A smart village is a rural, often off-the-grid community that uses modern technological-based solutions to achieve an increased standard of living. The concept of smart villages represents a modern approach to revitalizing impoverished communities around the world; the objective of the concept is to assist policy makers, donors and socio-economic planners in providing essential services to rural communities worldwide. The concept has received significant attention in the context of Asian and African countries, although it has also been implemented in other parts of the world.
Smart villages typically combat barriers to energy access in rural areas through the introduction and use of renewable resources in place of fossil fuels, particularly in underdeveloped and developing countries.
Off-grid communities
The term "off-grid" broadly refers to energy independence from a centralized electrical grid. Villages with off-grid systems typically have semi-autonomous or autonomous means of satisfying electricity demand through the on-site generation of renewable energy. Off-grid communities are classified as micro-grid, nano-grid and pico-grid based on size and energy generation thresholds.
Access to un-interrupted and low-cost electricity is an important requirement for the sustainable development of rural communities. In 2015, Adnan Z. Amin, director of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), estimated that 60% of the additional electricity generation needed for "universal energy access" must come from off-grid solutions, and pointed to the rapid development of solar energy systems in Bangladesh as a positive example of providing electricity access.
Roughly 80% of the world's population lives in rural areas, a majority of which do not have consistent access to electricity. Due to underemployment, residents of rural areas often migrate to urban localities, where employment opportunities are more easily available due to robust industrial infrastructure and consistent availability of electricity. Low-cost, IRENA-sponsored power generation projects based on renewable energy present an attractive option for off-grid electrification of rural areas in Asian countries.
ICT Village Model
The ICT Village is a smart village concept that aims to eradicate poverty in villages through sustainable development and the introduction of information and communications technology. Replicas of the model have been launched in several developing countries.
In 2009, the United States Strategic Command's Global Innovation and Strategy Center published a framework based on the ICT Village model for manufacturing and deplopying a "Village Infrastructure in a Kit" (VIKA). The stated purpose of the kit was to provide "power, a water production and purification system, and telecommunications capabilities" for underserved populations living in isolated, medium-sized villages.USSTRATCOM Global Innovation and Strategy Center Village Infrastructure Kit-Alpha Spring 2009 – Project 09-02 May 2009
http://star-tides.net/sites/default/files/documents/files/VIKA%20Final%20Report.pdf
Solar Village
The first ICT village project was launched in Honduras in 1999, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch. With the support of UNESCO, Infopoverty, and the Organization of American States (OEA), two independent solar villages were implemented in the communities of San Ramon and San Francisco. Each community was provided with solar panels and internet access provided by a SATNET satellite. As a result, over 30,000 people in the previously isolated communities were provided with E-learning and telemedicine services, and were able to connect to the rest of the world through e-commerce and e-government initiatives.
Borji Ettouil
In November 2003, the implementation of the ICT Village model in the Tunisian village of Borji Ettouil was proposed during the World Summit on the Information Society, with the support of the Government of Tunisia. The model was supported by the National Solidarity Fund and implemented successfully, leading to its replication in several other developing countries. The village was subsequently visited by numerous government delegations and personalities.
Meiss al-Jabal
The village of Meiss al-Jabal in southern Lebanon was proposed as the site of an ICT Village project by United Nations official Staffan de Mistura. In order to support the refugee communities living in the village, it was provided with two digitized classrooms, a dedicated satellite connection and specialized devices for remote consultation and assistance services. Rapid development of the students' professional skills was observed following the start of the project. However, the project was halted following the village's near-total destruction during the 2006 Lebanon War.
Navajo Nation
In 2005, John Shirley, the president of the Navajo Nation, announced the creation of the Navajo Nation Portal at the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis. The project was launched with the aim of facilitating increased digitalization in indigenous populations, and saw the construction of several access and training centers in pueblos within the Navajo Nation reservation.
Sambaina
The "Millenium Village Project", an ICT smart village project, was launched in 2008 in the village of Sambaina, with the support of Madagascar president Marc Ravalomanana. The project introduced telemedicine to the village via the establishment of a new digitized health unit, and was able to achieve a reduction in pre-postpartum and early childhood mortality. A separate e-learning initiative saw the outfitting of classrooms with computers and other digital devices, as well as the provision of central internet access to the village population.
The village of Sambaina was provided with internet access via a direct broadband connection supplied by Eutelsat, a French satellite operator. The broadband connection operated on state frequencies, allowing hospitals, schools, and other public municipalities to access the Internet free of charge.
