Focus is expanding REACH project (Reduce Energy Use And Change Habits) to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, with financial support of Know-how Exchange Program (KEP) Austria within the Central European Initiative (CEI).

Together with our REACH CEI project partners, CEE from BiH, Green Home from Montenegro and Fractal from Serbia, we have organized two-day trainings for partners and other local actors in Tuzla, Podgorica and Belgrade. Content of the training included presentation of the REACH project, energy poverty issue, workshop on how to implement energy advising in households, along with practical implementation of the visit, data collection sheet, program tool, equipment, devices for energy and water savings and communication with socially vulnerable households. We have also presented potential activities for promotion of energy visits to households, involvement of local actors and structural measures for addressing energy poverty.

Training sessions were attended by over 40 participants from various organizations: representatives fro social work centers, technical high schools, municipalities and various non-governmental organizations, who are in one way or another dealing with these issues. That means key local actors have been involved in early stages of the project, which will guarantee success of it.

Involved actors showed interest in the project and its practical implementation level. It is expected that future activities will begin in a very short period. On the basis of implemented trainings for partners, they will organize trainings for students – future energy advisers of the project. Another task is to inform energy poor households and collect their applications. In these households energy advisers will carry out analysis of their energy and water consumption, give them advices for energy and water savings and install energy and water saving devices.

Training in Tuzla was held on 25th and 26th of January 2016, in Podgorica on 28th and 29th of January 2016, and in Belgrade on 1st and 2nd of February 2016. Evaluation of the training revealed that participants were satisfied with content and implementation of the training and that they have acquired new skills, beneficial for their future activities.

(Photos by: CEE, Green Home, Fractal)