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Vinh Phuoc commune, Tri Ton district, An Giang province 

 

Background

Flooding area close to border with Cambodia. They grow deep water rice during the flood and cassava after the flood subsides. No grid electricity; cassava stems are wasted and could be fed to gaotos.

Technology transfer

Solar lighting for village
Feeding system for goats based on cassava stems and leaves
Gasifier stoves for cooking and production of biochar
The gasifier for village electricity and refrigeration and biochar.

Research

How to preserve the cassava stem (probably with urea ensiling) (to be done in Nong Lam)
Production and use of biochar as soil amender (CRRD village site)
Taro/banana stem for Mong Cai pigs (if appropriate) (in CRRD village site) 

Activities
Demonstration of solar lighting system (19 May 2014)

There  is no grid electricity in the flooded rice area where the Vinh Phuoc commune is situated. Some families use batteries and 12V strip lights, with the inconvenience of having to take (by boat or by motor cycle) the batteries to a source where they can be re-charged.  There are obvious advantages from being able to charge the batteries in the family household.

A complete solar lighting unit (50W panel, charger, battery, LED bulbs, cables and connectors) was transported  by road to An Giang province (Tri Ton District) and from there by canal to the Vinh Phuoc commune. Four families participated in the workshop/demonstration. Due to excessive shade from trees  adjoining the house, the solar panel was supported on a separate structure in an area close to the house where sunlight would be maximized. The solar panel was then connected via the charger unit to the storage battery and from there to the LED lights in the house. A recording unit was installed in the input line to the battery so as to monitor the energy received from the solar panel.

The installation was well received by the farmers, and their families,  that took part in the demonstration. A proposal to install similar units in the houses of other families was discussed. The

Installation of solar lighting systems in ten households in Vinh Phuoc commune, Tri Ton district, An Giang province( 3 July 2014)

Following the demonstration and training workshop held in the Vinh Phuoc commune on 19 May, 10 families requested the installation of the solar lighting system. The cost per household was estimated at about VND 4 million (Table 1)  and it was proposed that this would be loaned to each family to be repaid over 4 years.

Table 1. Investment in a solar unit for one family; about VND 4 million after including transport from HCM city to An Giang province

If the loan of 4 million VND was repaid over 4 years at 0.5% interest per month, then the repayment would be of the order of  VND 103,000/month during year 1, VND 98,000/month in year 2, VND 93,000/month in year 3 and VND 88,000/month in the 4th and final year.

Photo 1.  All the family helped in the installation Photo 2. The ladies were especially pleased with having solar electric light in their  kitchen