The Cambodian energy sector has seen rapid growth over the last two decades, but there is still work to be done to make sure that no one is left behind. In particular, rural women tend to feel the brunt of the challenges posed by lack of secure energy access.

For instance, women in rural communities that rely on firewood and charcoal for cooking are most exposed to harmful indoor air pollution that accompanies the use of these fuels. Moreover, women are often burdened with unpaid domestic work, such as fetching wood or other biomass as source of energy.

This inequality extends into green jobs. A 2021 report by UNIDO and UN Women found that there is a “gendered division of labour in (the) green industry”, with women occupying precarious and low-paid work while men occupy more secure and highly paid white-collar jobs. The report also found that there is a lack of focus on women’s empowerment in Cambodia’s energy policies, programs, and frameworks.[1]

To bridge that inequality gap, as part of the Energy Compact, UNDP has made a global commitment to help increase access to clean and affordable energy for 500 million people by 2025.  

Mini-grids to the rescue

In Cambodia, nearly 250 villages still do not have secure access to electricity.[2] To reach them, UNDP is developing solar mini-grids in 11 remote rural villages, benefitting a total of 3,200 people, more than half of whom are women. Households are now able to use electric stoves and water pumps that reduce exposure to harmful pollution and free women and girls from the burden of daily domestic tasks such as collecting firewood and water, giving them more time for education and paid work.

Additionally, mini-grids are being used to power streetlights at night, which is improving safety for women and girls – particularly those that have outdoor toilets. Girls and boys also benefit greatly from access to electricity, which is improving learning opportunities by enabling access to mobile phones, the internet, and TV.[3]

The need to operate and maintain these mini grids has also created meaningful employment in villages for youth, especially women. The project created Village Development Committees (VDCs) or Village Committees (VCs), which play a key role in the management, operation and maintenance of the mini-grids. The committee consists of 3 to 7 members of which at least 1 to 2 are women.

Solar water pumps for increased resilience

To address the issue of drought and food security, UNDP is collaborating with the private sector to jointly investing in irrigation and subsistence farming, to provide secure water supply to about 5,000 farming households, with significant impact on rural women. For example, the burden of fetching water from far away sources and use of diesel pumps has been eliminated – water can now be pumped directly to farmland and homes.

These interventions are helping to increase resilience of crops, especially for smallholder farmers. They are also creating new opportunities during wet season in productive uses such as rice drying and aeration of aquaculture   ponds at times when there is no demand for water pumping. Women in rural areas, who often utilize subsistence farming to help feed their families, are main beneficiaries from these interventions. Solar water pumps are being used to grow crops such as vegetables, watermelon, and chili pepper.[4] 

In addition, UNDP is supporting the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) in integrating gender equality throughout its green energy-related policies and programmes. For example, the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and Long-Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality (LTS4CN) of Cambodia lists gender equality as a priority.

The aim of these policy interventions is to increase women’s participation and representation in the energy sector and mainstream gender throughout Cambodia’s energy policies, programs and frameworks, to ensure a just energy transition that leaves no one behind.

The Solar Water Pump project “Promoting the use of solar technologies for agricultural and rural development in Cambodia and Myanmar” is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Solar Mini-grids are being established to provide secured energy access to off-grid villages. About eleven mini-grids are operating across Ratanakiri and Kampong Chhnang province, using UNDP core resources as well as from SIDA, and the Embassy of Japan in Cambodia.