We are delighted to present the fourth edition of our video podcast series, StreamSide Chats!  The podcast features deep-dive conversations with grassroots innovators and international experts of small-scale hydropower, offering insights from the ground, framed within multi-thematic analysis. 

​In this edition, we take a closer look at social and environmental aspects of community hydro, discussing small-scale hydropower from the perspective of Indigenous communities.  Through the case of a cluster of 12 micro hydro projects in Kalinga Province, Philippines, we explore important connections between community-scale hydro, Indigenous rights and livelihoods, and environmental stewardship. 

We had the privilege to speak with Ms. Jade Angngalao, Coordinator of the Renewable Energy Program at SIBAT.  Jade has worked with micro hydro communities for eleven years, focusing on various technical, social, and environmental aspects.  We learn from Jade how micro hydro is supporting socio-environmental resilience in Kalinga, bolstered by long-standing, robust self-governance structures and traditional ecological knowledge.  Don’t miss this chat, featuring a “streamside” tour of the Balbalasang micro hydro system and community! 

PART A: ​

In Part A, Jade reflects on her experience growing up with micro hydro and shares about the ways in which her social and cultural context influenced her view of ‘development’.  We learn how projects are developed and managed by Indigenous communities in Kalinga province, and discuss how local governance structures and traditional environmental protocols support sustainable energy access, climate resilience, and community development.  Jade shares about key challenges and future priorities, highlighting the opportunity for various stakeholders to support and uplift Indigenous-led, nature-based solutions like the community hydro initiatives in Kalinga.

​​Highlights:

03:44 - Cultural and environmental values
05:41 - Natural resource management
08:48 - First exposure to community hydro
12:04 - A rewarding role
13:40 - Productive end use 
15:48 - Rights and self-governance through community hydro
17:33 - 'Lapat' environmental protocols
21:00 - Governance structure
21:45 - Climate change and watershed restoration
26:00 - Challenges
28:50 - Load management
34:20 - From villages to towns
35:38 - Micro hydro versus the grid
38:05 - Need for government support 
40:00 - Nature-based solutions and climate finance

​In Part B, join us for a tour with Ms. Jade Angngalao, Coordinator of the Renewable Energy Program at SIBAT, Eng. Ver Ian Victorio, Head of Micro Hydro Power Turbine Testing Center, Univ. of Rizwal System, and Eng. Roy Andrada, the Project Manager of the URS-MHP Program.  First, Jade shares an overview of the Balbalasang micro hydro project, including its technical components, evolution, and local impacts.  Next, the team shows us around the project, chatting with key community members along the way.  From a computer lab at the local high school, to hostels and a carpentry workshop, the tour offers a glimpse into the various community assets enabled by the micro hydro system.

Highlights:

02:11 - Project location and governing body
02:53 - Technical layout, components, and evolution
04:30 - Project funding
05:03 - Community contribution of labor and land
05:21 - Productive end use and impact on local economy
06:43 - Social services end uses
07:58 - Household end uses
08:23 - Load Management
09:15 - Opportunity to upgrade the system
10:15 - Community-initiated fund for upgrade
11:09 - System running for two decades
11:46 - "StreamSide" tour of the project!

In case you missed it

Check out earlier editions of StreamSide Chats on our YouTube channel.  
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• In Edition 1 we spoke with decentralized renewable energy specialist, Divyam Nagpal, and Director of Clean Energy at Winrock International, Bikash Pandey.  We discussed the role of micro hydro in contributing to long term rural economic recovery and resilience in the pandemic era.  

• In Edition 2 Bikash Pandey spoke with Ashoka Fellow and micro / mini hydro developer Bir Bahadur Ghale from Nepal, where over 3000 small-scale hydro projects have been developed, supporting local job creation and economic resilience, even in the aftermath of the devastating 2015 earthquake.

• In Edition 3 we focused on Pakistan’s unique small-scale hydro sector, which has been scaled up over several decades.  We spoke with Sherzad Ali Khan, the Coordinator of the Aga Khan Development Network (or AKDN) for Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral regions.  We discussed gender-aware planning, productive end use, successful management practices, grid interconnection, climate finance and more. 

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to stay updated on future releases!

We’re excited to present the latest edition of StreamSide Chats -- our video podcast series featuring conversations with grassroots innovators and international experts of small-scale hydropower.  The podcast facilitates deep-dive conversations with practitioners, bringing to light firsthand insights from the field, framed within multi-thematic analysis.

​In Edition 3, we focus on Pakistan’s unique small-scale hydro sector, which has been scaled up over several decades.  To date, over a thousand systems have been developed in Pakistan by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) and its regional partners, in partnership with rural communities.

​We had the privilege to speak with Sherzad Ali Khan, the Coordinator of the Aga Khan Development Network (or AKDN) for the mountainous regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral in northern Pakistan.  Prior to his current role, Sherzad worked for AKRSP, at which time he further innovated the community ownership models for micro and mini hydro.  AKRSP’s Community Utility Company model continues to generate positive outcomes, and serves as a model for women-centric approaches to governance and productive end use.

