CAISL

Energy Hubs

JEEP succesfully conducted two energy hubs in Nyaravuru-Angal town council and Acana Sub County. During the Energy Hubs, JEEP field staff demonstrated energy saving technologies to the gathered masses. Using a public address system, they explained how these technologies work, their benefits and how they can be of help in climate change mitigation. The field officers also talked about green enterprise development amongst the youth in Nebbi district. That way, sustainable technologies like those developed by JEEP can also have a great socioeconomic impact.

Community Drives

To reach the farthest of regions, JEEP field officers also conducted community drives. Using two newly acquired motorbikes, they reached as far as Nyaravuru-Angal town council, Parombo town council, and Acana Sub county. A radio-spot message was also developed, to be played while driving the motorcycle. As they were driving around, the field officer stopped in town centers and used the microphones to elaborate and create awareness about the CAISL project, environment, climate change, sustainable energy technologies and how CAISL is going to help the people of Nebbi combat climate change through advocacy and use of energy saving technologies.

Advocacy Skills

Since advocacy skills are crucial for the two former activities, the field staff was trained in advocacy best practices by Mr. Nkwanga David from UCSD. In an hour-long workshop, they learned about both conveying messages about environmental conservation and law to communities, as well as packaging their feedback back to the administration. Further, JEEP staff was hosted by Radio Marian Fm in Jupangira Sub county.

Conclusion

These activities were deemed succesful. After they were presented, there was great demand for sustainable technologies and people were eager for the training sessions to start. JEEP concluded that the advocacy and information part of CAISL will continue to the end of the project.

People gather around Angal Hospital Market Energy Hub.

Trainer elaborating in Parombo Town Council.

To forward JEEP’s declared goal of ending environmental degradation, JEEP staff including CEO Ruth Kiwanuka and Head of Programmes Sylvia Nalubwama conducted a number of inception meetings. These meetings present an integrated and cooperative approach by JEEP to include all relevant actors and stakeholders in the process of fostering climate action and resilience in the rural communities of Nebbi district. Overall, JEEP was able to hold productive talks with district leaders including the Deputy CAO, RDC, DISO and Vice LCV, sub-county officials including senior staff members, and fellow NGOs active in the region, including Plan International.

District Leaders

27 district leaders, both political and technical, attended the meeting. Experienced leaders re-welcomed JEEP to scale up the succesful EASE-CA Project, so that EASE-CA trained Trainers can now conduct TOTs themselves. New district leaders were informed about CAISL and EASE-CA. In their remarks, the district leaders emphasized the need to tackle the great issue of climate change, while also calling for action against local environmental degradation. A key takeaway of the following participative discussion was the need for cooperation in monitoring the project. This ensures sustainable longevity of the project, so that the district can own it after completion and efficiently manage its further developments.

Sub County Officials

As CAISL is about the empowerment in sustainability of rural communities, communication with the latter is key. For that JEEP conducted meetings in 11 sub counties and 2 town-councils, reaching a total of 135 officials. Many officials complained about NGOs not sufficiently cooperating with them, since embedment of project activities into local structures is important for success. Further, local, and especially geographical knowledge is necessary to ascertain the needs of communities. In the end, the sub counties pledged support in the areas of technical issues, monitoring and security. The counties are looking forward to combat negative environmental impacts with the help of JEEP.

Civil Society Organizations

JEEP further met up with 7 fellow NGOs to discuss similarities and overlaps in the Nebbi district. An exchange of succesful projects, best-practices in raising awareness and choosing project beneficiaries, as well as observed problems in implementation took place as well. Participating civil society organizations deemed this exchange succesful.

District Leaders meeting with JEEP Team