WISIONS Project Wins 2016 National Energy Globe Award for Ecuador

The WISIONS's SEPS project "Growing Esmeraldas with Renewable Energy" (CRECER) has won the 2016 National Energy Globe Award for Ecuador. The CRECER programme was developed to improve the lives and livelihoods of rural cacao farming families in Ecuador’s Esmeraldas Province through the holistic implementation of renewable energy technologies, eco-agricultural training programmes, and improved social cohesion.

With funding provided by WISIONS's SEPS programme, 42 local farmers completed an 80 hour course to improve their cacao cultivation through organic practices, 50 families received training on gender equity, conflict resolution and leadership techniques and 15 community members were trained as technicians/promoters. With the support of these newly trained local experts, 10 biogas digesters and 9 solar cacao dryers were installed. These technologies empower local families, improving cacao yield and quality by providing organic fertiliser and post-harvest processing of a consistent quality, while simultaneously protecting local watersheds, substituting renewable energy for fossil fuels and firewood, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

On 5 June, UN World Environment Day, the national winners of the Energy Globe Award were presented in a global online campaign under the patronage of UNESCO and in cooperation with UNEP. The Energy Globe Award includes 177 participating nations and is the largest and most renowned environmental prize worldwide.

For more information, please see the WISIONS or Green Empowerment website or check the project's description below.