Our mission is to increase access to clean energy to improve the quality of life along the Thailand-Burma border.
History
The Border Green Energy Team (BGET) has been working along the Thailand/Burma border since 2005 with the mission to implement renewable energy and sustainable technologies and also demonstrate how these technologies are integral and economically viable aspects of improving livelihoods.
Technologies utilized by BGET have included solar electricity, micro-hydro, bio-digesters, solar cooking, water pumping, and water purification methods. These solutions have been provided to beneficiaries in ethnic Karen villages, refugee camps, Burmese migrant schools, children's homes, medical clinics, and for other emergency relief organizations working along both sides of the Thailand/Burma border.
Our Goals
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Increase adoption of renewable energy technologies to best utilize and conserve Thailand’s environmental resources. |
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Empower underprivileged and marginalized populations such as ethnic minorities and those living without access to modern energy services. |
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Build local capacity in renewable energy technologies through hands-on and theoretical trainings. |
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Research and demonstrate new methods of integrating appropriate technologies into sustainable livelihoods. |
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Improve access to education, health services, and economic opportunities through implementation of sustainable technologies. |
Our Accomplishments
- Constructed and operate over 7 micro-hydro systems along with rural communities that generate electricity for homes, schools, clinics, and other community buildings. Trained members of these rural communities are co-responsible for operations and maintenance. BGET remains actively involved in ongoing training and sustainability of systems.
- Provided over 60 solar electric systems to ethnic medical clinics that treat victims of Burma’s 60-year civil war and trains medics on system operation and maintenance. Each clinic serves 3,000-5,000 people, and electricity is used for lighting night-time medical procedures, computers, battery chargers for radio transmitters and small medical devices. BGET remains active in an advisory capacity.
- Instruct engineering students in Karen refugee camps in fundaments of renewable energy systems. BGET brings students along on our installations after they study that particular technology.
- Helped rural communities pump a constant water supply using ram pumps, delivering water to their village when the source is distant from the village. Install solar electric systems in Burmese migrant schools in Thailand. These systems provide electricity to classrooms and dormitories, decreasing the need for other traditional lighting methods such as candles and kerosene while promoting night time study. Systems have also powered UV light water disinfection for drinking purposes.
- Built and operate over 4 bio-digesters along with rural communities that provide cooking gas from animal, food and agriculture waste.
- Trained over 300 Karen village leaders in two districts of Tak province on Solar Home Systems (SHS) repair and maintenance. BGET continues working toward sustainability of these systems through conducting a repair pilot program and developing financial models to ensure continued operation of over 16,000 systems in Tak province.
