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What do we do?
Humasol is an international solidarity organisation that aims to make renewable energy, water and sustainable technology accessible to everyone. We mainly work on these themes in Africa, Asia and South America. We work closely with partner organisations to find a sustainable and high-quality solution to a technical problem. During our projects, we pay attention to the technical aspect, such as designing and installing an irrigation system, but also to the socio-economic context, such as setting up management committees that maintain and monitor the installations. Our projects are carried out by students who, after thorough preparation in Belgium, spend 6 to 8 weeks at the project location.
2008
Establishment of Humasol
123+
Projects
18
Countries
30+
Partners
How it started
Humasol was founded in the summer of 2007 by Dieter Duyck and Jeroen Devos, who carried out the first project: building a solar boiler in Humahuaca (Argentina). This project inspired them to found Humasol at the end of 2008.
Since then, Humasol vzw has grown strongly and we have carried out more than 100 projects in 18 different countries. By building on the knowledge gained year after year, we can now implement various technically challenging projects in a qualitative way in the Global South.
Our 5 pillars
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However, only exploring the technical side of a project is not enough to achieve a sustainable impact in the Global South. That is why we also place a strong emphasis on the socio-economic aspect of a project. The impact of our projects is maximized by focusing on these five pillars.
1
Close collaboration with the partner organization. Each project is carefully selected by our Partner Relations team. This is the starting point for the student team, who meet with their partner organization every two weeks during the year to understand the needs and adapt the design accordingly.
2
Intensive preparation. The students receive not only technical support, but also very extensive intercultural management and communication training. After this trajectory of 10 sessions, they are excellently prepared to face any challenge related to the socio-economic aspects of the project.
3
Flexibility. A feasibility study is an integral part of every Humasol project. Within budgetary and practical constraints, we try to come up with a design that meets the needs of the partner organization and that is both ambitious and realistic.
4
Extensive maintenance plan. In order to guarantee the sustainability of the project in the long term, a customized maintenance plan is developed for all installations. We are also increasingly focusing on remote monitoring in order to be able to follow up the project better and to have real-time information available about the status of the project.
5
Financial transparency. When we receive grants or sponsorship for a project, we communicate very openly how the budget is determined and what costs are associated with the project. All funding goes 100% to our projects, meaning that personal costs are the responsibility of the student and there are no overhead costs.
Short term
In the short term, we want to establish new modalities of cooperation with partner organisations in the Global South. As long as there is a financial transaction, there is a certain balance of power, which is at odds with our pursuit of equal partnership. Moreover, the sector, through the search for financing, remains an important channel through which coloniality is expressed.
In addition, an important goal is to make our projects future-proof. By focusing more on innovative technologies, we want to have a sustainable impact in the future and remain relevant in our partner countries. To this end, we want to further expand our network with other organizations (such as universities, technical organizations and NGOs). By strengthening these partnerships, we want to increase internal and external expertise in the field of international solidarity.
Finally, we must not shy away from questioning ourselves. International solidarity is irrevocably linked to our colonial past. That is why Humasol wants to actively focus on decolonizing its own operations. We do this by contributing to awareness of this subject, but also by focusing on language use and image formation, among other things.
Our annual reports
Here you can find our annual reports. These contain a word from our (vice)-presidents, our vision and mission, projects, events, financial status and impact report.
