A Sustainable Development Framework to Empower Rural Communities
Over the past 30 years, economic and political reforms in Vietnam have spurred rapid economic growth, transforming what was then one of the world’s poorest nations into a lower middle-income country. However, minority groups living in rural regions are still being left behind and do not have access to the same opportunities as the booming metropolitan areas.
By providing targeted and tailored support to villages in rural underserved regions of Vietnam, the Lotus Project has developed a replicable framework to empower rural communities and improve their quality of life and contribution to the economy. This interdisciplinary research and development framework effectively identifies and analyses these underserved communities and presents them with sustainable solutions. Using a result-based financing approach, the Lotus Team then implements these solutions following the Rural Development Model (RDM).
By combining the fields of engineering, economics and sociology, the organisation is able to optimize the solutions to its research topics and stretch the boundaries of current programmes. The approach is designed to engage researchers, communities, authorities and engineers to develop stable socio-economic and climate-resilient growth models.
Interdisciplinary research and development framework used to implement Rural Development Model
The discipline of engineering is used for the design, development and implementation of renewable energy sources and constitutes the foundation of Lotus Project’s research. Lotus Project creates engineering solutions, such as micro-grids and energy efficient housing, designed to have a low carbon footprint and the local community at its core.
The discipline of economics enables the organisation to develop community-based and -driven models that ensure the sustained economic growth of the villages and improve the contribution of its inhabitants to the economy. Lotus Project applies economic analysis through a deductive process, where the implications of specific human activities are considered in a "means-ends" framework.
Finally, the discipline of sociology is at the core of every component in Lotus Project’s research structure. Through this discipline, the organisation focuses on developing a thorough understanding of the communities it deals with in order to maintain and/or enable the development of their culture and social order while achieving higher living standards through socio-economic development. Research has proven that developing solutions in which the local community is highly integrated increases their probability of success.
Lotus Project aims to achieve its goal of empowering rural communities by implementing its Rural Development Model, a 5 phase process that helps target villages achieve self-sustained growth through the implementation of renewable energy projects and knowledge transfer.
Phase 1: Pre-electrification
During the first phase, the Lotus Team carries out a feasibility study, specifies the scope of work and budget, and researches the target community needs.
The organisation exclusively focuses on remote communities that have modest initial energy demands and are currently not serviced or very poorly serviced by unreliable, single point grid connections or by inefficient and expensive fossil fuel generation equipment.
Through a first field trip, the team assesses the lifestyle and living conditions of the target villagers, their energy consumption patterns and their aspirational energy use. From the beginning, the team establishes a good dialogue with the villagers in order to better understand how their living standards can be improved. They also enter in liaison with the local authorities to discuss the level of energy access in the village, the immediate and long-term energy needs of the region and the different stakeholders involved in the process.
Phase 2: Electrification
During the second phase, Lotus Project implements a reliable and affordable micro-grid based system to attend the target village’s most immediate needs such as access to electricity for lighting and using alternatives to firewood-based cooking.
A micro-grid is a local energy grid with control capabilities that allows it to operate autonomously. It can therefore be used to supply electricity to communities that are unlikely to be served in the near- or medium-term by extensions of traditional centralized grid systems. In the case of Lotus Project, these off-grid projects are always based on renewable energy sources.
Providing access to electricity is the initial step to help alleviate socio-economic issues. The implementation of a micro-grid allows households to have extra time that can be reinvested to further the economic output of the households and not be left behind in the rapid process of economic development.
Alongside the construction, the team examines how the micro-grid can impact the community in real-time and develops a socio-economic growth model for the community.
Lotus Project staff and locals in Lung Thuoc Village, Van Quan District, Vietnam (January 2019)
Phase 3: Education and learning
In the third phase, the Lotus Team gives on-site training to the local workforce and authorities to create awareness of efficient energy use methods and enhance the economic condition of the households. The team encourages the villagers to view the new micro-grid infrastructure with an economic purpose, discussing ways of optimizing the use of electricity to generate economic output. They help locals identify new commercial development opportunities and elaborate a business plan adopting a monetization strategy.
For this to be as effective as possible, Lotus Project encourages villagers to collaborate with each other, dividing the different tasks depending on each inhabitant’s skills and abilities.
Phase 4: Self-sufficiency
Lotus Project’s ambition is for these target villages to become self-sufficient. To do so, it provides customised but replicable support systems by emphasizing on productive activities to minimise outside dependencies. For future prosperity, a plan to stabilize the economic condition of these villages is set in place. Onsite training and education are provided to the local community, and local leaders are communicated procedures that can be initiated to sustain improved living standards and prevent reversion.
The organisation also considers opportunities to collaborate with microfinance institutions to provide a wider range of solutions to villagers, promote their financial inclusion and empower women in the households.
Phase 5: Self-sustained growth
Finally, in order for this growth to be sustainable, the organisation supports continued innovation and business plan development. They track the progress of the micro-grid monetization strategy and encourage the targeted families to reinvest new revenues back into the local infrastructure. They also support the integration of community-based growth models into cultural values, social beliefs and political structures.
Consulting and support is provided to the local people throughout their journey to ensure the projected growth targets are maintained.
Alongside the RDM, the Lotus Team is constantly leading research and economic analysis to develop innovative methods of alleviating poverty and increasing economic productivity while promoting the usage of renewable energy and a climate-resilient standard of living. Through this approach, Lotus Project hopes to establish a model to empower undeserved rural communities that can be transmitted to serve the development effort worldwide.
CHLOE BELLIS