MoxieBlog

Women Engineers Promote Low-Carbon Cooking Across Mali

2012-02-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

Check out this article about my friend & colleague in Mali ~ Anna & I worked together on a solar cooking evaluation at a refugee camp in Chad ~ what an inspiration!

Engineer Anna Dembele works with a solar cooker and thermal heating basket in the compound of her home, where she teaches other women to make and use the cookers. ALERTNET/Soumaila T. Diarra

By Soumaila T. Diarra

BAMAKO, Mali (AlertNet) – Engineer Anna Dembele’s smile broadens as she shows off the low-carbon cooking kits she makes. The association she belongs to now plans to promote use of the equipment across Mali, helping people cope with inflation and tackling deforestation in the bargain.

A 2010 report from Mali’s agriculture ministry said that more than 500,000 hectares of forest are cleared for firewood and charcoal each year in the West African country. But new ways of cooking, using solar power and heat retention, could cut those losses.

Dembele demonstrates the kit on the paved floor of her compound. There’s a basic solar cooker, which consists of a box lined with reflective foil, a metal pot and a heat-resistant plastic bag. There is also an insulated “thermos” basket in which food is put to continue simmering after being heated to boiling point, and a “rocket” stove, which supplements the solar cooker and enables more efficient use of firewood.

The ‘Cookit’ creates a stir in Chad

2012-01-17T16:07:00.000-08:00

The power of the sun holds the key to at least some of the challenges facing communities in Eastern Chad.

That was the conclusion of Cord’s research last year, validated by a successful pilot and is now the focus of a new $200,000 programme funded by Jewish World Watch.

Some 280,000 Sudanese have crossed the border from Sudan into Chad since the eruption of violence in the Darfur region in 2003. Inevitably, tensions rise between these new encamped communities and the local Chadian population. Not only is competition over scarce firewood for cooking and heating a common cause of conflict between the two communities, but it also leaves women exposed to the risk of violence when they travel the ever-increasing distances necessary to collect it.

See the full article here.

Want a CooKit of your own? Check out Solar Cookers International's website & buy one for about $25!

Clean Cookstoves for Liberia

2011-12-21T16:46:00.000-08:00

Empowerment Society International (ESI) is a small nonprofit dedicated to empowering individuals in developing countries by promoting sustainable development in their communities. Their goal is to 'build a sustainable world, one individual at a time'. Peter Gbelia, founder and ED of ESI, together with the Foundation For Women, Liberia (FFW) and the United National Development Program's (UNDP) Global Environment Fund, are attempting to introduce highly efficient, clean cookstoves to the rural villages of Liberia.

FFW Liberiaintends to distribute 700 clean charcoal cookstoves throughout Liberia in2012. In five years, these 700cookstoves will keep over 10,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere,and over 15 kg's of black carbon (1 kg of black carbon is equivalent to 680tones of CO2). Most importantly, FFW Liberia's project will touch over 3,500lives, empower thousands of women, and improve the health of women and childrenin over 700 households while saving them from the detrimental affects of IndoorAir Pollution (IAP). The program will create over 1,000 local jobs, directly byhiring distributors and sales agents, and over 3,000 indirect jobs as wecompensate community liaisons, hire transport and storage facilities, creatinga vibrant economic development around the cookstove.

A $60 donation will subsidize the cost of a cookstove by 50% for 2 Liberian families, but any amount is appreciated. Donations can be made at sjedi.org, or you can join the Facebook Cause: Cookstoves for Africa. If you're not able to donate, a 'like' on Facebook and passing on information to friends and family helps a great deal.

Click here for more information on ESI's Clean Cookstove Initiative in Liberia.

Vented Cookstoves Key in Pneumonia Fight

2011-12-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

Did you know that 3 billion people ~ nearly half the world's population, still rely on wood, coal, crop waste or animal dung for indoor cooking and heating? The resulting indoor air pollution contributes mightily to severe pneumonia, especially among women and young children. At 1.6 million deaths per year, garden-variety pneumonia is now the leading killer of children under 5 worldwide - more than AIDS, malaria and TB combined. According to new data published in the journal NeuroToxicology, prenatal exposure to carbon monoxide generated by indoor smoke can also have long-term effects on child IQ. The good news is this: Something as simple as an indoor stove with a smoke-reducing chimney can change this ugly picture.Vented cookstoves are key in pneumonia fight - San Bernardino County Sun

MIT Engineering 3D Solar Panels

2011-11-22T12:47:00.001-08:00

Inspired by the way trees spread their leaves to capture sunlight, MIT Engineering Professor Jeffery Grossman wondered how efficient a three-dimensional shape covered in solar cells could be. It turns out that it has the potential to be quite efficient, even on an overcast, rainy day in Boston.Extraordinary efficiency, created by the dynamic shapes inspired by tree leaves, is what's really impressive about Professor Grossman's design. Not only are they less impacted by bad weather, their vertical shape allows them to pick up more direct sunlight and generate more electricity than flat panels using the same amount of ground space.

Check it out:

Link to original article.

The Solar Lease

2011-10-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

While I was perusing the endless & captivating isles at Home Depot recently, I came across this advertisement. I'd seen it before, but after almost 9 months of in-depth solar panel training this year with Solar Energy International (SEI), all-things-solar seem to pique my interest even more than usual.

So of course I was intrigued, because one of the biggest deterrents for the average citizen interested in 'going solar' is the upfront cost, especially if you live in a state without a significant environmental incentive program. So the solar lease seems like an intriguing alternative to the average Joe looking to reduce his (or her) carbon footprint. I delved deeper:

Here are the nuts and bolts of it:

Home Depot has partnered with U.S. solar installation giant SolarCity to provide custom and professional panel installations on your home or business.
Instead of buying solar panels, clients simply lease the equipment and pay as they go.
Home Depot handles all installation-related paperwork, including permits, tax credits and coordination with power company.
Flexible financing options and a comprehensive project price covers everything from the initial paperwork to final cleanup.
The combination of the monthly lease payment and subsequent electricity bill is apparently less than an average utility bill.
Savings grows as utility rates increase, and lower electricity rates are locked in for the term of the lease.
Repairs, maintenance, monitoring and insurance are covered under the lease.
SolarCity will pay the difference in your bill if the system does not perform as guaranteed.
Performance is monitored daily online by SolarGuard®.
When the lease ends, there is the option to upgrade to a new system with updated technology, extend the lease in 5 year increments, or simply have the panels removed (for free).
If you sell your home before the lease ends, it can either be transferred to the new owners or you can pay it off and add it to the asking price.

Not a bad deal if you ask me! It's my humble opinion that leases like these, as well as community solar farms, gardens & similar allocation programs are the future of solar energy, utilizing cumulative energy sharing and payment plans to make PV systems affordable to the masses. It's an exciting time!

Check out HomeDepot & SolarCity for more information.

PV301L: PV Battery-Based Lab

2011-09-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

Solar Energy International's PV301L course instructs students to safely install, test, and commission battery-based PV systems at the Paonia Lab Facility. The five days of hands-on installation practice with battery-based systems are offered at SEI’s world-class PV Lab training facility in Paonia, Colorado; lab stations are comprised of both stand-alone and grid-tied with battery back-up systems, and include both AC and DC coupled systems. Integrating generator back-up is also covered in detail, as participants concentrate on battery safety, wiring, and maintenance, and will wire balance of system components including: combiner boxes, disconnects, power centers, controllers, battery banks, and inverters. Set-up, basic programming, and testing of components for specific battery-based applications are integrated into the lab sessions, students learn fundamental procedures for safe installation and commissioning practices, and all exercises have an emphasis on battery safety considerations. The maximum eight to one student-to-instructor ratio and comprehensive lab setting create the ultimate environment to get first hands-on PV and battery experience.

I learned alot about the 'other side' of PV installation (after taking the Grid-Tie lab the previous month) & the Lab Facility in Paonia is beyond compare. I can't imagine a more pleasant place to be trained in this amazing technology!

Day 1 had us grouped up in the classroom in downtown Paonia, going over the basics of battery-based PV installation, before moving to the lab on the outskirts of town.

Joe Villacci (one of three instructors for the course) goes over the basics of battery design & single string design & set up.

The class split into 3rds (one group per instructor) & went through all the specifics of setting up various systems, rotating throughout the week. With 5-7 students per instructor, the class provided invaluable personal attention.

I must admit, I kept getting distracted by the breathtaking sky show.

Going over design schematics after wiring up the panels of one of the systems.

Wiring up the inverter, charge controllers, et al.

Downtime @ The Revolution Brewery.

Awwwww, such love amongst SEI instructors & staff : )

Rule #1: Stay Hydrated !

Solar snacks: Nutella & Banana toast in the solar cooker!

One system ready to go!

Laying down the last panel on the pitched-roof mounted system.

PV installation is fun!

Tawnya, our popcicle princess, rewarded us every afternoon with delicious icy treats.

Taking respite from the sun in the tented classroom.

Music in the Park; there's always something going on in the little mountain town of Paonia.