Referencing insightful and inspiring examples, Sherzad provides insight into AKRSP’s Community-Utility Company model and how it facilitates inclusive, sustainable energy access and community development.  We discuss gender-aware planning, productive end use, successful management practices, grid interconnection, climate finance and more.

​In case you missed it

Check out earlier editions of StreamSide Chats on our YouTube channel.  
​

• In Edition 1 we spoke with decentralized renewable energy specialist, Divyam Nagpal, and Director of Clean Energy at Winrock International, Bikash Pandey.  We discussed the role of micro hydro in contributing to long term rural economic recovery and resilience in the pandemic era.  

• In Edition 2 Bikash Pandey spoke with Ashoka Fellow and micro / mini hydro developer Bir Bahadur Ghale from Nepal, where over 3000 small-scale hydro projects have been developed, supporting local job creation and economic resilience, even in the aftermath of the devastating 2015 earthquake.

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to stay updated on future releases!

We’re excited to share the new edition of our video podcast series Streamside Chats!  The platform allows us to dialogue with experienced practitioners about their in-depth experiences in developing sustainable hydro mini-grids. It brings together grassroots innovators and international experts, providing firsthand insights from the field, framed within multi-thematic analysis. 

Intro to Speakers

Dipti Vaghela, the Manager of the Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET), introduces the speakers, Bikash Pandey, Director of Clean Energy at Winrock International, and Bir Bahadur Ghale, Founder and Managing Director of Hydro Concern Pvt. Ltd. and provides an overview of the topic.  Both speakers are renown for their pioneering work of over 35 years.
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PART 1:  Start up and scale up of hydro mini-grids in Nepal

Dipti chats with Bikash about the key actors that paved the way for micro hydro development in Nepal and the stages through which the sector evolved over the past four decades.  The micro hydro sector is known to have its earliest roots in Nepal within the S/SE Asia region.  In this discussion, we delve into the pivotal reasons for which the country has one of the most dynamic micro hydro programs around the world.  Tune in to hear how multi-actor collaboration resulted in an ecosystem that scaled-up hydro mini grids, enabling energy access in over 3000 communities in rural Nepal. 
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PART 2:  Impact of a social enterprise approach

Bikash dialogues with Bir Bahadur, taking us on a journey of the renown Barpak hydro mini-grid, developed by Bir Bahadur Ghale in his home village 1991, when he was 24 years of age.  Being his first project and having no previous experience, he shares the obstacles he encountered and how he overcame them, including acquiring technical and financial skills to go onto developing hundreds of projects to date.  We also learn about the impact of the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Barpak, the epicenter of the disaster, the rehabilitation of the micro hydro project, and the critical role it played in rebuilding the village and its economy.  Established using a social enterprise approach, 30 years later the Barpak project is a prime example of a hydro mini-grid that is self-sustainable, providing electricity to over 1200 and many village-based enterprises. Bir Bahadur Ghale's approach has transformed the economic resilience of the community.
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PART 3:  Best practices for economic resilience

In this final part of the 3-part dialogue, we learn about Bir Bahadur Ghale's journey beyond Barpak, gaining insight on how energy access can be accelerated by proven developers.  The dialogue also discusses different types of ownership models and the factors for success of each.  The conversation concludes with policy recommendations to accelerate energy access in Nepal, and the role of energy access in pandemic era economic recovery. 
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Join the discussion!​

Over the next few days, we’ll be posting the questions below, in our post-Chat social media forum.  Share your insights on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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• How can governments better support local manufacturers, producing local jobs and enhancing skill sets?
• What are the different roles that subsidies and loans have in scaling up mini-grids?  Can they complement each other?
• What can help enable communities to identify financially viable productive end use?
• What productive end uses can especially be leveraged by and benefit women?  
• How have mini-grids played a role in economic recovery and resilience of communities in the pandemic age ? 
• What types of policies can support community-private partnerships to accelerate energy access?

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In case you missed it
​
Check out our first edition of StreamSide Chats in which we discussed the role of micro hydro in contributing to long term rural economic recovery and resilience in the pandemic era. 

📽️:  StreamSide Chats - Edition 1, Recovery & Resilience

Edition 1: “Recovery and Resilience” - PART 2

In Part 2, Director of Clean Energy at Winrock International, Bikash Pandey, joins the discussion, bringing three decades of  experience in policy review, program design and implementation across all decentralized renewable energy (DRE) technologies. We chat about the missed opportunity of micro/mini hydropower as the mini-grid underdog, and best practices for supporting resilient, high social impact solutions providing lessons for the rural economic recovery needed ahead.

Join the discussion!
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How do you think COVID-19 recovery and resilience can be shaped from the lens of energy access? 
​​What barriers prevent us from shifting from kilowatts to social impact?​

Over the next few days, we’ll be posting these questions and more, in our post-Chat social media forum. Share your insights on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. 

• Twitter - @HPNEThydro
• Facebook - @hydroempowerment
• LinkedIn - Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET)

In case you missed it
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Earlier this year we released a new video, providing a glimpse of how local micro/mini hydro practitioners collaborate with off-grid communities to advance sustainable development. 

Check it out, to better understand small-scale hydro, “the underdog” of decentralized renewables, and its proven long-term socioeconomic benefits. 

WATCH: Who Are We: The Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET)
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