Various stove technologies have already been successfully developed, tested and deployed, but in many countries less than 10 percent of the population make use of them. Measures and strategies for scaling up this use are seldom in place. Scaling-up is the challenge being addressed by HERA.

The aim is to further develop and disseminate strategies and concepts for basic energy supply and to incorporate these plans into projects and programmes of German development organisations and other partners. One of HERA’s principal tasks, therefore, is to ensure that the relevance of household energy is understood by all participants and to put the issue on the policy agenda.

Concept
HERA tackles the issue from three sides in order to develop and disseminate strategies and concepts for basic energy supply.

• Demand-side management – more efficient use of biomass
• Supply-side management – secure access to biomass
• Policy level – mainstreaming biomass in energy policy

Demand-side management involves improved technologies (stoves and ovens) and improved fuelwood and household management techniques, to ensure that biomass is used more efficiently.
Supply-side management involves sustained availability, the planting or production of fuels, and the testing and dissemination of alternative fuels and stoves, in order to secure long-term access to biomass energy.
At the policy level, people in appropriate positions are consulted, informed and made aware of the issue of biomass energy and supported in drawing up strategies for making this issue a core part of policy. 

Activities
In order to achieve the project goal, HERA conducts the following activities:

a) Advising local GTZ projects
HERA advises projects on improving basic energy supply that GTZ is currently implementing in more than 15 countries (with the emphasis on Africa). Many of these activities are co-financed by the Energising Development partnership project between the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Dutch Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGIS). The aim is to provide up to 3.1 million people with access to modern energy services within four years (2005-2008)
(www.senternovem.nl/ed).

In the context of household energy supply, commercial distribution of stoves is of central importance if sustained availability on the market is to be achieved.
HERA therefore supports the following measures to expand the use of fuel-efficient stoves:

• technical adaptation of stoves to meet criteria such as efficiency, clean combustion, labour economy and affordability
• training in technical and business skills for stove producers
• information and marketing campaigns
• support of monitoring and evaluation activities.

b) Lobbying on the issue of household energy
In order to successfully introduce and disseminate more efficient technologies at local level, the issue of household energy must be mainstreamed in energy policy discussions and the associated decision-making process at both national and international level. HERA therefore works to highlight the significance and relevance of the issue both within GTZ and internationally through public relations work, participation in international policy dialogue and environmental awareness-raising.

c) Knowledge management and support to the household energy network
HERA coordinates training measures, dissemination strategies and monitoring approaches, as well as collecting information and knowledge about household energy and making it available throughout GTZ. Regular regional and supra-regional workshops promote networking between local projects.