An investigation into renewable energy as a driver of

grassroots development in rural Rwanda

James Grabham
(1119190)
2015

This dissertation is submitted as part of a MA Degree in

Environment and Development at Kings College London

KINGS COLLEGE LONDON

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

MA/MSc DISSERTATION

I, James Grabham hereby declare (a) that this Dissertation is my own original
work and that all source material used is acknowledged therein;
(b) that it has been specially prepared for a degree of the University of London;
and (c) that it does not contain any material that has been or will be submitted to
the Examiners of this or any other university, or any material that has been or
will be submitted for any other examination.
This Dissertation is 11,935 words.

Signed: ....
Date: ....

ABSTRACT

This study assesses the impacts a growing renewable energy market in Rwanda is having on
grassroots development. The UNs 8th sustainable development goal concerning universal
access to clean, modern energy provides the context to this study to assess the effectiveness
of renewable energy in driving the development of low-income communities rather than
being the manifestation of a vain attempt at modernisation. The growth of the industry in
Rwanda is being led by the private sector involving a range of different renewable energies.
The mixed methodology adopted in this study targets a range of stakeholders including
government ministries, private companies, NGOs and consumers of renewable technology.
The findings of this dissertation are that the government plays an instrumental role in the
regulation of the private sector, innovative funding systems are required to effectively supply
low-income Rwandans, livelihoods are heavily influenced by renewable energy whilst
cultural indicators have been greatly under-researched.

CONTENTS
Abstract..3
List of Figures, Plates and Abbreviations..5
Acknowledgments.....6
1. Introduction
1.1 Country Profile.7
1.2 Research Questions......8
1.3 Paper Presentation8
2. Literature Review
2.1 Renewable Energy and Modernisation Theory9
2.2 Market Regulation and Finance.12
2.3 Livelihood Impacts.14
2.4 Cultural obstacles ..16
3. Methodology
3.1 Field Research18
3.2 Participants.19
3.3 Sampling Methods.20
3.4 Obstacles ...21
4. Results and Analysis
4.1 Table of Organisations Surveyed...24
4.2 Market Regulation..25
4.3 Funding Systems and Affordability ..32
4.4 Livelihood Impacts....36
4.5 Cultural Obstacles..40
5. Conclusion...44
Appendix..46
Bibliography.49

LIST OF FIGURES, PLATES AND ABBREVIATIONS

Figures:

Figure 1: Map of Rwanda.18

Figure 2: Twitter accounts for participating organisations..19
Figure 3: Guardian article on General Karake.22
Figure 4: BBC article on General Karake ...22
Figure 5: Del Aguas water filter.28
Figure 6: Del Aguas energy efficient stove28
Figure 7: Priority factors for solar companies to operate 30
Figure 8: Priority factors for Del Agua30
Figure 9: Priority factors for SNV31
Figure 10: GLE engineers33

Tables:

18,19,22,24,25,28,30,31,33

Table 1: Participating Organisations...24-25

List of Abbreviations:
Int. Interview
CDM Carbon Development Mechanism
GLE Great Lakes Energy
GoR Government of Rwanda
MoH Ministry of Health
RDB Rwandan Development Board
AMIR Association of Microfinance Institutions
IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development
RURA Rwanda Utilities Regulation Authority
DFID- Department for International Development
MININFRA Ministry of Infrastructure
SE4ALL Sustainable Energy for All (Government)
ESSP Energy Sector Strategic Plan (Government)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Andrew Brooks, for his guidance and assistance
throughout the period of undertaking this dissertation, particularly for his knowledge of the
subject and help with logistics. I would also like to thank every participant that took part in
this study, the generosity with their time and lasting assistance made my research very
enjoyable.

INTRODUCTION

Country Profile
Rwanda is Africas 9th smallest country in terms of land area, just over 10,000 square
miles, and with its population of approximately 11.78 million (World Bank, 2013) it is the
densest on the continents mainland. The implications of this which concern this dissertation
are that Rwandas natural resources are being ravaged at an exceptionally fast rate with forest
areas being reduced by 7% annually (Safari, 2010). 88% of Rwandan households rely on
wood for domestic energy use (Bedi et al. 2015) which is above the continental average of
80% using traditional biomass as the primary source of their energy consumption needs. As a
result Rwanda is heading towards an energy crisis which will not only devastate the
environment but also worsen almost every indicator of development including health
standards and income generation. Unfortunately, Rwanda is not the only developing country
to be faced with this critical situation and consequently the UN has identified the energy issue
as a priority for future development in the form of the 8th sustainable development goal
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

The approach the Rwandan government has taken is to encourage the development of
renewable energy taken from the abundance of wind, solar, biogas, and hydro sources that are
present in the country. However, encouraging greater production of renewable energies is not
simply a means to improve environmental stewardship but is regarded as a central component
for the countrys drive for wholesome development. Introducing new, clean technologies into
households is to have the desired effect of raising living standards, reduce gendered
inequalities, encourage entrepreneurship and to create thousands of new jobs for domestic
workers within the sector (GoR, 2015). Despite these noble goals, renewable energy projects
have often failed to deliver wide-scale and sustained improvements to livelihoods in the
developing world. This is particularly true of sub-Saharan Africa where World Bank funded
energy projects have a success rate of just 36% (Barry et al. 2011).

This study will therefore assess the impacts renewable technologies are having at the
grassroots level in low-income communities in Rwanda and explore the criticisms directed at
development through modernisation in the Global South.

Research Questions

This study has four areas for investigation and the results for each question below will
help develop an understanding of the Rwandan approach to renewable energy and ultimately
lead to a judgement on whether the industry can be a successful vehicle for development

i.

In what ways have the government attempted to create a business culture in

Rwanda to attract renewable energy companies?

ii.

How is off-grid energy production being made affordable for low-income

households?

iii.

To what extent can the renewable energy sector stimulate socio-economic

development in Rwanda?

iv.

What cultural challenges have hampered the successful implementation of

renewable energy projects?

Paper Presentation

These research questions have been chosen as they attempt to fill in the gaps within
current academic literature on renewable energy polices. The following section reviews this
literature and justifies the legitimacy of this study as an alternative perspective of the debates
surrounding renewable energy in the Global South. The third part of this dissertation focuses
on the methods employed to collect the appropriate data in an ethical and reliable manor. The
results of the study will then be presented an analysed with relation to the research questions.
Finally, part five offers a conclusion to the study and a judgement made relating to the
relationship between renewable energy and grassroots development.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Renewable Energy and Modernisation Theory

Modernisation has acted as a prominent and enduring fixture of development studies

over the past sixty years and whilst this term has evolved from separate processes of
Westernisation, urbanisation and industrialisation it has retained the capacity to be deeply
divisive. Post-development thinkers such as Arturo Escobar (1995) have bluntly condemned
the process as the embodiment of capitalism which undermines and destroys traditional ways
of living. This is in opposition to proponents of modernisation like Daniel Lerner (1958) who
advocated the practice as a means to escape underdevelopment and poverty. Within this
debate, renewable energy has often been described as a form of ecological modernisation, a
theory which identifies ecological stewardship as a catalyst for economic growth (Toke,
2011). However, there are also social and cultural implications that result from the
introduction of new technology which could potentially be viewed as destructive. Inglehart
and Welzel (2005:16) summarise modernisation as technological innovation and its
socioeconomic consequences as the basis of human progress, with pervasive implications for
culture and political institutions. The pervasive implications which Inglehart and Welzel
allude to will act as the basis of this study, as renewable energies will be assessed in terms of
their cultural, political, economic and environmental consequences.

