support the basic needsof children such as access to health, education and information whichhave a direct impact on the well-being of the child.

This section of the survey involved undertaking energy audits atschools, health facilities and the households in order to benchmark orreference their energy consumption. This enabled comparisons withlocal, regional and international benchmarks. An audit identifies energygaps, barriers and the potential for implementing modern energy toimprove access. The energy model for the schools, health facilities andhouseholds was analyzed at district level and aggregated nationally.Opportunities for addressing the energy barriers were identified. Thesewere then taken through a cost benefit assessment and categorizedinto low and high energy initiatives. A water audit was also undertakenin addition to the energy audit.

The Chapter structure includes a Section on the scope of the auditwhich is followed by a Section that analyzes the historical data ofenergy mixes used at institutions and households mainly, electrical andnon-electrical energy as well as energy used to pump water. The reportrecommends energy saving priorities that can be turned into projectsfor implementation.

6.1 Definitions Used for the Energy Audit

The minimum international requirements for electricity are given inChapter 1 (Section 1.4.1) and will be repeated here for convenience inreferencing.

The minimum international requirements for electricity, cooking andlighting are as follows:

Electricity - Provision of 1 unit of electricity per day per household isconsidered a basic energy requirement. In many developing countriesthe 30 units of electricity per month category is provided at a veryconcessionary rate to enable access to electricity.

Cooking - Minimum standard for cooking -1 kilogramme fuel wood or0.3 kilogrammes charcoal or 0.04 kilogrammes LPG or 0.2 litres ofparaffin per person per day, taking less than 30 minutes to obtain perhousehold per day.

Lighting – Effective or standard lighting requires a minimum of 300lumens, an equivalent of 30 W incandescent bulb. This is sufficient forreading and doing other household tasks. It has been proven thatlighting below 300 lumens is associated with an increase in workrelated accidents in a workplace. According to Practical Action 300lumens should be available for at least four hours per night.

The Energy Status of Institutions that Support Children


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6.2 Scope of Energy Audit

The specific objectives of the energy audit were to:

1) Review types or sources of energy, energy consumption, constraints in itsuse, strategy and operational plans.

2) Conduct site visits and assessments.

3) Provide expert data analysis and commentary.

4) Model cost and environmental impacts of the existing systems.

5) Outline cost-benefit analysis for recommendations.

The energy audit involved analysis of historical energy data extracted from the monthlyutility bills, students attending the schools, and records of patients attended to at healthcentres. Historical data was used for the purpose of establishing the baseline situation.Primary data was collected using data-logging instruments and spot measurements.This information was used for generating the sources of energy, energy use and theshare of energy consumption. Further observations were also made on clean energyinterventions, practices and state of the equipment at the institutions. Photographs ofinteresting energy use and interventions were taken.

6.3 Characteristics of Energy Use in Institutions

The energy audits covered primary and secondary schools, clinics as well as selectedhouseholds. The institutions were further categorized in terms of services offered andwhether they were connected to the grid or not during data analysis for easiercomparison. The secondary schools were further disaggregated into boarding and non-boarding schools and analyzed separately. The analysis further split the boardingschools to those connected and those not connected to the grid. It also looked at dayprimary schools connected to the grid and those not connected, since there were noprimary schools with boarding facilities. Health institutions were classified into twogroups made up of hospitals and smaller clinics. Analysis was made of clinics connectedto the grid versus those not connected to the grid.

6.3.1 Energy Audit in Secondary Schools

A total of 15 secondary schools were audited across the five districts. For the purposesof analysis of the energy audits across the schools, they were further categorized into:

l Boarding schools (with and without electricity).

l Day schools with limited boarding facilities.

l Day schools (with and without electricity).

A summary of the schools, districts, their highest form, whether they were boarding or not boarding as well as their student and staff populations are given in Table 6.1.





6.3.1.1 Boarding Schools with Electricity

Only two boarding schools were connected to the main grid Dewure High School andTsholotsho High School.

a) Dewure High School

The school is connected to the main grid and it shares the transformer with Dewureclinic. A bulk metre supplies electricity to three blocks of classrooms, girls’ and boys’hostels, 16 teachers’ houses as well as a 20 hp submersible pump, 30 hp mono pump,15 hp mono pump, 50 hp mono pump. In 2014 the school consumed 408,900 Kw ofelectricity at a cost of USD36,000. The school had a 5 hp and a 35 kVA generator forback up services. The two generators used 741 litres of diesel in 2014 at a cost ofUSD1,192.

Cooking

Cooking was mainly done on four jengetahuni stoves. However, the kitchen had verypoor ventilation. A total of 72,000 kg of fuel wood was used for cooking in 2014. Fuel wood is scarce around Dewure High School. Two electrical stoves were used asback up.

The Energy Status of Institutions that Support Children 6Table 6.1 Characteristics for audited secondary schools

Name of School Ward District FemaleEmployees

MaleEmployees

TotalEmployees

MaleStudents

FemaleStudents

TotalStudents

Level ofhighestclass

Boardingor DaySchool

Dewure 21 Gutu 23 43 66 735 Form 6 Boarding

Tsholotsho 12 Tsholotsho 25 55 80 309 421 730 Form 6 Boarding

Malipati 15 Chiredzi 9 19 28 167 182 349 Form 6 Boarding

Nyafaru 21 Nyanga 8 20 28 250 258 508 Form 6 Boarding

Chikwanda 26 Gutu 11 16 27 220 182 402 Form 6 SemiBoarding

Sipepa 5 Tsholotsho 12 17 29 208 237 445 Form 6 SemiBoarding

J. LandaNkomo 12 Tsholotsho 7 18 25 144 193 337 Form 6 Semi

Boarding

Mushowe 2 Hurungwe 6 18 24 357 320 677 Form 6 Day

Kapfunde 12 Hurungwe 7 18 25 254 185 439 Form 6 Day

Alpha Mpapa 15 Chiredzi 6 21 27 267 325 592 Form 4 Day

Nyajezi 19 Nyanga 11 15 26 275 225 500 Form 6 Day

Nyamupfu-kudza 26 Hurungwe 9 10 19 227 252 479 Form 6 Day

Crowne Range 17 Chiredzi 5 7 12 92 107 199 Form 4 Day

MuchekayaoraSecondary 15 Gutu 7 8 15 127 125 252 Form 4 Day

Kapane 3 Tsholotsho 12 3 15 135 124 259 Form 4 SemiBoarding


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Lighting

The boys and girls hostels did not have enough light to read in the evening as themeasure for lighting was 35 lux compared to the 300 lux recommended for reading.The library also had inadequate lighting.

Renewable energy options

The school had 15 cattle and 300 chickens which they slaughtered for the meals of theschool boarders. Kitchen waste per day was estimated at 200 kg and this was mostlyfrom organic waste (sadza). The waste was adequate to generate biogas for cooking.

b) Tsholotsho High School

In 2014 the school used 211,500 kWh of electricity at a cost of USD22,500. A transformersupplied electricity to the school as well as 15 staff houses.

Cooking and heating

The school used fuel wood for cooking in addition to biogas and conventional electricity.There were 2×14.4 kW electricity cooking pots each 200 litres. It is estimated that theschool used 129,600 kg of fuel wood during the year 2014 at a cost of USD2,160. Fuelwood is abundant in the Tsholotsho area. The fuel wood was burnt in a well-constructedand ventilated kitchen with institutional tsotso stoves. A biogas digester was currentlybeing used for cooking mainly for staff at the school. It was connected to four cookingplates. The biodigester pit was 50 m3 in volume but it was not being fed well with cowdung.

