**PURAVIDAonline**

Financing sustainable energy, waste and water systems is one of the challenges faced by Puravida. Charitable donations are one way – (and very welcome indeed!), but to finance the project for the long term and to help support projects that can benefit the wider community there needs to be another solution. An evolution of carbon offsetting may just be one way to do it- bring on the dawn of Carbon Onsetting. Carbon Offsetting has become a well established method of generating finance for carbon mitigation projects. These projects include energy efficiency, renewable energy, sequestration or reforestation schemes. These are projects that claim to make exact carbon reduction for another carbon emissions. These are projects that otherwise would not go ahead. Carbon Onsetting also finances carbon mitigation projects that would otherwise not be able to go ahead. These projects however do not claim to make any exact reductions; estimates are made. People can chose to onset an estimated about of carbon dioxide to fund only projects that have an additional community or environmental benefits; there is a need for the project regardless of the carbon reduction that results. Onsetting is honest & upfront; Onsetting is low cost and ensures that more money goes into the projects. Blue Ventures Carbon Offset (BVCO) holds the basic principle of onsetting true in its current community stove programme in SW Madagascar. Puravida will now be linking with BVCO to fund Carbon Onsetting projects in Brazil. These projects will range from Biogas units, to water pumps, to solar lighting schemes, to solar stoves and fuel efficient stoves. This will launch on www.bvco.org.uk in the coming month. We will keep you posted. Then all can onset any carbon guilt they have through carbon mitigation projects that will truly benefit the people and environment of the Itacare region. Email ellie@blueventures.org for further information. Posted by ellie (disguised as Elin)