Criticism of modernisation has been extensive since the term was engineered in
President Trumans 1949 speech on underdevelopment and the need for the developing world
to undergo a process of transformation to reach the economic status of Western nations.
Trumans simplistic view of the development gap created the notion of modernisation as an
uncompromising term describing traditional and modern lifestyles as distinct binaries in
which no country or citizen can belong to both (Daniels et al. 2005:192). Similar high
profile misinterpretations were evident in Rostows stages of economic growth model (1960)
in which traditional societies signified the lowest form of development compared with
advanced capitalist economies which occupied the higher stages. This view of tradition is
best summarised by Abrahamsen (2000) who describes the pursuit of modernity as the
disposal of anything which comes before development as it is has no value in the developed
world, instead modernisation identifies that underdevelopment is constructed by deficiencies

and absences. The historical view of modernisation has therefore been extremely disparaging
of national customs, culture and economic practices.
The late 1970s marked the take-off for modernisation projects which had three
distinct characteristics. Firstly, modernisation usually occurs from a top-down perspective
with a trickle-down of wealth to the grassroots. Daniels et al. (2005) explain that projects
would embrace the big is beautiful mantra where modernisation was delivered through large
dam-building and irrigation projects, for example. This highlights one of the most crucial
weaknesses with top-down approaches which is that the diffusion of wealth and economic
benefits is not equal and rarely reaches low-income groups. Rist (1997) argues that this is
because the core/periphery model, which encapsulates top-down development, is vague and
wildly imprecise. There is no distinct zoning of what the core and periphery are and yet
modernisation proponents are forced to assume that wealth dispersal occurs at an equal rate.

This point relates to the next characteristic which is that modernisation theory is
driven by economic targets over more social indicators. Another assumption therefore has to
be made which is that economic success brings with it higher living standards, greater
empowerment and more broadly the fulfilment of peoples basic needs. This is an assumption
that Potter et al. (2008) are critical of as they find that it is detrimental to these social
indicators if they are relegated behind economic ambitions. The assumption that health
follows wealth, therefore, does not always materialise.

The final issue with modernisation is that it presents only one path to development,
this is particularly relatable to Rostows model. The problem with this is that people and
communities across the Global South are not homogenous and passive. Rather, low-income
groups are dynamic and individual to circumstance and environment and particularly they can
be differentiated culturally. It is therefore incredibly unlikely that one solution can be laid
down to solve a multitude of different origins of poverty and marginalisation. Similarly, the
heterogeneous identities of communities means that the top-down approach mentioned earlier
is likely to fail because of this ignorance of specific issues and conditions at the grassroots
level.

The extensive criticisms outlined above represent a model by which the Rwandan
context can be tested against to assess how damaging or successful programmes of modernity
10

can be in relation to universal development. Hettne (1990) vehemently criticises

modernisation programmes which are situated within liberal free-market systems and
identifies sustained government intervention and regulation as the only way to stave off the
private sectors natural course of cultural destruction and the unerring pursuit of economic
objectives. The introduction of renewable technologies into the energy sector in Rwanda
represents an opportunity to challenge the failures which have come to characterise theories
of modernity and introduce a grassroots programme of clean energy for all which reinforces
cultural diversity rather than undermining it. The consequences of ignoring past experiences
of modernisation may lead to dramatic and traumatic shifts in the landscape for low-income
Rwandans. This represents the view of Wolfgang Sachs (2010:111) who likens the spread of
Eurocentric values to an oil slick over the entire planet. Sachs goes on to explain that
modernisation can be an uncompromising process that rapidly alters traditional ways of life
and introduces a monoculture which conforms to the West.

Perhaps, however, this argument overdramatizes the impacts modernisation can have
on communities, and instead the process should be interpreted as more gradual and less
abrasive towards traditions. Cloke et al. (2005) remark that change has a temporal element; it
can happen at different rates and at different places rather than being an all-encompassing
process. Furthermore this change may not involve the total eradication of the ways in which
people live their lives, instead it can be interpreted as the remaking of local geographies. The
second point they make is that social groups experience modernity in vastly differing ways.
For example, as modes of production change the experiences felt by different races, classes
and genders of people will be different, so it would be inaccurate to condemn a whole process
of modernisation as either successful or damaging. These two points must therefore be taken
into consideration within this study to assess how livelihoods are changing and who may be
benefitting or suffering as a result.

Whilst the concept of modernisation forms the background context for this study, a
more concrete model is needed to analyse the impact renewable energy advancement in
Rwanda is having on the lower income groups. There is no shortage of pre-existing models
which evaluate the sustainability of renewable energy sources in the Global South, for
example Dunmade (2002), Cherni (2007) and Teitel (1978) have all contributed in this
respect. However, these models have typically been designed to assess government and NGO
approaches to renewable energy whereas this study focuses on the private sector. Therefore,
11

these existing models need to be modified so that they are more appropriate to this study of
renewable energy in Rwanda. The following section will analyse the literature surrounding
four factors which are of particular importance to this study. These factors, associated with
the adoption of renewable technologies, will be used to analyse the success Rwanda has
experienced and similarly help identify where problems have arisen. The first section focuses
on two closely linked issues concerning aspects of finance and also market regulation. The
second section analyses livelihood implications which leads onto the final factor; cultural
barriers.

Market Regulation and Finance:

In 2011, it was estimated by the World Bank that 44.9% of Rwandans were living
under the poverty line ($1.25 a day). The policy therefore to sell these people highly
advanced and expensive renewable technologies through the private sector is reliant on
innovative funding and payment schemes. The literature on renewable energy projects
identifies three factors which have come to characterise successful programmes in respect of
markets and finance; increasing education and training capacities, external funding systems
including microfinance, and extensive government intervention.

One of the greatest obstacles facing energy transitions according to Prasad and
Visagie (2007) is convincing people to adopt new energy habits which satisfy state
environmental targets with their own financial insecurities. In a country where 80% of energy
consumption is procured through an unregulated, informal biomass market (where the
commodity is essentially free), attempting to encourage people to pay for their energy
requires extensive knowledge transfer. This education needs to include demonstrations of
how investments into modern energy can save households time which can be used to pursue
other income generation opportunities and therefore build financial security (Chataway et al.
2006). This responsibility for the dissemination of education should be that of implementing
NGOs, argues the United Nations Energy Agency (2008), however Prasad and Visagie
disagree. They point out that NGOs are inherently footloose entities that will not provide long
term training after the inception of new technologies. Instead, private sector companies which
are more concerned with after sale services and the government, which is a permanent fixture
in the country, will provide more effective knowledge transfer to ease the transition to a more

12

sustainable future. However, educating people on embracing clean energy is not enough on
its own and must be partnered with a means for low-income people to be able to afford it too.

Government subsidies have frequently been adopted to increase energy consumption

in the Global South by making clean energy more affordable for consumers. However, Landi
et al.s (2013) study of biogas digesters found the subsidy scheme in Rwanda to be entirely
unsuccessful. The governments offer of a $300 subsidy for anyone wanting to purchase a
biogas digester failed to appeal to low-income groups, as the remaining cost for the
consumer, for a basic model, was $855. This is a figure vastly out of the range of most
Rwandans, especially as this type of renewable energy source does not directly have any
financial return to the customer. The problem, therefore, is that governments in developing
nations do not have the wealth to sustain a subsidy programme to make energy affordable to
the poorest. Nguyen (2007) therefore suggests that the role of governments should be limited
to removing taxes and duties on parts for renewable technologies that need to be imported.
This strategy would pave the way for a more competitive energy market which would benefit
the consumer in terms of affordability, after-sales services and higher quality equipment
(Dekelver et al. 2006).

Bajgan and Shakya (2005) regard this notion of a competitive market as insignificant
if the rural poor are still unable to bear the cost of an initial investment. They identify the
greatest problem as the lack of access to loans that low-income people have and is something
implementing agencies must negotiate with banks over, offering lower interest rates over
longer periods of time. Barry et al. (2007: 2850) similarly comment that the lack of available
finance is the main stumbling block to the implementation of renewable energy technologies
in Africa. This approach has proved to be more successful, with Pellegrini (2010) reporting
that the micro-finance scheme set up by the Banque Populaire du Rwanda, supported by a
Dutch development agency, allowed a greater proportion of eligible households to apply for a
biogas digester loan and pay back over a three year period.