The school has 27 cattle and 50 kg of waste was being generated daily from the kitchen.The daily estimate of biogas generation was 18 m3 per day from the animals and waste.The amount of biogas produced (18 m3) was sufficient to run one commercial pot for 18hours. Hence with two pots cooking for 2 hours per meal the school should be able togenerate own power for cooking from biogas resources.

Lighting

A generator was being used as a back-up to assist children with their studies and wasa 4.5 hp petrol size generator that was using 600 litres of petrol worth USD1,080.00per year. The science laboratories had fewer light bulbs than required; boy’s hostels hadno lights in most rooms; the girls hostel’s rooms had no lights. The school had procuredtwenty solar lanterns at a cost of USD700.00 for backup, to boost inadequate lightingand for emergencies.

Other energy needs

In 2014 Tsholotsho High School bought 120 kg of LPG at a cost of USD300.00 for theScience Laboratory. Water was being pumped using electricity with the generator asalternative.

The energy mixes for Dewure and Tsholotsho High Schools are given in Table 6.2.





In 2014 Dewure’s total energy consumption in terms of heat units was equivalent to1,325,997 MJ of energy whilst that of Tsholotsho was 2,368,661 MJ.

The schools used fuel wood as their main source of energy for cooking. HoweverTsholotsho High School used more fuel wood compared to Dewure High School. In addition to fuel wood, both schools would also had electric stoves that they used forcooking meals. There was a demonstration biogas digester at Tsholotsho High Schooland this was mainly used to prepare meals for staff and not students but it had enoughcapacity to be used for school children meals.

Dewure High School relied on diesel for backup whereas Tsholotsho High School reliedon petrol. Tsholotsho High School complimented its lighting with solar lanterns whileDewure High School did not. Thus it could be argued that Tsholotsho High School wasmore advanced in using renewable energy than Dewure High School.

6.3.1.2 Boarding Schools Not Connected to Grid

The audit included two boarding schools which were not connected to the main gridand these were Nyafaru and Malipati High Schools. The enrolment figure and staffnumbers of the schools are presented in Table 6.3.

The Energy Status of Institutions that Support Children 6Table 6.2 The energy mixes for Dewure and Tsholotsho High Schools

Paraffin(litres/yr)

Petrol(litres/yr)

Diesel(litres/yr)

LPG(kg/yr)

Firewood(kg/yr)

Electricity(kWh/yr)

SolarkWh/yr

TotalEnergy inMJ heatUnits (MJ)

Dewure 15 20 741 48 72,000 408,900 - 1,325,997

Tsholotsho - 600 300 120 129,600 211,500 365 2,368,661

Table 6.3 Student and staff statistics for Malipati and Nyafaru High Schools

MaleStudents

FemaleStudents

TotalStudents

FemaleEmployees

MaleEmployees

TotalEmployees

Malipati 167 182 349 9 19 28

Nyafaru 250 258 508 8 20 28

Nyafaru High School had more students compared to Malipati Secondary School butthe total number of staff members was the same.

a) Nyafaru High School

Nyafaru High School had its own power generation station in the form of a micro-hydropower station that was installed by Practical Action more than 15 years ago.

This is a model school where renewable energy has been used to provide affordablepower to the school. The power is used for lighting the classrooms, the schooldormitories and teachers’ houses. In addition they use the electricity to power their


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computers, charging mobile phones and for photocopying machines. However, theschool experiences power challenges during the dry season. The school used agenerator for back up purposes that consumed 420 litres of petrol in 2014. It wasreported that there were times when students improvised by using the bark of thewattle tree that is abundantly available in the area for lighting.

The school used fuel wood as a source of energy for cooking and heating. Fuel woodwas freely available and was collected from timber plantations next to the school.

b) Malipati High School

Malipati High School relied on a diesel powered generator for its electricity supply. It consumed 5,400 litres of diesel in 2014.

The school used 27,000 kg of fuel wood as a source of energy for cooking and heating.

A summary of the energy mixes used at Malipati and Nyafaru high schools are shownin Table 6.4.


Table 6.4 The energy mix for Malipati and Nyafaru High Schools

Petrol(litres/yr)

Diesel(litres/yr)

Fuelwood(kg/yr)

Electricity(kWh/yr)

Heat valueequivalentMJ

Malipati - 5,400 27,000 - 675,000

Nyafaru 420 - 6,000 144,000 123,218

Using heat value equivalents, in terms of energy consumption, Malipati High Schoolconsumed five times more energy than Nyafaru High School despite it having lessstudents. In 2014, Malipati Secondary School consumed 675,000 MJ of energycompared to 123,218 MJ of energy by Nyafaru High.

Renewable energy potential

There is potential for biogas utilization at both schools with Malipati High School havingpotential for using human waste as a source. Nyafaru High School is in a much bettersituation as the school has 17 cattle, 22 pigs and 42 sheep which they slaughtered forboarders’ meal in addition to human waste.

6.3.1.3 Semi Boarding Secondary Schools

Semi boarding schools are day schools but offer accommodation facilities for studentswho come from far-away places. Four such schools Chikwanda, Sipepa, Kapene andJohn Landa were encountered during the audit. The student and staff statistics for theschools are shown in Table 6.5.




Two of the schools, Chikwanda and Sipepa were connected to the electricity grid whiletwo John Landa High School and Kapene Secondary School were not connected to the grid.

a) Chikwanda High School

The school is connected to the main grid but the 200 kVA transformer was struck bylightning on 22 December 2014 and it was yet to be repaired by REA. In 2014 theyconsumed a total of 4,230 kWh. Electricity was mainly used to provide power forlighting and for typing machines. The school had procured a 5 Hp diesel generator asa backup. The deputy headmaster’s, the seniors master’s, senior lady’s and the clerk’soffices were using inefficient 100 watt incandescent light bulbs. The headmaster’s officewas using an 11 watt energy saver with 43 lux. The staff room was not properly tubedand wired as the fittings were not tight and the wires were hanging loosely.

Lighting

Most of the classrooms had natural light with 50 lux which could deteriorate with cloudcover. They used to have advanced level night studies but had stopped because of poorlighting. Science laboratories had less light bulbs than required. The school used twentysolar lanterns at a cost of USD700.00 for backup, to boost lighting and in cases ofemergencies.

Cooking

Fuel wood was mainly used during special occasions and it was estimated that theschool consumed 400 kg in 2014.

Water pumping

Water was pumped using grid electricity with the generator as an alternative. The schoolhad two electric pumps.

b) Sipepa Nkomo High School

Sipepa Nkomo Secondary School had among its total enrolment, 88 boarders, 56 whowere girls and 32 boys. The school was electrified with grid electricity and had only twoblocks out of five having been wired. The school had converted two 4-roomed housesinto children’s dormitories which were without lighting. A petrol generator was usedfor lighting and had consumed 115 litres of petrol costing the school USD240 in 2014.

The Energy Status of Institutions that Support Children 6Table 6.5 Student and Staff statistics for Chikwanda, Sipepa and John Landa High

Schools and Kapene Secondary School

MaleStudents

FemaleStudents

TotalStudents

FemaleEmployees

MaleEmployees

TotalEmployees

Chikwanda 220 182 402 11 16 27

Sipepa 208 237 445 12 17 29

John LandaNkomo 144 193 337 7 18 25

Kapene 135 124 259 12 3 15


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Lighting

The administration corridor had no adequate lighting. The deputy headmaster’s officehad no lights. A 4-foot fluorescent light was working in the reception instead of two.The boarders used 156 packets of candles per term which converted to 468 packets ata cost USD1,076. These school boarders also used six solar lamps as an alternativesource of energy that they shared amongst themselves.

