|
>View discussions about this entry País: United States
Organization: Manna Energy Foundation
Field of Work: Water
Year the initative began (yyyy) 2003
YouTube Upload:
Project URL: http://www.mannaenergy.org
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? We are the first organization in the world to claim carbon credits for the treatment of drinking water.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? The Manna Energy Foundation is installing almost 500 water treament systems for the secondary schools in Rwanda, funding the venture with carbon credits. The revenue generated will subsidize the installations of an equal number of human waste biogas generators.
This new model for hydrophilanthropy is unique in the humanitarian development field. Traditional development organizations, rely on government, UN, or charity grants, and have finite funding with specific goals for discrete projects. Instead, under this model, economic sustainability and expansion is generated only by the continued use of the installed projects. There is a direct incentive to ensure that the projects are successful, in that these same projects serve to fund further development. No longer is there a disconnect between funding and public health goals. The Manna Energy Foundation is pioneering this venture, as the first organization ever to attempt to qualify for United Nations carbon credits based on the treatment of water to address public health needs. Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? Manna will deploy almost 500 water treatment plants and biogas generators throughout Rwanda, targeting most of the secondary schools. The water treatment plants will be gravity and photovoltaic driven filtration and ultraviolet disinfection systems that will provide bacterially decontaminated water for drinking, food preparation and personal hygiene. The biogas generators will take human and kitchen waste and capture the waste methane. The methane is then provided as fuel for high efficiency cook stoves. The waste effluent is rich fertilizer.
How do you plan to expand your innovation? Manna Energy Foundation’s niche in the humanitarian development field is based on two major factors. The first is the experience of the Foundation’s staff in rural surface water treatment in Rwanda. The second is the concept of securing UN CERs for the treatment of this water. Manna is the first organization to attempt to do this, based on the premise that a liter of water treated is a liter of water that no longer “should” be boiled for an equivalent public health increase.
Unlike conventional development projects dependent on one-time donor financing, this Project is designed to generate a continuing stream of income through the award and sale of carbon credits. Thus, the Project expects to be rewarded not for initial construction of the facilities, but for the continuing operation of the facilities over a long period. We believe this economic model — with continuing operation rather than initial deployment as the generator of funding —will ensure that our systems do not fail due to neglect. Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them? Manna Energy Foundation’s partners in this project include the United Nations Development Program, the Government of Rwanda and Engineers Without Borders-USA. The premise of this work is the volunteer efforts of Engineers Without Borders-USA working in Rwanda since 2003. Founding members of the Manna Energy Foundation are long time volunteers with EWB-USA.
Manna is contracting with several organizations operating in Rwanda to implement and maintain the technology systems. These contractors include Great Lakes Energy LTD, the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology, and Davis and Shirtliff Group. Additionally, the Rwandan enterprise component of the Manna project will create a substantial number of new jobs, both skilled and unskilled, in Rwanda in order to construct and install the systems, and to assure the proper operation and maintenance of the systems over a minimum of the 10 year CER crediting period. Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. Delivering clean water and energy to 236,000 Rwandan students, and funding further expansion of these efforts.
How many people have you served or plan to serve? Through Engineers Without Borders-USA, we have delivered clean water to approximately 2,000 residents in rural Rwanda. Based on this work, the Manna Energy Foundation will pay for the expansion of this effort with United Nations carbon credits, impacting approximately 236,000 students at Rwanda's secondary schools.
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation? Our partnerships with these communities have resulted in increased opportunities for the residents with the education provided, and we anticipate that through partnership with the secondary schools across Rwanda this impact will increase dramatically.
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation? About 236,000 students, staff, faculty and surrounding residents of 500 of Rwanda's secondary schools.
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? Current Financial Projection indicates that the Project will generate substantial net income during the 10 year period commencing upon the installation of the first system and ending 10 years after the date of the installation of the last system. Subject to securing the required United Nations authorizations and a successful implementation on the ground, the proposed venture is expected to generate US$84 million in revenue over the first ten years, at a total construction cost of US$23 million. This leaves US$61 million for maintenance, management, and deployment of other projects both in Rwanda and elsewhere in the developing world that further the mission of Manna Energy.
Provide information on your finances and organization: FY 2005: ~ $10,000 USD
FY 2006: ~ $10,000 USD FY 2007: ~ $30,000 USD FY 2007 (projected): ~ $285,000 from UNDP advanced to cover CDM registration costs Earned income FY 2007: $30,000 USD from the advanced sale of carbon credits What is the potential demand for your innovation? At peak roll-out, Manna will employ approximately 800 Rwandan staff, impacting approximately 236,000 Rwandans with clean water and energy. The revenue generated in carbon credits from the water treatment plants will fully repay the installation debt, subsidize the installation of the biogas generators, pay for maintenance of the systems, and provide capital for expanding the work. Likely many other organizations will soon attempt to claim carbon credits for the treatment of water.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? Manna is neither a business nor a charity. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit, that is capable of generating revenue, and having a return on investment for donors. This concept is foreign in both the business and development worlds, and we have been challenged by not fitting into the box for either funding method. Additionally, our peak funding need of approximately $12M is too large for foundations, and too small for most international banks.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. I have been a volunteer with Engineers Without Borders-USA since it was founded at my university in 2002. Since 2003, I have managed our projects in Rwanda, leading five teams there to assess, design, implement and monitor rainwater catchments, biogas generators, solar powered lighting systems, and water treatment systems. We raised all of the funding ourselves, on a per project basis. As a professional engineer, I founded the EWB-Johnson Space Center Chapter at NASA in Houston, where I work as an aerospace engineer.
When we learned of the change in rules at the United Nations for qualifying for carbon credits, we founded the Manna Energy Foundation with volunteer colleagues from the NASA-Johnson Space Center to align our water treatment experience in Rwanda with this new opportunity. I’m now the Vice Chairman for Humanitarian Projects of Manna, while our chairman is an astronaut I introduced to Rwanda in 2006. We are all currently working as volunteers. I’m 24 years old, and have a year left on my PhD in this field, combing water treatment in Rwanda with water recovery for spacecraft. The CTO of Manna and I are co-inventors of a water treatment system for rural Rwanda. This is my passion, and we are eager to demonstrate that our small scale efforts can have a large impact in Rwanda. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material: Evan is an Aerospace Engineer at the NASA-Johnson Space Center in Houston, working on water treatment methods for crewed spacecraft as part of his doctoral dissertation. Evan has been involved with Engineers Without Borders-USA since 2002, leading sustainable development projects in Rwanda and Nepal. These include solar powered lighting, biogas generators, rainwater catchments and water treatment. Evan is the Vice-Chairman of the Manna Energy Foundation, working to claim carbon credits for the treatment of water at secondary schools in Rwanda.
Contact Information:
Evan Thomas
Vice Chairman for Humanitarian Projects Manna Energy Foundation (NGO) Discussions about this entry |
Developing Another World in Rural Rwanda
|
|
Hello Evan,
You mention that the adjustments to the Clean Development Mechanism made by the UN in 2007 "included the principles of “demand suppression” and “right to develop,” which now make it possible for Manna Energy to earn CERs by exchanging clean energy sources for the actual or potential use of non-renewable firewood." Clearly you've got an excellent and innovative idea here but it seems as though your project is still in the process and implementation phase. Our question is around the actual financing and authorization of the carbon credits. You mention that you are working to secure " the required United Nations authorizations.” Can you give us an update on that status and when you expect the likely approval?
Thank you.
The Changemakers Team