Alternatively, the burden of cost should be taken entirely out of the hands of the poor.
Public-private partnerships are regarded as a means to do this, whereby the private sector
produces high quality, low cost products and external organisations provide the finances on
behalf of the rural poor (Groenenberg and Glasbergen, 2001). This approach is of particular
viability for the renewable energy sector because the industry appeals to a range of
13

development organisations that may specialise in health, environmental stewardship, gender

equality, education procurement and others. The success of these partnerships relies upon the
host government ensuring that the private sector is managed effectively and offers an
attractive environment for bilateral and multilateral funding organisations (Collier, 2007). An
example of this would be Rwandas zero tolerance to corruption, which indicates to potential
financiers that their inputs will be used efficiently and not lost to illicit activity (GoR, 2015).

Livelihood Impacts:

The next aspect of this study investigates livelihoods and how they are impacted by,
what Elias and Victor (2005) term; energy transitions. A persons livelihood is described by
Ellis (2000) as the combination of physical and intangible capital which a person (or family)
owns or has access to. Five types of capital are commonly referred to under the sustainable
livelihoods framework; financial, physical, social, human and natural, all of which are
governed by different institutions and social relations. This model shows how the
introduction of renewable technology can therefore have wide ranging and diverse
interactions with peoples livelihoods. These interactions are likely to affect members of a
household differently, based on gender and age group, as they will all have varied access to
the households capital. This is something that must be taken into account in a study such as
this one, however, from a broader perspective there has been a longstanding argument that
any transition to more modern energy sources, such as electricity, brings with it huge strides
forward in standards of living and opportunities for development.
Sokona (2012: 3) identifies Africas lack of access to sources of modern energy as a
major obstacle for achieving wellbeing, and in the wider sense, an impediment to the
continents development objectives. Indirect evidence of this can be shown by BrewHammonds (2010) work on energy consumption in the developed world, where rising levels
of prosperity have been recorded alongside steady increases in the consumption of modern
energy, whereas sub-Saharan Africa represents a region of underdevelopment and similarly
experiences the lowest per-capita access to modern energy across the world. BrewHammond therefore calls for greater development policy on widening access so that social as
well as economic targets can be met.

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Examples of social indicators which can be improved through the introduction of

renewable energies have been diverse but the most commonly cited benefits have focused on
improved health standards as well as increased availability of time for people to spend on
pursuing alternative income generation and educational opportunities. The UNDP (2009)
have identified these social indicators to be of particular relevance to women and children
who are normally responsible for collecting firewood and cooking (the gendered implications
of an energy transition will be discussed in more detail in the following section on cultural
obstacles to renewable energy.) The literature recognises that the opportunities to alter
livelihoods are felt more acutely by women as they have more time afforded to them in light
of not having to collect wood as regularly. Huba and Paul (2007) estimate that on average
Rwandans travel 1.5km per trip to collect wood, usually on mountainous terrain. Studies have
shown that new technology can reduce this need for wood collection and enables women to
pursue income generating activities such as selling crops and homemade crafts (Bedi et al.
2015) or they might choose to return to education and increase their human capital.

Furthermore, Dekelver et al. (2005) find that there is a clear relationship between health
standards and the replacement of burning wood fuels for more modern energy sources. They
identified the reliance on burning biomass fuels as the most prominent reason why respiratory
illnesses are one of leading causes of death in Rwanda. Successful integration of less
pollutive energy sources would, they argue, lead to a dramatic rise in health standards in
Rwanda which would in turn increase the labour pool whilst reducing the drain on public
health services.

The next aspect of how livelihoods can be impacted by renewable technology is in respect
of businesses and wealth generation. A study by Ramachandran (2008) found that the poor
reliability of national grid systems in sub-Saharan Africa was seriously hindering business
operations. On average a country in sub-Saharan Africa can expect between 50-170 power
cuts a year which would typically last between 5-12 hours. Similarly, the World Bank (2011)
found that 50% of businesses had experienced a loss of revenue directly due to the poor
service of power from the national grid. The option to move towards an off-grid energy
source which would offer much greater reliability can be regarded as an extremely
marketable aspect of renewable technologies.

15

Cultural Obstacles:

The third means by which renewable technologies will be assessed is in terms of their
cultural appropriateness. This is a factor which has historically been overlooked within
academic studies. For example, Teitels model (1978), for assessing the appropriateness of
new technology, focuses on mostly physical factors such as the availability of resources,
labour and also market related assessments. More recent studies have attempted to
incorporate socio-cultural factors into their research such as Barry et al. (2011) who listed
community adoption as one of their eleven factors to investigate. However, it remains a
largely disregarded component, perhaps because of the difficulty involved with measuring
social conditions. This point is reflected in Barry et al.s (2011: 2846) summation of cultural
obstacles as purely an education issue; Consumers in Africa do not easily accept renewable
energy technologies because they lack knowledge about the advantages and opportunities for
using these types of technologies. Whilst this statement may be true of a minority of
consumers, broad generalisations such as these have come under much greater criticism in
recent years. Instead, a more thought-out consensus has found that low-income Africans
dont shy away from new technology because they are uncertain about the benefits, but it is
usually an affordability issue and the level of financial risk which people are concerned about
(Bryceson, 1996).

However, this argument on its own does not reflect the whole complex situation of
technology adoption in Africa. Cultural barriers do exist and are both diverse and numerous,
making the job of implementing new technology schemes and altering peoples energy habits
very difficult. For example, Landi et al. (2013) encountered cultural obstacles in Rwanda
which had hindered the implementation of a national biogas programme. They observed that
the number of people aged 45-60 in Rwanda was incredibly small, despite the average life
expectancy in Rwanda being 64.5 (World Bank, 2012). This figure has widely been attributed
to the 1994 civil war in which this age group, at the time, would have been in the bracket of
25-40 and most heavily targeted during the genocide. The consequence for this is what Landi
et al. term an experience deficit within Rwandan society, as it is often this more mature age
group which has been found to take risks and be more open to embracing new technology and
practices. The problem for development practitioners, therefore, is convincing Rwandas
young population to adopt more efficient and cleaner energy rather than persist with
traditional biomass sources which had been used by their parents and grandparents.
16

This is an example of the cultural problems facing a specific country, but broader
problems have been felt in the renewable energy sector. The most prominent of these has
been the issue of increased domestic abuse that has been felt within some studies as a result
of renewable technology benefiting women more than men. The gendered benefits of
renewable technology was described in the previous section on livelihood impacts in which
women had more time to pursue income generation and educational opportunities after the
successful adoption of new technology. Whilst many academics have praised these
development programmes in terms of the way they promote empowerment of women
(Johnson, 2005) and how a household will benefit from the more responsible way women
spend income (Kabeer, 2001), other academics have been more wary of the impacts. For
instance, Schuler (1996) found in Bangladesh that women who participated in income
generation schemes would often suffer greater levels of domestic abuse as male members of
the household could feel emasculated due to the fact they were not the sole breadwinner.
Similarly, Mayoux (2001) found in Cameroon that it was not uncommon for men to reduce or
even withdraw their financial contribution to the household if their wives were beginning to
manufacture an income. Mayoux therefore described the process of female income
generation, in this instance, as disempowering because they became more responsible for
their families wellbeing rather than securing a more equal future.

What these arguments show is that beneath the visible benefits renewable
technologies can bring may be darker underlying issues that must be understood and
addressed by the implementing organisation. The purpose of this study is not to discover
every cultural problem that exists but to assess the ways in which the government and the
private sector operate to ensure that any negative implications from the introduction of
technology is identified and solved through an appropriate means.

17

METHODOLOGY

Field of Research

The reason for selecting Rwanda as the location for this study, beyond the fact that it
has embraced renewable energies, is that it has close ties with the UK in terms of aid and
hosting British organisations. Similarly, English has gained status as a national language in
Rwanda after it was admitted as a member of the commonwealth, despite never being
colonised under the British Empire. This has been a result of the breakdown of FrancoRwanda relations during the genocide in which the French government had been complicit in
the atrocities (Guardian, 2014). Therefore the relationship which has flourished between the
UK and Rwanda makes it more accessible to do research in the country and conduct
interviews in English.