Cooking and heating

It was estimated that fuel wood amounting to 2,700 kg was used to cook meals onthree stone stoves in 2014.

c) John Landa Nkomo High School

The school had a total enrolment of 337 pupils whereby 144 were boys and 193 weregirls. There were 45 boarders of whom 21 were boys and 24 were girls. Althoughconnected to the main grid, the school had been without access to electricity since 2013when the 100 kVA transformer was struck by lightning.

A solar system was installed by REA in 2012. This is a 4.48 kW Solar System comprisingof 64 crystalline panels and 16 batteries. The system had not been working owing to afuse that had been blown out towards the end of 2013. A petrol generator was beingused as backup for lighting. It was estimated that it consumed 240 litres of petrol in2014.

Cooking and heating

A total of 5,400 kg of fuel wood had been used for cooking on special occasions likethe prize giving day, sporting events and by the 45 quasi boarders in 2014. They cookedusing three stone stoves under a shade.

Water pumping

Water for John Landa Nkomo school was being pumped from two boreholes. One waspowered by the mains grid and this was supposed to supply a 500 litre tank thatsupplies the whole school and teachers’ cottages.

Opportunities for renewable energy

The school had a total of 14 cattle whose dung could be considered for use in a biogasdigester. The dung when supplemented with the students’ sewage waste could providesustainable energy for cooking using biogas.

d) Kapane Secondary School

Kapane Secondary School is in Phakamani Village Ward 3, Tsholotsho District. Theschool had a total enrolment of 259 children with 135 boys and 124 girls. There were 56boarders comprising of 27 boys and 29 girls. There were 15 teachers of whom 12 werefemales and 3 males.

The school had a solar system which was connected to the administration and computerblocks. Two blocks of classrooms had the solar system and the other two had no power.There were nine computers in the computer room but only four could be used at thesame time to accommodate the required output provided by the solar system. Theboarders’ hostel used solar lanterns for lighting since the solar system funded by REA





could not provide enough energy for the hostels. The solar system was not working atthe time of the visit because the solar charge controller was struck by lightning. Hencethere was no electricity in the headmaster’s office and computer room.

The school had a 5.5 hp petrol generator which they used for lighting and printingschool examination papers. They used 120 litre of petrol worth $180 in 2014.The schoolconsumed 8,700 kg of fuel wood which was used on special occasions and for heatingand cooking for boarders. Fuel wood was found in abundance in this area. Cooking wasdone on three stone stoves.

The school consumed 2,211 m3 of water per year. Water for gardening and washing usedto be supplied using a solar powered submersible borehole. However, the system hadbroken down.

A summary of the energy mixes used by Chikwanda, Sipepa Nkomo and John LandaHigh Schools and Kapene Secondary School is given in Table 6.6.

The Energy Status of Institutions that Support Children 6

Table 6.6 Energy mixes for Chikwanda, Sipepa and John Landa High Schools and Kapene Secondary School

Candles-Units Petrol l/yr Fuel wood kg/yr Electricity kWh/yr

Chikwanda - - 400 4,230

Sipepa Nkomo 156 115 2,700 4,700

John LandaNkomo - 120 5,400 -

Kapene - 120 8,700 -

The three schools (Sipepa Nkomo, Kapene and John Landa Nkomo) in MatabelelandNorth where fuel wood is abundant used more fuel wood than Chikwanda High Schoolin Gutu where fuel wood is scarce.

6.3.1.4 Day Secondary Schools connected to grid electricity

Day schools do not use much electricity as it is mainly used to power classroom blocksduring the day and teachers’ houses. Cooking is mostly done on special occasions. Therewere standby generators that were used to provide backup power in the event of failureof main grid. There were five day secondary schools (Mushowe, Kapfunde, Alpha Mpapa,Nyajezi and Nyamupfukudza) included in the study.

a) Mushowe High School

Mushowe High School in Hurungwe district drew most of its children from farmingcommunities which are sparsely populated. Some of children travelled 10-15 km to getto the school. Those who lived nearby came to study at the school at night since theschool installed electricity in one of the study rooms. There was an administration blockwhich accommodated the computer laboratory. This block was separately built andelectrified by a 100 kVA transformer. There were 4 blocks of classrooms that were notelectrified. All classrooms facing east did not have sufficient natural light.

There was no water at the school hence the school children were travelling 9 to 10 kmto fetch some water, yet there was a nearby dam 500 metres away from the school.


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b) Kapfunde High School

The administration block and the computer laboratory were supplied with electricityfrom the mains grid using a 50 kVA transformer. Water to supply the school was beingpumped by electrical pumps. However, the electrical installations at the pump housewere loose and needed attention of a qualified technician.

Renewable energy opportunities at Kapfunde Secondary School

The school once had a piggery project with a peak of 45 pigs. However, this project wasfacing challenges as there were only three animals left. A biogas digester could havebeen installed at the school to provide energy for cooking for teachers if the projectwas to be revived.

c) Alpha Mpapa Secondary School

The institution mainly used electricity from the grid. The school had a prepaid metresince 2014 when it used 6,100 kWh electricity at a cost of USD648.00. There was apetrol generator used when there was no electricity.

Lighting

There were eight blocks of classrooms. The computer room, one classroom and thefashion fabrics classroom had lights. The school used incandescent light bulbs forlighting which were inefficient.

Water pumping

The school used a hand dug well which was in the school yard from which they directlydrew water. The well catered for the referral Mission Hospital, the community, theprimary school as well as the secondary school.

d) Nyajezi High School

Nyajezi High School was connected to the national grid in 2000. In 2014 it used 5,640kWh of electricity. There were buildings which had electricity and these were theadministration block; the headmaster’s, deputy headmaster’s, senior teacher’s, clerk’sand the typist offices; the staff room, computer room, fashion fabrics classroom andthe library. The school used a diesel generator for emergency cases when there was nogrid electricity at a cost of USD268 per annum.

Renewable energy opportunities at Nyajezi Secondary School

The institution normally reared pigs but there was only one left at the time of the study.At the peak of the project they bred up to 10 pigs. They had a project on keeping rabbitsand there were six rabbits. The school also grew vegetables and was involved inaquaculture in three ponds. They grew carrots, tomatoes, orchard trees and cabbages.The school produced 600 kg of solid waste per year. However, this was not adequateto generate biogas.

e) Nyamupfukudza Secondary School

Nyamupfukudza is a rural day school in Hurungwe west with a total number of 479pupils of which 252 were female and 227 males. The school had a staff complement of19, of which 10 were males and 9 females.





There were five blocks with two classrooms each. The classrooms were not adequateas some students attended school in the morning while the others attended in theafternoon. The institution had 6 houses for 19 teachers; all the houses are electrifiedfrom the mains through a 100 kVA transformer. All the teachers’ houses were using 100watt incandescent light bulbs. The main block of classrooms was electrified with othersusing natural light.

f) Energy mixes at the day Secondary Schools connected to grid electricity

The energy mixes of the day secondary schools that were connected to grid electricityare given in Table 6.7.


Table 6.7 Energy mixes of Secondary day schools connected to grid electricity

Petrol_l/yr Diesel_l/yr Fuelwood_kg/yr

Electricity_kWh/yr

Mushowe 100 180 600 2,867

Kapfunde 100 - 600 3,760

Alpha Mpapa - - 300 6,100

Nyajezi High 15 400 60 5,640

Nyamupfukudza - 480 960 Not collected

6.3.1.5 Day Secondary Schools without grid electricity

The situation at Secondary day schools without grid electricity (Crown Range, andMuchekayaora) was similar to those connected to the grid with the difference beingthat the teachers had no access to electricity. Backup generators were used mainly forpowering a few electrical devices like photocopying machines.

a) Crown Range Secondary School

The secondary school was located in Ward 17 Chiredzi North in the Range Resettlement.It was built in 2010. It has an enrolment of 199 children and employed 12 teachers, 5 ladies and 7 males. The school had two shifts one in the morning and another shiftin the afternoon.

The school used fuel wood as their source of energy for cooking. They needed 2,750kgof fuel wood which they bought for $300. It was estimated that the school consumed230.76 m3 of water per year.

b) Muchekayaora Secondary School

Muchekayaora Secondary school is located in Ward 12 of Gutu district. It had anenrolment of 252 pupils made up of 127 girls and 125 boys. The school had a staffcompliment of 15 employees of which 7 were females and 8 were males.

It was not connected to the national grid and had to rely on a 5 hp generator that wasused to power computers, printers and photocopiers. They used 105 litres of diesel onthe generator at a cost of $153. The school used to have a working solar system that


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was vandalized. During the night the school teachers used paraffin lamps. Fuel woodwas used on special occasions like sports day and prize giving day. It is estimated thatannually the school used 300 kg of fuel wood and cooked on three stone stoves.

The school consumed 1027 m3 of water per year. There was a community borehole fromwhich the school drew its water which was 200 metres away. The borehole was beingused by the secondary school, the primary school and the community.

In the past they had a windmill pumping the water but it had broken down and wasreplaced by a manual borehole. The water tank they once used for storage was stillintact.

A summary of the energy mix for the two secondary day schools without electricity isgiven in Table 6.8.


6.3.2 Energy Audit in Primary Schools

All primary schools audited were day schools. Out of the 15 primary schools audited:

l 5 schools were connected to the national grid.

l 2 had REA solar systems installed.

l 2 were connected to micro-hydro power systems.

l 6 had no electricity installed.

In addition, an audit was carried out as a pre-test of the Survey Instruments at a farmschool in Bindura. The main use of energy at such primary day schools was for lighting,cooking and powering electrical appliances.

6.3.2.1 Schools Connected to Grid Electricity

Five out of the 16 primary schools were connected partially or fully to the electricitygrid. These were Kapfunde, Chikombedzi, Nyajezi, Dinyane and Mtetwa Primary schools.

a) Kapfunde Primary School

A large portion of Kapfunde Primary School was not connected to electricity with theexception of the teachers’ quarters. These used 564 kWh in 2014. There were six blocksof classrooms which relied on natural light and these were poorly oriented givinginsufficient light. The school was in the process of constructing a new administrationblock to replace the one that was poorly lit.

Table 6.8 The energy mix of secondary day schools without grid electricity

Paraffin_l/yr

Petrol_l/yr

Diesel_l/yr

Fuelwood_kg/yr

Crown Range - - - 2,250

Muchekayaora 2 - 120 300




b) Chikombedzi Primary School

The school was connected to the main grid and used 4,512 kWh of electricity worthUSD480 in 2014. The computer room, Grade 6, Home Economics, Grade 1B and EarlyChildhood Development Hall were connected to the electricity. The computer room had16 computers. There was a television and a server in the computer room. A 5kVAstandby generator was used at the school as a backup

The school had a woodlot of gum trees and the gum poles were sold to the community.It used 900 kg of fuel wood worth USD42 in 2014. The school used three electricalstoves rated at 9,250 watts each.

c) Nyajezi Primary School

Nyajezi Primary School was connected to the national grid through a 30 kVAtransformer. In 2014 it consumed 2,256 kWh of electricity at a cost of USD240. Theclasses with electricity were the office block, Grade 4, computer and Grade 7 classes.The other four blocks including the reading room had no electricity. There were 18computers which were functional and these were the main users of electricity. A standby5 Hp petrol generator was used when there was no electricity and in 2014 the fuel usedcost them USD180.

In 2014 the school used 600 kg of fuel wood for cooking at a cost of USD40. Water wasgravitated from a mountain 7.5 km away and stored in a 5,000 litre tank.

d) Dinyane Primary School

Dinyane Primary School was electrified in 2004 and electricity was only used in theheadmaster’s office for the light and computer. The office was using a 60 wattincandescent light bulb. The school paid USD60.00 for 564 kwh in 2014. A petrolgenerator was used for photocopying examination papers. In 2014 they used 15 litresof petrol worth USD28.

Fuel wood was used during special events such as athletics, camping and prize givingdays. They used 400 kg of fuel wood which cost $10 for the games in 2014. Cookingwas on a three stone stove. The school drew its water from a manual borehole.

e) Mtetwa Primary School

Mtetwa Primary School was supplied electricity by a 50 kVA transformer. They used470 kWh worth USD50 in 2014. Fuel wood was used for cooking and heating whenthere were school functions. In 2014 the school used 300 kg of fuel wood that costUSD23.

They drew their water from an unprotected well by the river bed side which was 2 kmaway. There were five cases of typhoid at the school in 2014.

f) Energy mixes at the schools

A summary of the energy mixes at the five primary schools is given in Table 6.9.



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6.3.2.2 Primary Schools on Solar

There were only two primary schools audited that had REA solar systems. These wereMagadzire and Matizha Primary Schools. The solar system used by the two schools wereprovided by REA.

a) Magadzire Primary School

The system at Magadzire School was connected to the administration block and threeteachers’ houses. The administration block comprised of the headmaster office andGrade 6, Grade 4, Grade 5 classes and a computer classroom. The solar system onlyworked during the day as the batteries were worn out.

b) Matizha Primary school

Matizha Primary School is in Ward 5 in Gutu. The schools’ catchment population was600. The solar energy system is only connected to the headmaster’s office, receptionand bursar’s office. Most of the classroom blocks use natural light. Lighting in theclassrooms is poor due to the orientation of the classroom blocks. The school used 600kg of fuel wood in 2014 that cost them USD25.

The energy mixes for Magadzire and Matizha primary schools are given in Table 6.10.


Table 6.9 The energy mix of primary schools connected to grid electricity

Name of Primary School

Petrol_l/yr

Diesel_l/yr

Fuelwood_kg/yr

Electricity_kWh/yr

Kapfunde 0 0 2,160 564

Chikombedzi - 300 900 4,512

Nyajezi 50 - 450 2,256

Dinyane 15 - 400 564

Mtetwa - - 300 470

Table 6.10 Energy mix at primary schools with solar energy

Candles-Units

Paraffin_l/yr

Petrol_l/yr

Diesel_l/yr

LPG_kg/yr

Firewood_kg/yr

Electricity_kWh/yr

Solar_kWh/yr

MagadzirePrimary

- - 120 - - 900 0 613

MatizhaPrimary

- - - - - 600 - 109.5

6.3.2.3 Primary Schools connected to micro-hydro power systems

Dazi and Nyafaru Primary Schools were connected to micro-hydro schemes.

a) Dazi Primary School

There was a 20 kVA micro-hydro scheme at Dazi Primary School which was notfunctioning because of ownership wrangles with the local community and lack of




technical backup. The project was completed in December 2010 and only worked for 3 weeks. Most teachers had moved from the school because of lack of electricity. Thishad affected the pass rate which was 62 per cent in 2013 and which had dropped downto 49 per cent in 2014.

