PCREEE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SUPPORT TO TONGA’S TSUNAMI RECOVERY EFFORT

Families affected by tsunami at the village of ‘Ohonua, ‘Eua.

The Pacific Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (PCREEE) has recently completed two workshops on the productive use of energy on the Island of ‘Eua particularly for the tsunami affected communities of Mango and the village of ‘Ohonua in ‘Eua from 31^st October and 1^st November 2023.

Both workshops were targeting women entrepreneurs to promote the productive uses of energy to start small and micro businesses.

The workshops were aimed to strengthen the recovery efforts of the affected communities by introducing the PCPCREE Tsunami Recovery Support Initiative, with the generous donation of the Austrian Development Agencies (ADA). The initiative aims to support families through subsidizing the costs of energy efficient appliances and tools in order for communities to productively use energy to start small and micro businesses and thereby support their recovery effort and improve their economic resilience to future natural disasters and risks. 

 The 15 January 2022 volcanic eruption and tsunami forced Mango Island residents to be  relocated to ‘Eua, while the ‘Ohonua residents were forced  to be relocated to live with relatives  within ‘Eua. Having access to finance, food and water continue to be priorities for the affected communities, particularly during the current El Nino season in Tonga. The assistance will also enable the communities to recuperate and prepare well for the current cyclone season.

The Government Representative for ‘Eua, Mr. Lolo Fiii officially opened the workshop in ‘Ohonua stating, “The people of ‘Ohonua community that were affected by the tsunami are currently facing severe financial and social challenges – most of their  houses were destroyed as well as other essential assets that were valuable for their living. Whilst the Tongan Government is  currently rebuilding their new houses, we believe the financial and capacity building support from PCREEE will certainly assist the affected communities through providing access to  affordable  and  more efficient electrical appliances and tools”, he added.

More than 30 participants from the affected communities of Mango and ‘Ohonua participated in the workshops. The workshops were conducted in collaboration with Pepe Mahe Store, a local supplier supporting the sale of white goods in ‘Eua. Mrs Pepe Mahe acknowledged the support of the PCREEE. “ This is a great opportunity for us  to reach out to communities and women in ‘Eua to raise awareness about the services that our shop offers, including the White Goods Loan Scheme in partnership with the South Pacific Business Development (SPBD) layby scheme. PCREEE is providing a 30% subsidy on the financing of goods that fall within the required criteria”.

Mrs. Pepe Mahe, owner of the Pepe Mahe Store

Mrs. Lu’isa Havea of ‘Ohonua said, “I had a dream to start a small business to provide healthy and cheap refreshment drinks, as there is no-one in ‘Eua providing it, but the cost of the materials, including the cooling machine and small fridge, was holding back my dream.”

The displacement community of Mango was affected by the tsunami.

Mr. Kelepi Tutuila of Mango said, “We’ve been waiting for a while and have not made up our mind on  what to do to support our families in this new environment. But we learned from the workshop about the productive uses of energy in catering, tailoring, handicraft making etc and how we could start a small business to earn income to support our families.

The workshop was  an opportunity to introduce the Minimum Energy Performance and Labeling Standard program under the new 2022 Energy Act and the impacts of star-rated appliances on reducing the electricity bills. The tsunami support initiative will only support the purchase of appliances and tools that are compliant with the Act.

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