I elected to stay in Kigali for the duration of my study in Rwanda as the capital hosts
the headquarters of many of the government ministries as well as the head offices of private
companies and development agencies which were concentrated in an area called Kacyiru.
Furthermore, Kigali is central within Rwanda, as the map shows, and this allowed for easy
travel to places such as Ruhengeri in the North, Akagera in the East and Nyungwe in the
South. During the month I
spent in Rwanda, I needed to
travel outside of Kigali to
research marketing days and to
speak with the beneficiaries of
new technology.

Figure 1: Map of Rwanda

Source: Google Maps (2015)

18

Participants:

Despite this study being focused on how the private sector is delivering renewable
energy products in Rwanda, the role of the government and external funding bodies are also
critical for the success of the sector. Therefore I attempted to meet with as many
representatives of these different groups as possible. A full list of the participating
organisations and interviewees is presented in the results section. I found the most productive
method for contacting organisations was through Twitter, as organisations would very rarely
respond to emails. Almost all of the organisations I contacted through Twitter, whether they
were a private company or a government ministry, responded quickly and set up appropriate
contact channels so that I was able to ask for and organise interviews. Furthermore, I gained
more contacts through snowball sampling which Browne (2005) describes as the process of
using interpersonal relations and connections between people to broaden the breadth of study
and to reveal previously hidden participants to the researcher. This proved to be a fruitful
method as established participants would often be enthusiastic about my research and want to
assist in terms of setting up other interviews with organisations that I had not heard of, but
were nonetheless very suitable to the study.

Figure 2: Twitter accounts for participating organisations. Source: Twitter (2015)

I was also keen to visit areas outside Kigali where projects set up by private
companies were operating so that I could get a first-hand experience of the product and how
appropriate it was in being a tool for development. For some organisations it was not possible
19

to do this as they could not provide the staff to show me around the communities where the
technology had been adopted. However, I was able to join a solar company on a marketing
day as well as visit a health clinic which utilized a solar powered generator with a different
company.

Sampling Methods:

i.

Interviews

The main source of data collection was derived from formal and informal interviews. This
is an effective method to collect large amounts of detailed information and allows a deviation
from broad topics to comprehend more fully the issues that are of particular relevance to a
specific participant or stakeholder (Denscombe, 2007). All of the formal interviews
conducted in this study took place at the offices of the organisation which the participant was
representing. An unexpected benefit of doing this was that other employees would often be
invited into the conversation if the interviewee wasnt able to answer a question. The
participants I met would often specialise in renewable energy but sometimes issues
surrounding oil, finances, policy etc. would come up and other staff in the office would be
better placed to answer. As a result some interviews became informal focus groups where
four or five employees would be joining in; I found this to be a really positive aspect of the
sampling strategy.

The sampling strategy involved with formal interviews is straightforward in that I

attempted to contact any organisation relevant to this study, and as there werent going to be
a large number there was no need to be selective. This is in contrast to the informal
interviews I carried out which were with the recipients of renewable technologies, of which
there were many. At a marketing day, for instance, I was able to speak with prospective
customers of solar panels and I would randomly select these participants although I would
attempt to find those that could speak English.

ii.

Participant Observation

This method is sometimes regarded as non-scientific, (Easthope, 1971) however

participant observation can be an effective way of supplementing a study with an outsiders,
20

objective perspective. I used this method of research differently throughout the study. At
times I was passively participating, for example, at a marketing day I was able to observe the
ways a solar company marketed their product and could therefore understand what they
regarded as the most appealing benefits of their products to the consumers. Participant
observation is a method described by Jorgensen as a description of what goes on, who or
what is involved, when and where things happen, how they occur and why, (Jorgensen,
1989:12). By triangulating my research methods I found that participant observation gave me
a richer understanding in the field of what interviewees had previously said.

iii.

Secondary Data

I have engineered a research topic which is more heavily reliant on data from
implementing organisations and not local people. However, to strengthen my results I will be
consulting independently verified data collected on behalf of organisations to assess the
impacts renewable energies have had. This point regarding the legitimacy of secondary data
is very significant, Cloke (2004: 41) argues, as a researcher must always consider the
processes through which data sources are constructed. Many of the organisations and
companies I spoke to had a database of testimonials from customers (which they gave me
access to) about the problems and benefits they had felt. This is so that they could use this
honest data to improve their products and funding systems rather than as a tool to
manufacture positive feedback which could be used in future marketing campaigns.

Obstacles:

As with any research study there were inevitable challenges which emerged in the
field, however these did not hinder the results of the overall project. The first and most
disruptive element of these obstacles was in the form of national protests targeted at the
British government. On the 22nd June Rwandan General Karenzi Karake was arrested at
Heathrow airport on behalf of Spanish authorities in connection with alleged war crimes
against civilians (Guardian, 2015). Karake is regarded as a hero for his efforts to end the
genocide by the Rwandan government and as a result President Paul Kagame and Louise
Mushikiwabo, Rwanda's foreign minister, had expressed their outrage with the British
government (BBC, 2015).

21

Having arrived in Rwanda on the 21st of June I had planned to visit the British High
Commission in Kigali to ask for assistance in terms of gaining contacts and possibly
interviewing a representative of the Commission over the UKs proactive and continued
contribution of aid for the purpose of green growth. However, in response to the arrest of
General Karake, protests broke out across Rwanda on the 24th of June which were
concentrated in Kigali outside the British High Commission.

The protests meant that visiting the High Commission was not an option during my
time in Kigali and although it would have been useful to the study it was not a great loss.
Cloke (2004: 374) remarks that politics and ethical considerations operate at every level
throughout the research process and so unexpected obstacles such as the Kigali protests are
part and parcel of doing ethnographic research and operating flexibly is a necessity.

Figure 4. Karake article

Source: BBC News (2015)

Figure 3. Karake article

Source: The Guardian Online (2015)

Another obstacle which I encountered related to the use of photography in Rwanda

which has very recently become a topic of intense debate in the country. Issues of privacy in
relation to filming and photography in public have only very recently emerged in Rwanda
and for this reason there have been no studies into why this has come about and the reasons
for it. I learnt of this issue through speaking with other Western tourists who had spoken of
uncomfortable experiences when taking a photo in public and subsequently having aggressive
exchanges with locals who werent even in the photo. This was therefore something that I had
22

to be aware of during my research and establishing permissions before taking any photos,
although this was much less of an issue outside of Kigali. Flowerdew and Martin (2005)
make the point that being aware of cultural differences is always crucial to ethnographic
research and respecting these differences is the responsibility of the researcher in any form
that may arise.

23

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Table One: Participating organisations

Interview

Organisation

Energy

Interviewee Position

Number

Date
(2015)

Solar

Head of Strategy

25/06

Office Administrator

24/06 05/07
(Email)

Solar

Ministry of

All forms

Marketing Manager

02/07

Management

11/06 03/07

Assistant

(Email)

Economic Advisor

25/06

Renewable Energy

23/06

Infrastructure
6

Senior Engineer
7

Efficient stoves

Program Manager

25/06

Engineer

30/06

and water filters

Solar

24

Interview

Organisation

Energy

Interviewee Position

Number

Date
(2015)

10

Solar, hydro and

Private Sector

biogas

Specialist

All forms

Renewable Energy

08/07

30/06

Officer

Independent Health

11

Solar

Doctor

09/07

Biogas digesters

Development Officer

07/07 21/07

Centre
12

(Email)

The data collected from interviews, secondary data sources and my own observations
in Rwanda will be presented in this section. The analysis of existing literature on renewable
energy, which was explored in section two, will provide the context for discussion of the
results of this study. The first element of the results to be presented and analysed concerns
market regulation, the second explores the issue of affordability, part three focuses on
livelihood impacts and finally the cultural aspects of the study are assessed in part four. Each
section of results is preceded by the research question which is relevant to that area of
research.

Market Regulation
1 In what ways have the government attempted to create a business culture in Rwanda to
attract renewable energy companies?

The government of Rwanda has repeatedly identified the private sector as the most
effective delivery system of development (GoR, 2015). It has therefore taken steps to create
the ideal conditions for a competitive renewable energy market which will produce high25

quality and inexpensive products for Rwandas rural poor. The most significant element of
this, as identified by private companies, has been to reduce import taxes such as VAT on
components for renewable technologies. The importance of this approach was explained by a
participant representing the solar company BBOXX (Int.1).

