Action C8 of the LIFE BioBalance project and Activity AIII.1 of the BioJust project focused on demonstrating and evidencing solutions to increase the capacity and knowledge of low-income rural communities to reduce firewood-dependency.
The Action consisted of three main elements:
● Research on energy poverty and household biomass use – Fuel of the Poor study.
● Pilot projects to identify good practices that best fit the needs of low-income, firewood-dependent communities.
● Evaluation of the outcomes and assessment of their potential for upscaling – developing guidelines in light of the lessons learnt.
● The pilot projects were implemented across three countries – Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania – in four municipalities with a high ratio of low-income households, as they are the most dependent on firewood: using biomass in the highest share and with the lowest efficiency.
Municipalities are in direct contact with fuel-wood-dependent households and therefore, have a large potential to instigate behavioral change, build awareness, and provide support. However, they often lack crucial resources (funding, knowledge, capacity, and stakeholder cooperation) for implementing household or community-level best practices related to biomass sustainability.
The pilot projects aimed to test various small-scale interventions – such as window-replacement, local savings group, attic insulation or firewood drying and storage facilities – and identify best practices to reduce firewood-dependency and increase energy efficiency.
Implementation in each location was coordinated by the national Habitat for Humanity office (Habitat Bulgaria, Habitat Hungary, and Habitat Romania) in cooperation with local municipalities, community organizers, and coordinators.
This guideline describes the local pilot projects, the best practices which resulted from their implementation, the lessons learnt during the process as well as recommendations for replicability.
The steps to implement the pilot projects, the stakeholders involved, and how to reach and engage the target group are described in the Guideline for local capacity buildings and multi-stakeholder planning.
The full text of the guidebook can be found here:
Local pilot projects towards the reduction of energy poverty and firewood use
This project is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).
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