PV206: Solar Business & Technical Sales

2011-08-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

PV206 Solar Business and Technical Sales is an excellent companion training opportunity to be taken with or after any of SEI's PV technical training. This workshop is a perfect fit for those currently working in the solar industry or hoping to work in solar sales to comprehensively cover business and financial topics not covered in our technical training. The class has been developed from the ground up with a strong focus on business / financial principals and non-technical topics directly aligned with the NABCEP PV Technical Sales task analysis.

Through insightful instruction from working experts in the field, SEI’s PV206 workshop covers marketing and sales techniques you will need to be successful in the solar biz. Concepts discussed in detail include customer qualification, marketing strategies, creating conceptual design proposals, system costing, incentives and rebates, cost-benefit analysis, financing options, and the non-financial benefits of photovoltaic systems.

Presentations from active experts in the solar marketing & sales industry from various companies across the nation provided in-depth practical & comprehensive information about real-life situations & circumstances in the solar business field. Lectures were personal & thought-provoking, & students received valuable insider knowledge from experienced & seasoned professionals, & had a good time doin' it!

We had a well-rounded class, with an eclectic mix of solar professionals. The course was dominated by our 3 main instructors, & peppered with a variety of local & national industry moguls.

Or fun-lovin' solar instructors; Andy Black, Jeff Spies & Liz Merry.

Andy Black of OnGrid Solar directed the first 2 days of the workshop with detailed instruction on industry standards, effective sales strategies & solar marketing tactics.

Jeff Spies, of SolarSpies Training & Consulting Services in Arizona, took control of Day #3 with more sales & marketing gems.

Liz Merry, solar guru of Verve Solar Consulting, was our class director & kept things going in an orderly & mixed-up fashion.

SEI's Kris Sutton came in to give us the what's-what on OSHA guidelines & the importance of safety certifications.

We were even graced by a visit from SEI's Executive Director, Johnny Weis, who is an impressive public speaker & got us thinking about the future of solar energy & what it will mean for the good ole USA.

A powerful image.

I love this table.

And after 4.5 days on our butts in a classroom, a field trip to see the array @ the Colorado Rocky Mountain School, installed by Carbondale's own SunSense Solar, was a welcome change of pace.

An example of an 'anti-theft' nut that requires a special tool... you'd be surprised at how often panels are stolen from solar sites!

Only a fraction of the huge array that powers the Colorado Rocky Mountain School.

Inspiring.

Thanks everyone for a fun & valuable class!

SEI's 20th Anniversary Party

2011-08-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

For 20 years, Solar Energy International has been dedicated to hands-on and online solar training and renewable energy education in wind, micro-hydro, sustainable building and developing world technologies. Solar Energy International also works with grassroots and development organizations to promote sustainability and improve quality of life worldwide through viable outreach programs.

So where were you in 1991? Solar Energy International was just getting started teaching the world about renewable energy technologies. In celebration, SEI's co-founder and executive director Johnny Weiss, the SEI Board, and SEI Staff will host a fun, family-friendly old-fashioned BBQ potluck at Third St. Center in Carbondale, CO, the funky mountain town where SEI was founded 20 years ago.

The festivities centered around a free country-style BBQ, 1-4 p.m., outside of SEI's new workshop location at Third St. Center in Carbondale, featuring burgers, hot dogs, picnic fare, Revolution Brewery suds, lemonade, face painting, hula hooping, volleyball, hackey sack, live music by Carbondale's own All the Pretty Horses, solar cooking demos, and all-around fun for the whole family.

Here's a little recap of the fun:

Fresh local meat & vegetarian delights served up by SEI's master barbeque-ers.

Supplemented by a variety of solar cooked treats.

Beer, wine, lemonade & some pretty darn good mojitos were on the drink list.

Al served in SEI-labeled mugs for party-goers to take home.

Instructor Andy Black even shucked up some oysters brought fresh from PEI.

Thank goodness for the huge tent that provided shade from the sun to happy partiers.

And the festivities abounded on this gorgeous Colorado summer day...

...in the form of face painting...

Volleyball...

Creative crafts for kiddies...

Badmitten...

Solar Powered Bubbles...

Juggling...

Not to mention the awesome local band All The Pretty Horses that played throughout the day.

And it would hardly be a work party without a word from some of SEI's most influential players.

Attentive guests paying homage to the wonder that is SEI.

I think it's safe to say a good time was had by all, since the party continued well into the night.!

Good job SEI ~ I was glad to be a part of your special day : )

ESI Distributes Fuel-Efficient Stoves in Liberia

2011-08-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

Empowerment Society International (ESI) is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing sustainable development innovations and knowledge to sub-Saharan Africa. ESI’s motto is to “Build a Sustainable World, One Individual at a Time…” Their mission is to empower individuals by promoting sustainable development in their communities, founded to empower the children of sub-Saharan Africa affected by war and conflict, and to treat, prevent, and manage aids and other diseases, to combat illiteracy, and defeat poverty.

ESI recently distributed over 1,000 Envirofit clean cookstoves to 60 Liberian families and refugees from Cote D’Ivoire throughout Liberia, 60 of which were granted or subsidized to families or refugees. Additional financing will allow them to introduce new technologies into rural communities (1) decreasing indoor air quality dangers and improving health, (2) decreasing deforestation by requiring women to collect less wood for cooking and heating, (3) decreasing the invisible costs women and children face in cooking and preparation labor, and (4) reducing rural poverty by participating in Envirofitâ€™s carbon emission reduction revenue sharing scheme.

ESI is a small nonprofit run by a dedicated team of people committed to helping those in need in developing areas. Need an environmental org. to support, follow or promote? Look no further!

Read more about ESI & their projects in Sub Saharan Africa here.

10 Non-Travel Resources To Help You Travel Better

2011-07-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

Recently back from a long month of non-stop PV training in the mountains, my thoughts naturally turn again to travel... that bug is always lying dormant right there at the surface, & I'm fairly obsessed with each & every nuance of travel. I came across this article by Boots & All while browsing my Travel RSS, & found that the advice is not only helpful for planning a 'Round The World' (RTW) trip, but in the organization of everyday life. It's so helpful, in fact, that I felt the need to save & share it. Check it out ~ I bet it'll rustle your travel &/or organization bug, too:

10 Non-Travel Resources To Help You Travel Better: "

Planning a RTW trip is a time consuming process, and travelers are always looking for ways to make their planning and traveling easier. In this technological age we live in, there are countless resources that can help us stay organized while planning a trip of this magnitude, and there are plenty more to help us once we’re on the road for an extended length of time.

Being able to accurately keep up with the budget, storing photos and music and books online, backing up our computers, and keeping up with friends and family back home are all aspects of a RTW trip made easier by the advance in technology.

Not all of the following 10 items were made with travel in mind, but these tactics and resources can help any long term traveler stay organized and in touch while on the road.

1. Evernote

This list is not in order of awesomeness, but if it was, Evernote would probably be at or near the top. Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-Hour Workweek, referenced this app in his best-selling book. After checking it out and playing around with it, I am now addicted. You can access Evernote via a mobile phone app, on your desktop, and online.

Evernote is basically a note-taking, organizational, and storage system that can hold just about anything. Snap a photo with your phone, upload to Evernote, tag it, and any word in the photo is searchable. You can snap pictures of things like business cards and even handwritten notes, and then store them in Evernote with appropriate tags to keep them organized. The words in handwritten notes are even searchable, and between that, the tags, and the various notebooks you can create, it makes it super easy to find anything you have uploaded, even when you have thousands and thousands of notes! No need for a mess of post it notes scattered about your home or office again.

For travel, this can come in handy in a variety of ways. Many travelers are constantly jotting down notes in random places-notebooks, guidebooks, random pieces of paper, napkins, whatever we can get our hands on. If traveling with a smart phone, you can get rid of all the paper clutter. Someone suggests a great hotel? Open the Evernote app, type the name in, tag it, put it in the appropriate notebook, and bang, it’s available via your phone, on your desktop, or online at your account on evernote.com. See a yummy looking menu while walking around? Snap a photo of it, tag it, and you have a reminder for later, complete with the menu and address. Evernote has changed not only how organized I am in my travels, but also in my daily life.

...see the rest of the article here.

Check out Boots & All @ www.bootsnall.com

Grid-Direct Design & the NEC

2011-07-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

Aaaaaahhhhhh the Grid-Direct Design & NEC class.... sigh.... such memories. This was a course to remember if ever there was one.

If only I could.

But I can't. I can't remember much of what I learned in the class because it was completely over my head. This class literally made me want to cry. The NEC (National Electric Code) Book is one of THE most terrifying things to ever be published, & getting to know it up close & personal has been an outright fright-show. Don't get me wrong, it all makes sense... all the sense of a psychiatrist prescribing meds to a junkie ~ I just didn't know I'd have to get my psych degree AND slam China White just learn to install PV! How could I know I'd have to memorize an 800-page code book before I get to climb up on a roof & hook up some solar panels?!?

But I won't despair.... I'll make it... It'll be a long tough road, but I'll pass that NABCEP exam if it's the last thing I do. And besides, you don't want people up on your roof who don't know what they're doing, right?? Well... rest assured that your credentialed PV installers know their stuff... & lots of supplementary numbers & in-depth math equations to go along with it.

