Said Abdallah

Rural Electrification in Kenya with Community Cooperatives Engagement: "People's Development Drive Struggling to Cut the Leash" Said Abdallah

The strength of social masses especially when the masses are poor people is often taken for granted until such events like the French revolution take place. In reality, the strength is a major resource that could be harnessed and indeed it is successfully deployed in organizations like cooperatives. With the example of electricity cooperatives in the USA, the author here narrates how rural people managed to bring much needed electricity after denial of services by urban-based power utilities. Aided by government, cooperatives of relatively poor people provided their own electricity. This interesting subject is presented especially looking at how such cooperatives could meet the needs of low income countries, where electricity is scarce. Kenya is studied as a poor country example; and the involvement of rural communities for better development results is explored. The work is presented in an easily readable form that appeals to the general reader, and at the same time includes serious academic analysis that would interest, among others, academicians; social science and energy researchers; and practitioners.