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This thesis explores the politics and social structures surrounding community-scale, off-grid, solar PV micro-grids in eastern India. It offers a novel, synthetical perspective drawing on a situated, grounded and in-depth analysis of one of India's first 'smart' solar micro-grids, installed in Urjapur, a village in a tiger reserve in central Odisha. It takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing from development studies, anthropology, science and technology studies, South Asian studies and social geography to explore the nuances surrounding technological developments at the intersection of rural development, energy access, sustainability and 'smart' village movements. The research used ethnographic methodologies, including informal interviews, discussion groups and participant observation. The fieldwork for this project was multi-sited, and primarily took place in Odisha over a year-long period. The main field site was Urjapur, the village where the micro-grid was installed, with supplementary periods based with the engineers implementing the system and in Delhi, based within policy and research organisations working on energy access. The thesis conceptualises the micro-grid as an assemblage of technologies, infrastructures, ideologies, institutions and relationships. Drawing on ideas from the literature around the social construction of technology, I argue that this assemblage was constantly evolving and being reshaped, having been 'scripted' by its designers, and then 're-scripted' by users, as well as numerous state and non-state actors. This framing enables interrogation of the interplay between the individuals, groups and community envisaged as users of the micro-grid system and the engineers designing it. The thesis deconstructs the dissonant meanings derived from the 'smart' micro-grid system by the range of actors surrounding it and explores the contrasting visions in the types of development proposed. I argue that the needs, aspirations and values of the village community were often different from those of the implementers. Conceptualisations of the South Asian term jugaad (innovative processes of frugal problem solving and ways of enacting agency) are used to understand the implications of these dissonances, and the resulting processes of appropriation, negotiation and subversion in response to the micro-grid, within a legacy of existing development projects in the community. This analysis is embedded within the local Odisha context, which is essential in understanding the micro-grid project and provides a key contribution of the thesis as a whole. Analyses of the social, political and environmental landscapes intersecting with the project are a central component of the ethnographic approaches used. Structures pertaining to gender, caste, tribe and class hierarchies are explored throughout the thesis as they are embodied within the relationships surrounding the micro-grid and the materiality of the system itself. In particular, the usage of feminist perspectives highlights the role of gender structures across the micro-grid and off-grid energy assemblage in reasserting specific relationships and hierarchies. This is explored within the Urjapur community, but also in external sites of technology design and control, and of policy and project development. The local politics around state inclusion and forest conservation are central to the contextual components of this thesis. The politics associated with forest management are examined to understand their impact on community life and their role in shaping the micro-grid. Through this, the thesis explores contradictory understandings of 'sustainability' that derive from the politics of the technology and of the forest. It also explores the wider ecosystem of micro-grids across the state to understand the intersections between the different groups installing micro-grids, including NGOs, government agencies and businesses. I argue that, across the state, these projects often failed to realise their aims and goals, in part through conflicted expectations of what rural communities should look like, a misunderstood reality of how those communities functioned and a failure to examine their own expectations and aspirations for energy usage. Despite the frequent failure of micro-grid projects and the intense processes of renegotiation around the Urjapur, this thesis also utilises concepts of charisma to explore the 'hype' around 'smart' micro-grids, and argues that this was more central to mobilising the micro-grid assemblage than the realisation of the project within the community.

The present study is part of the Kaupapa Kereru Programme. The main aim of the programme is to increase the numbers and range of kereru (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) on Banks Peninsula. Home ranges, movements, diet and habitat use of 15 kereru captured in Hinewai Reserve, Banks Peninsula, were investigated from February 2005 to February 2006. Hinewai Reserve is the largest tract of regenerating native forest in a highly modified urban-rural landscape. Phenology of 11 plant species predicted to be key kereru foods, was studied to determine the pattern of food availability in Hinewai Reserve. Twelve radio-tagged kereru resided in the Hinewai Reserve study site (Otanerito Valley and Sleepy Bay) and three resided in Akaroa. Ripe fruit was available from January to August; the height of the fruiting season was in autumn. The bulk of new leaf growth occurred in spring and early summer although new leaves were available on broom and tree lucerne year round. Peak flowering occurred in spring. Kereru in Akaroa ate a total of 21 plant species; six of these species were native and 15 introduced. Kereru in the Hinewai Reserve study site ate a total of 26 plant species; 20 of these species were native and six introduced. Fruit was preferred when readily available. Native fruit appeared to be preferred over fruit of introduced species in Akaroa, where both types were available. New foliage of introduced legumes and deciduous species appeared to be preferred over new foliage of native species at both sites during winter and spring. These species were important food sources prior to the breeding season and may be selected specifically for their nitrogen and protein content. Food is currently not a limiting factor for kereru survival or reproductive success. Considerable variation in the use and preference of vegetation types of individual kereru made it difficult to identify trends in habitat selection. Use and preference for many vegetation types was seasonal; this was certainly because of the availability of food species included in or close to these vegetation types. Overall, native vegetation communities were used more than communities dominated by introduced species and forest communities were used more than non-forest communities. Kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) was used most often for non-feeding activities and 67% of observed nests were built in kanuka. Annual home ranges and core areas in the Hinewai Reserve study site (mean of 15.9 and 2 ha respectively) were significantly larger than those found in Lyttelton Harbour, Banks Peninsula in previous research (mean of 8 and 0.08 ha respectively). Home ranges were larger when fruit was eaten, than when no fruit was eaten indicating that kereru are more sedentary when feeding on foliage. Kereru from the Hinewai Reserve study site made no excursions >5 km and no daily movements >2 km. Kereru from Akaroa and Sleepy Bay travelled into Otanerito Valley to feed on horopito in autumn, indicating that there may have been a lack of fruit in their local areas during autumn. No kereru in Otanerito Valley travelled outside of the valley. The distribution of high quality food sources is likely to have caused the observed differences in home range and core area size between localities. Kereru in Lyttelton Harbour may have been restricted to small patches of high quality resources in a study area consisting largely of unsuitable habitat. In Hinewai Reserve, high quality resources were spread over larger areas and were more uniformly distributed. The density of kereru was unknown at both study sites, and this confounded assessment of habitat quality. However, it is likely that the Hinewai Reserve study site would support a higher number of kereru. The main factor limiting population growth in the present study was failure of nests at the egg and chick stage. The fledge rate was 17%. Two of fifteen adult kereru died. Control of predators should be the first aspect of management that is focused on, and will almost certainly increase reproductive success of kereru and loss of breeding adults. As the population of kereru on Banks Peninsula increases due to predator control in existing kereru habitat, food may become a limiting factor. Habitat can be improved for kereru by planting a diverse range of plant species that provide food year-round. Native fruiting species are greatly recommended for habitat enhancement and should be selected so that fruit is available for as much of the year as possible. Native and introduced legumes should also be made available as foods for winter and spring. As most land on Banks Peninsula is privately owned, co-operation and enthusiasm of the community is critical for successful management. Information and support needs to be given to landowners wishing to enhance their properties for kereru.