These 2 women, who seemed so normal & sane during the previous installation class in Paonia, genuinely LOVE every aspect of PV design & the National Electric Code (NEC). And boy do they know their stuff. Amazingly well-informed & freakishly passionate about the topic, I can't imagine this class better taught by anyone else. Freaks though they may be...

Porn for the NEC-lover.

The Third Street Center in Carbondale, CO is a renovated elementary school turned earthy-groovy nonprofit center that houses a variety of regional artists, nonprofits & environmentally-minded for-profit organizations related to community collaboration.

The Third St. Cafe offers awesome coffee & tasty treats, with a cute little outdoor sitting area in the summer months. Very cute & small-town-homey.

The solar array on top of the Third Street Center, along with vented skylights & abundant recycling efforts power the majority of the building's electric needs.

Whitney O. (A) performs a popular rendition of the official Yosemite Sam Happy Solar Dance.

Students check out the inverter bank that converts this massive solar array's DC energy into AC power to be used in 'our world'.

The class took a little field trip to visit a local organization called SunSense Solar, who has been designing & installing residential, commercial & community solar power for the past 20 years. (www.sunsensesolar.com)

This huge array consists of 756 modules: 18 42-module sub-arrays, with 14 modules per string & powers the Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) - a college-preparatory boarding & day school for high school kids in the area. The Jossman Building, which houses the CRMS Humanities Program, will use one third of the power, & the rest will be purchased by Xcel Energy and distributed to customers in Carbondale.

Isaac Ellis of SunSense gives us the low-down on the overall functionality of the array, which was installed in 2008 & is monitored closely online & in person.

This is one of 3 Sunny Boy inverter towers, each with 6 inverters; 3 strings per inverter. The Sunny Boys are unique in that they provide constant online tracking of the system's productivity, & will alert both customer & client via email when there is a significant change in power output.

A view of Mt. Sopris from the back side of the solar array.
Carbondale's pretty.

A much needed break taken with live music & picnic-ing at the lovely Two Rivers Park in the nearby town of Glenwood Springs.

Women's Solar Electric Lab Week

2011-07-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

The Women's Solar Lab has been my favorite Solar Energy International (SEI) class thus far, & not just because it was a class of women taught by women (which I won't deny was a nice change in perspective), but because these women knew their stuff & we all worked together beautifully.

7 students installed 3 complete PV systems in 5 days, instructed by 3 very knowledgeable trainers @ SEI's solar education facility located just outside the tiny & beautiful mountain town of Paonia, CO. A gorgeous & functional training center, SEI-Paonia offers a expansive landscape of solar panel arrays & assembly structures, as well as outdoor classrooms, circuit panel demo dashboards & various other solar devices such as solar ovens, thermal water heaters, dryers, & even a solar work truck.

After a brief introduction & overview, the ladies got right to it, & it was 5 full days of hands-on work in the bright Paonia sun that resulted in the assembly & wiring of a 1) an 8-panel ballasted roof mount, 2) an 8-panel pole mount, & 3) a 10-panel enphase slanted roof system. There's nothin' like doin', & I we all learned a helluva lot about the physical aspects of panel installation.

This way to the PV Labs!

SEI's outdoor solar panel training facility, located just outside beautiful Paonia, CO.

An outdoor classroom, with dry-erase board & instructional circuit panel.

Angie uses a very cool device, the Solar Pathfinder, to determine potential shading factors throughout the year for the system we're about to install.

Whitney & I bring out the first solar panel for our ballasted roof array.

The team hard at work, tucking away wiring & making the last adjustments on our first install!

Ain't she beautiful?!?

Mama Kelly gives us the rundown on wiring specs for our next system.

Yeah ~ & this is the easy stuff : /

Preparing to get into the circuit boxes for the pole mount.

Tasha 2.0 draws out the wiring diagram for the pole mount system.

Karina wiring up the inverter for the ballasted roof mount.

Putting together the structure for the pole mounted PV system.

Now for the panels...

Girls being girls while taking a break @ the Revolution Brewery in town.

Angie & I secure the wiring on the pole mount.

Tasha & Monica perform finishing touches.

Isn't she lovely. (You too, Monica : )

Celebrating our successes with a solar cooked potluck : )

Mama Kelly demonstrates the importance of wearing a harness on a pitched roof.

Another hot day... the girls lag a little while getting started on the enphase system on day #5.

But we got 'er done, despite impending thunder storms!

The Solar Suitcase

2011-06-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

The first ever Solar Suitcase class @ Solar Energy International (SEI) was given in the last days of June, 2011 in sunny & beautiful Carbondale, CO, @ SEI's famous & eco-groovy Third Street Center. Our modest group of 19 was taught by SEI's own smart & perky Soozie Lindbloom, & Hal Aronson of WE CARE Solar, base in Berkeley, CA. A great team, Hal & Soozie explained all of the components of the Solar Suitcase in easy to understand terms, & the great necessity for these suitcases in developing areas was driven home by WE CARE's Laura Stachel, who shared her experiences in Nigeria, Liberia & Haiti in rural hospitals as a world-traveling OB/GYN-turned humanitarian. Check out WE CARE Solar's impressive accomplishments with the Solar Suitcase @ www.wecaresolar.org.

Instructor Hal uses defenseless student, Scott Secrest, to demonstrate the essential components of the Solar Suitcase in the SEI classroom.

The class is let loose to put together some suitcases to be used as demos @ SEI, as well as donated to environmental organizations striving to bring small solar lighting systems to developing areas around the world.

Dedicated students hard at work wiring together the components of the solar suitcase circuit board.

The circuit board in it's skeleton form, displaying a breaker box, charge controller & load center... waiting to be joined with the battery & PV panel.

As you might imagine, the biggest perk of the solar suitcase is that it fits into a small box.

Tinkering around with some little panels to get us started with general circuitry, we started the workshop off by wiring together a small system & powering a little cassette-playing radio with 2 3-volt PV panels. Such a simple & inexpensive system ~ this would have changed my life in Peace Corps!

And what's more fun that solar powered bubbles?!?

Taking a break with a solar cooked potluck : )

The solar suitcase in it's entirety (sans case): an 18V/2A solar panel, LED light fixture, 12V/12A battery, [triple] breaker box, 30A charge controller, & a load center consisting of 3 12V cigarette lighter adapters & an O.S. connector. Pretty simple stuff, & all fits into a water-tight plastic suitcase which can be easily transported to a rural area in dire need of a simple lighting system.

Chuko from Nigeria gets his system situated & fires it up in the sun outside the Third Street Center.

A proud group demonstrates their solar suitcase success.

Our group's was the best, of course ; )

Glenn scratches his head @ Hal's effective sabotaging attempts during the troubleshooting stage of the class.

This resourceful group uses it's spectacular height advantage to get the panels as close as possible to the sun when the weather turns cloudy.

The team as a whole after demonstrated success!

Thanks Hal & Soozie !!

Renewable Energy for the Developing World class @ SEI

2011-06-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

The Renewable Energy for the Developing World course @ Solar Energy International (SEI) in the beautiful mountain town of Carbondale, Co., is a fast-paced & well-rounded class for anyone interested in sustainable programs in developing countries. The June 2011 class was fairly small, with 9 students from varying backgrounds, making it a close-knit course & easy to get to know one another during the daily hands-on projects. Topics included solar cooking in Africa, Brazil, Peru & Haiti; PV programs in Haiti, Ecuador, Nicaragua & Liberia; Biofuels in Senegal & Mexico; Micro-hydro in Thailand; End-User Financing; the Cuban Energy Revolution & Gender Development. Hands-on projects involved solar cooking; making LED light fixtures; constructing a fuel efficient stove; laying out a Biodigester at a local sustainable farm; & re-wiring a PV system at the SEI headquarters.

Classroom @ Third Street Center in Carbondale

Ed teachin' us all about his original LED light fixtures.

Class soldering the wires of our own personal LED lit bamboo fixtures.

I made light!

Matt, SEI's solar cooking guru, demos a variety of solar cookers.

Cooking in the sun.

A pretty cool suitcase cooker.

And a rotisserie cooker!

Ed's super cool portable parabolic.

Our solar cooked pot luck, mingling SEI students & staff.

Stomping up the dirt, sand & hay to build our fuel efficient stoves.

Putting the finishing touches on our rocket stoves.

Beautiful Mt. Sopris.

A sustainable farm just outside Carbondale, that supports eco-living with an in-sync combination of passive & active solar hybrids, photovoltaic solar panels, micro-hydro, wind power, biogas, biodiesel, geothermal applications, static electricity, fuel efficient stoves, & an 'intelligent use of gravity'.

Solar hot water heater.

Installation of a bio-digester that will use the waste from the pigs, cows, sheep & goats on the farm to produce a super-effective fertilizer, as well as methane gas to power their huge outdoor kitchen.

SEI's office headquarters in downtown Carbondale.

A solar powered school bus used to educate school kids in the area.

One of the many PV arrays that power the SEI building.

