I. The first progress report was received on 6 March 2006, with following details:

Activities Carried Out:

1. Launching capacity-building activities on renewable energy technology
2. Making use and re-plantation of Black Soap (Jatropha Curcas Linn.) replacing fossil fuels in agricultural practice
3. Launching capacity-building activities on production of organic fertilizer
4. Putting in to use the produced fertilizer

Results and indicators:

1. Evinced increased capacity of project members through active monthly meeting and participation in the course of project
2. Number of Black Soap planted in 7.5 ha being 11,250 trees ( in Kanchanaburi and Ayudhaya)
3. Project members producing approximately 50 tons of organic fertilizer being used in project members resulting in a reduction in chemical fertilizer by Baht: 75,000.

II. On 1 May 2006 which the project organized show-and-tell, the NC and six staff member of RCB's Energy Practice Team visited the project. The findins and observation are as follows:

A premises of a project member amid rather arid paddy field and no grid connection in Baan(village) Sa Toei, Tambol Nong Sanow, Lao Kwan District was turned into a venue for show-and-tell. Approximately 60 persons of project members, representatives of its network from several provinces in the central region of Thailand, and representatives from local government agencies ,as well as one of the year-5 SGP ?supported project from Ayudhaya province (THA-05-01) were present during the event. It was reported that the governor of Kanchanaburi Province had earlier participated by presiding over the opening ceremony and briefly interacted with community members.

The morning session had seen a ?live? exhibition on pressing black soap fruits into liquid and putting for trial run in a small tractor and an automobile, and a manual rice mill. Other products of activities such as organic compost , other environmentally-friendly solutions and related document / publication were also posted for dissemination.

The main events in the afternoon comprised the report of project progress by the project coordinator , sharing experience of project and its network members , and questions and answers. Apparently, several network members demonstrated their existing and increased capacity. Sets of local useful and interesting data & information concerning the movements and achievement of the network, especially on the development of black soap for energy were posted for sharing.

The implementation of the project was observed to be right on its way and seemed to meet the expectation of community members. On top of these, the philosophy on self-sufficient economy was stressed as a reminder in planning and carrying out the next stages of project implementation.

One major remaining activity was the installation of wind energy for water pumping. It was reported that fabrication was going on and could be put in place within the next following months.

III. During 18-20 October 2006 , leaders of the project participated in the mid-course evaluation. The observation is as follows:

Baan(village) Busai, one of the target village of an OP2, year-4 project, was a venue of the workshop where 45 attendants from 13 projects of OP3 year 2, NSC members, NC and PA gathered together to meet. Literally, these 13 projects were dubbed among SGP Thailand as GEF SGP Class 7/1 with project number starting from THA-05-01 to THA-05-13.

Workshop AT-A-Glance

As the venue was situated in target area of a back project THA-02-18 and adjacent to that of THA-04-22 which had been launching activities to reverse land degradation in watershed area of Lower Mekhong ecosystems, participants had learnt and shared experience with leaders of the two projects during field visits and briefing session. That was the first day.

First session of the following morning saw the NC occupying the floor confirming strategy of GEF SGP: Environment Protection , Community Empowerment, and Poverty Reduction. Then the floor was handed over to participants to conduct the session on sharing and discussion. Each project was given 30 minutes to relate background, activities undertaken and immediate results, problems/issues as well as questions and answers. The session was able to effectively cover 10 projects. That was the second day.

The morning of third day was given to the three remaining projects to cover their stories, to the NSC for observation and suggestion , to the NC to remind the grantees of what to do next according to the MOAs and finally to the grantees to collectively plan activities to strengthen this fledgling SGP environmental network and friendship. At the end, the chairperson , vice-chairperson and coordinator of Thailand GEF SGP class 7/1 emerged to take up coordinating role for all 13 projects. That was the final day of the workshop.

Each grantee was capable of articulating details of undertaken activities and their immediate results to the audiences. Project results were rated as promising. Some even gained recognition and financial supports by other stakeholders. Community members of two projects were able to increase their technical capacity in biogas technology. At an average, three projects were ahead of their proposed timeline , three a little bit behind, and seven just on time.

Nine projects presented through Power Points and audio-visual equipment, even though they are of Community ?Based Organization and not a national, tighter organization. There were four projects who accomplished their jobs by sets of photos and detailed documents.

IV. On January 19, 2007, the NC, PA and two members of NSC visited the project. The findings and observation are as follows:

At Baan (village) Chatdongplub of 80 households, one of the target villages, about 20 project leaders awaiting the visiting team. It is situated in a rain shadow with land being promoted for quick cash crops such as tapioca, sugar cane, and eucalyptus during the past few decades. The land appeared semi-arid where both small and large plots of the cash crops were here and there. Cash crops, however, are the main sources of monetary income of majority of target population. A part of the income was used to buy rice for daily consumption.

