Rural Livelihoods. 1 st. address

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1 NORDIC CLIMATE FACILITY ( NCF) FINAL SUMMARY REPORT PROJECT: Promoting Renewable Energy Technologies for Enhanced ELIGIBLE COUNTRY: Nepal GRANTEE: FCG International Ltd REPORTING PERIOD: Decemberr 2011 March 2014 Rural Livelihoods September 2014 Date 1 st Pamela.white@fcg.fi address Person responsible (Signature) PAMELA WHITE Person responsible (Block letters)

2 1. Description Host country: Nepal Title of the Project: Promoting Renewable Energy Technologies for Enhanced Rural Livelihoods (REFEL) Name & address of the Grantee in the Grant Agreement: FCG Finnish Consulting Group Ltd (FCG) later changed to FCG International Ltd (daughter company of FCG), PO Box 950, 00601, Helsinki, Finland Name and title of the Contact person: Pamela White, Project Director, Tel: Name of the Partners in the Project: Centre for Rural Technology, Nepal (CRT/N) Rural Village Water Resources Management Project (RVWRMP) Date of Grant Agreement: 4 th November 2011 Planned start date and end date of project: December 2011 November 2012 (actual end date March 2014) Planned grant amount: ,93 EUR Actual grant amount: ,62 EUR Project classification: combination Final beneficiaries and/or target groups: Users of technologies in remote areas of Far West Nepal 2. Assessment of implementation of the project 2.1 Executive summary The objective of the Project was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to improve living conditions, food security and the economic situation of rural people in remote districts of Mid and Far West Nepal via application of renewable energy technologies. The Project involved the development of improved water mills (IWM) to grain grinding, husking, oil extraction and electricity production, as well as training and support for the promotion, testing and expanded use of variety of improved cooking stoves. The Project also supported the introduction of hydraulic ram pumps (Hydram) for small-scale irrigation in upland areas. All these renewable technologies support improved living conditions of rural people, especially traditional water mill operators, farmers and women and girls in general. The Project functioned alongside the Rural Village Water Resources Management Project (RVWRMP), which is funded by the governments of Finland and Nepal. RVWRMP works in nine hilly and mountainous districts of the Far and Mid Western Nepal, and additionally with arsenic mitigation and sanitation activities in one district in Terai. FCG International has responsibility for the implementation of RVWRMP, and when the call for proposals came from NCF, we identified that there was an ideal opportunity to work more on renewable energy technologies. We consulted the local organisations in the project area and also approached CRT/N. On the basis of our enquiries we prepared the proposal and have managed the project since it was implemented, including the administration and financing from Helsinki, monitoring visits to the field projects, reporting and facilitating the involvement of RVWRMP and the local governments, via our staff employed in RVWRMP. The use of the new technologies have led to improvements in health (for instance upper respiratory tract diseases) and incomes, and saved time, particularly for women and girls. There has also been an increase in agricultural productivity and incomes, and local jobs have been created (leading to a decrease in seasonal migration). There was a reduction of 19,626 tons of carbon emissions through the installation and use of different technologies.

3 In the case of the Improved Cooking Stoves, the project has been particularly important. Initially progress was slow, and many households were reluctant to install the ICS. However, as households began to see the benefits, the momentum gradually grew, until two VDCs have reached the point that they can declare themselves indoor pollution- free and others are approaching this. The demand outstripped the possibilities of the project to subsidise ICS installation, but it is planned that RVWRMP will continue to support this activity. 2.2 Summary of financial report For a variety of reasons, but particularly over-ambitious budgeting, the original share of the grant within the total expenditure was less than or equal to 63.52%. It became clear in late 2013 that this share would not be achieved. Therefore, after negotiations, the addendum noted that the maximum share was increased to 75% of the final realized costs. In practice, by the end of the project, the NCF contribution was only 66,89% of the total. Sources of funding Revised Cumulative Percentage Budget of of total actual costs cum.costs funding 1. NCF ,62 66, ,00 2. Grantee's financial contribution; local beneficiaries ,73 14, ,00 3. Contribution from other organizations RVWRMP ,05 8, ,00 DDC 4 636,89 0, ,00 TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS ,29 91, ,00 OTHER SOURCES OF UNBUDGETED FUNDING 4. Other sources of funding Direct revenue from the project Interests from pre-financing Other sources - FCG, RVWRMP and others: ,44 6,09 CRTN Financial services to Refel ,00 2,83 TOTAL OTHER SOURCES OF UNBUDGETED FUNDING ,44 8,92 TOTAL ALL ,73 100, ,00 The budget was quite complicated to report against, as there were several funding sources. In addition, the changing exchange rate made it impossible to maintain a steady comparison between the Euro and NPR rates. 2.3 Activities and results The project result areas were: 1. Energy efficient improved water mills (IWM) operating in 5 districts with appropriate local support, institutional development and maintenance mechanism functioning to guarantee sustainability 2