The electrical box & battery bank for the pv array.

A re-wiring exercise for the class.

Topping off the batteries with distilled water.

Hooking up the battery bank.

Our instructor's straw bale house.

Complete with a built-in solar cooker!

SEI's Panel Installation Course in Boulder

2011-05-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

The Introduction to Solar Panel Installation (PV101) course in Boulder, CO last week was amazing! A perfect introduction to PV installation techniques, Ed Eaton did a stellar job of explaining the very detailed basics of panel installation, while Kevin Lundy showed exemplary skills in demonstrating the equipment to the class in a comprehensible manner. The class of 30+ worked hard to absorb all the material, risked life & limb checking live arrays in the year's biggest rain storm, & jumped for joy (okay, that was me) when the system we constructed as a group got hooked up to the grid! A huge success, in this disciple's opinion. To think this could be my new career makes me so happy : )

Some of the boys checking out a standard panel.

Ed hookin' up the tunes.

Kevin demonstrating voltage testing.

Field trip.

Class time.

Strippin' wires.

Proud of our little array.

Waitin' to get turned on!

Renewable Energy Training via Solar Energy International (SEI) | GVEP International

2011-03-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

Renewable Energy Training via Solar Energy International (SEI) | GVEP International

Online Training: Renewable Energy for the Developing World

2011-03-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

Are you involved in international development or program management overseas? If not, do you want to be? Now's your chance to get officially trained in renewable energies for international work. This online course is six weeks (or less, depending on the time you put into it), and explores different applications for renewable energy technologies in developing countries. Participants will learn how to successfully accomplish sustainable development projects with renewable energy. Effective technology transfer methods will be presented, as well as setting up infrastructure and the economics and financing of renewable energy projects. Case studies will be presented on solar cooking, rural household electrification, appropriate building technologies, rural health care and micro-enterprises utilizing renewable energy.

Topics Include

* Solar cooking and food drying
* Biodigesters
* Solar electricity for rural development
* PV for rural healthcare
* Technology transfer
* Financing household solar energy
* Microenterprises
* Integrating women into RE projects
* Procuring funding
* Monitoring and evaluation of projects
* Case studies

This online course is $595 runs from April 18 - May 29, 2011.

Course Description

Register online here or call SEI at (970) 963-8855. You may also email Laurie Stone: Laurie@solarenergy.org for more information.

Starting SEI Internship Today !

2011-02-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

I gotta get cracka-lackin', cuz I only have 2 months to complete this internship which I know I could easily spend years doing ~ especially from home, as the good people of SEI have agreed to let me do.

My life hasn't changed all that much, as I sit at my desk under my consistently sun-drenched window in Boulder, sipping tea & researching organizations that might be interested in solar technologies ~ only now I have a purpose ~ and a brilliant organization & their stellar training classes to promote!

I must reiterate that this is the deal of the century ~ interning for Solar Energy International (SEI) in exchange for all the training I'll need to become certified in solar panel (PV) installation. Online courses will begin for me as soon as my internship is completed, & I look forward to some fun & educationally grueling hands-on courses this summer up in the Western Rockies.

Have you ever been interested in learning more about solar panels, solar water heating, or solar technologies in the developing world? SEI has all kinds of classes, for all kinds of people, to fit all kinds of schedules.

Check em out: http://www.solarenergy.org/why-sei-solar-training-re-education

Questions? Email me! Karyn@solarenergy.org

Solar Energy International (SEI) offers Work Trade Programs !

2011-02-11T11:02:00.000-08:00

Score Big & Get Trained through an Internship @ SEI

Well color me happy ~ I do believe I've hit the jackpot !! I recently signed up for a Work-Trade position with Solar Energy International (SEI), which will allow me to take all the courses I need to get certified in PV (photovoltaic/panel) installation, in exchange for two months as a glorified intern. This is an amazing opportunity, since SEI's classes are NABCEP accredited and I would never be able to afford this kind of training otherwise. SEI has one of the best reputations in solar energy training in the world, & I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them ~ let alone get such valuable training in return!

I'll be working with the International Programs & Marketing/Communications departments, networking with internationally-oriented affiliates about upcoming classes & identifying outreach opportunities with potentially collaborative organizations. This fits in well with my international development & solar cooking background, & will allow me to rekindle contacts with organizations I've worked with in the past, as well as make new alliances in concurrent renewable energy forums. In return I will receive about 6 months of invaluable training in solar electric design & installation, preparing me to sit for the NABCEP national energy certification test.

The staff @ SEI's Carbondale-based offices are some of the nicest & most accomplished people I've met in the solar industry, & I count myself lucky to be a part of their experienced and enthusiastic workforce.

If you've ever wanted to get trained in or learn more about solar electric design; panel installation; hot water, wind or micro-hydro procedures; solar technology business planning; technical sales; specialized teaching; or appropriate renewable energies for developing areas ~ SEI is THE PLACE to do it. Their diverse & credentialed staff provide training courses around the nation & the world, including CO, AZ, CA, AR, WA, UT, Costa Rica, Cuba & Nicaragua; online classes are also available.

Check 'em out!

Solar Energy International (SEI)
Carbondale, CO 81623-0715
Phone: (970) 963-8855

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http://www.solarenergy.org/e-newsletter-sign

An Brave Volunteer Recounts Her Experience in the Haiti Earthquake

2011-01-19T13:32:00.000-08:00

This is an inspiring story from an impressive young woman I met in Haiti over the summer... her strength throughout her ordeal is uplifting, as I'm sure you'll agree:

January 12, 2010

On January 12, 2010, I was finishing my work day. Jack and Jeanne Munos were heading to the states the next morning for three weeks of vacation so Jeanne was trying to cover as much ground as she could in the last bit of the day. I would be taking over her duties while she was gone and that meant I would be completing many tasks I had not undertaken before. Her husband Jack had just returned from running errands and was heading to their bedroom to take his afternoon nap, and our employees had all headed home. It was about 4:57 in the afternoon and the building which had accommodated some 80 Haitian church members the week before only had eight residents this afternoon; two seasoned missionaries who had just flown in, Jack, Jeanne and me, and the Haitian family of three that lived in the older FOHO building.

Suddenly there was an incredibly horrifying sound, as if a jet were heading straight for our building and just as quickly as that sound hit, the room started jolting violently back and forth. Jeanne and I were across the room from one another and our eyes met. Immediately I knew it was an earthquake, but I had never experienced something like that before. I dove under the table in front of me, grabbed the pedestal leg with my right arm, covered my neck with my left arm, and ducked my head towards the ground and closed my eyes. The last thing I saw was Jeanne's shoes. Black patent leather opened toed wedges. She wore them every time she preached. She had lent them to me in January for a wedding I sang in. As I slid across the floor with that little table I heard glass breaking - the glass windows, glass bookcase doors, glass china cabinet, glass-topped kitchen table - it was all shattering as the building buckled and prepared to flatten. Then my world went black.

When I opened my eyes nothing changed. The darkest of dark I have ever experienced in my life surrounded me. I had no idea the building had fallen. No clue that I had blacked out as the four story "concrete fortress" I lived in had become a 15 foot pile of concrete, rebar and razor wire. I tried to remember where I was, tried to assess how I was. I felt the table leg and papers around my right arm, while concrete had created a pocket around my left arm. My head was in a pocket as well that was created by the protection of the table, a large piece of concrete on my left side and a broken table foot that lay an inch from my nose. My chest was flat against my knees, but my feet were splayed out from under me and flat, sideways against the tile floor. I had taken my shoes off to work, so my feet were bare and individually buried.

My left side had started to fall asleep when I was blacked out and now it was hurting. I used to ice after track practice every day in High School, and the pain was familiar to what I was experiencing at that moment. I tried to tell myself I was back in that ice bath and that soon the numbness would take over and the pin-pricking pain would be gone. My mind searched for information I had read on how to survive being buried alive. I recalled articles I had read in Reader's Digest about people buried in avalanches or mine cave-ins. I remembered that you are to breathe through your nose so as not to use your oxygen too quickly, and to keep yourself from panicking. I remembered that panic sets in easily when one is in a situation as mine, so I tried to occupy my mind with other things. Instead I started searching for something to use to tap on the concrete or table leg. Quickly I found an empty wet wipes bottle, and it made a hearty sound against the solid wood of the table, but the sound was lost in the concrete when I tapped it.

Sometime soon after coming to, I heard Jack crying out for help. His shouts for help were terrifying and wonderful all at the same time. It was wonderful to know I wasn't alone, wonderful to hear a familiar voice, a voice that I could understand fully. As I listened to his cries of agony I prayed that he would be quiet so I could make myself heard. The aftershocks were frequent during this time, and very forceful. Since I was unaware the building had fallen I would close my eyes and wait for it to come tumbling down. I heard pieces of concrete fall and hit the file cabinets, making frightening, loud crashes that made me wish for heaven to come so it would all end. It felt as if I were high above the city on a teetering pedestal, swaying with each aftershock, unaware of when the darkness would become complete, but certain it was coming. And when each aftershock passed without claiming my life the screams of horrified people in the streets would raise up, crying for God, praying for Heaven as I was.