A diesel generator rated at 3.1 kVA was being used for printing and photocopyingexamination papers. The school used 50 litres of diesel for the generator and 600 kg offuel wood for cooking at some special events in 2014 which was freely available. Theyused piped water which flows down to the school using gravity.

b) Nyafaru Primary School

The school was connected to a micro-hydro power plant with a capacity of 20 kVA. Thepower station was however producing 13 kVA at the time of the study visit which wasnot enough for what it was designed for. Key informants indicated that the output ofstation was quite low between September and November because of low water flow.They used a generator as a back up when the power failed. It consumed 420 litres ofpetrol in 2014. The school shared fuel wood with the secondary school and the twoschools used 6,000 kg in 2014.

The energy mix for Dazi and Nyafaru Primary schools is given in Table 6.11.

6.3.2.4 Schools not connected to grid electricity and without or with limited solar

Six primary schools (Nyamupfukudza, Malipati, Zunguza, Pimento Park, Nyamutoweraand Kapane) were not connected to any form of electricity.

a) Nyamupfukudza Primary School

Nyamupfukudza Primary School was generally not connected to electricity with theexception of teacher’s houses which were connected to a 50 kVA mains transformer.This was because of financial constrains. The school has 6 blocks of classrooms, one ofwhich has three classrooms while the rest had two classrooms each.

Natural light provided lighting in the classrooms, but it was not adequate for afternoonlearning. The headmaster’s office did not have adequate lighting and had small windowsand poor ventilation.

The school used an estimated 240 kg fuel wood for cooking on special school functionsin 2014.


Table 6.11 The energy mixes for primary schools connected to micro-hydro electricity

Name of SchoolDiesel l/yr

Petrol l/yr

Fuel wood kg/yr

ElectricitykWh/yr

Dazi 50 - 600Currently notworking

Nyafaru - 420 6,000


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b) Malipati Primary School

A generator was used to power the computer used to set examinations. The schoolused 100 litres of petrol in 2014. They also used 900 kg of fuel wood to cook meals onspecial occasions. Fuel wood was collected free of charge since it is abundantlyavailable. The classrooms were well built and oriented and made use of natural light.

c) Zungudza Primary School

Zungudza Primary school was made up of 5 blocks each with 2 classrooms and anadministration block which was still under construction. The school used 1,350 kg offuel wood at a cost of USD100 in 2014. There was a biogas digestor that was built in2007 which was never completed.

d) Pimento Primary School

Pimento Primary School in Bindura was the only farm school that was included in thestudy and used for pretesting of the research instruments. The school used former farminfrastructure as classes. It was not connected to electricity which made it difficult toprint or photocopy examinations and other papers.

Lighting was poor in all the school buildings presenting a challenge to the studentsduring learning as they could hardly see the board. In 2014 they used 725 kg of fuelwood for cooking on special occasions which was provided by the farm owner.

e) Nyamutowera Primary School

Nyamutowera Primary School used a generator as their source of energy for printingexamination papers. The generator used 23 litres of diesel which cost USD30 in 2014.Their Grade 7 pass rate in 2013 was 46 per cent and it went down to 23 per cent in 2014because teachers left citing lack of electricity at the school staff cottages as the reasonfor leaving.

Fuel wood was used for cooking on special occasions and in 2014 they used 75 kg offuel wood which was collected from the forests free of charge. They drew water from amanual borehole which was 1.5 km away.

f) Kapane Primary School

There were five blocks of classrooms at Kapane Primary School with adequate naturallight during the day. The headmaster was travelling to Bulawayo to print and photocopydocuments. The school used 1,200 kg of fuel wood for cooking and heating on prizegiving and sports occasions at a cost of USD30. They used three stone stoves forcooking. The school had a solar system powered borehole that fed into the school watertanks which was funded by an organization known as Wilderness.

Table 6.12 is a summary of the energy mix for the six primary schools that were generallynot connected to grid electricity and which were without or with limited solar and grid-electricity.





6.3.3 Summary and Recommendations on Energy in Primary andSecondary Schools

Lighting was observed to be poor in most of the schools. Natural light provided lightingin the classrooms in schools which were not connected to the national grid, but it wasnot adequate for afternoon learning. The quality of electric bulbs used in those schoolson grid electricity or solar was poor. Improvements are recommended for better qualitylight design that includes use of more efficient energy saving light-emitting diode LEDbulbs and in the orientation of new buildings at schools to maximize natural lighting sothat children are provided with adequate light that does not affect their eyes.

Most of schools that were off grid used petrol or diesel to power a few electricalappliances such as typewriters and photocopying machines where they incurredmonthly running costs that included fuel and maintenance. Those that were on maingrid experience frequent load shedding and spent large amounts of money ongenerators and diesel and petrol to supplement energy for lighting and poweringappliances. It is proposed to substitute diesel and petrol generators with solar minigrids. The economic savings would be on petrol/diesel. It is estimated schools spent onaverage USD450 per year. The estimated cost of the mini grid 1 kW is USD5,000 andthe payback period per school would be 11 years for the installation of the solar minigrid. With the solar mini grid, each school would be able to build a dedicated readingroom where day scholars could study at night.

Teachers were the most affected in schools which were not connected to the nationalgrid and had to rely on poor quality of energy to meet their household needs. It isrecommended that they be provided with soft loans, to purchase solar lanterns thatthey can use at their houses.

In cases where REA solar installations were not functioning it is recommended thatthese be rehabilitated and the policy issues around ownership and technicalshortcomings be resolved between the schools, the community and REA. Indeed REAhas plans to engage in this activity according to the presentation made by the ChiefExecutive Officer of REA at the Validation Workshop of this study.

Most boarding schools such as Tsholotsho, Dewure and Nyafaru had potential for biogasthat is underutilized or not utilized. The main source of cooking was fuel wood andelectricity which were major cost factors to the schools. Promotion of biogas wouldsave on the utilities bill for the boarding schools.

The Energy Status of Institutions that Support Children 6Table 6.12 The energy mix of primary schools not connected to grid electricity

Name of School Petrol_l/yr Diesel_l/yr Fuelwood_kg/yr

Nyamupfukudza - - 240

Malipati 50 - 900

Zungudza - - 1350

Pimento Park - - 725

Nyamutowera - 23 40

Kapane - - 600


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The day schools used fuel wood for cooking mainly during special functions. Use ofimproved cookstoves would save on fuel wood and present an opportunity forshowcasing improved cookstoves at the schools.

The option for hydro-electricity exists in Manicaland. It is recommended that this beconsidered for electrification of schools. Potential exists in Honde, Chipinge and NyangaDistricts.

Water can be supplied to schools using gravity in some areas. This option saves onpumping water costs.

Energy management and energy efficiency in all schools was poor resulting in highenergy bills. Awareness of energy saving techniques could help the schools to save ontheir energy bills.

6.3.4 Energy Audit in Health Institutions

Three types of health institutions were audited:

l Rural Health Hospitals.

l Rural Health Clinics on grid electricity.

l Rural Health Clinics without grid electricity.

6.3.4.1 Energy mix of hospitals

Chikombedzi and Sipepa were the two rural hospitals audited out of the health facilities.

a) Chikombedzi

Chikombedzi Rural Hospital was connected to the grid by a 200 kVA transformer.Electricity was needed at all times in the theatre, maternity ward, other critical wards,the mother’s shelter, kitchen and laundry. Lighting in the corridor was very poor at 3lux and in the maternity ward at 17 lux. All passages to the wards were not properly litor there was no lighting at all. They were using 100 watt bulbs in the examination roomwhich were not giving enough lux. The doctors’ consultation room had 31 lux of lightwhich is not enough for patients’ examination. The neo-natal room where babies areobserved had 8 lux and injection rooms had 13 lux which were not good enough.

