A first Biogas-digester was constructed with technical support from SNV. Sunlabob intends to explore the reactions of villagers to this technology which allows to reduce fire wood for cooking and increases health due to avoidance of smoke.

Negotiations have been concluded with German DEG (Deutsche Entwicklungsgesellschaft) for a Solar Pump Project. The project is based on the experiences we have made with the pilot installation of solar pumps for micro-irrigation purposes. The objective of the project is to install various types of systems on a commercial basis in more than a dozen diverse locations in Lao PDR, and thereby collect the data required to later build tested business plans for investments into solar pumps for productive use in off-grid areas. Of course solar pumps are only viable if farmer groups can rent them, as opposed to buying them. The interest for this in the villages is very high.
Sunlabob has entered into a longterm partnership with the Lao organisation Xao Ban in order to conduct this effort. Xao Ban will contribute its agricultural expertise in drip-irrigated crops and the marketing of such crops by producer groups in the villages.
In a Public-Private-Partnership DEG will carry the public interest with 47 % of these total costs, mainly for financing the trainings, monitoring, publicity and data collation. Sunlabob and its private partners will carry the remaining 53%, ie. mainly the hardware.

Sunlabob and SNV (Dutch development organization) have agreed to cooperate for further developing the application of biogas technology in Laos. SNV will contribute its technical knowhow on biogas and the funds for conducting trials and demonstrations. Sunlabob will make its service network and connections to the villages available for conducting the tests and demonstrations.
A further venture is foreseen into the bio-fuel technology, where SNV and Sunlabob have agreed to cooperate for testing and demonstrating this technology for remote Lao conditions.

Sunlabob, Professor Khampone of the National University of Laos, and Dr. Maydom of RESDALAO have been awarded the annual prize of the German Association for Solar Energy. Here is Andy Schroeter receiving the prize in Germany.
The prize is in recognition for the work that has been done by Sunlabob and its partners for exploring autonomous electricity delivery in remote areas on a commercial basis. This prize allows Sunlabob to tap into the large network of the German Solar Industries...

Sunlabob will install two solar water pumps for domestic use in two mountain villages in Vientiane province. One pump will pump 80 metres up and deliver 12'000 liters per day. The other pump will pump 90 meters up and deliver 8'000 litres per day. These systems are funded by UNICEF.

The implementation of the program with WWF has started, paid for by the Development Marketplace prize we won with the Worldbank.

Ban Sorg is our testing village because the people there really understand the rental operations well. We installed a test system for solar pumping and microirrigation in order to assess various equipment and get first indications from villagers what they think about this possibility. We now know that we have sources of equipment which are suitable for Lao conditions. And initial reactions by the villagers suggest there is a high potential for renting out of solar pumps for cash-crop production. Rented solar pumps could be more economical than bought fuel-operated pumps.

We are glad and excited to announce, that Sunlabob is one of the winners of the prestigious prize of the Development Marketplace of the World Bank. (see also: Development Marketplace). This prize is based on the rental project we submitted together with WWF-Laos. The World Bank will invest 150'000 USD in our rental services. This tells us, that our rental operations are recognized to be economically sound and an innovative breakthrough in this difficult arena. We are now being approached by quite a number of agencies who are interested in working further with us.
Here you see the World Bank president Dr. Wolfensohn handing over the prize to Andy Schroeter, managing director of Sunlabob, in Washington.

Vientiane Times is the primary english language daily newspaper of Laos. In it's issue of 9th May, Vientiane Times carried an article on its front page:

The article is based on an interview with Sunlabob's director Saleumphone Vongsakhamphoui. It explains the main features of our rental services operations and why this makes sense to villagers.
Click here to view article online

Our rental services are apparently something attractive. We have now passed the mark of 350 installed systems. We also have signed demands for another 1200 rental systems. This means our main bottleneck right now is to find enough capital to cover this demand. Of course we need soft loan conditions or else the rents go beyond what villagers can pay...

Hopefully our participation in the Development Marketplace will get us into contact with interested investors.

Sunlabob and WWF have together submitted a project for rental solar systems in villages near the large conservation areas in Lao PDR. Of almost 2700 proposals received from 136 countries, only 78 have reached the finalist round. We are invited by the Worldbank to New York in May to explain our detailed plans.
See www.developmentmarketplace.org for a list of all finalists.

Sunlabob has decided to go ahead and initiate a first pilot effort to pump water for microirrigation. For this purpose we have also hired an agriculturist. We are doing this in Ban Sorg village, where the villagers are well experienced in rental mechanisms.

A new concept with three arrangements for fee-for-service for community systems. This should allow communities to take the initiative for getting lighting for their schools and health posts. They no longer have to wait for an outside agency to do this for them. See the newly uploaded paper.

Several agencies have been approaching Sunlabob to discuss such fee-for-service arrangements due to the sustainability concerns that they have (ie. what happens after a funding agency retreats from the benefitting village).