Eventually Jack heard me and asked me questions I could not answer. He couldn't hear my cries and screams, but he could hear my tapping. So, every question was answered with a stream of taps, except the question I was afraid I knew the answer to. He asked if I were Jeanne, and I would not tap. I hadn't heard her and was afraid to give him false hope, but hoping I was wrong.

Haitians came by and heard Jack crying out, they would stop and talk to him, and he would respond in a mixture of Creole and English, but they would always leave. What I didn't know at the time was that these people were walking by in the alley and heard Jack, but couldn't get past our locked gate. I thought they were coming up our 49 stairs, hearing our cries for mercy, and descending again, not caring what sort of shape we were in. I was outraged. Panic began to set in.

I tried three times to rise up beneath the rubble and free myself. I thought how ironic it would be if I were lightly covered, but never got out because I thought I was unable to. All that resulted was the settling of the concrete, and me being further crushed. I sang a little to ward off the fear, but my breathing became difficult, as if there were blood in my lungs. It was actually my lung collapsing, not containing liquid, but causing a raspy sound that was enough to scar my already fragile psyche. I started screaming out loud. Prayers, fears, anger, then suddenly I screamed, "stop being a wuss!" I shut my mouth and wondered where that came from. I realized it was God talking to me. I had just finished reading Job in December and had been particularly taken by the way God had spoken to Job in words that he would understand. God was speaking to me in my own language. I waited in silence and He told me, "Stop being a wuss! Haven’t I always taken care of you? What makes you think I won’t now? You will get out, it may be a few days and you might not be conscious but you will be found, trust me." These words comforted me and calmed my panic, and shortly after I heard another familiar voice; the voice of Russ Cole. Russ and his wife Sherrie are missionaries that had been staying with us since November, but had not been in the building during the earthquake. They had come back to see how we were.

It took another 20 minutes to get me out, but that was the shortest, most glorious 20 minutes of my life. Altogether I was buried beneath the rubble of FOHO for three hours. Russ couldn't hear me, but our employee Jean Wiler heard my tapping and told me to pray as he and my friend Jerry, along with one other Haitian man began digging and praying out loud. Jean prayed, "God, give me a picture, show me were to dig, give me a picture God." As he prayed I nodded in agreement and thanked God, and prayed for speed. In my mind the building still looked mostly as it should. I had no idea that Jean and the two other Haitian men had crawled in a hole about three feet in diameter and were digging in a cave not much taller than that, while all the while aftershocks are still shaking the pile of rubble that lay beneath and all around us. These men risked their lives to save me and Jack. God is the reason I survived, but these men were His tools.

Many people say that my quick wit saved me. That it was great educational training, having grown up in Washington were I was taught earthquake drills. But in all honesty, no table saved my life. The six by six squares of tiles I had been on were unbroken, while all around me all other things were unrecognizable. The bruises on my back were shaped like two hands holding me up. In the hospital in Florida my mother could put her hands on those bruises and they fit perfectly. God was with me and Jack in that earthquake, as I believe He was with many others that day.

The four who died in our building, Jeanne Munos, Erlin Blot, Merle West, and Gene Dufour, were found February 16 and assessed by the military personnel who recovered their bodies. It was discovered that none of them suffered, they were ushered into God’s presence instantly. It is also a great comfort to know that each of these great people were in deep relationship with our Lord and Savior. They will meet me at the gates of Heaven, and they will not bear the scars they would carry here on earth. They are happy and healthy in the arms of the Lord Almighty, and I am grateful for that.

Over the next four and a half weeks I was hospitalized and treated in four medical facilities – The Argentinean UN hospital Dr. Dan Snyder and his wife Dee Dee brought me to the first night, the US Navy facility on the island of Cuba where the surgery that saved my left leg from amputation was performed and the procedure to insert a chest tube and re-inflate my left lung was also performed, North Broward Medical in Florida, where my leg was closed up beautifully by a plastic surgeon, Harborview where it was discovered I needed surgery on my lumbar vertebrae and where that surgery was performed, and also UW Medical Center where tests were performed on my brachio plexus on the left side to look for damage to the nerves, and where none was found. I wish I could beautifully weave the many miracles that God has performed in me over these last seven months, but I pray you will accept my apology for simply providing a list. Aside from the above things mentioned I was also spared my spleen and kidneys, as the spleen was almost nearly removed from my body, and my kidneys almost underwent dialysis. The tear in my ligaments that caused me to need back surgery went unnoticed for three and a half weeks after the earthquake without injuring me further. The nerve damage in my arm has healed and the specialists claim it looks “as if there never was an injury.”

The God we serve is so worthy of our praise and adoration, but even more, He is worthy of our attention. I pray you see the miracles in this horrific event, for they are many, they are thick and physical things that cannot be ignored. It is possible to be brought low by the tragedies, but do not be so blinded that you miss the glory God is creating here on earth, on this little island of Haiti; through His many people throughout the world. We each have a chance to be a part of God's Great Revival. I'm sure there will be more, but this one will be great.

Solar Cooking in Haiti

2010-09-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

My first trip to Haiti was an eyeopener... What a rotten hand this country has been dealt!! With a terrain, climate & infrastructure much like that of African countries, there are not enough resources with which to deal with the aftermath of the terrible earthquake that happened almost a year ago, in January of 2010... rubble & destruction still litter the landscape of the capitol city, & while people work hard to restore their home, there are very few options in regards to removing the debris.

I traveled to Haiti on behalf of Solar Cookers International (SCI) to evaluate the solar cooking trainers at the Free Methodist Church (FMC) in Port au Prince, & check out some of the schools where the FMC plann to incorporate solar cooking into the 5th grade curriculum.

The trainers use SunOvens when not possible, which are supplied by Paul Munsen who owns the Illinois-based SunOven corporation & is very active in Haiti. The SunOvens are some of the fastest-cooking & well-built solar cookers available.

A glimpse of one of the busier streets in Port au Prince, seen from the FMC training center.

The buildings right next door to the FMC Mission compound evidenced only a small degree of the devastation experienced in January.

The main supermarket in town was one of the first buildings to go, leaving many without access to food & supplies.

Sights like these are everywhere you look.

Tent cities erected to house those who lost their homes in the earthquake... by July of this year, nearly 1.5 million people were living in tents.

Government agencies like USAID & the Red Cross supplied many tent cities.

A tap tap ~ the Haitian 'taxi', is the principal mode of transportation in populated areas.

Street vendors in Port au Prince.

The luckier schools had wells to provide children & staff with clean drinking water.

Schools sponsored by FMC are usually attached to the churches.

Where funding is available, the churches are rebuilding classrooms.

An interesting architectural design ~ many buildings in Haiti make use of the flat rooves, & build in staggered levels to ensure this model ~ perfect for solar cooking !

A typical classroom.

Classes are frequently held outside, under trees, in the absence of adequate shelter.

Children are lucky to have class under tents supplied by the government & aid agencies.

Cute kids, can hardly WAIT for school to start ; )

Fruit @ the market.

Old school shacks, made out of cardboard & corrugated tin, are common living arrangements.

Gardy, head solar cooking trainer @ FMC, starts off the training program in a classroom at the Mission. The trainees are teachers at FMC schools across the country.

Gardy showing the students how solar cookers work with local food.

Louinette does amazing things with local food in the solar cookers every day.

Cookers set to cooking in the sun during training.

The FMC Mission compound, where guests stay.

Trainer #2, Esnaider, showing the trainees how to construct a CooKit with local materials.

Gluing foil on the cardboard cutouts.

The trainees enjoying the fruits of their efforts : )

Trainers & trainees with the CooKits they made during training.

Trainers extraordinaire: Gardy & Barthelemy.

Giving the class another perspective on solar cooking.

Handing out certificates to the trainees at the end of training.

The hard working trainees with their certificates.

Headed for Haiti

2010-09-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

Contracting for Solar Cookers International (SCI), I head to Haiti today to evaluate and certify solar cooking teacher-trainers working for the Free Methodist Church & International ChildCare Ministries (ICCM). Post-training, I will travel with ICCM representatives to various primary schools in the areas surrounding Port-au-Prince to assess opportunities to incorporate solar cooking into the science curricula throughout Haiti's school system. Look for stories and photos soon!

TanzSolar; Bringing Affordable Solar Lighting to Rural Tanzania

2010-08-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

Marianne Walpert and her organization, TanzSolar, are helping to spread solar LED lights in rural Tanzania to enable villagers to read, study and work, eliminating kerosene lanterns and improving health while reducing CO2 emissions.

TanzSolar believes in a world where everyone can afford to live and work in a clean, well-lighted environment using modern technology and renewable power.

Their mission is to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life for people throughout Tanzania through the promotion of affordable technology powered by renewable energy, distributed to communities not served by an electricity grid.

Check out TanzSolar's website here.

And also visit their page on Global Giving, where you can learn more about the project, share the information with friends on Facebook, Twitter, etc., and donate to the very worthwhile venture that TanzSolar has undertaken in one of the most rural areas on the planet.