4 2. Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS) installed in daily use in approximately 40 VDCs, saving fire wood and decreasing environmental degradation and air pollution. 3. Trial hydraulic ram pumps (Hydram) installed and in use, saving energy and permitting offseason crop production in remote areas 4. Promotion of renewable rural energy technologies and capacity building of stakeholders The results achieved regarding the infrastructure installed were: Planned 5000 ICS ICS constructed (121% of original target) Planned 100 IWM 149 IWM constructed (149% of original target) (130 short shaft, 19 long shaft, 2 long shaft with electrification) Planned 5 hydram 6 hydram constructed (120% of original target) Overall progress against indicators in logical framework Results OVIs SoV Progress by project end 1 Energy efficient improved Project reports IWM water mills operator (IWM) operating in 5-10 districts with appropriate local support, institutional development and maintenance mechanism functioning guarantee sustainability to 100 IWMs installed and in use for a variety of end uses Decreased fossil fuel use for mill operation At least 5 of the 100 IWMs will have also electricity production in operation All Water Mills Operators trained and linked to Ghatta Operators Association (GOA) Users are satisfied with service improvement by end of project records income and maintenance Report from GOA Household interviews 149 IWM installed and in use for grinding, hulling, oil expelling, etc. in 4 districts by end October 2 communities have installed electrification projects in Baitadi and Doti 336 sites surveyed during baseline survey (surveyed within July November, 2012) Beneficiaries report decreased time spent in travelling to IWM or milling at home IWM owners have received basic training in operation and maintenance Most of the IWM owners are affiliated with Ghatta Operators Association (GOA) and are likely to get needy support in the future. 2 Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS) installed in daily use in approx. 40 VDCs, saving fire wood and decreasing environmental degradation and air pollution 5000 households have ICS in daily use; approx. 40 local service providers trained and working in target VDCs and outside installing more ICS and advising local people in use of them. Improved respiratory health (particularly of women) Saving in time spent collecting firewood daily (hours/day) Decreased firewood use per week Increasing demand for ICS among nonbeneficiaries Project records Local health reports Household survey 6073 ICS installed and in daily use 85 promoters trained and of those, 62 were actively providing services by the end of the project Beneficiaries report improved respiratory health & this is demonstrated by the impact assessment team, from VDC health records Beneficiaries report decreased firewood use, & time spent collecting (on average reporting 50% decrease in firewood use or in the sample of the impact assessment team, 40% reduction) Strong demand for ICS among neighbouring households 3

5 3 Trial hydraulic ram pumps (Hydram) installed and in use, saving energy and permitting offseason crop production in remote areas. 4 Promotion of renewable rural energy technologies and capacity building of stakeholders 5 Hydrams installed and in use 5 Hydram user groups formed, trained and linked to manufacturer for technical support Hydram operators trained and working. Increase in off-season crop production in areas irrigated by Hydram pump (increased kg production per crop, increased production available for sale) Increased incomes of beneficiary households Increased local understanding of the benefits of renewable energy technologies Increased interest of non-beneficiaries to utilise RE technologies Project reports Beneficiary surveys Training records Maintenance records Community surveys 6 hydram installed by end of the project (in 3 districts) and in use (all with user groups) for irrigation and drinking water Training provided to hydram operators Increased production of paddy and wheat already, and off-season vegetable production planned Incomes beginning to increase (impact assessment team found evidence) Increased interest of neighbouring households to use RE technologies noted by monitoring staff Many neighbours are making bricks & asking for assistance with non-local materials VDCs have made plans to invest further in ICS, IWM, and hydrams General increased interest of VDC staff in renewable energies 2.4 Deviations from the original plans It was originally planned that the project would end at the end of November 2013, hence the milestone 5 would have been the final milestone. However by August it became clear that the full budget would not be spent due to a combination of slow implementation, changes in the exchange rate and some savings. Consequently it was decided to extend the project via a no-cost extension to the end of March It was originally planned to install IWM in 5 districts but in the end it was decided more feasible to work in 4, rather than to try to spread the teams over a larger area. The total number of IWM was greater than planned however. ICS There was an initial slow start to ICS installation. However, as the awareness raising continued, and residents were able to see the stoves in action in their neighbours houses, the enthusiasm and pace of construction increased. By the end of the project implementation, there was too much demand in some villages residents have started building bricks of their own accord in the hope of getting support in the future for the externally-sourced components. IWM The overall target for all types of IWM at the start of the project was 100, which was surpassed by the end of the project. However, that initial target was adjusted and the target for SS IWM was set at 100. This was far more than achieved, with 130 SS IWM being constructed by the end of the project. The re-set LS IWM target of 30 was not reached. There were 19 LS IWM completed - plus an additional 2 long shaft IWM with electrification by the end of the project. The main delay was with the IWM installation. This was partly due to delays with the decision making and funding available. However, we met the overall IWM target easily by focusing mainly on short shaft IWM, as they are cheaper to install. The disadvantage, however, is that the short shaft IWM have somewhat less benefit for the community and the environment. The main uses for 4

6 short shaft IWM are milling and grinding grains. These activities are definitely important in the daily lives of beneficiaries, and the presence of the mill means a considerable saving in time and hard work for women. More end use options are available for long shaft IWM, as they can be used for applications such as electricity generation, as well as milling, grinding, oil expelling, saw mills, etc. However the installation itself, plus the costs for the end-use items (electrical circuit wiring, saw mill, oil expeller, etc.) are higher. Consequently it was slower for the communities to find funding. It was planned to try for more IWM with electrification, however this proved problematic. This is partly due to the fact that some of the potential sites already had access to reach the grid. In addition, it proved difficult to mobilise the community contribution. Hydram In November 2012 it was anticipated that the hydram installations would be complete within a few months. In practice there were unanticipated problems. This was partly due to problems with the water flows measured in the feasibility studies. During the dry season it was found that there was insufficient water in some sites to proceed. In addition, it took longer than anticipated to raise the community contribution for the hydrams. As a consequence the first hydrams were not ready until late 2013 and the final one was completed only in March The hydram in Sirsha that is being used for irrigation required additional support from RVWRMP to construct the storage tank and delivery system, as well as to provide training for farmers in the use of the system to maximise off-season vegetable production (see training above). This construction and training only took place in the final weeks of the project. It was also anticipated that the main use for the hydrams would be for irrigation, however, the REFEL team soon found that there was more demand for hydram for drinking water supply. Despite this slow progress, in the end there were 6 hydram constructed and in use Activities that have not taken place - The original target for 5 IWM with electrification was not achieved - only 2 eiwm were completed. This was mainly because of high investment costs - mainly due to the remoteness of the area (leading to a high transportation cost). In these remote areas it is also difficult for the local community to make a large contribution Unforseen activities that have taken place - Additional infrastructure was constructed beyond the original planned. 2.5 What is your assessment of the results of the Project? Excellent as described elsewhere in this report, the project has had a very positive effect on the lives of remote communities, and especially women and girls. Two VDCs have reached Indoor Pollution Free status (IPF meaning full coverage of ICS in all households), while others are heading in the right direction - Simchaur, Doti and Mahadevsthan, Baitadi. Sirsha in Dadeldhura has 2883 households - which was too big for the project to cover. However, with REFEL assistance some wards have almost reached 100% coverage, allowing them to declare IPF very soon. This is a significant new step in improving living conditions in remote rural VDCs, and it feeds into a national campaign that is just starting. Financial/economic impact It has been documented that ICS have energy efficiency of 30 % and firewood saving 40 % as compared to the TCS and similarly ICS & IWM respectively saved on an average two full days of every households in a months and 50% less service charge as compared with Traditional water mills and diesel mills respectively. The impact assessment team noted some of the following findings: SS IWM An average SS IWM owner's investment is NPR. 20,000 - with 50% micro-financed from affiliated groups, local merchants and cooperatives. It is documented that IWM owners are taking money or flour which is varied from mill to mills. They are charging either around 1kg flour while grinding 20 kg cereals or NPR. 0.5 per kg that contributed owner's food security and income. LS IWM The users were found to be satisfied with end use facilities like paddy huller and oil expeller at their village that saved time, money and reduced workload particularly of women and girls. Moreover, reduction in the use of fossil fuels. 5

7 Naturally the employment and income generating opportunities are also significant for the local community. The impact evaluation showed that there are 208 individuals directly employed as ICS promoters and IWM owners, and the monthly net income of these entrepreneurs ranges from NPR. 5, to 8, The renewable energy technologies have generated significant cash savings through savings in kerosene expenditure (on lighting) or increased traditional livelihood incomes through savings in women s time (from firewood collection). The project has increased the income level of ICS masons and IWM owners, though this does not represent the wider community. A total of 85 promoters were trained in ICS construction, and of those, 62 are actively providing their services and partially employed. A single promoter can install one ICS in a day and earns NPR per day, which provides a good source of income generated locally. The average total income earned by ICS promoters interviewed by the evaluation team was NPR. 50,200 from the date they got trained by the project. Of this income, 69.39% was invested for foods & clothes, followed by 20.68% for agriculture, 7.14% for children education and the rest (2.79%) was saved in the groups and cooperatives. As a result, the intervention contributed more to the food security of poor households. IWM owners are taking money or flour which is varied from mill to mills. They are charging either around 1kg flour while grinding 20 kg cereals or NPR. 0.5 per kg that contributed owner's food security and income. An interview with 10 IWM owners showed that their approx. gross monthly income is NPR. 8, and after deducting all the expenditure, they have average net income amounting NPR. 5, (including the operation cost at rate NPR. 3, per month). The income and expenditure ratio may vary from time to time but it revealed that all IWM owners are self-employed and can sustain their business with better income. There was a large time saving estimated at hours/month/household of saved time of ICS users and 49 hours/month/household of IWM users. With the assistance of the hydram, farmer's expected to increase productivity of wheat by 100%. The user aims to start off-season vegetable farming from this season. Similarly, drinking water schemes increased access over water at their house. These schemes are able to save on an average 1 hrs time of each household per day for other productive uses. Climate change impacts Clearly the very poor residents of far west Nepal are not responsible for much of the growing greenhouse gas problem globally! Yet, they are very vulnerable to the anticipated negative impacts of climate change. However, some small contributions are made by this project to lessen the amounts of GHG emissions. The estimation of GHG emission from the fuel wood used was calculated based on IPCC, 1996 methodology. According to which, For fuel wood, tonnes of CO2 (t CO2) = Tonnes of fuel wood CO2 Emission Factor (EF) = tonnes of fuel wood

8 According to the impact assessment team, on an average each household requires kg per month of firewood for fulfilling their energy need before the intervention of ICS for their kitchen purpose only. After adopting ICS, their firewood requirement has decreased appreciably to kg per month from the sampled household. The results showed that the fuel wood thus reduced by the ICS equated to 39.99%. No methane calculation has been done, as it would have needed a more rigorous study and no such study has been carried out in Nepal except on CDM bio-gas projects. The findings of the regular monitoring carried out by FCG and RVWRMP staff were that anecdotally the firewood usage has decreased by half. If we take the estimate from the assessment team, the average annual firewood consumption per household is reduced by an estimate of 40% from that of a traditional stove, and collection time saved by two full days in a month per family. These contribute to reduce CO2 emissions and increase family income. As estimate in the table below shows that one ICS can reduce ton of CO2 emission annually and total estimate CO2 emissions reduction is 19, tons/per year from all improved cook stoves installed by the project. Table: Reduction in CO2 emission by ICS Types of Stove Average firewood consumption (kg/hhs) Average Annual firewood consumption (ton/hhs) Emission factor Average annual CO2 Emission Reduction in CO2 emission by ICS (ton) TCS ICS Source: Final Evaluation, 2014 Once the default factor for non-renewable biomass in Nepal is factored in, it is considered that 86% of the ICS-related Emission reductions could be taken into account - approximately tons, on the above calculation. The decreased use of diesel powered IWM has also made some impact on greenhouse gas production. According to CRT/N s estimates, switching from a diesel-powered mill to an IWM reduces CO2 emissions by 4.8 tons per year. In addition, using the calculation from the IPCC, 1996, 1 litre of kerosene burning emits GHG equivalent to 2.41 kg of CO2. Therefore there is a significant potential impact from the electrification systems run via IWMEs. The impact assessment team met with the IWME beneficiaries and found that 78% of the households were users of kerosene for lighting before the scheme. The average monthly consumption of kerosene is two litres per family with market price NPR per litre which saved NPR. 67, due to the new access to electricity from the IWM. Additionally, reduced kerosene consumption contributes to reduce carbon emission by 1.62 ton per year. Environmental sustainability The technologies have positive impacts on the environment as they are more efficient in terms of resource use. In the case of the IWMs, they mean that there is no need to run a diesel operated mill. ICS make a clear contribution to firewood savings (during household visits there appears to be a saving of at least 50%). Hydram applications are being considered for water supply as well as micro-irrigation, resolving some of the issues of water scarcity in difficult locations. The rainy season of 2014 was extremely intense and this led to serious floods in some areas. Two LS IWMs were swept away by the floods in Achham during the monsoon. The communities do not have alternative locations for new construction. Without new safe locations reconstruction cannot be done. This risk was outlined at the start of the project and is inherent to construction of IWMs as they are built on rivers. 7

9 Risks Social acceptance of the new technologies was initially considered a risk, although we believed that people would accept proposed renewable technologies, even though they are not widely used in the Far West and Mid Western remote villages. Initially the ICS were not popular in the hill communities. However, this risk was mitigated by proper awareness and capacity building efforts. In practice, over the period of the project there has been increasing interest (in fact, exceeding the ability of the project to address). Logistic arrangements for working in the remote villages is a major challenge to Project team but we consider this as a low risk as RVWRMP already has several years of working experience in the remotest Far Western areas, and was able to assist the CRT/N team. Political disturbances and strikes due to the stalled constitution process inhibited our work somewhat (especially in mid 2012), as did the elections in November There were some exchange rate fluctuations during the project period, particularly from mid 2013, due to depreciation of the Indian rupiah (which then drags down the Nepal rupee). Even with the no-cost extension, not all the budget was spent. There were difficulties stemming from the remoteness of the locations. This has contributed to the initially slow pace of implementation, and the initial reluctance of the beneficiaries to try new technologies. In addition, as with the work in livelihoods of RVWRMP, it is difficult to make big changes to the socio-economic situation of the beneficiaries, as markets are far and the roads and communications are difficult. A major challenge in LS IWM has been communities' contribution. The requirement was 30/70, but due to poverty it was very difficult to get the community contribution. In addition, the communities expected 100% subsidy, as some earlier IWM construction supported by AEPC received a higher subsidy. An O&M fund is collected for hydram and IWM electrification (LS). The amount is sufficient for minor repair and maintenance, but not for re-investment 2.6 Assess the innovativeness of the project CRT/N has worked with these three technologies earlier, but not in the far west of Nepal. ICS had been constructed in some locations in far west, but not many. Consequently the introduction and persistent awareness raising has been valuable. Hydram is an innovation that has only recently arrived in Nepal. None of the RVWRMP staff had seen one earlier and the project was very keen for the engineers to see them in operation, in the hope of extending their used elsewhere. 2.7 What has been the outcome on the final beneficiaries and/or target group (if different) and the situation in the target country which the Project addressed? The project made a significant impact in improving the quality of lives of the rural poor in remote areas, mainly through ICS, IWM and hydram that saved women and girls time and contributed to their health, food securities, educations and finally reducing carbon emissions. This has been spelled out elsewhere in this report (eg. 2.5 and 2.11). 2.8 Please list all materials, including progress and financial reports produced during the implementation on whatever format Six reports (including inception and final reports) plus this summary report. All included technical and financial progress reports. They were sent to the NCF (and copies were kept with all parties involved). Sections on the project were also included in RVWRMP reports and in CRT/N newsletters. 2.9 Please list all key contracts (works, supplies, and services excluding Partners) above EUR 2000 awarded for the implementation of the Project giving for each contract. None 2.10 Describe if the Project will continue after the support from NCF has ended. Are there any follow up or scaling-up activities envisaged? What will ensure the sustainability of the Project? RVWRMP and FCG are committed to continue to support and replicate these renewable energy technologies within the project area. RVWRMP plans to continue to support ICS construction. Now that a groundswell of interest exists, we consider it would be important to continue. Hydrams will 8

10 most likely also be trialled elsewhere in the project area (both for water supply for domestic us and for irrigation), and continuing support will be given to develop livelihoods. For instance, providing training in operation and maintenance of irrigation systems associated with the hydram, and linkages to markets for the produce. This responds to the finding of the impact assessment that better linkages and support for markets are needed. It is important that the ICS as with traditional stoves are regularly maintained in order to maximise their lifespan and their efficiency. Based on the literature review, the projected lifetime of the clay ICS is six years. If it is properly maintained (including cleaning the chimney, adding further layers of clay, etc. each 2 weeks or so) it will last much longer. Re-investment costs are very low and 66% of it is local materials and labour of the household. We consider that once convinced about the health benefits and the saving in fire wood consumption & time, the users will be enthusiastic to continue using the improved stoves. Therefore, the work to raise awareness and to change the behaviour of the users has been very important. Improved cook stoves (ICS) focus on the triple benefits they provide, in improved health and time savings for households, in preservation of forests and associated ecosystem services, and in reducing emissions that contribute to global climate change. The hydrams are very low maintenance as there are very few moving parts and it is simple and durable in construction. They should have a very long lifetime and would be relatively cheap to replace now that the community understands the basic mechanics. There has been a maintenance worker trained to maintain each hydram. The lifetime of the IWMs is uncertain as this relies very much on their location. As they are built on the edge of fast moving rivers, they are at a risk of damage from serious floods. However, they are estimated to last for at least 10 years. The investment by the owners as well as the community and local government shows good ownership at the time of construction. As they are linked to income generating businesses, there are funds available for on-going repairs. The involvement of the local governments in some of the larger investments on hydram and IWM means that they are also more likely to continue support for maintenance Explain how the Project has mainstreamed cross-cutting issues The main project beneficiaries were women and girls, in economically very poor and remote communities, as they are the ones who spend most time collecting firewood, grinding grains, queueing to use a mill, walking long distances to collect water, and cooking with smokey traditional stoves. In general, these technologies have assisted women to be more involved in economic activities. They have more time available, are less exhausted by hard physical tasks (such as grinding grain or firewood collection), and they have in some cases also received training to be entrepreneurs, such as ICS promoters or commercial vegetable producers. Many ICS promoters that have been trained are women - more than 60% of the promoters are women and have been able to generate good incomes once they developed vocational skills on ICS installation. In addition, the majority (74) of the 100 Local Promoters trained in ICS have been women. Cooking with solid fuels on open fires or traditional stoves creates high levels of indoor air pollution, which is a major risk factor for pneumonia among children and chronic respiratory disease among adults. Indoor smoke contains many pollutants that can damage health, such as carbon monoxide and particulate pollution levels. In the case of the ICS, women are the main users. They are overwhelmingly reporting that there is less (or no) smoke in the kitchen, improving their and their children s health. They also are saving time on firewood collection and also on cooking time (often 2-3 hours per day faster).this gives them time to do other household chores or economic activities, as well as rest and participate in community meetings. The impact assessment team found that: The average total time saved after ICS is hr or two full working days per month per household and 90% of them utilised for agricultural activities like kitchen gardening and expanding vegetable farming. The FGD [focus group discussion] showed that 6% respondents 9

11 from five FGDs areas are commercial vegetable growers and others are planning to expand their kitchen gardens. Saved cooking time by 50% than traditional stove after ICS since they can cook in parallel those who have two pothole stoves. The saved time reduced work load to women and girls who are primarily responsible to cook food. The respondent said that less time needed to clean kitchen utensil as well as reduced the amount of soap consumed. Similarly, women and children are more benefited from ICS because of smokeless environment inside the house resulting less incidences of ARI & URTI problems in women and increase the educational performance of the students. The average time needed to cook foods for human beings is around 90 minutes at once which is reduced by 66.67% that is 60 minutes will needs to cook one meal. Similarly, 20 minutes required cleaning kitchen utensils while using TCS and now it can be done within 10 minutes per meal. It has been shown that altogether hrs in a month saved per family by using ICS and utilized most of the time for kitchen gardening, vegetable farming and children health care. Those running the IWMs are predominantly men, and not the poorest of the community, as they generally don t have the finance nor the business acumen. However, the poorest do benefit from having access to an IWM functioning in the community. The impact assessment team held a focus group discussion with users, and found that they are highly satisfied with IWM nearby their houses, as they saved time, reduced the work load of women & girls, meant that there was no need to invest in household level grinding equipment, increased the performance of students, etc. The short shaft IMW owners reported best performance of IWM in cereal grinding. It has found that efficiency of the IWM in terms of grinding cereals is increased by around three times more than TWM and saved 80% of time of the users. The hydrams benefit all members of the community. Most were used to bring water for domestic use to communities, and these help everyone (especially women and girls, who have the main responsibility for water collection). One hydram was used for irrigation for agriculture, and they helped the entire household. In particular, this hydram served many members of a very disadvantaged ethnic minority (Raute) How and by whom have the activities been monitored/evaluated (besides the Grantee s and NCF s monitoring)? Please summarise the results of the feedback received, including from relevant authorities, line ministries, and other development partners as well as from the beneficiaries. Monitoring was carried out by FCG and RVWRMP staff on an on-going basis, alongside staff from the local government (district and VDC) levels in Nepal (information from these visits has been reported regularly in NCF and RVWRMP reports. In addition, there were some inputs from the Social Welfare Council. At the start of 2014 and independent impact evaluation was carried out by a Nepalese team. The report has been submitted from the impact evaluation What has your organisation/partner(s) learned from the Project. How has this learning been utilised and disseminated? Staff from RVWRMP participated in trainings with CRT/N. They (and FCG) also learned on the job during field monitoring How your organisation/partner(s) has benefitted from the Project. RVWRMP and FCG staff have learned more about RE technologies. The staff had some experience earlier with ICS (but even in this issue they have learned a lot technically), but the work with IWMs and hydrams was new, and our staff have been able to build their knowledge and experience. 3. Partners and other cooperation 3.1 How do you assess that the relationship between the Local Partner(s) and Other Partner(s) in this Project has developed during the implementation of the project? Please provide specific information for each Partner as applicable. RVWRMP is the overall programme, and this is implemented by FCG, hence we have a strong and continuing relationship. We (FCG and RVWRMP) have developed a useful working relation with CRT/N. We shared contacts for staff, and introductions to communities and local government. We also participated in monitoring trips with them, and RVWRMP brought CRT/N representatives to 10

12 participate in a RVWRMP Steering Committee meeting, permitting good information sharing and coordination with national and district level government representatives and stakeholders. 3.2 Is the partnership to continue? If so, how? If not, why? RVWRMP, yes. CRT/N it depends on whether we have funding available for them from the MFA or other sources particularly for hydrams. We will probably also work directly with some of the local facilitators. 3.3 How would you assess the relationship between your organisation and relevant authorities in the Host countries? How has this relationship affected the Project? We already had a positive relationship with local government and beneficiaries, but the success of this project has probably strengthened the relationship, as they are very satisfied to have these new technologies, and to have worked cooperatively. 3.4 Where applicable, outline any links and synergies you have developed during the Project implementation. It has been noted that some other projects are beginning to operate in the far west with renewable technologies, however, there doesn t appear to be any overlaps. CRT/N has begun a project with SNV in 3 of our districts (Doti, Dadeldhura and Baitadi) working to develop new technology piloting a new design of rocket stove (with a mud brick outer and one pot hole). This technology is currently being tested by CRT/N. We considered offering this technology, however in the end it was decided that the current model, with two pot holes was more acceptable with our client base. Another NGO, Renewable World, held a conference in Kathmandu during the implementation and RVWRMP staff gave a presentation there. on green energy, including the REFEL project. We have discussed with staff of SNV, in order to avoid any duplication and to see where possible future opportunities could be developed. 3.5 If your organisation has received previous financing for similar activities in view of strengthening the same target group, in how far has this Project been able to build upon/complement the previous one(s)? We have worked earlier with AEPC, the Nepalese official agency for implementation of renewable energy activities. We continue to work with them on microhydro power, but had earlier had some support in Phase I of RVWRMP on ICS. However, implementation was fairly slow. In this project there was an increasing pace of acceptance of the technology. 3.6 How do you evaluate co-operation with the services of the NCF/NEFCO/NDF? Please also provide your suggestions on how the application process, the cooperation during implementation and the follow up after the implementation could be improved Fine. The approvals for changes were a little slow, and this led to a slow-down of implementation. But on the whole it was fine. 4. Visibility and dissemination 4.1 How have the results been disseminated and how do you plan to continue to disseminate them. How could the project be scaled up? In project reports in Nepal, in information sharing workshops with counterparts, in training events with beneficiaries and other villagers who might be interested in the topics. CRT/N has included sections on the project in their newsletters. CRT/N is keen to disseminate the impact evaluation and the final report to other donors in Nepal. 4.2 How is the visibility of the NCF contribution being ensured in the Project and deliverables? NCF logo is on the project pamphlets and NCF/NEFCO/NDF are listed in all the reports locally, as well as explained to the project beneficiaries and counterparts. 11