Project Title:                Chorro Blanco Micro-Hydro Project

Project Location:         Chorro Blanco Village, Cajamarca District, Peru

Project Duration:         6 months

Project Summary:

The construction of a 20kW micro-hydro power station in the isolated Peruvian village of Chorro Blanco to produce 55 kW to directly benefit approximately 60 families.  The power will be used to replace candles and paraffin, to increase evening activities, and community services such as schools, health posts and community centres, and small businesses.  A high level of community participation is paramount in all stages of project development.

Country Profile:

Capital city:  Lima

Population:  29,200,000

Life Expectancy:  70

Population without access to electricity:  21%

Population living on less than $2 dollars a day:  30.6%

Adult Illiteracy Rate: 12.1%

(Source: UNDP Human Index Report)

Current situation:

The community mostly use candles and paraffin for domestic lighting and dry batteries for operating small radios and flashlights.  Community centres are mainly only used during the day but for meeting at night paraffin lamps and candles are used which cause are problematic particularly for providing health care to patients in health posts for meetings with children.

The project plan:

The micro-hydro system will provide clean, sustainable electricity for the homes of 60 families and community centres, encouraging an increase in productivity during the evenings allowing children to study and adults to undertake further income generating activities.  The electricity will also improve communications as well as local services such as the local health post and community centre.  Future energy uses might include battery charging services, coffee processing, carpentry workshops and other small businesses.

Project Development:

To ensure the long-term sustainability of the project the community is involved in all aspects.  The project is the result of an initial community-led demand for a renewable energy system, and they have been involved in all aspects from the original design as well as the construction phases and the overall long-term management and maintenance of the system.  A micro-business will be established with the residents paying for the energy they receive, which will be used to maintain the system and ensure it functions efficiently for many years.

The People:

“We're really appreciative because the light will let us get ahead and improve our work. Now we have to go to other places but we'll be able to produce our own products here in Chorro Blanco. We're going to put in a carpentry shop and also make "manjar blanco" (a sweet delicacy) and cheese. It's from the will of god and our own efforts”

Cesar Huaman