You can help!

Solar Cooking in Africa - A Remarkable Technology Transfer

2010-08-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

A poignant and articulate video by my friend and colleague, Pat McArdle.

I am proud to have been a part of a number of these solar cooking efforts in Africa!

How to Travel Outside your Comfort Zone

2010-08-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

Does travel always equal going outside your comfort zone?

Particularly among those of us who travel extensively, there’s a temptation to draw the equivalence. While travel can present opportunities to escape the familiar, to experiment with new behaviors, and to subject yourself to vulnerability and emotional risk, it does not mean that once the backpack is strapped on, you have automatically departed your comfort zone.

We are not referring to Amazing Race-like stunts, or bungee jumping, skydiving or other extreme thrill-seeking travel feats. Instead, we are referring to the comfort zone of the cultural and interpersonal variety and the sorts of uncelebrated travel achievements of human interaction that push mental boundaries. This comfort zone is about overcoming fears of people and cultures different than our own – by doing more than just visiting ruins, churches and temples, mixing it up with the front desk staff of the hostel, and staring out the window of a spiffy tour bus while making grand philosophical projections about the life streaming by outside.

It’s about getting lost – sometimes physically, often times emotionally – and placing yourself in situations whose challenges spit you out on the other side – altered, slightly different, and just possibly a better person.

We’ve met travelers who would like to push themselves beyond the limits of what they know and understand, but they don’t know how to get started. We offer a few ideas on how to begin.

After this, you’re on your own. That’s when the real fun happens.

See the entire article here, on Uncornered Market.

Uncornered Market: Filed Under: Personal Growth, Travel by Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott

Solar Ovens: Hey, Hey Good Lookin', Whatcha Got Cooking?

2010-07-06T23:43:00.000-07:00

Consumers increasingly seek greener energy sources while dreading the costs associated with special roof panels or windmills. Solar ovens represent one of the cheapest and easiest ways to go green. Box cookers, also known as solar ovens, often present no greater investment in time or money than a cardboard box, an old window, aluminum foil and a can of black paint.

History

In 1767, French-Swiss scientist Horace de Saussure created a solar box cooker that achieved temperatures of almost 190 degree Fahrenheit, according to a history of solar cookers compiled by the University of Vermont. Over the next 200 years, scientists and amateur inventors continued to make innovations on the design. In the 1970s, interest in the solar cookers reignited, especially after solar cooking advocates Barbara Kerr and Sherry Cole developed an easily-made version which could be constructed from simple household materials. Today, charitable organizations like Solar Cookers International work with Third World countries to promote solar cooking and to establish the practice in refugee camps and impoverished regions.

Solar Power Systems Find A Professional Solar Energy Installer For Any Type Of System www.CleanEnergyAuthority.com

Function

The simplest solar cookers feature a shallow, medium-sized wooden or cardboard box and a transparent covering. The oven works best if painted black on its exterior, because black best absorbs and retains the sun's rays. A reflective material, such as aluminum foil, lines the inside of the box to capture more sunlight, while the exterior works best if insulated. A box-within-a-box system can provide insulation, especially if you stuff the gap between the two boxes with newspaper. For optimum heat retention, some solar cookers are insulated with non-toxic materials and filled with air pockets, while others use angled reflective flaps to direct more sunlight to the solar oven.
Benefits

SCI points out that solar ovens preserve nutrients due to the lower cooking temperatures. Food rarely burns or dries out in the solar ovens, because their temperatures don't exceed 195 degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, solar ovens help users conserve electricity, gas, wood or charcoal by forgoing the stove, oven, microwave or grill. SCI considers solar cookers safer than campfire or grills, because they eliminate the danger of structure fires or cooking, as well as the possibility of smoke irritating the eyes or lungs. At their most basic, solar cookers are relatively inexpensive, especially if self-assembled. Because of their low cost and simplicity, third-world countries increasingly utilize the cookers, which can pasteurize water and safely cook food. Finally, during days or months of adequate sunlight, solar cookers can be utilized during power outages.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/133034-information-solar-ovens/#ixzz0syaz73Ys

About this Author

Melissa Jordan-Reilly has been a writer for 20 years, both as a newspaper reporter and as an editor of nonprofit newsletters. Among the publications in which she has published are, "The Winsted Journal," "Taconic" and "Compass Magazine." A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Jordan-Reilly also pursues sustainable agriculture techniques and tends a market garden at her Northwestern Connecticut home.Article reviewed by Tad Cronn

Last updated on: 05/27/10

Simple Solutions to Global Hunger: GRA's Global Awareness Festival in Ojai: July 24th, 2010

2010-06-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

Global Resource Alliance (GRA), a small So Cal nonprofit dedicated to bringing sustainable solutions to the Mara region of Tanzania, puts on an awareness festival in Ojai, CA at the end of July, promoting the debut of their upcoming documentary:

To be released in its entirety at the festival at the end of July, From the Mara Soil, is a documentary about simple solutions to global hunger, poverty and disease produced by Steve Schrenzel and Global Resource Alliance. Don't miss the debut screening, live music and delicious vegan tamale dinner on July 24th at Meditation Mount in Ojai, Ca! Event details to come.

I have worked on solar cooking projects with GRA in northern TZ, and have been impressed by the dedication and tenacity of their employees, members and volunteers.

Go to www.globalresourcealliance.org for more information.

Solafrica Gets the World Cup to Africa's Slums With Solar Energy

2010-06-22T12:02:00.000-07:00

Swiss-based, non-profit organization, Solafrica, brought the 2010 World Cup to Nairobi's largest slum by donating a portable solar station, and some much-needed technology.

Kibera--Africa's largest slum with a population of a million--is as manic about World Cup Football as the rest of the continent. But without electricity, not to mention television, watching any of the games has been out of the question.

That is, until Solafrica's latest contribution.

Working closely with the Kibera Community Youth Program and Greenpeace, Solafrica donated the solar power station, along with a television set, to bring people together to celebrate sport. A similar set-up was done in Jericho.

The power station is compact, easy to use, with minimal wiring, and is set up in a public hall that can house up to 1,000 people.

Read more of this story here.

By Harry Tournemille on June 22, 2010
Solar Energy: www.energyboom.com

Vote for Pat McArdle's book "Farishta" by 6/2/10 !!

2010-05-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

Vote for solar cooking advocate Pat McArdle's new book "Farishta" on the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (under General Fiction) by June 2nd.

Pat says:

Amazon and Penguin Books announced on May 25 that my novel Farishta (Dari for 'angel') is one of three finalists out of 5000 entries in the General Fiction category of their annual writing competition.

I need as many votes as possible on the website below before 11:29 pm on June 2 to win a publishing contract for my novel Farishta. It was inspired by the year I spent with a British Army unit in northern Afghanistan. The main character is a mid-career Foreign Service officer, who has never recovered psychologically from the loss of her husband in the ‘83 Beirut embassy bombing. Her career is in free-fall and her last chance at promotion is an assignment to Afghanistan, which she is reluctant to accept.

SCI: Solar Cooking & Saving Lives (Video)

2010-05-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

'Saving lives' in Kenya with solar-powered lights - CNN.com

2010-02-13T23:38:00.000-08:00

'Saving lives' with solar-powered lights - CNN.com

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- The villagers' faces light up as Evans Wadongo arrives. Men, women and children sing and gather around as he shows how his invention -- a solar-powered LED lantern -- will soon light up their homes.

Tour d'Afrique for the Solar Electric Light Fund

2010-02-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

Tour d'Afrique for the Solar Electric Light Fund

Solar Solutions for Haiti

2010-01-20T15:19:00.000-08:00

Donors are gearing up to send cell phones, streetlights, water purification systems and even audio Bibles to earthquake-hit Haiti. The bad news is that the country’s power infrastructure is on the ropes, but the good news is that these particular gadgets are solar-powered. Haiti happens to be one of the countries in the world best-suited for solar power.

In the long run, that just might help the country survive. But in the short run, even solar power isn't immune to earthquakes. Over the past week, the people and the pieces of equipment that make the technology work have literally been pulled out of the rubble in Port-au-Prince and its environs....

See the full article @ the link above.

Chad Solar Cooking Project Evaluation

2009-10-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

In October of 2009, as I was finishing up my last East Africa tour for SCI and was vacationing in Ireland, I got a phone call requesting my participation in a solar cooking evaluation in Chad for a local nonprofit called TchadSolaire. It was a chance I couldn't pass up, and I gladly jumped a plane to Brussels to get my visa & necessary paperwork sorted out. A few days later I was on a plane to Chad with 5 other evaluators, each chosen for their relative experience in solar cooking around the globe. For three weeks we collaborated, accumulated statistics and held interviews with refugees in the camp. In the end, the six of us were able to put together an unbiased and accurate synopsis of the solar cooking project in the Touloum Refugee Camp, which you can find on my website under the Work tab, if interested.

Aerial view of the refugee camp from the small UN commuter plane.

The 'town' of Iriba, which is not so much a town as an outcrop of the refugee camp itself, housing mainly military and government workers, along with a smattering of local people.

