An indirect sales channel (aka the retail channel) is somewhat simpler and the
model of choice for urban areas –project managers sell the filters directly to market
vendors at bulk rates. Given that urban vendors usually lack the capital to buy the
filters upfront, sales supplies the vendors with filters and pays them on commission
for each sale, approximately $1.50 per $23 unit. A cheaper version of the same filter
(housed in a less attractive casing) is only offered to NGOs at $13 per unit. Perverse
incentives exist for pharmacists who were originally targeted for retail given the
health benefits associated with the technology. The pharmacists earned less money
by avoiding cholera and typhoid cases than by charging the sick for treatment.
The principle difference between the NLS and the Hydrologic distribution
system is that the NLS builds upon pre-existing local networks, whereas Hydrologic has built a distribution system from ground zero. An absence in social inroads,
i.e. the presence of distributors who can deliver on good faith credit given their
longstanding relationship with the stove producers, means that Hydrologic company must incentivize all aspects of the supply chain. In an attempt to reduce costs
from salaried work, the project managers rely on commissions for the successful
sale and delivery of the filter to deleterious effect for the lowest laborers on the
rung: they assume risk for product failure and high turnover rates undermine the
longevity of the project.
On the other hand, the project managers are Khmer nationals and receive an
extraordinary amount of networking opportunities and skill enhancement by participating in the project, including international travel, exposure to the highlyspecialized carbon finance project cycle, and entre ´e to international conferences
on environment-development project design. The water filter project manager said
that he is not fully satisfied with his job at Hydrologic, but that he had been able to
amass adequate savings to launch his own company in the near future. Thus, while
gains were less distributed in the Hydrologic model, managerial jobs offered high
reward.
12.4.3 Biodigester Case
The National Biodigester Programme in Cambodia was initiated in 2002 by Dutch
development agency SNV, and is now a joint collaboration with the Cambodian
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The program has installed nearly
18,000 plants to households throughout the country, 95 % of them are still in
operation. Biogas plants are locally made by Khmer-run Biogas Companies; the
project was certified to the Gold Standard voluntary stream in 2011. Dutch aid
agency Hivos will buy all the credits (NBP 2012).
Of all the technologies, these are the most aspirational – graduating their users
from biomass burning stoves to piped indoor gas burners with accompanying light
fixtures for methane-fueled indoor lighting. The project manager has a policy that it
will always partner with the local government, enabling it to utilize a similar
technology dissemination structure as the NLS whereby inroads into the product
226
J. Hyman
model of choice for urban areas –project managers sell the filters directly to market
vendors at bulk rates. Given that urban vendors usually lack the capital to buy the
filters upfront, sales supplies the vendors with filters and pays them on commission
for each sale, approximately $1.50 per $23 unit. A cheaper version of the same filter
(housed in a less attractive casing) is only offered to NGOs at $13 per unit. Perverse
incentives exist for pharmacists who were originally targeted for retail given the
health benefits associated with the technology. The pharmacists earned less money
by avoiding cholera and typhoid cases than by charging the sick for treatment.
The principle difference between the NLS and the Hydrologic distribution
system is that the NLS builds upon pre-existing local networks, whereas Hydrologic has built a distribution system from ground zero. An absence in social inroads,
i.e. the presence of distributors who can deliver on good faith credit given their
longstanding relationship with the stove producers, means that Hydrologic company must incentivize all aspects of the supply chain. In an attempt to reduce costs
from salaried work, the project managers rely on commissions for the successful
sale and delivery of the filter to deleterious effect for the lowest laborers on the
rung: they assume risk for product failure and high turnover rates undermine the
longevity of the project.
On the other hand, the project managers are Khmer nationals and receive an
extraordinary amount of networking opportunities and skill enhancement by participating in the project, including international travel, exposure to the highlyspecialized carbon finance project cycle, and entre ´e to international conferences
on environment-development project design. The water filter project manager said
that he is not fully satisfied with his job at Hydrologic, but that he had been able to
amass adequate savings to launch his own company in the near future. Thus, while
gains were less distributed in the Hydrologic model, managerial jobs offered high
reward.
12.4.3 Biodigester Case
The National Biodigester Programme in Cambodia was initiated in 2002 by Dutch
development agency SNV, and is now a joint collaboration with the Cambodian
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The program has installed nearly
18,000 plants to households throughout the country, 95 % of them are still in
operation. Biogas plants are locally made by Khmer-run Biogas Companies; the
project was certified to the Gold Standard voluntary stream in 2011. Dutch aid
agency Hivos will buy all the credits (NBP 2012).
Of all the technologies, these are the most aspirational – graduating their users
from biomass burning stoves to piped indoor gas burners with accompanying light
fixtures for methane-fueled indoor lighting. The project manager has a policy that it
will always partner with the local government, enabling it to utilize a similar
technology dissemination structure as the NLS whereby inroads into the product
226
J. Hyman