(em)Power Tan Thuong

By Victor Wall The non-profit NGO Encourage Development South seeks funding on behalf of (em)Power Tan Thuong in order to conduct a three-week preparatory research study in Tan Thuong, Ha Giang, Vietnam.
Insamling - Fundraising


The non-profit NGO Encourage Development South seeks funding on behalf of (em)Power Tan Thuong in order to conduct a three-week preparatory research study in Tan Thuong, Ha Giang, Vietnam

(em)Power Tan Thuong is a unique, student driven, alternative energy development project in north Vietnam. The aim of the project is to assist the ethnic minority Dao in Tan Thuong village, in the construction of a small-scale hydro-power station in the village, with enough capacity to supply all 57 households with a stable source of electricity all year round.

The project is carried out as a collaboration between the people of Tan Thuong, university students from Sweden and Vietnam and one or more hydro electric power companies with necessary technical experience and expertise.

For more info. Visit: http://empowertanthuong.blogspot.com/ />

BACKGROUND
Encourage Development South is the NGO behind (em)Power Tan Thuong. It is a student driven non-profit organization aiming to ease co-operation between academic and business sector. We are currently planning a preparatory research trip to Tan Thuong on behalf of (em)Power Tan Thuong, in order for our engineers and social scientists (students from different universities around the world) to conduct necessary readings and assessments. This fundraiser, as well as the financial goal we are trying to reach (€14000) refers only to the preparatory study, i.e. not the actual construction of the power station. Below follows Research Trip Itinerary and Budget.

PROJECT TIMETABLE
Preparatory study*
2012-06-28 – 2013-06-28**
Implementation***
2013-06-01 – 2014-01-01

* In order to get reliable data concerning water flows etc. readings need to be conducted over a period of one year.
** Based on the availability of participating students, these dates may vary.
*** Based on the information from the preparatory study, a Swedish company will develop a station, test it in a factory environment and then ship it and construct on location in Tan Thuong.

PROGRAM ITINERARY
2012-06-28 – Departure from Stockholm with destination Hanoi
2012-06-30 – Meet up with participating students from Hanoi University and Volunteers for Peace, Vietnam.
2012-07-04 – Departure for Vinh Quang, Ha Giang
2012-07-05 – Travel to Tan Thuong for meeting with village and commune representatives.
2012-07-06 – Travel to Tan Thuong for meeting with inhabitants of the village. Dinner and social gettogether.
2012-07-07 – 2012-07-10 – The technical and social scientific parts of the group prepares their upcoming in-village studies in Vinh Quang. The management part of the group prepares for our stay in the village.
2012-07-11 – 2012-07-15 – The group stays with the villagers in Tan Thuong. Preparatory readings of water drops and flows are initiated, an extensive portfolio of pictures from the area is created, the technical part of the crew conducts seminars and provides basic training in hydro power, social and environmental impact assessments are conducted. Meanwhile, the project management will meet with key stakeholders and important actors on commune level.
2012-07-16 – Farewell ceremony with dinner and social get together for everyone in the village and everyone involved in the project.
2012-07-17 – Return to Hanoi
2012-07-18 – 2012-07-19 – Evaluation of the trip
2012-07-19 – Farewell ceremony with the Hanoi part of the project group Hanoi
2012-07-20 – Return to Sweden
Total: 23 days

BUDGET
Flight tickets, 7 pax, return, Stockholm-Hanoi, 42 000 – 45 000 sek
Work VISA, 7 persons, 3 500 – 4 000 sek
Accommodation Hanoi/Vinh Quang, 7 pers. 18 nights*, 15 000 sek, 8 pers. 8 nights**, 6 000 sek
Accommodation Tan Thuong, 15 pers. 5 nights***, 2 500 sek
Food, 7 pers. 18 days, 10 000 sek, 8 pers. 8 days, 5 000 sek
Chartered bus, Hanoi - Vinh Quang - Hanoi, 5 000 – 10 000 sek
Employment, Vietnamese hydro power expert, 20 000 sek
Administration, Dinners, gifts, taxi fares etc.,5 000 sek

TOTAL, Rounded up, 122 500 sek
According to exchange rate 2012-02-14
$ 18,418
€ 13,888
£ 11,648

* 5 nights are spent in Tan Thuong
** The Vietnamese part of the group will not need hotel in Hanoi
*** It is customary to pay for accommodation as guests.


PURPOSE
We believe that the responsibility for global poverty alleviation doesn't have to rest on the shoulders of grand, world-renown and well-established development agencies alone, but could and should be divided. There is an abundance of knowledge not being utilized in the fight against global poverty. There is a vast, global student body with a great deal of knowledge, lacking not the will but the proper channels to go through in order to turn one’s competence into a tool for poverty alleviation. We are striving to change this. We wish to create a new approach to global development work and by utilizing the knowledge of students all over the world, together we are prepared to lead the way. We are currently working together with students from five major universities. For information on the current project group, visit:
http://empowertanthuong.blogspot.com/p/who-are-we_08.html />
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The ethnic minority Dao, of Tan Thuong village, have stated the poor access to electricity to be the number one obstacle standing in the way of their development. We have, along with the village leader of Tan Thuong, decided to change this.
(em)Power Tan Thuong is carried out as an international collaboration between university students in both Sweden and Vietnam. Students, together with the people of Tan Thuong, will work alongside one or multiple hydro power companies (Swedish and/or Vietnamese) with the necessary technical expertise and experience needed to construct a small-scale hydro power station in the village. The station will have capacity enough to supply all 57 households as well as potential future small-scale industry with a stable supply of electricity all year round.

Today, all work is being carried out by university students in both Sweden and Vietnam. This approach to development work is a unique and untested technique and it is our hope and belief that we are merely sowing a seed to something so much bigger. During the implementation process, students will work alongside experienced professionals to make sure that we do a perfect job, but we are relying on the knowledge and competence of students for this project to be successful.

We are currently planning a preparatory research trip to Tan Thuong. A group of Swedish students will travel to Vietnam, meet up with our Vietnamese colleagues from different Vietnamese universities, and then travel together up to the northern regions. On location, the technological part of the group will conduct readings and measurements of water flows and drops etc. as well as conduct seminars and basic training in hydro power as alternative energy system with the local population. The social scientific part of the group will conduct social and environmental impact assessments. (em)Power Tan Thuong is a pilot project. We wish to prove that development work can be done by anyone, anywhere, as long as you are willing to put in a bit of time and effort. If the pilot project is successful, we wish to replicate the project in other areas of the region. But for this to be possible, we need to make sure that we don't create new problems while trying to help solve existing ones. That's why social and environmental impact assessments are so important.

The information we gather will then be sent to a company in Västerås, Sweden, specialized in small-scale hydro power solutions. They will develop a custom-made, user friendly solution to be shipped and constructed on location in Tan Thuong in 2013. University students will also be part of the crew responsible for the construction.


In order for (em)Power Tan Thuong to kick off, we need to raise enough money to conduct this preparatory study. I have always been intrigued by the Six Degrees of Separation concept. The idea that in six steps, we are all connected to each other. For example, if I have 100 friends, and they all have 100 friends that I don’ know, and they all have 100 friends that we don’t know, at stage three we are already up to 1,000,000 people. At stage four we are most likely connected to people on every single continent and at stage five our interconnected web of contacts surpass the amount of people living on planet earth. Take a look at this ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ calculation.

Stage 1 – 10 donors - $10
Stage 2 – 110 donors - $110
Stage 3 – 1,110 donors - $1,110
Stage 4 – 11,110 donors - $11,110
We are now more than half-way to reaching the economic target for the preparatory research trip
Stage 5 – 111,110 donors - $111,110
Together we have now co-financed half of the entire project budget, construction included.
Stage 6 – 1,111,110 donors - $1,111,110
We will now be well on our way towards replicating the project in other areas of the region.


Help us change the world. Help us create a new approach to global development and poverty alleviation. Anyone, anywhere can make a difference.

For more info. Visit:
http://empowertanthuong.blogspot.com/

Project location: Ha Giang, Vietnam


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Victor Wall

26 years old, currently living in Stockholm. Before Stockholm, I traveled a lot and eventually studied development studies in Gothenburg. I’m project manager for (em)Power Tan Thuong, a student driven, alternative energy development project in Vietnam.

victor.wall@hotmail.se

Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Website: http://empowertanthuong.blogspot.com/

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