From July 16 to July 17, 2022, in the village of Kuhi (Voru jamoat, Penjikent), a set of equipment was distributed for participants of the project "Renewable Energy and Remote Mountain Communities".
Employees of the Little Earth delivered and distributed 20 sets of energy-efficient equipment. Each set includes a solar parabolic kitchen, a pressure cooker, and a portable lantern with a detachable solar panel.
Before distributing the equipment, the team of the Little Earth conducted a briefing on its proper operation. To demonstrate the advantages of the new devices, the potatoes with meat were prepared using the solar portable kitchen and pressure cooker. The villagers were absolutely amazed! The cooking process took about 40 minutes. The new owners, with the help of the Little Earth team, assembled and installed the equipment in their homes and tested it in action. Along with a set of equipment, all beneficiaries also received user’s manual in Tajik and Russian languages.
"In 10 minutes, we boiled 2 kettles of water using the solar kitchen, just with the energy of sun! We won't need to collect firewood as often now. We used to use kerosene lamps to light the house. Now we have portable lanterns that work with the help of solar energy. We will no longer need to spend money to buy kerosene. On behalf of all the project’s beneficiaries, I express my sincere gratitude to the Little Earth for their hard work," - says Said Sadiev, a participant of the project.
The mountain village of Kuhi is located 80 km from Penjikent. There are 26 households in the village. The village has a small hydroelectric power station, but its capacity is insignificant to provide energy for the whole village. Meals are prepared and homes are heated with stoves using coal, firewood, and/or dried manure. The locals collect firewood 15 km from the village. Around the village, the ecosystems are already severely degraded. Coal is bought at a price of more than 1000 somoni per ton.
By applying the distributed energy-efficient devices, the residents will spend less fuel, improve their livelihoods, save the family budget, and at the same time will reduce the burden on mountain ecosystems.
"The distribution of equipment was the last major activity of our small-scale project in the village of Kuhi, which was implemented with the support of the US Forest Service. We strongly believe that the equipment will not only save resources, but will provide cleaner and safer energy, and perhaps, open new opportunities for our beneficiaries as they will spend less time on collection of firewood", - said Anton Timoshenko, executive director of the Little Earth.
Timur Idrisov, The Little Earth