BBOXX initially attempted to manufacture their solar panels in Rwanda with the
reasoning that it would be more cost effective to source local materials and exploit the
abundance of cheap local labour to construct solar panels. Dunmade (2002) similarly regards
domestic manufacturing as a positive as it provides local employment and also means that
replacement parts can easily be sourced inexpensively. However, the participant reported that
after just two weeks BBOXX ran out of materials including exhausting national supplies of
glue. The evidence therefore shows that a small country such as Rwanda with limited natural
resources cannot yet supply an entire industry such as the energy sector. All of the private
companies which participated in this study revealed that the manufacturing of their products
takes place primarily in China and Vietnam. This makes it essential that import taxes are
either very low or non-existent as this allows companies to keep costs down and maintain
high quality products. The customer ultimately benefits in respect of lower prices which is
absolutely critical in such a poor country. This point is made by another participant when
asked if he would like to see Rwanda manufacture its own solar panels;
Would I want to see something produced here [Rwanda] that was an inferior
product? Not really It is the quality that makes the difference, the panels we have here have
a life expectancy of 10-15 years customers will see a healthy return on their investment.
(Int.3)
The relevance of this policy is that it challenges Dunmades (2002) recommendation
that domestic manufacturing is required to avoid import costs and similarly create green jobs.
However, the Rwandan approach has been to prioritise quality above any other factor in the
short term. The reason for this is that the renewable sector is composed of highly advanced
technology which Rwanda does not have the capacity to construct. It has proven to be far
cheaper to import components into Rwanda by reducing entry barriers into the country.
Whilst Dunmade correctly asserts that job creation will be impacted by outsourcing to China,
the reality is that there is no viable alternative at present. Domestic manufacturing should be a
target in the future however, once the renewable energy sector has delivered the economic
26

growth that is expected of it, and quality renewable technology can be constructed in
Rwanda.

The justification for prioritising quality renewable technology is to ensure successful

adoption of equipment by rural communities (Landi et al. 2013, Cherni, 2007, Teitel, 1978).
The reason for this being that a poor quality product will damage consumer trust and the
spread of uptake in communities will be severely hampered. The repealing of import taxes
has therefore been very successful in Rwanda in reducing costs whilst also maintaining high
quality. However, there have been bureaucratic and organisational problems associated with
these breaks. A participant (Int.1) highlighted the governments recent VAT law changes as
an example of this whereby solar companies were forced to pay VAT on their imports despite
previously being exempt. The mistake, made by the government, took three months to
reverse, in which time the private sector were forced to absorb 30% increases in costs. It is
these errors that the government are trying to cut out of new energy policies as described in
the Sustainable Energy for All Action Agenda (2015). This document highlights the need to
further reduce the barriers to entry for the renewable energy market in Rwanda; poorly
targeted import duties currently hold back the development of more-effective technology
(SE4All, 2015:26). However, current successes cannot be understated. For example, 80% of
foreign companies who enjoy tax breaks in Rwanda operate within the renewable energy
market and this is a trend the Ministry of Infrastructure is keen to continue (Int.5).

The success of government incentives through tax levies represents a move away
from subsidy policies which had been heavily criticised by academics such as Landi et al.
(2013) as being ineffective and unviable to the very poorest. This criticism was shared by
three participants of this study who felt that subsidies undermined Rwandas goal of
encouraging competitive and fair markets;
Subsidies are an unfair system which give an advantage to one company over
another one. (Int.2)
The government has therefore attempted to provide a level playing field and
encourage fair competition by ensuring that any subsidies and government procurement are
well designed (GoR, 2015). However, subsidising the energy sector does still feature and the
results of this study found them to be largely inefficient. Mobisol are offered grants to
27

subsidise the cost of their household solar system. However, the government does not add
any conditions to these grants over who may be eligible for them. This means that every
Rwandan, regardless of income group, has the opportunity to buy at the lower price.
Therefore, I would regard this as a failure of the government in passing up an opportunity to
explicitly target the poorest communities which would complement their fundamental
objective of ensuring the private sector develops to reduce poverty rather than maximise
profits.

Direct financial assistance is not the only way by which the government can reduce
the costs burdened onto private companies. Del Agua is a company which manufactures
water filters (Fig.5) and energy efficient stoves (Fig.6) thus reducing the need for firewood to
boil water and cook food. It is a company which identifies itself as a health orientated
organisation rather than an environmental or energy related one so that it can attract different
stakeholders, the justification for this being that Del Aguas products reduce smoke
inhalation in the home and therefore reduce the risk of respiratory diseases.

Figure 5: Water Filter

Source: Authors own (2015)

Figure 6: Energy efficient stoves

Source: Authors own (2015)

We absolutely need the government [MoH] for every step of the process, (Int. 7).
The ministrys most valuable contribution has been to allow Del Agua free use of
community volunteers which report to the Ministry of Health. Around four volunteers work
in each village and have been intensively trained by Del Agua on how to use the water filter
and energy efficient stove. The volunteers were then given the task of distributing the

28

products to 100,000 households in the Western Province and educating the occupants on their
new equipment. This assistance has been imperative to the success of Del Agua and the
opportunity for rural households to be given this energy efficient equipment for free (the
implications of how this has been feasible will be explained later on).

At this point it would be appropriate to reflect on the first research question of this
study; In what ways have the government attempted to create a business culture in Rwanda
to attract renewable energy companies? The government has shown to be progressive in
terms of identifying interventions which promote fair competition and reducing those that
hinder the private sector. It is a country that is successfully attracting foreign companies to
start operating in Rwanda despite the fact that the pool of consumers in the country are very
poor and therefore huge profits are unlikely to be reaped in the near future. Therefore, to
understand why European and North American companies had elected to operate here, I
asked each organisation to rank the most significant reasons for doing business in Rwanda
including political as well as more physical factors.

29

Results showing which factors are most significant to different organisations

Figure. 7

Solar companies
Infrastructure
17%

Business
Climate
26%

Mobile network
17%

Direct Government
Assistance
18%
Organisation of
Gov.
3%

Fair Regulation of
Markets
22%

Dense Population
9%

Figure. 8

Del Agua
Business
climate
9%

Infrastructure

18%

Direct
Government
assistance
18%

Mobile
network
18%
Organisation
of Gov.
18%

Dense
Population
18%

Fair Regulation
of Markets
1%

30

Mobile
network
2%
Dense
Population
2%

Figure. 9
Infrastructure
11%

SNV
Business
Climate
22%

Fair Regulation
of Markets
21%

Organisation of
Gov.
21%

Direct
Government
assistance
21%

Rwandas level of infrastructure, combined with the high population density, were
significant features cited by organisations. They indicated that it was easy to travel around the
country to visit remote villages and this had a number of benefits. For example, marketing
days can take place in almost all areas of the country and repairing and maintaining
equipment does not require as much time as it would in a sparsely populated country with
poor quality roads.
The indicator business climate relates to policies such as Rwandas zero tolerance to
corruption and was a very significant factor for the more conventional for-profit
organisations such as the solar companies BBOXX and Mobisol. They indicated that in
countries such as neighbouring DRC it is almost impossible to carry out a business venture
without having to succumb to the culture of bribing, which would consequently push costs up
(Int.1, 4). Furthermore, Rwanda does not make foreign companies suffer inefficient
bureaucracy that features heavily in other sub-Saharan African countries.
For an organisation such as Del Agua, which would be classed as a for profit social
enterprise, the business climate factor is less significant. Instead its direct partnership with
the government is key, along with Rwandas advanced mobile network system (Int.7) which
31

allows them to collect huge amounts of data which is needed to earn carbon credits through
the UN (again, this will be explored in more detail).

