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Butaan comes from a humble background. Growing up in war-torn [[Somalia]], he has little formal education and his command of English is limited. His career in [[commercial power generation]] began in 1991 after the civil war against the former dictator, Siad Barre. Butaan's interest in [[renewable energy]] was more than philosophical. Frustration with limited sources of power generation in Somaliland has always inspired him to think "outside the box." | Butaan comes from a humble background. Growing up in war-torn [[Somalia]], he has little formal education and his command of English is limited. His career in [[commercial power generation]] began in 1991 after the civil war against the former dictator, Siad Barre. Butaan's interest in [[renewable energy]] was more than philosophical. Frustration with limited sources of power generation in Somaliland has always inspired him to think "outside the box." | ||
One of the overarching goals of the [[USAID]] [[Somalia's Powering Economic Diversification Project]], implemented by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), is to promote peace and stability by stimulating the development of an enabling environment for economic diversification in Puntland and Somaliland in northern Somalia. This is accomplished through promoting and facilitating access to conventional and alternative energy or | One of the overarching goals of the [[USAID]] [[Somalia's Powering Economic Diversification Project]], implemented by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), is to promote peace and stability by stimulating the development of an enabling environment for economic diversification in Puntland and Somaliland in northern Somalia. This is accomplished through promoting and facilitating access to conventional and alternative energy or renewable energy technologies. The conversion of Butaan from conventional energy magnate to a proponent of renewable energy is one of the project's successes. | ||
When Butaan got involved with the program he began to engage other energy providers in Burao and Hargeisa to form a cooperative electricity system and to invest together in wind generators needed to supplement the patchwork electrical system that now serves a large portion of Hargeisa's needs. He is now spearheading a solar cooker training program through ADRA in Hargeisa and Berbera. After he became an ADRA partner in [[solar power]], he became interested in the portable [[solar cookers]] introduced at the Hargeisa Fair. He found improvements to the standard solar cookers built by [[Solar Cookers, International]] from [[Kenya]] the first day he took one home to experiment. He asked for and contributed to an Outreach program for solar cookers in Berbera, a process that saves substantial amounts of charcoal and therefore scarce trees. Butaan is also working to raise the standards for safety and efficiency in electric wiring across Somaliland. | When Butaan got involved with the program he began to engage other energy providers in Burao and Hargeisa to form a cooperative electricity system and to invest together in wind generators needed to supplement the patchwork electrical system that now serves a large portion of Hargeisa's needs. He is now spearheading a solar cooker training program through ADRA in Hargeisa and Berbera. After he became an ADRA partner in [[solar power]], he became interested in the portable [[solar cookers]] introduced at the Hargeisa Fair. He found improvements to the standard solar cookers built by [[Solar Cookers, International]] from [[Kenya]] the first day he took one home to experiment. He asked for and contributed to an Outreach program for solar cookers in Berbera, a process that saves substantial amounts of charcoal and therefore scarce trees. Butaan is also working to raise the standards for safety and efficiency in electric wiring across Somaliland. | ||