The village is the demonstration site for wind pump, production of organic compost and Black Soap (Jatropha Curcas Linn.) growing. Sharing ideas and experiences with the leaders, existing technical and institutional capacity of communities were sensed. Several members were able to relate their experience and articulate their plans and problems in coping with environment degradation, let alone the following activities in progress.

The installation of wind pump was finished. The pump had been put into operation since August 2006. Of submersible type ,the pump delivered 200 litres per hour , at an average, from a 50-m deep well into two village ponds , where villagers would again pump up by engine to their households and cultivated plots. Waiting for additional financial support from the Nongpling Tambol Administrative Organization, the project planned to build a water tower to store water so that the villagers could reduce the dependence upon or do away with engine pumps. Near the pump base, there was a big pile of organic compost , about two tons. The pumped water was also used in the production process of this pile of compost.

A plot of one project member a few kilometers from the wind pump was visited. There were several standing edible species, as well as the project?s energy crop, Black Soap (Jatropha Curcas Linn.). With a plan to collectively produce oil to run small tractors and other engine, each project member set aside a small portion in the range of one acre to grow this crop, apart from the focused edible species .It was said that the plot did not applied chemical substances of any kind.

V. On 30January 2007, the second progress report was received , and summarized as follows:

Activities Carried Out:

1. Expanding planting area for Jatropha Curcas Linn. to be three plots with additional 13 participating families
2. Installing a wind tower for pumping water and put into use
3. Launching capacity-building activities on production of organic fertilizer and putting into use.

Results and indicators:

1. Additional 400 trees of Jetropha Curcas Linn.
2. Accumulated organic compost being 300 tons being used in plots of Jetropha Curcas Linn.
3. The tower being capable of delivering 120-200 litres/hour of water to storage ponds for preliminary use of community members.

VI. Note: on a participatory evaluation upon completion:

GEF Small Grants Programme: Evaluation upon Completion Workshop At-a-Glance

Country: Thailand
Project Number: THA-05-01 to THA-05-13
Date of Workshop: November 7- 9, 2007
Location: Boy Scout Camp, Khao Khitchakut District, Chanthaburi

1. BACKGROUND OF THE WORKSHOP

Specified in the Country Programme Strategy and long encouraged by Thailand GEF SGP, the workshop aimed to strengthen the participatory evaluation process, build capacity of target communities, and contribute to the formation of a strong network of GEF SGP grantees. The 3-day workshop provided an opportunity for these 13 projects?all nearing completion after 24 months?to present overall results, problems/issues and their solutions, to share lessons learned and to forge partnerships for sustainability.

2. WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

The Chanthaburi Boy Scout Camp in Khao Khitchakut District, the venue for the workshop, hosted 45 participants from 11 projects of OP3 Year One, a GEF SGP team (composed of a NSC member, the National Coordinator, and Programme Assistants), and a few other major stakeholders. The 11 projects were dubbed ?GEF SGP Class 7/1,? and assigned a project number between THA-05-01 and THA-05-13. In addition, four members from THA-06-02?a project of OP3 Year Two or ?GEF SGP Class 8/1??were present to share experiences. The participants showed great geographical diversity; they had traveled from Nan, Tak, Loei, Mahasarakharm, Kanchanaburi, Ayudhaya, Phayao, Nakhornsithammarat, Songkhla and Pattani Provinces.

3. Workshop At-a-Glance

Beginning in the afternoon of November 7th, several project members began preparing dissemination materials. Photos depicting project activities were posted in the meeting hall; brochures, completion reports, instruction manuals and project products were also available.

To allow all parties to arrive and set up, the exhibition did not commence until the morning of the second day. November 8th began with the official opening ceremony, in which the chief of district officers of Khao Khitchakut District presided and gave an encouraging keynote speech. Following the chief, the GEF SGP National Coordinator delivered his welcoming remarks by reviewing the history of GEF SGP and how he felt about this get-together. After the official opening, the chief spent almost half-an-hour visiting and conversing with project members at their respective dissemination stations in the hall. Also in attendance were other district officers, including staff from local schools and the Provincial Corrective Department, which was a major stakeholder of the host grantee (THA-05-13). The chief, when requested to give his reaction regarding what he had seen and heard, offered relevant and enthusiastic feedback.

The sharing of project summaries and results then began. Throughout the day, ten projects were presented, eight of which used PowerPoint and audio-visual equipment, (an impressive feat considering the limited resources and IT skills of most community-based organizations). Three projects relied upon sets of photos and detailed documents. The remaining session of the day was spent on a site visit to the host grantee?s project.

