How to implement effective measures in dealing with energy-related problems in rural areas of the Third World is a serious concern shared by many people. Elaborations of rural energy issues have been refined recently. Starting with the recognition in the mid-1970s of the dominant role of "non-commercial" fuels in the rural Third World, subsequent rural energy surveys in different parts of the world have brought forth a wealth of information regarding the complexities of fuel consumption patterns, fuel supply potentials, and their implications for rural futures. Several technological measures have also been prescribed to correct the situation. Three of the more commonly-mentioned technologies include improved stoves, fuelwood plantation and biogas. The potential contributions of these and other related technologies in confronting energy problems in rural areas are undeniable. The challenge, however, is to ensure their compatibility with the needs and priorities of the people in rural areas and consequently their absorption from within.
This challenge is not unique to energy technologies. It is germane to overall rural development efforts. The problems that develop in implementation generally stem from a process of externalization, i.e. activities such as identification of rural development issues, determination of priorities, conceptualization and planning of action programmes, all take place outside the purview of the people for whom the programmes are intended. Even though some rural development theorists recognize how Important people's participation Is, the "blue print approach" continues as the basic dogma in rural development efforts, energy-related activities being no exception. The control and decision mechanisms remain foreign to the local populace. At best, local people's Interests and needs are intellectualized by the planner and plans that supposedly embrace people's needs are assumed to be "appropriate". Using these criteria, "appropriate technologies" are conceived in such terms as "capital saving", "labour intensive", "small scale", and "basic needs oriented". Ironically, local people and planners alike still see these well-intentioned schemes as "Interventions" and development planners tend to be preoccupied more with the process of meeting "intervention targets" than with the process of transforming interventions into Innovations.
This chapter advocates the basic premise that the process of conscious transformation must be the focus of rural development efforts and that community organizations play the key role In determining the absorption of Innovations within the rural milieu. Within this framework, then, energy technologies, their importance and their Implications are a part of the overall scheme of rural development. The need for the strengthening of local organizations and their capacity to influence external development agencies is understood in the context of these assumed conditions:
1. people in rural areas are already witnessing energy problems among other problems. In their own way, they are seeking solutions that will help curb the problems;2. people in rural areas have been unable to tackle those problems using only their own internal resources and they need selective external assistance in the form of information flow, capital flow and material flow to help develop and mobilize their own Internal resources; and
3. direct interactions are needed between insiders (local people) and outsiders (technology designers and suppliers, government support personnel and agencies, donor consultants and agencies) to bring forth technological processes that match local needs and priorities and meet requirements related to technological parameters and regulations of donor and government operations.