Military is required to escort anyone traveling the 15K or so to the refugee camp due to random renegade thieves. (AFTER I returned to the States I learned that Eastern Chad is one of the most dangerous places in the world... I might have been a little more freaked out by the daily precautions had I known).

A caravan of about 30 cars consisting mainly of development workers, medical personnel and military, follows each other out every day at 8am, & comes back @ 4 or 5p. The terrain is awful, and we got stuck in the sand more than once. I never believed how sandy central Africa was until I experienced it first hand ~ the sand is so light & fine that it seems to get into everything, & when it's windy it's worse than going out in the rain. Hence the clothing, but isn't it gorgeous?!

A shot of the camp from the 'HQ' building ~ rather than the tents and squalor you see in the news and movies, the Touloum Refugee Camp is more like a large village with closely built housing and neighborhoods... while people live more closely together than they would outside the camp, every home seems to have ample space and very big courtyards, with regular huts rather than tents, and areas are kept very neat. Really it just seemed like a big, organized village, with happy kids running around, an outdoor market and everyone doing their job.

The Headquarters for the TchadSolaire workers, this is where the trainers are trained, where refugee workers make solar cookers, and meetings are held about ways to move forward.

Refugee workers constructing solar cookers out of materials imported by TchadSolaire.

A refugee worker drinking water as she tends the solar cookers in front of HQ.

As everywhere else in thre rural areas of Africa, women walk many miles everyday to collect firewood for cooking and treating water.

Normally the methods of cooking leave a lot to be desired, with indoor kitchens emitting smoke from firewood directly into the lungs of the cooks, and normally their children as well. Indoor air pollution is the leading causes of lung disease in Africa.

But aside from the respiratory problems induced by cooking with wood, women and girls often face the possibility of attack, rape or even death when they venture outside the camp to gather wood, which is a necessity despite the wood rations provided by UNHCR each week.

Cooking with a solar cooker reduces the amount of wood that needs to be gathered each week, and significantly improves the respiratory health and safety of the women and young girls who live in the camp.

While solar cooking takes about twice as long as conventional methods, this woman can engage in other activities like making crafts to sell in the market, rather than spending hours each day looking for firewood and risking her life in the process.

Kids begin helping their mothers gather firewood and water early in life, and they are also at risk when forced to leave the camp.

We spent the majority of our days during the three weeks in the camp, interviewing women who regularly engage in solar cooking, and gathering their opinions on the benefits and procedures.

A woman makes tea from a solar cooker for our visit.

Each of the evaluators was assigned an interpreter, who interpreted the villagers' Arabic into French for us, and sometimes it was necessary to get an interpreter for the interpreter when a villager spoke only their local language from Sudan. Due to the language barriers, we kept the interviews as simple as possible to avoid losing sentiment in translation.

Most of the people we interviewed were kind and forthcoming with their opinions on the solar cooking project, allowing us to produce what I hope is an accurate an unbiased account of the procedures and effectiveness of the solar cookers in the camp.

Pat McArdle, Marie-Rose Neloum (TchadSolaire's second in command) and myself.

An impressive display of most of the solar cookers in the camp, put out for a grand celebration for us and TchadSolaire just before we left.

A solar cooked feast, fed to the men first, of course. As you can imagine, there was plenty of food for the entire camp.

A video of the vastness.

The Group ~ evaluators, TchadSolaire staff, and refugee workers at the Touloum Refugee Camp. (solar cooking evaluation)

Follow-Up Workshop in Musuma, TZ: Fall 2009

2009-09-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

Together with Margaret Owino, SCI's East Africa Director, I arranged a follow-up workshop for the 30+ participants of the previous two solar cooking trainings in Musoma, TZ. Fostering a partnership with Global Resource Alliance (GRA), we are working to bring a sustainable solar cooking program to this Tanzanian region of Lake Victoria. The workshop participants are dedicated and enthusiastic, working in numerous diverse regions in the area and under a variety of vocations. It was a pleasure working with them again, and with a home base provided at GRA to obtain additional materials and training, I have no doubt that solar cooking will spread well in this area.

The wall outside the TanzSolar compound. I try to ensure that TanzSolar and SCI work together as often as possible to supplement shared, respective solar technologies and programs.

Workshop participants preparing food to solar cook. These folks are experts by now, and this workshop is simply to answer questions and brainstorm training methods and income generating activities.

Team putting the food into the plastic bag to retain the heat absorbed by the black pot.

Placing the pot & bag into the solar cooker.

A man making a cake in Africa?! Will wonders never cease...

The facilitators ~ myself and Margaret Owino of SCI's East Africa Office in Nairobi.

Omena ~ tiny fish. Totally grody.

Getting the food out of the solar cookers for lunch after a long morning in the workshop.

A feast of solar cooked food.

Happy participants enjoying their solar cooked food.

Amazed that all this food was cooked by the sun!

New SCI Offices in Kenya

2009-09-18T06:54:00.000-07:00

The new offices in Kakamega and Kisumu in Kenya are positioned in popular areas where many passers-by pop in to see what's cookin' outside and check out our new products, like the Nova Solar Lantern that now charges cell phones as well as lighting up a room.

Kakamega is a trek to get to, but once there it opens up into a beautiful, green utopia in the lush hills of Western Kenya. There is a vibrant modernity to this town, and our Kakamega officers are excited by the liberal atmosphere of their new home, and the positive reactions to alternative energies that they've received.

Various alternative cooking technologies available at the office, located in a convenient spot in town.

Simon & Julius in front of the Kakamega office.

Simon's cute son.

Simon in front of his garden.

Dinner at a schwank restaurant.

SCI office in Kisumu.

Solar cookers, fuel-efficient stoves & solar lanterns available at the Kisumu office.

Lunch on the lake with Elijah and Eric.

You can't beat the fish on Lake Vic!

Beautiful Lake Victoria

Follow-Up Plans for UG & TZ

2009-08-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

One of the most important aspects of development work is not the introduction of a new technology or a progressive concept to a community in need, but the regular follow-up of methods to ensure progress and a sustainable outcome. I am currently working with SCI and collaborating partners in Uganda and Tanzania to implement follow-up workshops on safe water and solar integrated cooking.

In Uganda this September, together with Solar Connect Association (SCA), I will drive the 15 hours north on bumpy, dusty roads, past the Nile River and back to the tiny village of Obia on the border of Congo, where SCI worked with Mary Lou and 13-year old Max Ozimek last summer to develop the first solar integrated cooking workshop in this area. During the initial training, in addition to teaching the 36 participants how to use and make solar cookers, hay baskets and fuel-efficient stoves, we also gathered water samples from six major water sources, tested the water with the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML) and presented our results to the class during the 4-day workshop. As you can imagine, most of the water sources showed a high enough level of contamination of E.coli to warrant the use of solar water pasteurization ~ an essential component of the workshop’s curriculum using a CooKit and a Water Pasteurization Indicator (WAPI). The exciting part is that, in the months following the workshop last summer, the participants got together and created the Obia Solar Cooking Group (OBSG), taking their own initiative to train others in the community how to build solar cookers and use them to cook food and pasteurize water. This follow-up workshop in September will capitalize on the skills this group has mastered; brush up on any procedures or concepts that need work, and brainstorm ways to make the OSCG successful, independent and sustainable for the future.

In Tanzania, a similar follow-up workshop will take place in the northern village of Musoma, located on the shores of Lake Victoria. I am working together with SCI, Global Resource Alliance (GRA) and TanzSolar in Musoma to provide a refresher course to the 35 men and women who participated in the initial solar integrated cooking and safe water workshop that took place in January of this year. The three organizations will work to ensure that the original participants are proficient at making solar cookers, painting pots with locally-found blackboard paint, using and promoting simple solar lanterns, organizing outreach workshops, developing income-generating activities and creating community-appropriate methods for sustainability. The advantage of having two locally-based, community-minded organizations located in Musoma allows SCI the ability to collaboratively support the participants as they work towards promoting solar integrated cooking and water pasteurization in the area.

The difference between try & triumph is just a little umph! ~ Marvin Phillips

Discovery Channel Show Features Solar Cookers

2009-08-10T13:37:00.001-07:00

Living Off the Grid: A Dozen Skills to Get You Through

A new show depicts solar cooking as a tool for living in a post-apocalyptic world:

How Solar Cooking Works
As those appearing in the show “The Colony” know, you don’t need an oven to cook a good meal. All you need is sunlight. The sun’s rays can heat food anywhere from 180 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (82-204 degrees Celsius). In other words, a solar cooker can kill harmful microbes and make food and water safe for consumption. Read more about his simple technology and how it’s being used.

How to Start a Fire Without a Match
There are many different ways to start a fire without a match and plenty of different methods to make it happen. It all depends on your location and the materials available. HowStuffWorks has a whole slew of cool ideas, using everything from a soda can and chocolate to making a fire plow. See detailed illustrations and instructions in this article.