There were no lights in the observation room. The hospital laboratory did not haveenough light. The opportunistic infection wards had 15 lux, the paediatric ward had 33 lux and the male ward had 80 lux all of which were not good enough. The surgicalward had enough light while the kitchen had only 2 lux of light. The rehabilitationdepartment had no lights. The theatre had 315 lux which is quite low.

There was a 100 kVA backup generator that catered for staff houses. The hospitalconsumed 24,000 litres of diesel in 2014. Fuel wood was used as the main source ofenergy for cooking. The boiler was used for heating but was not working.

b) Sipepa Rural Hospital

Sipepa Rural Hospital had no electricity. The 100 kVa transformer which used to supplyelectricity was struck by lightning in December 2014.

There was a solar mini grid installed at the hospital. Lights in the administration blockwere powered by both solar and grid electricity and were not working. The same





situation was in the laboratory, family child health room, bathroom and toilets. Therewas a solar light in the treatment room. The corridors leading to the wards had 6× 100watts incandescent bulbs which had been burnt because they did not have water tightcovers. Water from the pipes was dripping into the bulbs. There was a 5-foot fluorescenttube in the duty room which was working and another 5-foot fluorescent tube whichwas not working. A 5-foot fluorescent light was working in the sister in charge’s office(with the second one not working). There were solar lights in the labour ward andtreatment room. Solar lanterns were bought through the Health Trust Fund. A solarrefrigerator was working. It was powered by 2x250 watt panels and was used to storevaccines.

The hospital also used to have a 40 kVA generator for lighting at night and foremergencies like maternity deliveries. The generator ceased operating in May 2015hence there was no power back-up for critical areas. The hospital used 1,000 litres ofdiesel at a cost of USD1,380 in 2014.

LPG was also used for refrigeration with 228 kg of LPG worth USD456 used in 2014.Sipepa hospital use fuel wood for autoclaving and for cooking in the mother’s shelter.They used 3,600 kg of fuel wood at a cost of USD84 in 2014. The hospital had a mother’sshelter built by a donor. The mothers use Jengetahuni stoves. The hospital also used aJengetahuni stove which was funded by the Hospital Trust Fund. Water for the hospitalwas drawn from Sipepa business centre and was paid for by Tsholotsho District Council.

c) The energy mixes for Chikombedzi and Sipepa Rural Hospitals

A summary of the energy mixes for Chikombedzi and Sipepa Rural hospitals aresummarized in Table 6.13.


Table 6.13 The energy mix at Chikombedzi and Sipepa Rural Hospitals

Rural HospitalDiesel_l/yr

LPG_kg/yr

Firewood_kg/yr

Electricity_kWh/yr

Solar KWh/yr

Chikombedzi 24,000 144 720 31,020

Sipepa Rural Hopital 1,000 228 3,600 - 931

6.3.4.2 Clinics Connected to Grid Electricity

Nine of the audited clinics were connected to grid electricity. These were Tengwe, Doro,St Joseph, Rupangwana, Hesketh Park, Dewure, Matizha, Nkunzi and Nyadowa clinics.

a) Tengwe Clinic

Tengwe clinic is located in Hurungwe Ward 2. It has a catchment of population of 12,027people. It employs 10 people, 5 females and 5 males. The institution is connected to thegrid. It used 2,820 kWh of electricity at a cost of USD 300 in 2014.

The clinic building comprises of the following rooms: a consultation room that had a100 watt incandescent bulb as well as a fluorescent fitting by the side which was notworking.

The dispensary rooms had no lights because a 5 foot fluorescent tube had burnt itsballast. The injection room had a burnt bulb, pharmacy lights were also not working


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requiring a new ballast. The counselling room, labour ward, passage corridor and toiletshad no lights. The clinic used candle light for delivery. The lights in the senior sister’soffice were not working.

The lights in the post-natal care room were not working. The 100 watt incandescentbulb in the ante-natal room was reported to not last 2 days. The drug room had a burntlight and there was no adequate lighting in the recovery area. The outside security lightswere not working and so were the lights in the laundry room. The clinic used 38 kg ofLPG gas for refrigeration.

The clinic used 720 m3 of water at no cost.

b) Doro Clinic

Doro clinic was connected to a 100 kVA transformer. They used 1,280 kWh in 2014.Lighting was very poor with the labour ward having 33 lux of light against a minimumrequirement of 500 lux; the duty room had 9 lux and the consultation room 20 lux oflight. They supplemented grid light with candles in critical areas of operations. LPG wasused for refrigeration of vaccines and the clinic used 150 kg of gas in 2014. A 1.5 hpdiesel generator was used for pumping water into a 5,000 litre tank.

c) St. Joseph Clinic

St Joseph clinic was connected to the national grid and it had consumed 2,256 kWh ofelectricity in 2014. The lighting in the consultation room was poor. A biogas system wasinstalled in 2007 but was not completed.

The clinic used 1,800 kg of fuel wood at a cost of USD180; for sterilization, and cooking.Three stone stoves were used for cooking. A pump installed in Save River for pumpingwater was destroyed during Cyclone Eline in 2000 and was never replaced.

d) Rupangwana Clinic

Rupangwana Rural Clinic is in Chiredzi District under Chief Tshovani in Ward 4. The clinichas a catchment area of 6,825 people. The clinic serves an average of 1,400 people permonth. It has 6 employees, 5 are female and 1 male.

The clinic was on main grid. It consumed 6,762 kWh at a cost of $720 in 2014. Electricitywas being paid for by Council until the beginning of 2015. They used candles for lightingto attend to patients in the labour wards and critically ill patients when there was nopower. The clinic used 480 kg of fuel wood for sterilization in 2014.

It used a diesel generator for water pumping. The water was being pumped into storagetanks. They used 990m3 of water for free and 480 litres of diesel for the generator at acost of USD624 in 2014.

e) Hesketh Park Clinic

Hesketh Park clinic was connected to the grid and used 1,879 kWh at a cost of USD1,880in 2014. There was no lighting in the consultation room, and they relied on natural light.The post natal care room had no ceiling and the electric wires were exposed posing a





danger to the patients. The security lights were not working. Candles were used forlighting when there was no electricity.

The clinic used 80 kg of LPG worth USD160 for refrigerating vaccines in 2014. They used3,600 kg of fuel wood worth USD120 for cooking on three stone stoves in 2014.

f) Dewure Clinic

Dewure Clinic was connected to the grid. It used 3,760 kWh units of electricity at a costof USD400 in 2014. They were using inefficient 100 watt incandescent light bulbs in theconsulting room, labour ward and post-natal ward. The drug room, dressing room, sluiceroom, female ward and family planning room had no light bulbs. Candles were used asa backup for lighting and they used 12 packets of candles at a cost of USD14 in 2014.

They used 460 kg of LPG at a cost of USD422 for refrigerating vaccines in 2014. A dieselengine was used for pumping water into a 3,000 litre tank. The diesel pump consumed1,080 litres of diesel at a cost USD1,468. Expecting mothers used three stone stoves forcooking and used 1,220 kg fuel wood and there was no mothers’ shelter.

g) Matizha Clinic

The clinic was connected to one bulk conventional metre which also connected staffcottages. They used 2,856 kWh of electricity worth USD2,658 in 2014. There were nolights In the labour and post-natal ward. They used candles and the expecting mothersbrought the candles in case of power failure. The candles had poor light output of 13lux.

