Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT)
Mapping Clean Energy Solutions in Bidibidi Settlement
Location: Bidibidi refugee settlement in Uganda
Host: Save the Children International in Uganda
Developer: Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team
Funding Secured: The pilot for this innovation received $15,000 USD from Response Innovation Lab.
Funding Needed: Scaling to each new settlement would require between $15,000 and $30,000.
The HOT mapping exercise across Bidibidi settlement collects geospatial data of energy-saving solutions retail points, allowing NGOs, UN, and private sector partners to better understand the settlement’s energy-saving market.
The Challenge
There is a lack of geospatial information surrounding clean-energy technologies in the Bidibidi settlement in Uganda. Without knowing where existing energy-saving solutions retail points are located in Bidibidi settlement, it is difficult for implementing partners to assess where the challenges lie in accessing them for refugees and host community members. In order for energy stakeholders to be able to strategically target their interventions, it is critical to leverage geospatial information to better understand the existing availability and distribution of such businesses in the area of interest.
The Solution
The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), an international humanitarian NGO, carried out a community mapping exercise across Bidibidi settlement to collect geospatial data of energy-saving solutions retail points. Through this exercise, the implementing partners, i.e. NGOs, UN, private sector partners active in the settlement, are able to have a better understanding of the energy-saving solutions market and more effectively guide their interventions.
The Impact
Over a two-week period, 10 refugees from Bidibidi settlement, who were trained as geospatial surveyors, and 38 retail points were mapped throughout the settlement. In addition to collecting data on shop locations, information was gathered on the types of solutions being sold, challenges faced in selling these technologies and where products were sent for repairs. The collected data was analyzed and used to construct a variety of interactive maps. These included maps that disaggregated customers by their institution type (business, NGO supported, social enterprise) and that visualized the type of solutions being sold (briquettes, cookstoves, solar solutions, etc.) in each zone of the Bidibidi settlement. The data can be accessed through a series of maps, graphics, and interactive data visualizers that provide a directory of energy-saving solutions and retail points. Audio data has also been captured to ensure a locally-adapted description of shop locations that are available. Data can be shared on request.
Learning & Successes
The results of the survey highlighted among others that
Shops generally have very small stocks of energy solutions
Solar-powered devices, energy-saving cookstoves, and briquettes are most commonly purchased
In 80% of cases, retailers indicate that solutions cannot be repaired within the settlement.
Next Steps
Any partners interested in energy and environmental programs in Bidibidi can leverage the data collected to understand existing gaps and opportunities and can coordinate interventions to enhance access to energy-saving solutions in Bidibidi.