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MANILA, Philippines—Helping reduce fuel consumption and pollution among tricycles plying streets in two cities in the Philippines gave an American and his group an award and almost P5 million in cash prize from a luxurious Swiss wristwatch brand which recognizes projects for the poor.
Thirty-one year-old Tim Bauer is among the five winners of the 2008 Rolex Awards for Enterprise for introducing a pioneering technology to make tricycles using two-stroke engines cleaner and more cost-efficient in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur and and Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.
Rolex also cited five other projects as “associate laureates” for this year, including the technology Filipino Alexis Belonio, 48, developed to turn rice production wastes into clean and affordable cooking fuel. Belonio is getting almost P2.5 million in cash award.
The 32-year-old Rolex Awards for Enterprise supports “new and ongoing projects that demonstrate a spirit of enterprise and address pressing needs around the world, from climate change, to wildlife and habitat preservation, to cultural preservation, to providing water, food, medical supplies and education for impoverished communities.”
It has recognized more than 110 projects from 38 countries since it was launched in 1976, according to a press release sent to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.
Instead of working for high-paying jobs in the US, Bauer, a mechanical engineer, decided to go to Asia after his graduation to promote the technology, which can reduce pollution emissions among motorcycles using two-stroke engines widely used in many countries in Asia.
For instance, there are 1.8 million tricycle drivers in the Philippines, the press release states.
Bauer said tricycle drivers “play an essential role in the social and economic fabric, but their impact on public health is disastrous.”
Two-stroke engines are cheap because they are so simple that drivers can repair them themselves, but nearly half of the fuel and oil exit two-stroke engines unburned, increasing emissions of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur oxides which pollute the air.
The Philippine government earlier sought to phase out two-stroke engine tricycles, but the plan to replace them with the cleaner four-stroke engine tricycles faced stiff objections from the tricycle drivers who could not afford the cleaner but more expensive technology.
The “direct injection kit” Bauer and his group Envirofit developed and introduced in the Philippines is partly made from locally sourced materials to keep the price affordable. It is easy to install—just about two to four hours—and not only reduces emission of polluting gases, but also substantially saves on fuel.
He chose the cities of Vigan and Puerto Princesa, known tourist attractions in the country, for his project. Starting in 2006, he also distributed a translated troubleshooting manual and conducted workshops and seminars. To help drivers afford the technology, Bauer and his team also launched a microcredit program to give out loans. Bauer travels to the Philippines almost five times a year.
There are more than 230 drivers who have adopted the kit since 2005. Bauer hopes to use his prize from the Rolex Award to replicate his project in Pakistan, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka where millions of rickshaws, their version of tricycles, continue to operate on two-stroke engines.
“These drivers are at the base of the economic pyramid,” Bauer said. “We can improve their lives with a cylinder head, a few brackets, and, of course, hard work. This is our best reward.”
The four other winners of the top awards this year are Talal Akasheh (from Jordan ), 61, who is creating an information system about the ancient monuments of Petra; Andrew McGonigle (UK), 35, a physicist developing a new means to predict volcanic eruptions; Andrew Muir ( South Africa ), 43, who provides Aids orphans with life skills, training, and jobs; and Elsa Zaldívar (Paraguay), 48, who creates composite building materials out of plant and plastic waste to construct affordable housing.
They were awarded in a ceremony in Dubai on Tuesday.