On the third day, the National Coordinator and his team took the floor to explain the future plan of GEF Phase 4, during which the grantees would work to upscale their current activities, and build and solidify their network. Advice on using interactive online mapping to strengthen the network was also given.

It will be interesting to follow how this group would proceed with their future plans. It is notable that during the workshop, the term global warming was often heard, even from two projects whose activities did not directly address this issue.

VII. The completion report was received on 3 December 2007, four-page write-up with details as follow:

Date of Participatory Evaluation: 5 September 2007
Number of Beneficiaries/ Participating personnel:
Women: 100
Men: 95
Children: 150
Number of persons trained/ attending seminars, joining study tours:
Women: 40
Men: 52
Children: 15
Expense: Total: Baht: 1,041,810
Amount received from SGP: Baht: 809,847
Amount received from other : Baht: 50,000
Amount contributed by grantee/community: Baht: 35,900

Undertaken activities:
1. Launching capacity-building activities on renewable energy technology
2. Installing one set of wind pump and accessories to irrigate farmland and for consumption
2. Making use and re-plantation of Black Soap (Jatropha Curcas Linn.) replacing fossil fuels in agricultural practice
3. Launching capacity-building activities on production of organic fertilizer
4. Putting in to use the produced fertilizer

Descriptive results:
1. Evinced increase awareness and capacity of target population witnessed through active participation and making decision to resort to and demonstrate the use of natural energy such as from plant & animal and wind.
2. The installed wind pump being supplying water from underground sources to 80 families totaling 320 members, letting alone water being used in production of compost and gardening
3. Over 4,000 Jetropha thriving whose squeezed oil being tried and demonstrate for sustainable use.
4. Additional 30 tons of organic compost produced on top of the existing 300 tons/year produced in the previous years

Impact:

As a result of the project?s capacity-building activities, project participants learnt more technically. Self-confidence was demonstrated in turning locally available materials such as agro-waste , into productive use. In addition to proposed project activities on demonstration of wind power and bio-diesel from Jetropha, project leaders were keeping on with technical and institutional trial to ensure optimum and sustainable use.

Future plan:

1. The project still maintains its mandate on self-help process, without special focus on business or commercial scale. But under this globalization, it seems hard to reverse the current trends. What the project would carry on further is to build up self-immunity for members by persistent communication making known relevant environment messages such as climate change and unnatural health deterioration caused by human being and globalization.
2. Following 1, the project would encourage core leaders to spend free time for more learning on climate change and renewable energy technology. The campaigns for options would then follow.

VIII.On July 9, 2008, the NC from Thailand, the Philippines , Papua New Guinea, NSC member from Thailand Programme and an interne of UNDP CO visit the project. The findings and observation are as follows:

Projects that are conceptualized and implemented on the local community level not only have the potential to yield tangible results but also often address the most immediate needs of communities, or the projects that represent the lowest hanging fruit. In accordance with King Bhumibol?s philosophy of a self-sufficient economy, the villages of Chatdongphlab and Nongfai are working towards self-reliance with the utilization of renewable sources of energy. The Chatdongphlab village featured the wind-powered water pump. The wind pump was fully operational and community members expressed a desire to upscale the project by building a water tower to store water for distribution to village families. The village also piloted a composting program to combat land degradation and reduce waste.

In the Nongfai village, youth groups had worked to provide 6 machines with which community members could extract oil from jatropha seeds. Jatropha plants were planted by community members keeping in mind the need to preserve land for food security purposes. Jatropha plants took 8 months from the time of planting to bear seeds and therefore, most community members chose to plant cuttings, which yielded seeds in 3-4 months. The 6 machines were distributed amongst the village and families were allowed to use the machines to extract oil from their seeds. The machines used 15 ton presses and users of the machine expressed interest in acquiring 20 ton presses. Once extracted, the oil must be left for 1 month before use. Each family used on average of 100 liters per year to meet all of their energy needs.

Currently, the project organizers have not charged families to use the machines but it is possible that they will do so in the future to recover maintenance costs. At the end of the discussion, the biodiesel from jatropha seeds was put to the test in a tractor. The tractor, despite being visibly aged and run-down, was functional with the jatropha oil.

The projects undertaken by the communities with the goal of energy self-sufficiency were clearly yielding significant benefits for local community members. The individuals we interacted with were proud of their accomplishments and ability to improve their livelihoods while simultaneously contributing to climate change mitigation. The role of women and youth groups was prevalent and indicative of the community?s full involvement in and dedication to the project.