I. The first progress report was received on 23 March 2006 with the following details:

Activities carried out:

1. Launching workshop and training for 70 community members on solar energy technology
2. Installing mini-hydro of 1.6 kW supplying electricity to churches, public health office, and village centres

Results and indicators:

1. Cultural , educational , religious and public health activities being carried out at optimum level , through the availability of electricity by mini-hydro plant
2. All project members having access to the electricity for lighting through battery charging system

II. The second progress report was received on October 16, 2006, with details as follows:

Activities carried out:

1. Launching workshop and training for 70 community members on solar energy technology, mini-hydro , hydraulic ram and food processing and production of distilled water by solar heat
2. Launching religious rites and local wisdom in protection of forest area
3. Organizing training sessions on Impacts of Energy Uses upon Environment

Results:

One of the immediate result was observed through the evinced increased technical and institutional capacity of the leaders. They were able to discuss and share their thoughts as well as participate in project activities with their hands-ons.


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 February 8-9, 2007, the NC paid a monitoring visit to the project. The findings and observations are as follows:

Baan (village) Morthitha, in Tha Songyang one of the target villages with 40 households, is situated in the Khun Phrawor , a forest reserve forest of Tak Province. The reserve has been a home of several hundreds families of a cultural group, Kareni, who are allowed to live conditionally. The village is not connected to grid electricity. The village, however, is solar lighted, the school is not. Classified as both forest ecosystems and mountain ecosystems, the reserve supplies water through several creeks which converge into the Moei River bordering Thailand and Myanmar and subsequently to the Salawin of the Sea of Bengal. The forest in the village appeared comparatively in good condition. Depending upon the provisions of the ecosystems, target population practices their traditional rotating cultivation making a living.

The installation of a 2-kw very small water generator was finished on the previous day, supplying electricity to the community school successfully. The generator site is situated approximately one kilometer from the village. Strolling along a small path from the village to the site , three small water ways were witnessed flowing from various direction to converge forming a waterfall out of which the project makes the energy.

The electricity from the site is supplied to the community school about one kilometer apart. Six small buildings in the school got light bulbs and receptacles for daily activities. Six surrounding villages send their 65 children , of kindergarten to grade six, to the school. In addition, a battery-charging facility would be equipped for community members who are the illuminated by solar home system.

The other target village, Baan Huay Krathing in Mae Ramard District was later visited. The village is also situated around the same forest reserve. The installation of one 1.5 kw water generator was completed in last July. Here, the generator supplies electricity to the community school, two churches, one public health office and one community multi-purpose building. In addition, there is a surplus electricity for the village chief office and five other families in the village.

Interacting with project leaders and target population, increased capacity both technical and institutional were sensed. With a sure power supply, the topic of aggressive globalization and subsequent potential consumerism was put forward for a brief discussion during this friendly visit. An idea of productive use of renewable energy , especially, making use of the electricity for environmentally-friendly livelihood activities, was also stressed.

V. Note: on a participatory evaluation upon completion with other contemporary projects:

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.

VI. The completion report was received: 13 November 2007, one compiled book and one copy of Handbook for Learning & Teaching, with following details:

Date of Participatory Evaluation: 25 June 2007
Number of Beneficiaries/ Participating personnel:
Women: 225
Men: 234
Children: 135
Number of persons trained/ attending seminars, joining study tours:
Women: 37
Men: 48
Children: 25
Expense:
Total: Baht: 698,089
Amount received from SGP: Baht: 672,806.91
Amount received from other : Baht: 24,000
Amount contributed by grantee/community: Baht: 1,012,000

Undertaken activities:

1. Launching workshop and training on renewable energy
2. Installing two mini-hydro plants with total capacity of 6 kW supplying electricity to target population
3. Launching workshops on natural resources conservation
4. Demarcating watershed areas for conservation
5. Disseminating and outreach

Descriptive results
1. Increased technical capacity of 80 % of trainees witnessed through capability to maintain solar-home and mini-hydro system and to try solar energy in household cooking during summer months
2. Total reduction of fire-woods, oil lamps, and candles for illumination in the villages, community schools, staff residences, public health office, churches and multi-purpose building
3. Educational process through internet, CD, VCD, etc realized
4. Approx. 100 ha of watershed area collectively recognized as protected area and serving as example for seven villages in three Tambols
5. A number of visits from several organizations: government agencies, students, Region 2 Education Office of Tak Province, and NGOs active in the province
6. Produced posters and local curriculum distributed to villagers in 12 Tambols and staff of Region 2 Education Office

Future plan:

The project planned to optimize utilization of electricity generated from the installed mini-hydro plants such as small paddy mill and soil-cement block production (like two other back SGP projects in Chiangmai Province). Such utilization would also generate additional income for students and project participants. As to watershed conservation, participants agreed to the approach and would establish conservation group in their own areas.