Shine is pleased to welcome CEFA Onlus as the newest member of our campaign Steering Committee. CEFA Onlus, founded in 1972 in Italy by a group of agricultural cooperatives related to the Christian Workers Movement, is an NGO that specializes in integrated rural development.
Strongly committed to international solidarity and voluntary service, CEFA’s mission is to empower sustainable development in local communities through support for infrastructure projects, agriculture and social services.
“We’re really looking forward to the opportunity of sharing within the Shine community our experience in bringing energy access down to the last mile.” said Dario De Nicola, Energy Desk, CEFA Onlus. “There is still so much to be done, especially when you look at energy not as an end, but as a means to support rural communities’ social and economic development.”
Aware of the key role that energy access plays in enabling development in rural communities, CEFA is carrying out a critical rural electrification programme in Tanzania. During the last 30 years, it has developed 3 hydro mini-grids, granting access to affordable and reliable renewable energy to 10 villages and connecting more than 1,500 households, private enterprises and public service providers.
CEFA’s commitment is not limited to building mini-grid infrastructures, it also supports local communities in establishing participatory governance systems and developing mini-grid ecosystems by fostering productive uses of energy.
Today, CEFA operates in 10 countries in Latin America, North and Sub-Saharan Africa.