The lush valley reveals an area of austere beauty, a place being transformed into an enviable example of ‘green’ energy production, and a model for not only a hopeful nation but perhaps the world.

Soldiers, government officials and journalists descended on Panjshir province, Afghanistan, Nov. 13, both figuratively and literally, for the grand opening of several developmental projects. One is a windfarm.

It may look unimpressive rising against a picturesque backdrop of snow-capped mountains crowned in mist, but it holds a key to the environmentally cutting-edge techniques being used in this most unlikely of places.

“The potential for the wind farm is 100 kilowatts,” said Army Maj. Nicholas Dickson, the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team executive officer.

It may not seem like a lot of electricity to an American home, but the government center in Panjshir isn’t using it for high-definition TV sets and game consoles.

This power generation and distribution system provides electricity, hot water and a septic system. It’s a bargain at close to a million dollars.

The wind farm is only the beginning of the story.

Panjshir is close to 100 percent powered by renewable energy sources, Dickson said.

This wind farm, while small and seemingly isolated, contributes to a global energy revolution in wind power, an energy source that grew by 28 percent in 2007 alone.

Wind power is the largest single generator of renewable energy worldwide, and it’s growing.

Beyond the wind farm, the area relies heavily on micro-hydro electric power plants. These produce energy without the radical changes to the ecosystem that would result from a full sized dam, like the Dahla Damn in Kandahar province.

Dickson and Jeremy Richart, Panjshir field program officer for the United States Agency for International Development, describe the micro-hydros in Panjshir in terms of a waterslide. The main waterway is branched and the micro-hydro is installed, generating energy from the grade of the slope.

“The steeper the slope, the more power you get,” said Dickson. He is only one of a coalition of troops working with the Afghan government to improve local lives

The initial benefit of the increased energy output is only scratching the surface.

“They can use it for irrigation during the day, and then get power through the night,” said Richart.

These renewable energy sources are produced naturally by the sun, wind and water. They don’t contribute greenhouse gasses, don’t make people sick and don’t run out.

As this third-world democracy’s electrical infrastructure grows, Panjshir will be in the position to export its power to less gifted areas over a grid, said Richart.

It would stand to reason that the regions success would make it a target to those with a vested interest in the failure of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, but everyone from the locals who live there to the troops who work there, stress that Panjshir is relatively safe.

“These roads are probably the most dangerous thing in Panjshir,” says Master Sgt. Rich Flaherty, as he dares his passengers to look over the side of the dirt road at the ground hundreds of meters below. He is a Soldier in the Panjshir PRT, but like the wide majority of the troops here, he isn’t wearing body armor. It’s not necessary. “Because of the security. You’ve got one road in and one road out of this valley. And the ANP are all over it. They recognize the people who are from around here and not.”

This message became like a mantra. The locals protect Panjshir, and they don’t tolerate violent outside elements.

“It’s the largest neighborhood watch program,” said Dickson.

On Nov. 13, Ahmad Zia Massoud, first vice president of Afghanistan came to speak for the grand opening of the Panjshir Government Compound, the wind farm and a bridge. Locals were not surprised to see him, he is from the area. His brother is Ahmad Shah Massoud, the legendary “Lion of Panjshir,” who was a pro-western, anti-Soviet militant who became a national hero after his assassination by Al Quaida in September of 2001.

The First Vice President shared a large multi-colored tent at the ceremony with Army Brig. Gen. James McConville, deputy commanding general – support for Combined Joint Task Force-101, which partners with the government not only in providing security, but also development. He made it clear that he consideres Panjshir to be a very special place.

“[Panjshir] has security because the people have decided the enemies of Afghanistan are not allowed here,” McConville said. “Now it needs development.”

CJTF-101
Written by Sgt. Paul David Ondik, CJTF-101 PAO

One hundred fifty bee boxes were delivered to Bazarak District Sept. 17 as part of an overall $180,000 province-wide project conducted by the local government and the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team to help both the local economy and boost agricultural production.

Seventy-five families in each of the six lower districts throughout Panjshir will receive two of the $200 bee boxes, training, a centrifuge and protective equipment. Bazarak is the fourth district to receive the bees.

