Clean Energy Alternatives Inc.

Training and Capacity Building in the Brick Sector - Establishment of a Brick Technology and Information Centre in Bangladesh (Contract Package # DoE-S11)

In the last few years, a great deal of interest were generated amongst owners, potential investors, financial institutions, environmentalists, policy makers, and donor agencies about the possibility of making the brick industry energy efficient and more environment friendly. It was and still is being increasingly recognized that there are no easy solutions and that a considerable number of barriers need to be overcome before sustainable reforms can be achieved. Package S-11 of CASE which recognizes the need for macro level, industry-wide interventions to facilitate a sustainable transformation of the brick industry in Bangladesh is one effort to remove these barriers.

One possible way would be to set up a support center which would assist interested investors to make informed judgments by providing detailed technical information and then following it up with assistance to access finance to those desirous of change - the early adopters. The center would also continue to create awareness among those yet to be exposed to the benefits of switching to the new technologies. The center would be a precursor to a much larger and self-sustaining institution, one that would supply services and also generate demand for them.

The immediate objectives of the Package S-11, “Training and Capacity Building in the Brick Sector - Establishment of a Brick Technology and Information Centre in Bangladesh” were to: