Themba Trust – Who We Are

 

Peter de Groot has worked in development for 20 years, mostly on the utilisation and conservation of natural resources, trying to find practical solutions that will make a difference.  In renewable energy work has included training in the design and maintenance of solar systems for rural areas, the development of a training manual for the installation and maintenance of small solar home systems, the development of standards for system components, and solar drying. 

 

Sarah Hemstock holds a PhD in Environmental Systems and Bioenergy from King’s College London and is currently Program Manager of the Cusichaca Trust – an NGO which promotes the rational management of natural resources in the Peruvian Andes – and Scientific Advisor for Alofa Tuvalu – establishing community-based bioenergy projects in Tuvalu.  The majority of her recent work experience relates to practical resource management and sustainable development issues relevant to some of the world’s most disadvantaged communities and vulnerable ecosystems. Over the past 15 years she has worked on many biomass energy related topics in Africa, South America and Small Island Pacific States.

 

Jeremy Woods has developed research interests into the interplay between development, land-use and the sustainable exploitation of renewable and non-renewable resources, in particular biomass energy. He led a recent evaluation for SOPAC of the Biomass Resource Potential for energy in six South Pacific Nations.  Other recent work has included collaborating on an assessment of renewable transport fuels for UK-DTI, developing carbon accreditation and allocation systems and assessing the potential for bioelectricity in OECD countries by 2020 for WWF. He is also a partner in an EU-funded 'cane resources network for southern Africa (CARENSA)' and co-ordinates an ICSU/SCOPE research project on 'the sustainable use of southern African savannas'. Over the last 11 years, he has continued to research the use of sweet sorghum for bioenergy production in the EU, Africa and Asia, a consultant to the FAO and technical director of Themba Technology Ltd.  He lectures on the Global Environmental Change and Energy Policy modules of the Environmental Technology MSc at Imperial College London.  http://www.imperial.ac.uk/environmentalscience/research/epmg/JemCV.html

 

David Matthews is managing director of Themba Technology Ltd, one of the UK’s leading Solar Thermal design and install companies, established in 1999.  He holds an MSc in Renewable Energy Technologies from the University of Zimbabwe and is a trainer for the UK’s VSO programme.  He has over 15 years direct experience of renewable energy implementation both in developing countries, where he worked on rural electrification in South Africa and the UK.

 

Frank Rosillo-Calle is a Research Fellow at Imperial College London’s Centre for Environmental Policy. He obtained his doctorate in biological sciences, at the universities of Aston, UK, and Campinas, S.P., Brazil, where he investigated Brazil's ethanol fuel programme. He has over 20 years experience in bioenergy research, and has carried out many research projects and consultancy work in Europe and rest of the world. Research areas include biomass production and supply, energy and carbon flows, ethanol fuel, environmental impacts and policy analysis. He has taught at various universities nationally and internationally, and published extensively in these areas. 

 

Gareth Brown holds an MSc in Electronic Engineering from Cardiff University, and has experience in the electricity generation and food production industries in Belize. He joined Imperial College London’s Biomass Energy Group in 2004 to work on scenarios for the transition of the sugar industry in southern Africa from crystalline sugar-only producers to becoming significant suppliers of renewable energy by 2030. He has also been working on a British Sugar funded project on evaluating the potential for carbon capture and sequestration from UK bioethanol production.