YAMOG and Green Empowerment: A Mindanao Partnership
YAMOG and Green Empowerment first established contact, which soon ripened into a full partnership, in October 2000. YAMOG sought out Green Empowerment’s technical assistance on micro-hydro projects after hearing about Green Empowerment’s work in Nicaragua, reported in Hydro Review Worldwide. During the first trip, Green Empowerment Executive Director Michael Royce, Program Manager Joseph Richards, and Board member Francie Royce spent four days meeting with YAMOG staff and visiting their projects at Megkawayan and Polocon, Davao City.
Since that time, Green Empowerment helped YAMOG enhance its technical level through participation in a pico hydro survey training in Nepal in 2001; a week-long training on micro hydro in Malaysia; a three-week course on turbines and electrical controllers for micro hydro projects in Bandung, Indonesia in 2003; a 2005 solar training; and a 2007 course and joint implementation of a solar water pumping system in the community of Amgu-o.
In addition, Green Empowerment works with YAMOG on joint fundraising for a number of their projects and in networking with other NGOs and international organizations. Green Empowerment helped YAMOG write and submit grant applications, including a $150,000 Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP) grant, facilitated contact with the Rotary club, and shared technical papers on wind energy from its network. Utilizing world-wide contacts, Green Empowerment facilitated technical advice relating to the rehabilitation of the micro hydro project at Polocon. In 2008, Green Empowerment provided follow up mentoring and field assistance to upgrade the Amgu-o solar pump. Additionally, Green Empowerment provided funding for a feasibility study of a “micro-hydro corridor” combining two villages and two micro-hydro systems into a single grid.
Reflecting on this friendship of ten years, Nazario “Nonoy” Cacayan, Executive Director of YAMOG, commented during an interview. “Our partnership with Green Empowerment has always been rooted in mutual respect. We share the same vision of community-based development. We have always valued and benefitted from the technology trainings and skill transfers conducted by Green Empowerment and hope that this will continue in the future, particularly as YAMOG starts to diversify its technical skills into biomass/biogas and wind.”
“The networking through Green Empowerment has also been useful, not only in connecting us to foreign funding groups like Seacology, but also with other NGOs in Green Empowerment’s network here in the Philippines such as AIDFI and SIBAT. Often, too, Green Empowerment has worked with YAMOG in building the strength of our partnerships with other groups such as the Peace and Equity Foundation, AMORE and Winrock.”
“Looking to the next three to five years, we hope that Green Empowerment will help us package our proposals to larger funding organizations, as we move from single village projects to regional plans involving 4-5 villages each. The Mindanao Renewable Energy Network (MREN), a network of 17 NGOs and Peoples’ Organizations (POs) from the villages in which YAMOG has worked, wants to become more involved in advocacy around renewable energy issues, both at the local and national level. Green Empowerment can help us reach a larger audience.”
“YAMOG continues to face the challenge of achieving organizational sustainability. We have started a few measures like establishment of a website and moving to professionalize our technical fees and training. Green Empowerment has worked with us on this issue in the past, but it is a very vital question for YAMOG. One step might be Green Empowerment’s assistance in strengthening our web presence so that more funding organizations can see and evaluate our work. But we are also open to technology transfers, consulting, multi-year grants and other means whereby YAMOG can establish itself on a more stable and long-term basis financially.”
March 11, 2010
By Michael Royce, based on an interview at the YAMOG office with Nazario Cacayan in Davao City, Philippines