From a broad sense these results emphasize how important the government are, in
various capacities, in facilitating the diverse operations of private companies. Academics
such as Schulpen and Gibbon (2002) resoundingly argue that the state must take an active
role in the development of the private sector in developing economies. This role includes
creating the conditions whereby the private sector can flourish but also closely regulating this
growth to ensure it leads directly to poverty reduction rather than just maximizing profits.
Barry et al. (2011) develop this point within the context of renewable energy by suggesting
that without government involvement the private sector will not be able to produce renewable
energy products which can compete with traditional energy sources such as biomass. The
limited education and finances that rural populations have in developing countries necessitate
active governance to be able to instigate an energy transition (Elias and Victor, 2005).

The results of this study show that the government takes its role as a regulatory and
monitoring body extremely seriously with regard to the development of the renewable energy
market. The conditions they have sculpted in Rwanda in respect of business appear to be
almost ideal, despite occasional bureaucratic errors, as they have successfully attracted a
range of local and foreign enterprises to begin operating in the country. Having overcome
ineffective policies and taken down barriers to entry, private companies can enjoy
competitive markets, a real success therefore in terms of the governments initial aims. A
successfully regulated private sector is regarded by many development academics (such as
Pieter Glasbergen et al. 2007) as the most effective means to align state targets with the needs
of individual households. However, the issue of affordability remains and whether or not
these private companies can deliver renewable technologies to the lowest income groups.

Funding Systems and Affordability

2. How is off-grid energy production being made affordable for low-income households?

The results of the previous section show that the private sector in Rwanda is thriving
and that the government is taking an active interest in attracting and assisting foreign

32

companies in the country by reducing their costs and allowing them to operate in fairly
regulated markets. However, 44.9% of Rwandans live under the poverty line of $1.25 (World
Bank, 2011) and so a well regulated market does little to make renewable technology more
affordable to the majority of Rwandans. Affordability is often regarded as the greatest
obstacle when co-ordinating development projects through the private sector, especially in
highly technical sectors such as energy (Bugaje, 2006). What are needed, therefore, are
innovative external funding systems to offset the costs to the consumers and this is often done
through public-private partnerships which have become extremely popular in the late 1990s
as Groenenberg and Glasbergen (2001: 1) explain;
Partnerships between environmental organizations and the private sector are an
expression of a professional approach in the environmental movement and a private sector
vision of the environment as a business opportunity.

Great Lakes Energy (GLE) is a solar company which targets remote health centres in
Rwanda to provide a reliable and clean energy source. The problem that had faced GLE was
that community health centres do not have the wealth to buy a solar system outright,
especially as the returns on their investment wont be seen for around 10-15 years. The
reason for this being that health centres do not typically have any income other than
Performance Based Funds (PBF) from the government, designed to help with day to day

Figure. 10: GLE engineers installing a solar system at a health centre.

Source: gle.solar (2015)
33

running costs. The answer for GLE has been to create partnerships with development
organisations such as World Vision, Health Builders, World Bank and Cordaid. These NGOs
provide grants to GLE to purchase a solar system on behalf of a specific health centre so that
they can gain access to clean and reliable energy (Int.8).

Maurrasse (2013) sees this as a perfect marriage in terms of enhancing the renewable
energy market for the benefit of the lowest-income communities. The private sector delivers
high quality, inexpensive equipment which is funded by organisations with specific
development ideologies and so environmental and health targets are successfully aligned with
the economic ambitions of the private companies. Partnerships such these can only thrive,
Maurrasse argues, if the host country demonstrates good governance and transparent markets,
as has been shown in the previous section, to attract foreign investors and development
organisations.

FONERWA is an organisation that is similarly dependent on attracting funding from

abroad, as well as domestically, to finance its projects which fight climate change. In fact,
FONERWA is an intermediary organisation which channels external funding into private
sector projects which are in need of assistance. Whilst a large proportion of the funding
which comes through FONERWA is through bilateral sources such as DFID, FONERWA
also capitalises on domestic sources such as collecting environmental fines and fees. As a
result of this system, FONERWA can act as an independent funding organisation and make
internal decisions on where best to inject finances. Private businesses must meet specific
criteria relating not only to climate change targets, but also to employment and wider
development goals to be eligible for funding. Funding is delivered in the form of grants of up
to $300,000 (which is paid incrementally) and also credit, a loan at around 11% interest
which is more favourable than the national rate of 15-16% (Int.9). Bajgan and Shakya (2005)
have argued the case for more generous and flexible loans to be offered to environmentally
conscious development projects because renewable energies are plagued by slow return rates
on investments. The credit schemes offered by FONERWA would appear to complement this
argument as they endeavour to be partners with private companies and ensure that hitting
development targets is as important as making repayments.

The most protracted and challenging means by which an organisation has attracted
finance has been Del Agua which has profited from the UNs Carbon Development
34

Mechanism (CDM). The process to be eligible for the CDM is extensive, however it has
allowed Del Agua to provide free equipment which directly benefits around 450,000 of the
poorest Rwandans (Int.7). Since its inception in 2006, the CDM has offered organisations and
governments the opportunity to earn saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits
which can be sold as part of the global carbon trading market (UNFCCC, 2014). To do this,
Del Agua has had to prove that the use of its water filters and energy efficient stoves has
made a reduction in the level of emissions Rwanda produces. This evidence is manifested by
comprehensive surveys of households including questions on the fuel they use, how often
they cook, how their energy use changes seasonally etc. Independent carbon auditors then
verify this survey data and compare it with a survey taken before the implementation of
equipment to make a judgement on whether the project is reducing carbon emissions. One
participant (Int.7), from Del Agua, reflected on this process as extremely lengthy but
ultimately has given the organisation financial security as the carbon market does not
fluctuate nearly as much as oil prices for example. Furthermore, Del Agua represents the only
organisation in this study to explicitly target low-income Rwandans as recipients of
renewable technology.

Rwandans are categorised into wealth groups known as Udubehes, a longstanding

practice of community action for poverty reduction (RGB, 2014). Extensive and detailed lists
of income groups are kept by village chiefs and authorities and so Del Agua were able to
distribute equipment to members of Ubudehe groups one and two, the poorest income groups.
This distribution model has been employed for the entire Western province of Rwanda,
resulting in every eligible household receiving a water filter and energy efficient stove (which
reduces fuel wood consumption by approximately 50%) for free. Del Aguas business model
has been an unqualified success from a development standpoint but also indicates that only a
private company could have undertaken this project. I come to this reasoning based on the
method of financing the project received, the sourcing of equipment and the distribution
model including the education and after-sales service which demonstrates the qualities of
the private sector .

The final two organisations, BBOXX and Mobisol, operate on the lines of a more
conventional private company. They sell their products directly to the consumer who pay
back in instalments, usually over a period of three years, at between 6-14 per month
depending on the product. Both companies acknowledged that they did not specifically target
35

low-income groups because good solar is not cheap (Int.3) but their product would be
affordable for the majority of Rwandans. However, in comparison to the approaches of other
organisations in this study, BBOXX and Mobisol must be regarded as two companies which
primarily deal with middle income groups and will therefore have a different impact on
livelihoods which will be explored in the next section of results.

The most significant underlying issue when assessing renewable energy as a tool for
development is the notion that renewable technologies are being pitted against an alternative
which is free in the form of biomass (Chataway et al., 2006). There are very few financial
incentives for individual households to invest in clean energy sources. Therefore, innovative
funding systems are fundamental in building a sustainable energy sector in the Global South
which will take the financial burden away from the recipient. Barry et al. (2007) argue that
the lack of access to loans which low-income groups suffer from is the greatest stumbling
block for introducing renewable technologies. However, financial institutions in countries
such as Rwanda do not have the capacity to offer potentially high-risk loans to low-income
communities, therefore this is perhaps not the answer for economies that have only just
started to grow. I would argue that funding through the Carbon Development Mechanism and
bilateral flows of finance has greater significance for developing clean energy, so that the
poorest communities can be targeted immediately. The wider distribution of loans should be
an option in ten years time, once the sustainable energy sector has become more established
and domestic banks might have more security. The first microfinance institutions only began
operating in Rwanda as recently as 2007 and therefore this would suggest the market is still
in its infancy (AMIR, 2014). Renewable technologies however, need to be adopted now if
Rwanda is to stave off an energy crisis resulting in wide scale environmental degradation
(Safari, 2010).

