Prospective Impacts of Improved Energy on Income Generating Activities in Rural Vanuatu

This report was prepared by Tyler Szabo. This paper will focus on how improved energy provision could benefit Vanuatu’s rural industries and therefore generate additional income for rural communities. Specifically, it will document promising technology enhancements that could increase revenue for rural enterprises but that require a new or improved energy source. It will also document key existing programs that are focused on rural livelihood development and which could serve as strategic partners in a targeted rural energy plan.

This paper is intended as an initial research study into the potential application of new sources of energy for increasing incomes in rural Vanuatu. It was completed in a limited time frame of only a few weeks and was restricted to interviews in the capital of Port Vila, and it is not an exhaustive inventory of income-generating activities or technologies. Further study of this topic will be conducted by the Government’s Energy Unit in developing its Vanuatu Energy for Rural Development (VERD) program in collaboration with public and private stakeholders.