ASSESSING COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE ELECTRIFICATION ( LED4AFRICA IN PONTA CABRAL, GUINEA-BISSEAU )

In sub-Saharan Africa, the availability of power is still a major concern, and many of the communities are to the large extent factored on the types of energy that are not good for the environment thus hindering their socio-economic development. Moreover, an example of such a case is seen in Ponta Cabral where it is situated just along the coast of Guinea-Bissau and the community is facing the problems of energy scarcity, pollution, and poverty. The LED4AFRICA initiative started in 2018 and its focus is to electrify communities through a community-driven electrification strategy, and at the same time, the project is in line with UNSDG environmental sustainability and the attainment of the United Nations SDGs. Moreover, the photovoltaic energy technology will be the vehicle for the project to put up 100 solar home systems, a water pumping system, and air conditioning at a local school, for the benefit of approximately 700 persons living in the locality. The study is involved in the potential of community-based participation in making electrification projects sustainable while the focus is on the community of Ponta Cabral. The process of the various project stages which includes design, implementation, and the evaluation of the project is the way through which local ownership and addition with the cultural and economic context will be secured. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research provides information collected from focus group meetings, interviews and workshop. Besides, the quantification of data will be done using a participatory matrix analytic system. By and large, predicting the outcomes must be based on a widespread assessment to the socio-economic impacts of the LED4AFRICA project, a report on the effectiveness of community participation and a survey on recognized sustainability factors. What is expected is that the findings of the research shall generate practical solutions to the problem of community engagement by electricity, thus proposing an easily reproducible sustainable electrification approach applicable in the hinterland of Guinea-Bissau. This report results in the constitution of the subject matter on the notions of renewable energy, sustainable development, as well as the community empowerment in developing countries of the world.