This section of the Mantra Project consists aims at providing rural villages and communities with affordable, locally generated renewable energy. It intends to combine donations and small loans to supply renewable energy to individual consumers, micro-entrepreneurs, communities and village cooperatives in developing countries.
The programme carries out its mission through four core activities: i) removing the major barriers to introducing and expanding the use of renewable energy systems, by providing technical assistance for financial restructuring, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and environmental safeguarding; ii) increasing awareness among consumers and suppliers on the benefits and the correct use of renewable energies systems iii) establishing effective partnerships with local governments, MFIs and NGOs; and iv) building the skills of partners by improving the managerial skills of grass-roots organizations involved in the provision of renewable energy services to form and train personnel to install, maintain and repair the power systems.
By developing the infrastructure for clean renewable energies and by empowering women in rural areas, Mantra contributes to alleviate poverty, improve health conditions, devise more reliable water supplies, reduce the carbon footprint, prevent deforestation and, in the same breath, generate greater opportunities to improve livelihood and promote truly sustainable development.
The Project is the result of an urgent demand by our society and has to do with peoples’ real need for individual and community development within a peaceful coexistence. The transition to a sustainable development is an issue that greatly concerns and is of interest to each and every member of any community.
Mantra has an international geographic implementation and is grounded in solid values, is an example of good practice that can be replicated in many more years to come.
1Â Al-Shams is the Semitic-Arab word for Sun.