The clinic used 230 kg of LPG for autoclaving at a cost of USD576 in 2014. They usedfuel wood for autoclaving, cooking and heating. The clinic used 7,200 kg of fuel woodat a cost of USD360 in 2014.

h) Nkunzi Clinic

Nkunzi clinic is connected to the grid. The clinic used 6,168 kWh of electricity worthUSD679 in 2014. Lighting was poor with the labour ward getting 33 lux against aminimum of 500 lux; the duty room 9 lux and the consultation room 20 lux. Electricitywas also used to provide power to staff cottages and to pump water. Theysupplemented the grid electricity with candles for critical delivery operations. LPG wasused for refrigeration of vaccines and they used 150 kg in 2014.

i) Nyadowa Clinic

Nyadowa clinic was partially electrified by the grid. Only one ward was connected toelectricity. Electricity also supplied the nurses’ houses. There was a refrigerator thatused LPG for cooling vaccines which had used 114 kg of LPG in 2014 at a cost of USD228.Fuel wood was used for sterilization and the clinic had consumed 600 kg in 2014 at acost of USD90. The clinic had the potential to have its own piped water from the streamwhich was 300 metres away from the clinic. They had already installed the pump andjust needed a diesel or petrol generator. They were currently drawing water manuallyfrom the borehole.



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6.3.4.3 Clinics not connected to Grid Electricity

Seven clinics (Malipati, Nyajezi, Nyafaru, Nyadowa, Nyangombe, Chin’ai and Kapene)were audited.

j) Malipati Rural Clinic

Malipati rural clinic was not connected to the grid but had a mini solar system installed.The solar system was for lighting. There were fluorescent lights in all the rooms. Thesolar system was poorly managed as the panels were dirty and the system was nolonger giving adequate power. They used 600 kg of fuel wood for sterilizing equipmentat a cost of USD40. The clinic used LPG for refrigeration of vaccines and had used 228kg in 2014.

k) Nyajezi Clinic

Nyajezi clinic was waiting for connection to the national grid as there was a 30 kVatransformer installed and electricity pole connections. At the time of the study visit theclinic did not have power for lighting during the night and patients, especially pregnantmothers, had to bring their own sources of energy for lighting. LPG was used forrefrigeration of vaccines and they used 570 kg of LPG in 2014.

Fuel wood was mainly used for sterilization and they had used 3,000 kg of fuel woodin 2014 which they collected for no charge. Water was drawn from the mountain usinggravity. It was stored in 2×500 litre tanks.

l) Nyafaru Clinic

The clinic was connected to a 20 kVA micro-hydro power system that was alsoconnected to the high school. The power from the micro-hydro was used mainly forlighting the 16 rooms at the clinic. However they had challenges during the dry seasonwhen the flow in the river was low and there was no adequate power. They utilizedinefficient 100 watt light bulbs. Backup power included candles and solar lanterns forlighting. The clinic used LPG for refrigeration of vaccines because of the inadequacy ofthe hydro power. They had used 285 kg of LPG at a cost of USD713 in 2014. Fuel woodwas used for sterilization. They had used 760 kg in 2014 which they collected at no cost.


Table 6.14 The energy mix used by clinics connected to grid electricity

Name of ClinicCandles-Units

Paraffin_l/yr

Petrol_l/yr

Diesel_l/yr

LPG_kg/yr

Fuel wood_kg/yr

Electricity_kWh/yr

Tengwe - - - - 38 - 2,820

Doro - - - - 150 - 1,280

St. Joseph - - - - 230 1,800 2,256

Rupangwana - - - 480 600 480 6,762

Hesketh Park -- - - - 80 3,600 1,879

Dewure 12 - - 1,080 460 1,220 3,760

Matizha 48 - - - 230 7,200 2,856

Nkunzi - - 30 - 19 1,920 6,168

Nyadowa - - - - 114 600 Not recorded

A summary of the energy mixes for clinics connected to the grid is given in Table 6.14.




m) Nyan’gombe Clinic

Nyan’gombe clinic was sponsored by the United Methodist Church. It had a 12 panelsolar system each with 70 watts rating. The solar system was adequately catering forthe whole clinic’s energy needs. LPG was used for refrigeration and storing of vaccines.In 2014 they had used 152 kg of gas worth USD152. Fuel wood was used for autoclavingof instruments and annually they needed 240 kg which they collected for free. TheUnited Methodist Church was funding the electrification of the clinic. The clinic used adiesel generator rated 5.5 hp for pumping water into 1,000 litre tanks.

There was a well-built kitchen with 12 chimneys which was well designed forJengetahuni stoves for the waiting mothers’ shelter.

n) Chin’ai Clinic

The clinic was 6 km away from the electricity main grid. There was a solar systeminstalled by REA which was not working. It did not have an inverter and control box.The batteries that were installed were no longer working. The clinic used candles in thelabour ward which were brought by expecting mothers. The clinic was supplied withLPG for autoclaving from the district hospital so they did not know how much they hadused in 2014. They used 400 kg of fuel wood for autoclaving and at the mothers’ shelterin 2014. Expecting mothers cooked on three stone stoves in the open. There was nomother’s shelter and they were crammed in one of the rooms that was converted tocater for their needs. Water was pumped from a borehole into water storage tanks usinga generator. They used 120 litres of diesel in 2014 worth USD176 for pumping water.

o) Kapane

There was no grid electricity and the solar system that was installed at the clinic by REAwas not providing adequate power. They used 220 kg of LPG for refrigeration in 2014.Econet had donated a solar fridge which was yet to be installed and commissioned. Theclinic used 36 packets of candles worth USD108 for lighting in 2014. The clinic used fuelwood for cooking and had used 7,200 kg in 2014. The clinic also used the fuel wood forautoclaving. Three stone stoves were used for cooking. Water was drawn from aborehole using a solar pump. The borehole and the tank were within the clinic fence.Water was pumped into a 5,000 litre tank.

The energy mixes for the seven clinics not connected to grid electricity are given inTable 6.15.


Table 6.15 Energy mix of clinics not connected to the grid

Name of ClinicCandles-Units

Diesel_l/yr

LPG_kg/yr

Fuelwood_kg/yr

Solar kWh/yr

Malipati - - 288 600 -

Nyajezi - - 570 3,000 -

Nyafaru - - 285 760 -

Nyan'gombe - - 152 240 1530

Chin’ai - 120 - 400 -

Kapane 36 - 220 7,200 1,460


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6.3.5 Summary and Recommendations for Health Institutions

Poor quality of lighting remains a critical issue in all rural health institutions. Thiscompromises service delivery as the institutions are unable to provide quality serviceespecially to delivering mothers in the maternity wards during the night. In additionthese mothers are required to bring own source of lighting which is a pre-condition tobeing served at the health centre. Thus poor women opt to give birth at home.

An ideal rural health centre that is off grid should have its own stand-alone energysupply system that is reliable and affordable. Renewable energy options are the idealenergy resources that can be used to provide power for the health centres. Theproposed intervention is to install solar mini grids to provide lighting and energy forrefrigeration and pumping water.

The solar mini grid will have to be 5 kW so that it can be able to meet the lighting,pumping, refrigeration and powering of other power devices such as electric weighingscales, charging communication equipment, etc. In addition improvements are neededon better quality lighting design, more efficient energy saving for example by usingLEDs bulbs.

Solar systems installed by REA were non-functional. There is need to re-engage REA toclarify policy issues related to ownership, technical shortcomings and rehabilitation ofsystems. The option of hydro-power for clinics in the Eastern Highlands needs to beseriously considered.