“We worked together and were successful in bringing the bee project to Panjshir,” said Hashmat-Ullah Enyat, the Provincial Director of Agriculture. “We’ve already delivered the bees to Anaba, Rokha, and Shotul districts, today we do Bazarak and we’ll do the last two districts soon.”

“In agriculture, the bees are most necessary. They help all of the agriculture grow faster,” said Mir Weis, the beekeeper overseeing the distribution of the bees. “The bees are the main ingredient in the pollination process and they are always good to have around the crops. Successful and plentiful pollination is crucial to getting a good strong crop.”

Mr. Gregory Schlenz, a U.S. Department of Agriculture representative with the Panjshir PRT, said he agrees with Weis and has been working hand-in-hand with the PRT’s civil affairs team and the province’s director of agriculture to get the bees into the province.

“In my travels I have not seen many native bees in Panjshir. Just today I was standing in a field of clover that should have been abuzz with bees—yet there were none, and that’s not good,” said Schlenz. “These bees will provide better pollination for all of the crops in Panjshir to include the vegetables and the numerous fruit orchards that the Panjshir Province is famous for.”

The main requirement was that the boxes went to the neediest people in each district, said Enyat.

“Many of the provincial line directors and district governors worked together to make a list of the 75 most needy families in each district capable of maintaining the bees,” he said

“We hope that these families were trained well, and hopefully this project will encourage them to do more for themselves and also for the growth of the economy,” said Ihnsaanullah, the head of Panjshir’s Provincial Council

Each colony is expected to produce approximately 10 kg. of honey after the first year. This means that Bazarak District could possibly see 1,500 kilos of honey once they start to produce.

During the first year there will be no product because the bees are still building their colony, said Schlenz.

“In the second year the beekeeping families will start to get the benefit of the extra honey to either eat or sell,” he said. “and that’s when the economic impact of the bees will start to be seen.”

The average price of a kilogram of honey in Panjshiri shops runs anywhere from 10 to 15 dollars. This means that there is the possibility of bringing anywhere from $15,000 to $22,000 per year into a district’s economy once the hives start to produce.

“This is just the beginning of a profitable new industry in Panjshir that will have an immediate impact on the families … and [have] a continuous tangible impact on the local economy,” said Capt. Jayson Stewart, Panjshir PRT’s director of operations who represented the PRT at the event.

The continuous tangible impact is what government officials are hoping for.

Four hundred and fifty families throughout the province will receive the 900 bee boxes. But the director of agriculture hopes that the benefit will not end with those 450.

“Once these families have worked with the bees for a year, they will be able to teach others how to work with them as well,” said Enyat. “This a great success story for both the agriculture sector and the economy in Panjshir.”

CJTF-101
Written by Air Force Capt. Jillian Torango

A small group of people were on hand for a groundbreaking ceremony for the $130,000 Haish Saidqi eight-room schoolhouse, Aug. 20, 2008, on a hillside overlooking the picturesque stepped farmlands of Rokha District, Panjshir province, Afghanistan.

Among those in attendance at the ceremony were Hajji Kabiri, the province’s deputy governor, and Zolmaid Shahid, the provincial director of education. Of special importance was the attendance of Abdul Rahman Panjshiri. He and his wife donated the land for the school.

Panjshiri, as the name might indicate is originally from Panjshir. His wife’s family had to leave Panjshir when she was still a young girl so she could continue with school and get a good education.

Panjshiri and his family took asylum in the Netherlands during the Taliban regime but he always knew that he wanted to come back to Afghanistan.

“When the Taliban fell and I decided to come back to Afghanistan, some of my family was not happy with me,” said Panjshiri. “My three sons even did not come back with me, but my wife and daughter did and we now live and work in Kabul.”

Panjshiri is a communications engineer and serves as a director of International Radio and Television in Kabul. A year ago, he assisted in bringing the first television station to Panjshir.

His wife is a chemist who was the only female from Rokha District to graduate from Kabul University in 1977. She is now a teacher at a school in Kabul.

“When we heard from the Ministry of Education in Kabul that they desperately needed land for a school, my wife encouraged me to give this land here for a girl’s school,” said Panjshiri. “She had to move away from Panjshir to get an education and she didn’t want the girls today to have to do the same thing.”