Livelihood Impacts
3. To what extent can the renewable energy sector stimulate socio-economic development in
Rwanda?

The impacts renewable energies have on livelihoods is frequently reduced to an

economic measurement; what are the cost savings a household experiences when progressing

36

to a more modern energy source? However, this study finds that the adoption of renewable
technology can touch almost every aspect of a persons livelihood. Therefore, the results of
this section will be presented in consideration of the five aspects of the sustainable
livelihoods framework (IFAD, 2015) to emphasize the breadth of influences clean energy
has. This analysis attempts to go beyond the rudimental finding that renewable energies
reduce the time spent foraging for food which could be better spent on income generation,
education attainment and political participation.

1. Human Capital:
According to testimonials made by consumers of solar panel systems, one of the most
significant benefits was in respect of their childrens education. This has been enhanced
by the introduction of lighting into the home so that children can continue with their
studies after dark. In the past, children were faced with a choice of helping family
members in the fields during daylight hours after school or doing homework (Int.2, 3,
10). Other lighting fuels such as kerosene lamps are too expensive for low-income
families to afford, even with the justification that it supports a childs education. The
importance of this factor is reinforced by other studies such as Asimoh et al.s (2015)
research into solar systems in South Africa where 89% of households indicated positive
impacts on childrens education had been felt.

A second impact on human capital is in respect of the improvement in health standards

after the adoption of clean energy. Apparatus, such as Del Aguas energy efficient stove,
reduce the level of smoke inhalation in the home which is vitally important in a country
where respiratory illnesses are responsible for 1 in 10 deaths (MoH, 2012). Ezzati and
Kammen (2002) regard respiratory illnesses as one of the greatest barriers to development
as it reduces productivity, increases school absences and burdens families with health
care costs. Therefore the impact Del Aguas product is having, as well as solar panels and
biogas digesters, is hugely significant as they reduce the level of harmful pollutants in the
home, which are especially dangerous to young children, and encourage development
more generally.

2. Social/Political Capital:

Accruing greater socio-political capital through the adoption of renewable energy is more
37

difficult to observe but is by no means less significant. Owning a radio in Rwanda

represents a symbol of status, but more than this, it allows people to be more politically
conscious (Int.1). Political marginalisation is regarded within the sustainable livelihoods
framework as disempowering and can be attributed to deterioration in mental health
(IFAD, 2015). Therefore a radio offers the opportunity for people to listen to political
addresses including those of the President Paul Kagame, a hero and well respected leader
for many Rwandans. Extensive research has been carried out on this subject in subSaharan Africa and nowhere has the importance of radio been better exemplified as a
deeply politicised appliance than in Rwanda in 1994. Kellow (1998) recounts how radio
stations were used during the genocide to support the Hutu regime and orchestrate ethnic
violence. Whilst this example throws up conflicts surrounding the role of radio, it
supports the evidence from this study that people can feel more politically active as a
result of having access to electricity.

3. Financial Capital

Bedi et al. (2015) correctly observe that the adoption of renewable technologies rarely
generates a direct financial return and this is why low-income households may be
reluctant to invest. However, BBOXX are keen to market the various financial
opportunities afforded by their solar products. For example, a phone charging port, which
is a feature of all of BBOXXs products, allows individuals to keep their phone charged
so that they dont miss any business opportunities and can get up to date with the prices
of crops and livestock to ensure that they are always selling at the right price (Int.1). This
is a benefit that has shown to be very appealing in a country which has an extremely high
percentage (80%) of people who identify themselves as farmers (RDB, 2015).

4. Physical Capital

An argument can be made that simply owning renewable energy equipment is evidence of
enhancing ones physical capital. However, this argument should be made within the
context of the energy systems which currently exist, such as the national grid. The grid is
woefully inefficient and unreliable in Rwanda and is something that the government
concedes is a huge barrier to development. GLE therefore target health centres as they are
in desperate need of renewable technology to ensure that they always have a reliable
38

source of energy. A doctor from a rural health clinic (Int.11) explained that the
unreliability of the grid made it extremely challenging to give out medical care. In the
past women had given birth at night with only the light from a mobile phone illuminating
the delivery room. Now that the health centre has a solar system they have the assurance
that they can operate more effectively.

5. Natural Capital

The final aspect of livelihoods to consider is that of natural capital which relates to land,
crops and livestock. The significance of this element is that Rwanda is a heavily
agricultural country in terms of the high number of people who participate in the industry,
as well as the fact that its main exports are tea and coffee (Fernstrom, 2009). Therefore,
appropriate renewable technologies will be those that complement the agricultural sector
such as domestic biogas converters. A national project, which has been jointly developed
by SNV and the Ministry of Infrastructure, has seen the distribution of biogas converters
to eligible farmers. Livestock and human waste are converted into biogas which is fed
into the home and can be used for cooking and lighting. Once the waste has been
fermented the leftover matter works as an effective fertilizer and has been shown by SNV
to increase yields and provide more stable crops in light of droughts (Int.12). Technology
such as this has proven to be extremely effective in combating cultural anxieties towards
renewable energy as it is reinforces traditional livelihoods, a point that is explored more
in the next section of results.

This section demonstrates just a few ways in which renewable energies have huge
potential for positively influencing families livelihoods. Whilst the benefits of renewable
energy have been known for decades, the evidence of this study shows that diversity in the
forms of renewable energy is critical. Currently in Rwanda renewable energy projects are
exploiting solar, wind, hydro, biogas and even geothermal energy (although this is clearly not
a decentralized approach, Safari, 2010). The decentralized approach to energy in Rwanda
which encourages off-grid, personal production/consumption compliments the argument that
people need different energy sources to satisfy their familys socio-economic circumstance.
Therefore, the criticism of modernity as being one path to development which ignores
cultural diversity and treats communities as homogenous is not applicable to Rwandas
development model. Furthermore, the benefits that renewable technologies bring are not
39

confined to direct economic growth, but influence all manner of social indicators too. This
has been the worry for academics such as Potter et al. (2008) who recognised that under
processes of modernity, social indicators usually become relegated behind economic ones.
The results of this study presents a conflicting argument which is that economic benefits of
renewable energies are often difficult to communicate to the consumer. Encouraging lowincome families to bear the risk of investment when there are often no clear financial returns
is the most difficult hurdle to overcome (Int.8, 11 12).

Cultural Obstacles
4. What cultural obstacles have hampered the successful implementation of renewable energy
projects?

The purpose of this research question was not designed to identify every cultural
barrier facing renewable technologies, but instead to assess how different organisations have
approached and dealt with possible behavioural difficulties. The Rwandan government has
acknowledged the existence of cultural barriers and so this offers legitimacy to this element
of the study;
Changing predominant cooking fuel use is a behaviour adjustment that is deeply
culturally conditioned. As a result, programmes focusing on disseminating new technologies
without accompanying behavioural change or social marketing campaigns are likely to fall
short of being fully successful. (GoR ESSP, 2015)

The key finding in this respect is that there is a lack of co-ordination between the
government and private sector as to whose responsibility it is to assess the possible cultural
implications of introducing sustainable energy. For example, the extent to which BBOXX
and Mobisol are concerned with the impacts their products have is restrained to a profit
maximisation exercise. One participant (Int.3) explained that Mobisol identified that people
in Rwanda are very aware and comfortable using a mobile payment system and therefore
incorporated this asset into the way the business operates, hence why it is called Mob-isol.
This is an example of how a company might design a culturally appropriate product but at the
same time many other cultural impacts, which dont affect sales, can be overlooked.

40

The significance of this point is that transitions in energy supplies need to be

incremental so that people can slowly adjust to subtle changes in the way they cook, farm and
in other aspects of their lives (Int.6, 10). This argument would therefore indicate that the
products of Del Agua and SNV are more appropriate in this respect as they can be seen as
transitory in their nature. Energy efficient stoves look and operate only slightly different to
more traditional cooking apparatus and so there arent huge challenges in getting people to
accept the new technology. Evidence of this is that Del Aguas products have a 90%
successful uptake rate within the first six months (Int. 7). Similarly, the biogas digesters
which feature in SNVs project compliment the practice of farming, an occupation which is
central to Rwandan life and therefore reinforces cultural behaviours rather than undermines
them (Int.12).