The Millenium Village Project in Sambaina soon received international attention. In 2006, American economist Jeffrey Sachs, and United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan visited the village and pledged additional support for the project via the United Nations Development Programme and the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
The Ville Village Project
OCCAM launched the Ville-Village Project in 2005 to encourage direct collaboration OCCAM - Observatory, INFOPOVERTY PROGRAMME @ WORLD SUMMIT ON INFORMATION SOCIETY (PDF), in UN ESA Coordination Alliance, http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/Alliance/documents/website/PR%20Infopoverty%20web.pdf between villages in developing countries and cities in advanced countries. The project's goal was to foster mutual cultural and social enrichment, in order to optimize the use of resources provided by local authorities and NGOs to development projects.
The first Ville-Village was ratified in 2008 with an agreement signed by Jean Pierre Razafi, the Ambassador of Madagascar in Italy, and Lorenzo Guerini, the mayor of the Italian city of Lodi.Signing during the ceremony of twinning Lodi-Sambaina https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIsa9jcTKHE The city of Lodi was selected for its technological entities, such as Padano Technology Park, the city hospital's active telemedicine sector, and the NGOs operating in its territory. Digital development service centers were created to provide services in Sambaina, including phytopathology and veterinary services.
Mahobong
In 2007, the village of Mahobong in Lesotho experimented with the Digital Services Global Platform, a tool created by OCCAM to link village communities with global experts. The tool was used to set up telemedicine visits, with phytopathology and parasitology experts offering diagnosis and treatment services to village residents. The project made use of a newly-developed ultrasound device which allowed for remote ultrasounds suitable for preventing pre- and post-natal mortality and assisting in emergency interventions. The project also allowed for the export of knowledge in the field of cultivation, limiting harvesting and food production losses within the village. The project was realized by OCCAM in collaboration with the Department of Protection of Agrifood and Urban Systems of the University of Milan.
Smart villages in Asia A 2012 report published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) found that Asia has the largest off-grid population in the world, with 55% of the global off-grid population and a total of 798 million people lacking access to electricity. Roughly 700 million of these people are located in rural Asia. Further research studies have highlighted the difficulties South Asian and Sub-Saharan African countries have encountered in attempting to expand their electrification rate, in contrast to regions in Latin America and East Asia where electrification has progressed rapidly. In contrast, many Central Asian countries are able to produce large amounts of electricity for export to neighboring countries, due to the presence of large natural resource deposits within their borders.
Electrification is highly important in rural communities. Different international, national and local organizations use separate indicators for measuring and reporting the presence of mini-grids and stand-alone electrical systems in rural areas. Several South Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, have made significant progress in rural electrification through the development of off-grid communities.
East Asia East Asia is home to 22% of the world population, and 38% of the population of Asia.
: Public confidence in the safety of nuclear power was greatly damaged by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, allowing for the quick development of off-grid electrical systems and supplies. So-called "alternative energy" technologies have become standard offerings in newly constructed homes. Japanese real estate developer Sekisui House has noted that 80% of single-family homes in Japan are constructed with alternative energy technologies, such as solar panels and fuel cells. Reflecting the broader national approach to energy production, the executive director of Sekisui has stated: "If you're going to use electricity, you might as well make it yourself".
: In June 2015, the Smart Villages Initiative conducted a workshop in Seoul to familiarize the South Korean population with the technological advances supporting off-grid communities, and their role in ensuring rural energy access.
: A 2013 report published by IRENA enumerated a total of roughly 60,000 diesel and hydro mini-grid systems in China, most of them connected to a centralized energy grid. The report further highlighted the installation of 118 GW of solar photovoltaics systems, of which 500 MW was installed in off-grid systems.
: The Government of Malaysia has encouraged the production and use of clean energy, particularly solar power, for rural electrification, and has supported research into off-grid and alternate energy production platforms.
: Indonesians living in rural areas often use fossil fuels for power, due to low local electrification rates. Many remote communities suffer from complete lack of electricity access, and receive no service from Perusahaan Listrik Negara, Indonesia's state-owned electricity company. The Indonesian government proposed a renewable energy plan to raise the quality of life in rural communities, in which power plants would be owned, managed and maintained by the rural communities themselves.
: With more than 2,000 inhabited islands, it is difficult to extend the Philippines' national electrical grid to communities in remote areas.