Air Force Capt. Jayson Stewart represented the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team and offered Panjshiri his words of thanks.

“It is a good thing that his family was willing to give their personal land for a girl’s school because good, useable land is getting very hard to find here in Panjshir,” said Stewart.

Panjshiri said it takes commitment from not only people like himself, but also the financial help from international donors and assistance from the International Security and Assistance Force for progress to continue in Panjshir and throughout Afghanistan.

“When I decided to come back to Afghanistan, a good friend of mine from Holland asked me why I would want to leave the Netherlands for Afghanistan,” said Panjshiri.

For Panjshiri, the answer was ‘duty.’

“I told him that I was sure that as long as coalition forces were here helping our government, then I knew it would be a good safe place to come,” he said. “I am very happy that I made the decision to come back to Afghanistan because I can do something for the people here – for my people.”

The Haish Saidqi eight-room schoolhouse is scheduled to be complete in April 2009.

DVIDS
By Air Force Capt. Jillian Torango
Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team

On June 27, 2007, a flash flood ravaged parts of the Rokha District. That day, within meters of the site for a future bridge, 23 people lost their lives when their bus washed off the Molakhel road. This stretch was one of two in Rokha that were destroyed by the floods. The roads have since been temporarily repaired, but vehicular traffic and water from a nearby stream are eroding them and creating very hazardous conditions.

Now, the situation has improved.

More than 100 people gathered today to watch as Haji Bahlol, the Panjshir province governor, officiated the Molakhel Bridge-groundbreaking ceremony. The event signified the start of a four-month, $116,000 construction project for the Rokha District, Panjshir province.

Historically, construction in the area has not proved successful.

Just three months prior to the flood, the first stretch of paved road was completed in the Panjshir province. The 48-kilometer road stretched from the southern tip of the province, known as the Lion’s Gate, to just past the provincial center in Bazarak.

The road was a major symbol of the economic rejuvenation in the once war-ravaged province. Its completion reduced travel time through the southern portion of the valley to the capital city of Kabul.

After the flood, engineers from the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team realized the crossing was far less dependable than originally expected.

A new plan was developed.

The damage left showed that just reinforcing the road would not be adequate to help withstand the power of future natural disasters. Therefore, a combined effort of provincial engineers and the PRT came up with the right solution to the problem: a bridge.

“I want to thank the PRT for our continued cooperation,” said Bahlol, who knew the task was not an easy one.

“The PRT worked hard to get this project and we all thank them for all of their hard work,” continued the governor, motioning to the villagers in attendance.

PRT engineers believe the bridge will help in other ways too.

“Before the flood, the original road crossed over box culverts,” said Air Force Capt. Kenneth McGinnis, a Panjshir PRT engineer. “The road designers thought the water would be able to flow through the culvert, but the June 2007 flood waters were too powerful and quickly overtook not only the culvert but the road itself.

“In those conditions, where the force of the water is so great, a bridge is more likely to survive than a road,” continued McGinnis, who is deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. “The project will sidestep the existing roadway and create a real bridge that allows the water to flow unrestricted.”

The bridge construction takes into account forces of nature, such as erosion.

“Instead of the roadway which has been eroded to less than 5 meters in width, the new bridge will be a 7.5 meter-wide, reinforced concrete structure with layered asphalt stretching across the 24-meter span,” said McGinnis. “It will also have added safety measures such as stone masonry side walls and one-meter-high railings.”

Local villagers in attendance, as well as the governor, voiced their safety concerns relating to the current and temporary road, which the bridge will alleviate.

“Last year’s flood was devastating to the people of Rokha when the road was washed out and many people died as a result,” said Bahlol. “Having a safe roadway is very important for all of Panjshir and especially to the people living right here in Rokha. This will be a better roadway for the cars and a better walkway for the safety of all of the people traveling through Panjshir.”

The current roadway will be temporarily maintained as an alternate route until the new bridge is completed. Once the bridge is completed, the contractor will remove the old roadway and culverts to allow the water to once again flow freely.

DVIDS
U.S. Air Force Capt. Jillian Torango
Task Force Cincinnatus Public Affairs