This is therefore the worry with privately owned solar panels and the associated
electrification of households. The opportunities created by having access to electricity are
diverse and numerous, but some of these opportunities may lead to conflicts and
disempowerment within the home which are not easily visible from an implementing
organisations perspective. Returning to the literature on this subject, the UNDP (2009) found
that the progression from biomass fuels to clean energy usually benefitted women and
children more than men, which subsequently leads to a change in gendered roles. The
evidence of this study showed that six out of eight organisations similarly felt that women
benefitted more in the short term from a change in energy source because they were primarily
responsible for cooking, the leading use of energy in the home.

Therefore, it is women who usually have the opportunity to increase their income
generating activities as they have more time available to them given that less, or no, wood
needs to be collected. The effects this has is keenly debated with Johnson (2005) and Kabber
(2001) identifying that women can experience greater empowerment through income
generation or by using this time to participate in education. However, studies undertaken by
Mayoux (2001) found that instances of domestic abuse can increase because of this change in
gender roles as well as other implications which disempowered women.

The participants of this study, however, were not greatly concerned by the potential
dangers relating to changing gender roles because of the stance Rwanda has on equality and
female discrimination.
41

The Rwandan context is remarkable within East Africa for promotion of womens economic
viability women are encouraged to work in the formal and informal sector. (Int. 7)
Happy wife, happy life! (Int. 10)

These quotes emphasize that gendered disempowerment is not a big problem for Rwanda as it
has been targeted and heavily discouraged by the government.
However, this does not mean that other cultural barriers havent presented themselves.
Del Agua continue to battle the problem of changing the way Rwandans cook inside rather
than outside which is much healthier as it reduces smoke inhalation. However, eating in
public is not popular in Rwanda as tradition dictates that you do not let your neighbours see
you eating and you dont share food, this is the reason why there is no street food in Rwanda
(Int.7). It is these cultural obstacles that pose challenges to organisations such as Del Agua
when they are trying to encourage people to adopt modern energy sources.

Not all of the organisations I surveyed, however, were able to identify how renewable
energies were impacting upon cultural norms. FONERWA, for example, conceded that it had
not yet investigated the cultural implications of its climate change projects but were aware of
the importance of this research. However, the participant did explain that FONERWA wanted
Rwandas energy transition to be slow and progressive rather than carrying out radical
changes. The difficulty with this would be assessing when the cultural landscape is ready for
change and appreciating that different communities have different energy needs (Int. 9).

Education appears to be hugely significant when attempting to tackle cultural

obstacles to the implementation of renewable energy; the responsibility of carrying out this
education is lacking in Rwanda. The government has now taken it upon itself to begin
extensive education to ease the transition to clean energy. This is shown by the governments
decision to dedicate $4m towards national campaigns of energy education (Int.5). Combined
with Rwandas excellent organisation and communication channels from top to bottom, I
believe this will be highly successful. Despite this, it is clear that educating communities has
been delayed behind the more physical operations of introducing renewable energies into the
country around ten years ago. The private sector has effectively delivered renewable energy
options for Rwandans but has largely been oblivious to the cultural impacts this may be
42

having. This is a lesson that should be learnt elsewhere in the developing world that national
governments responsibilities extend to being the most active vehicle for the dissemination of
information and monitoring the renewable sector. This summation is in agreement with
Prasad and Visagie (2007) who argue that an unregulated energy sector with little
government monitoring will result in private companies and NGOs operating recklessly and
with little thought to the long term consequences relating to society, culture and gendered
identities.

43

CONCLUSION

The introduction of renewable technologies into Rwanda can broadly be regarded as a

success (even if it is still in the early stages) as it has not succumbed to any of the criticisms
of modernisation theory. Rwandas approach to off-grid energy production has been a crucial
factor in targeting grassroots development and ensuring that low-income communities have
the opportunity to access clean energy. Furthermore, social indicators of development have
been visibly improved and this is proof that modernisation projects dont necessarily need to
be economically driven (Potter et al., 2008). Finally, the range of renewable technologies
being developed offers Rwandans choice in their energy sources which compliments their
current livelihoods, which may be vastly different to their neighbours energy needs.
Therefore modernisation does not necessarily create just one path to development for a
diverse customer base.

There are four main findings of this study which relate to each section of investigation;
The first is that the government has taken an active role in establishing a thriving private
sector to drive development in the country. This private sector has been responsible for
bringing renewable technologies into the country and operating with the knowledge that large
profits are unlikely to be made and so this must be regarded as a success on the governments
behalf.
Secondly, technology has been made free for many Rwandans through the innovate use
of funding systems and schemes such as the CDM. However, solar products remain out of
reach for the majority as they are too expensive even though they offer long payment
schemes.
Thirdly, the implications on livelihoods from renewable energies have proven to be
extremely diverse and numerous. In this study I have only specifically discussed six
livelihood impacts, but during my research I discovered a great deal more than this. This
evidence shows that renewable technologies directly influence development indicators and
therefore should be utilized as a vehicle for development, as is being done in Rwanda.
Finally, the cultural implications of renewable technologies has been grossly under
researched which I find to be a dangerous omission, particularly from the governments
perspective. It is unrealistic to expect the private sector to research this element, and so I
suggest more research is needed on this issue urgently, especially in countries which may
suffer more acutely from gender discrimination than Rwanda.
44

Rwanda still has a long way to go to avoid an environmental and energy crisis.
Around 2-3% of the population has access to off-grid energy with a target in place of 22% by
2017 (Int.10). This appears to be an ambitious target but one that RURA are confident they
will hit. The lessons that other developing nations need to take heed of are that Rwanda has
achieved success because of its relatively good infrastructure, its excellent government
organisation and communication from national government down to village authorities and
finally its zero tolerance to bribery which is a prerequisite for attracting foreign investment.
This study has offered an alternative perspective on the renewable energy debate in that it has
focused on the private sector and the relationship it has with the government.

45

APPENDIX
Ethics Screening Form

46

Ethical Approval Letter

Research Ethics Office
King's College London
Rm 5.12 FWB (Waterloo Bridge Wing)
Stamford Street
London
SE1 9NH
1 May 2015
TO: James Grabham
SUBJECT: Confirmation of Approval
Dear James,
Thank you for submitting your Research Ethics Minimal Risk Checklist. This letter acknowledges the receipt of
your checklist; your Research Ethics Number is MR/14/15-111. Be sure to keep a record of this number and
include it in any materials associated with this research. Approval is granted for one year from 1 May 2015.
Record Keeping:
In addition, you are expected to keep records of your process of informed consent and the dates and relevant
details of research covered by this application. For example, depending on the type of research that you are
doing, you might keep:
o A record of the relevant details for public talks that you attend, the websites that visit, the interviews that
you conduct
o The script that you use to inform possible participants about what your research involves. This may
include written information sheets, or the generic information you include in the emails you write to
possible participants, or what you say to people when you approach them on the street for a survey, or
the introductory material stated at the top of your on-line survey.
o Where appropriate, records of consent, e.g. copies of signed consent forms or emails where
participants agree to be interviewed.
Audit:
You may be selected for an audit, to see how researchers are implementing this process. If audited, you will be
expected to explain how your research abides by the general principles of ethical research. In particular, you will
be expected to provide a general summary of your review of the possible risks involved in your research, as well
as to provide basic research records (as above in Record Keeping) and to describe the process by which
participants agreed to participate in your research.
Remember that if you have any questions about the ethical conduct of your research at any point, you should
contact your supervisor, the Research Ethics office, or a member of your Departments Research Ethics Panel
for advice.
Feedback:
As KCL is currently trialling the Minimal Risk Process, you may be selected to provide feedback on the Minimal
Risk guidance, form and process. You can also provide feedback on the process by emailing rec@kcl.ac.uk .
We wish you every success with this work.
With best wishes
Research Ethics Office

47

Risk Assessment

48

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