The rural hospitals such as Chikombedzi and Sipepa that serve big populations reliedheavily on diesel power with Sipepa Rural Health Centre having inadequate and noreliable energy source. The grid installations were in a state of disrepair. ZETDC needsto urgently address the repairs at the two institutions. Investment in backup renewableenergy such as solar can offset the cost of diesel.

Fuel wood is the dominant source of energy for cooking and heating and is used forcooking in most rural health centres by expecting mothers. It is recommended thatcooking by expecting mothers should be in improved shelters using cleaner cookstoves.The use of improved stoves such as the jengetahuni is limited and needs to be evaluatedfor effectiveness in clinics where they have been installed so that if found effective theycan be up-scaled at clinics through out the country.

Fuel wood is also used by clinics for sterilizing equipment. It is recommended tosubstitute fuel wood use with solar water systems or use of biogas. These systemsshould be able to provide steam at 100°C.

LPG was the dominant energy source for refrigeration. At times the clinics had to storevaccines at district hospitals that were far, affecting the child vaccination programmes.There is need to increase the use of solar powered refrigerators. This should beconsidered when installing the mini solar grids.

Water supply is critical to clinics. Options include installing solar powered systems andusing gravity in areas such as the Eastern Highlands.

6.3.6 Energy Audit of Households

A total of 93 households were audited and they were split by district as shown in Table 6.16.





The energy mix of rural households in particular those that are off grid is simple withfuel wood being the dominant source of energy. Results of this study showed that 96per cent of the households were using fuel wood as the main energy source for cookingand heating. The fuel wood was being burnt in open fires further compromising theefficiency of burning the fuel wood. Table 6.17 shows the fuel wood consumption of thehouseholds that were audited by district.


Table 6.17 Fuel wood consumption in households that were audited (by district)

Hurungwe Nyanga Chiredzi Gutu Tsholotsho

Average per capita firewoodconsumption (Kg/person/day)

1.04 1.50 0.73 1.19 1.35

Minimum consumption 0.008 0.347 0.123 0.31 0.04

Maximum consumption 0.250 3.288 1.644 1.88 4.38

Table 6.16 Number of households that were audited (by district)

District Name Households Audited

Chiredzi 10

Gutu 29

Hurungwe 18

Nyanga 10

Tsholotsho 26

Total 93

The average per capita firewood consumption was high in Nyanga as the householdshad access to wattle found in plantations. It was followed by Tsholotsho which also hasaccess to indigenous forests where the households could access the fuel. The low levelof consumption in Chiredzi is a reflection of the scarcity of fuel wood in some parts ofthe district. The households in Hurungwe did not include the fuel wood they use fortobacco curing and were asked to report figures for cooking only.

In general, kitchens were poorly ventilated, with small openings used as air vents. Thisconstricted the free movement of the smoke to outside the house. The three stonestoves were the dominant cookstoves in the households.

Twenty per cent of the sampled households were using cleaner energy sources leavinga potential market of 80 per cent. Solar energy was the most common renewable energyused for purposes other than cooking, with 71 per cent of respondents having onceused or currently using solar.

Eleven per cent of respondents had used LPG. The proposed intervention is targeted atthose vulnerable households that include women and child headed households. Theseconstituted 28 and 3 per cent, respectively of the sample survey.


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Poor lighting to the levels of 20 lux against a minimum of 300 lux was reported in mosthouseholds not connected to the grid. The households used fuel wood for cooking andsome children used its light for reading in the evening. In households with betterincomes they used paraffin lamps and fuel powered generators for lighting whilehouseholds connected to the grid used inefficient 100 watt incandescent bulbs.

The proposal is to give or to facilitate that each child has a lamp and each householdan improved cookstove. A scheme could be introduced for those children whose parentshave the ability to pay where every child could be provided with a lamp and parentscould pay the cost in instalments as part of school fees. The concept of energy kioskswhere solar technologies can be bought and charged and purchasing schemesintroduced can be designed to encourage adoption of renewable energies. Householdscould be trained to construct jengatahuni stoves so that each household would havean improved stove.

6.3.7 General Recommendations

a) All institutions audited had no energy management policy or strategy. An institutional energy policy is a clear management statement which showsthe direction an organization wishes to take in order to address energy issuessome of which have a bearing on cost cutting, social responsibility or securityof supply. The policy if put in place should help in the implementation of theproposed energy efficient options identified. Therefore, it is recommendedto implement an energy management system based on ISO50001 in allinstitutions. Once implemented this should result in a monthly update ofenergy performance indicators to management. Training and developmentof a monitoring framework can be carried out for the staff.

All institutions need to come up with an energy policy, form a team, give itthe tools to use and implement an energy management programme. Energyuse must be regularly processed and analysed. Performance must bemeasured and appraised on a continuous basis.

b) Energy for lighting is poor in households, schools and health institutions.Poor quality light affects the studying period for children especially duringthe evening contributing to poor academic performance. It has been reportedthat some children have been forced to burn old rubber slippers to getlighting.

c) A few households have solar home systems to charge their phones and forentertainment. However, the quality of the systems is poor and they do notlast long. Others queue in order to charge their phones at a cost, often 5 Rands at business centres. The affordable candles cost South African Rands3, but these give poor light and a strong unpleasant smell. Better qualitycandles cost South African Rands 5 but people cannot afford them as eachcandle can last only one day.

d) The recommendations to improve energy for lighting include:

l “Every child a solar lantern”, a concept meant to provide improvedlighting for children.

l Green School Concept, meant to provide new standards for designingclassrooms so that they consume as low energy as they can and alsoutilize natural light as much as possible.





l REA has already made great strides towards energizing schools andclinics in rural areas. However, these systems have serious challengesthat are technically and socially related. Technical shortcomings includeinadequate energy required for purpose, expired batteries and faultyinverter charger systems while social issues are related to ownershipand responsibility for maintenance of the systems. This has remained agrey area between REA and the institutions. There is a potential areaof intervention to rehabilitate and facilitate the resolution of policyissues on ownership to allow for school development committees to beowners of the systems.

l Energy for cooking remains dominated by traditional sources. The threestone stove is the main cook stove, which has created a high demandand shortage of fuel wood. Few households are connected to thenational grid and even these rely mostly on biomass for cooking. Thoseresponsible for the collection are women with children assisting. Theuse of modern forms of energy such as paraffin and LPG is low.

The recommended transition towards sustainable energy for cooking for thecommunities will involve a multi-pronged strategy that will include:

l Introduction of alternative modern forms of energy that include LPG, biogas,saw dust to address the cooking needs

l Raising of awareness and building of the capacity of communities to enablethem to make informed choices about energy resources and technologies.

CONCLUSIONS

This study involved communities, including children, in the survey to ascertain their levelof energy poverty, knowledge and needs thus it provides insights on the barriers andopportunities for improving children’s access to renewable energy. It has provided newevidence and knowledge that can inform the discourse on the energy deprivations facedby especially rural children and that retard their education, health and well-being. The findings should contribute towards the formulation and strengthening of policiesthat maximize the use of indigenous, clean and plentiful renewable energy found inZimbabwe and ensure long term sustainability.

Teaching renewable energytechnology in schools would exposethe children to understanding theseissues early in life and they wouldact as the change agents to some of the traditional and culturalchallenges. It is important tounderstand the role of children incommunicating and innovatingaround technologies that will help toimprove their well-being by havinggreater access to information onthese technologies. Given theopportunity through learning andawareness, children can play a rolein changing cultural perceptions andinfluencing the adoption of thesenew renewable energy technologies.



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