My research trip to Burkina Faso
Donation protected
My name is Isabella Troconis and I am a current masters student in Environmental Policy at London School of Economics . For my final thesis project, I decided to combine my interest in renewable energies and my passion for development and humanitarian issues. More specifically, I seek to understand how clean energy provision in refugee camps improves women´s wellbeing in the context of Sub-saharan Africa (particularly in Burkina Faso). Unfortunately, LSE does not provide any funding for Msc research that are directly linked to their research lines, which is my case. Your support would go a long way in enabling me to go Burkina Faso!
About me
Before doing my masters degree, I worked in an international organization supporting young entrepreneurs across the Americas and leading a sustainability program. I later decided to work in Uganda in social start-up, managing a project to equip women – unemployed and some of them single mothers – in rural areas with the knowledge and tools to run solar energy micro-businesses. During this time in Uganda, I realized the amount of work and effort that is still needed to improve gender equality, and how the latter is correlated with environment preservation and economic development in developing countries.
Photo taken in Pallisa, Uganda in 2016 after training
Why energy?
About 80 percent of the rural population in West Africa does not have access to reliable energy. Access to energy is a basic need and a must to achieve development. Off-grid solar energy technologies have proved to be a cheap and effective solution.
Why refugee camps?
Refugee camps were originally conceived as a temporarily emergency response. However, the temporary period for a typical person dwelling in a refugee camp averages 17 years. It is no surprise that roughly 80 percent of displaced populations rely on firewood and coal for cooking and have no access to electricity
Why women in Africa?
Women in Africa are responsible of providing energy to their households and spend a significant amount of time searching for firewood and coal. They spend an average of 20 hours per week walking and fetching firewood for cooking and heating. As a result, they misuse a lot of their and their children´s productive time and also risk their health and safety
Next steps
With the institutional support of the UN agency for refugees (UNHCR), I seek to conduct interviews with refugee women that have had access to solar cookstoves and solar lamps. I will also interview humanitarian workers in Burkina Faso.
Where is Burkina Faso?
This is the most common question made my family and friends acquainted with my project. Burkina Faso is a country located in West Africa next to Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte d´Ivoire. It is relatively safe for African standards and its refugee population is quite small at around 30,000 people.
Budget: Why am I asking for this amount?
I plan to travel to Burkina Faso for 21 days to conduct interviews and meet with relevant stakeholders in the solar energy and humanitarian sectors. LSE has provided me with relevant workshops and travel insurance but my department does not count with a fund to support this kind of research trip.
The proposed budget will be used for:
· My living expenses while in Burkina Faso (rent, internet, cheap phone, translator, food and transportation in the country) – around 1,100 pounds
· Traveling costs (such as visa, round flight ticket, vaccines and medicines kit) – around 1,100 pounds
THANK YOU in advance!
Any amount makes a difference, what matters to me is your intention and confidence in this project. If you can help me with any amount, I will be eternally grateful because it means you believe in my project and in improving lives of women in Burkina Faso!
Those who donate to this campaign will receive a short presentation of my findings and some pics of this research trip :)
What will be next after my thesis project?
I intend to share my findings of the thesis project with humanitarian agencies, NGOs and start-ups working with grass-roots communities and access to energy. The idea is that this project does not become a boring paper in a shelve but a useful roadmap for practitioners. That way, I hope to contribute in improving programs of energy provision in camps already put into place by international organisations and alike not only in Burkina Faso but also in other countries in Africa.
About me
Before doing my masters degree, I worked in an international organization supporting young entrepreneurs across the Americas and leading a sustainability program. I later decided to work in Uganda in social start-up, managing a project to equip women – unemployed and some of them single mothers – in rural areas with the knowledge and tools to run solar energy micro-businesses. During this time in Uganda, I realized the amount of work and effort that is still needed to improve gender equality, and how the latter is correlated with environment preservation and economic development in developing countries.
Photo taken in Pallisa, Uganda in 2016 after trainingWhy energy?
About 80 percent of the rural population in West Africa does not have access to reliable energy. Access to energy is a basic need and a must to achieve development. Off-grid solar energy technologies have proved to be a cheap and effective solution.
Why refugee camps?
Refugee camps were originally conceived as a temporarily emergency response. However, the temporary period for a typical person dwelling in a refugee camp averages 17 years. It is no surprise that roughly 80 percent of displaced populations rely on firewood and coal for cooking and have no access to electricity
Why women in Africa?
Women in Africa are responsible of providing energy to their households and spend a significant amount of time searching for firewood and coal. They spend an average of 20 hours per week walking and fetching firewood for cooking and heating. As a result, they misuse a lot of their and their children´s productive time and also risk their health and safety
Next steps
With the institutional support of the UN agency for refugees (UNHCR), I seek to conduct interviews with refugee women that have had access to solar cookstoves and solar lamps. I will also interview humanitarian workers in Burkina Faso.
Where is Burkina Faso?
This is the most common question made my family and friends acquainted with my project. Burkina Faso is a country located in West Africa next to Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte d´Ivoire. It is relatively safe for African standards and its refugee population is quite small at around 30,000 people.
Budget: Why am I asking for this amount?
I plan to travel to Burkina Faso for 21 days to conduct interviews and meet with relevant stakeholders in the solar energy and humanitarian sectors. LSE has provided me with relevant workshops and travel insurance but my department does not count with a fund to support this kind of research trip.
The proposed budget will be used for:
· My living expenses while in Burkina Faso (rent, internet, cheap phone, translator, food and transportation in the country) – around 1,100 pounds
· Traveling costs (such as visa, round flight ticket, vaccines and medicines kit) – around 1,100 pounds
THANK YOU in advance!
Any amount makes a difference, what matters to me is your intention and confidence in this project. If you can help me with any amount, I will be eternally grateful because it means you believe in my project and in improving lives of women in Burkina Faso!
Those who donate to this campaign will receive a short presentation of my findings and some pics of this research trip :)
What will be next after my thesis project?
I intend to share my findings of the thesis project with humanitarian agencies, NGOs and start-ups working with grass-roots communities and access to energy. The idea is that this project does not become a boring paper in a shelve but a useful roadmap for practitioners. That way, I hope to contribute in improving programs of energy provision in camps already put into place by international organisations and alike not only in Burkina Faso but also in other countries in Africa.
Organizer
Isabella Sinocort
Organizer