SPARKNET organisation profile

Intermediate Technology Development Group - Southern Africa

Member

The ITDG Southern Africa was established in 1989. Its primary focus is on strengthening the ability of small producers to manage and organize their productive activities by providing them with wider choices of technology that will assist them to grow in a sustainable manner. The organization provides information on technologies that are appropriate to the needs of small-scale producers and consumers and promotes increased access to technological knowledge.

Projects focus on:

• Identifying key problems to guide partners / organisations on potential areas for intervention;
• Generation of needs driven ideas and articulating them to key stakeholders including funders;
• Testing the ideas through research and development and participatory technology development processes with communities, entrepreneurs and other relevant stakeholders;
• Developing, testing and disseminating appropriate technologies;
• Developing and implementing demonstration projects that provide a base for sustainable changes in the lives of small producers;
• Training and strengthening technical capacity of small producers, communities and producer institutions;
• Synthesising and packaging project experiences for use in networking, policy dialogue and marketing.

ITDG-SA"s Energy Programme promotes environmentally sound and renewable energy technologies and practices through practical projects, targeted regional training courses and networking. The community energy projects, which are based on participatory approaches where communities identify the energy options most suitable for their own development needs, focus on:

• promoting and co-ordinating the development of alternative sources of rural energy to alleviate the over-use of fuel and biomass,
• developing appropriate methods to increase efficiency in the utilisation of present energy sources.

ITDG-SA has planned and successfully implemented small-scale hydro power stations as alternative energy schemes in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. In Zimbabwe the Nyafaru Scheme was implemented in 1995 and has been operational to date providing electricity to the local community that consists of a boarding school, clinic and farming co-operative. ITDG rehabilitated a hydro scheme at Svinurai Co-operative at Cashel in Chimanimani to provide mechanical power for a grinding mill and electrical power for lighting. The beneficiaries consist of co-operatives and rural communities from the immediate communal areas. In Mozambique ITDG has worked jointly with a local organisation Kwayedza Simukai Manica in refurbishing old water powered grinding mills. The two organisations are currently working with charcoal producers to seek ways of ensuring the sustainability of charcoal production. The main focus of the work is to build the capacity of charcoal producers to incorporate environmental dimensions into their activities.

Organisation contacts

	name	surname	city	country
Mr.	Tinashe	Nhete	Harare, Zimbabwe	Mozambique	view