How to Build a Shelter
We all know that shelter is one of the most basic needs in any survival situation. Yes, it protects us from the elements and wildlife intruders, but perhaps provides psychological comfort, too? In this article from HowStuffWorks, author Chuck Bryant shows the basics of making a shelter using on-hand materials. Read more…

How Emergency Power Systems Work
In this article, learn how emergency power systems can help in almost any situation. Topics include understanding your power needs and goals, working with the resources you have and showing the difference between an inverter and a generator. Read more…

How Hand Powered Generators Work
There's one way to generate electricity that never runs out of power and is easy to carry: a hand-powered generator. It's the “gadget” that can power all your other travel gadgets – but for those living in “The Colony” – it’s essential. Learn how they work, how to use them and even how to make your own. Read more…

If I kill an animal, can I eat it raw?
Let’s envision for a moment that you haven’t eaten for a few days and you don’t have the resources to build a fire to cook an animal you just killed. Can you eat it safely? If not, are there some animals that OK to eat and others that aren’t? Read this HowStuffWorks article to find out.

What’s the universal edibility test?
There are more than 700 varieties of poisonous plants in the United States and Canada alone, so how can you tell which are edible and which are potentially toxic? Use the four steps outlined in the universal edibility test and you may prevent potential disaster. Read more…

How can I tell if a bug is edible?
Ever accidentally swallowed a bug? Some of us might have joked about it (“Mmmm … protein,” you say). But all over the world, people eat insects every day. It’s called entomophagy. In a survival situation, how do you know which bug is edible – nutritious, even -- and which can make you sick? Read on to find out.

5 Ways to Snare Dinner in the Wild
If you are used to being in remote places, you might be pretty adept at recognizing telltale signs of nearby animals. Droppings, tracks by a nearby watering hole, chewed up plants. But we’ve got 5 really cool tricks for snaring dinner, using fairly easy-to-come-by resources. Read on…

How to Find Water in the Wild
To maintain good health, the human body needs a minimum of two quarts of water per day, according to U.S. Military Field Manual 21-76. In a survival situation, that might be tough. There are some basic ways to find, filter, collect and store water, however. We’ve got the answers here.

How to Send Smoke Signals
Let’s put it this way: The Boy Scouts of America still teaches smoke signaling. So if it’s easy enough for a 12-year-old boy to do, you can learn the skill, too, right? Learn how to send specific messages in one-puff, two-puff and three-puff style. Read on…

Top 5 Everyday Items You Can Repurpose in a Survival Scenario
Whether you’re living in “The Colony”, just survived an airplane crash or are caught in a freak winter storm, there are five basic items that might come in handy in a survival situation. The first one on our list? You might be wearing it right now.

The Colony: Living Off the Grid : Discovery Channel

Posted using ShareThis

SCI Featured in Lift Up Africa Newsletter

2009-08-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

Olika Solar Cooking Distribution

Helping Maasai women in Southern Kenya

Since July 2005, Solar Cookers International (EA) has been working with women's groups in Kajiado to promote the use of solar cooking as a means to help poor women save their meager resources for other pressing needs. The women are generally Maasai women with their new CooKits, a small, portable type solar cookerwidows or single parents who need group support to move forward with their lives. Many are engaged in petty trade like selling vegetables, beads, milk and eggs.

(Me with the Maasai Women's Group & 2 local Peace Corps Volunteers in Kajiado, Kenya)

Several groups devised a way to purchase solar cooking materials for each member. Thus far, some have been able to purchase CooKits--a small, individual solar cooker. (See photo) However, this system is slow and many women are still waiting to receive the materials they need to either begin or fully realize the maximum benefit from solar cooking.

Because the purchasing process has dragged on for three years, SCI approached Lift Up Africa (LUA). They asked SCI to partner with several of these groups so the women could more quickly enhance their energy savings, thus improving their living standards.

On May 22, 2009 the first of these partnership distributions took place in Oloika. At the distribution event, SCI's Stella Odaba informed the women that through Lift Up Africa (LUA) they would now receive donations of the equipment they still needed, including hay basket fireless cookers.

Although the weather was a bit cloudy, some CooKits were set up to demonstrate pasteurizing water using the WAPI (water pasturization indicator.) The use of the fireless cookers was also demonstrated. While the members watched and timed the process, some rice was simmered for 5 minutes. Then the rice was transferred to the hay basket. Half an hour later a member went to check and found it cooked.

At the meeting Agnes Osoi, one of the group members, said:

"... solar cookers have been of great help to us....We can pasteurize our drinking water and our children don't suffer from diarrhea because of taking dirty water. FurtherSCI's Faustine Odaba demonstrating the hay basket fireless cookermore, it's safe around the child; I can leave the food to cook while I go to sell my beads in the market without any fears of fire accidents at home. Now with the addition of fireless cookers life will be even simpler for me. I will warm water at night, pour it in the ten liter plastic container then put it in the fireless cooker. In the morning my children have ready breakfast and warm water to bathe before school. I will not be exposed to smoke for so long; I will use firewood only when there's no sun and save some wood."

Other participants chimed in saying:

"The fireless cooker will bring peace in my home; my husband will always find hot food whenever he comes late. I don't have to wake up to light a fire to warm the food for him."

"...I am so excited and grateful to SCI and Lift Up Africa for their support in making our lives better!"

A vote of thanks was given by Esther Sekeyian, the group's chairlady. The women then gave gifts (beaded ornaments) in honor of Lift Up Africa and adorned Ms. Odaba with beaded ornaments, too.

The distribution to the 17 women who attended the event cost $700 (USD). This small grant will help an estimated 150 people.

Information on all of our solar cooking projects is available on LUA's Solar Cooking Wiki.

Please help Lift Up Africa help Africa's vulnerable special needs children! Just let us know you want to support KCCL or a specific KCCL need. Thanks!

Please support Lift Up Africa's critical efforts to
help African people by making a secure on-line
donation.

And because our board pays for all administrative
expenses, 100% of every dollar you contribute goes
directly to help African people.
Please Contribute
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Lift Up Africa is a 501(c)(3) not for
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Sun Ovens on Good Morning America

2009-07-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Sun Ovens featured on Good Morning America: "Harnessing the Power of the Sun; Philadelphia invests in green tech, such as solar powered ovens and golf carts".
The segment features the Sun Oven, the SOS Sport and the Hot Pot, aired during the 8am segment (ET) on July 29th, and hosted by Sam Champion.

Here's the link: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8200868

PSR: International Development Online

2009-06-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Sun in the Oven
by Karyn Ellis
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Across Africa, cooking fires are projected to release about seven billion tons of carbon in the form of greenhouse gases by 2050. More than 1.6 million people, primarily women and children, die prematurely each year from respiratory diseases caused by the pollution from such fires. Scientists estimate that smoke from wood cooking fires will cause 10 million premature deaths among women and children by 2030 in Africa alone. These statistics can be addressed by promoting inexpensive, effective solar cookers, along with hay baskets (retained-heat devices that extend cooking temperatures after food is removed from a heat source) and fuel-efficient stoves for cooking when sunshine isn't available. These technologies are made with local materials whenever possible, and are easily used and constructed by anyone willing to learn.

Smokeless cookers can dramatically reduce respiratory infections caused by smoky fires, treat drinking water by eliminating waterborne pathogens, reduce the debilitating effects of deforestation, free time from hours of firewood gathering for women and girls and enable young girls to attend school rather than spend their days looking for firewood.

Millions of people become sick each year from drinking contaminated water. Worldwide, about 1.3 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water, resulting in an estimated 1.5 billion cases of diarrhoea each year and the deaths of nearly two million children. Yet, in many of the most severely affected regions, sunshine is an abundant source of energy that can not only cook food but can also heat water to temperatures that kill harmful microbes, making water safe to drink. This process is called solar water pasteurisation.

SCI co-founder Dr Bob Metcalf, a Professor of Biological Sciences at California State University, Sacramento, studied solar water pasteurisation in the early 1980s with one of his graduate students. They found that water heated to 65�C for a short time will be free from microbes including E. coli, Rotaviruses, Giardia and the Hepatitis A virus.

Since thermometers are not accessible to many people around the world, there is a need for a simple device that indicates when water has reached pasteurisation temperatures. In 1988, Fred Barrett of the United States Department of Agriculture came up with the idea of using wax with a specific melting point as an indicator. In 1992, engineering student Dale Andreatta created the Water Pasteurisation Indicator (WAPI), a reusable clear plastic tube partially filled with a wax that melts at 65�C. So, with minimal investment in a simple solar cooker and reusable WAPI, people in developing areas are able to pasteurise their water and make it safe to drink.

While solar water pasteurisation helped, the question still remained as to which water sources were contaminated. The Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML), designed by Dr Metcalf, contains tests for E. coli. Each PML includes 25 inexpensive and easy-to-use water tests. Using principles and methods from food microbiology, the PML is able to accurately test water in rural areas without the need for electricity, running water, or the expensive laboratory equipment normally needed.

In 2007, as part of its Safe Water Project (SWP), SCI began teaching Kenya's rural health workers how to test water sources using the PML and how to treat contaminated water with a solar cooker and a WAPI. The PML can be used anywhere by practically anyone, and is currently helping Kenyan government ministries in charge of water analysis who have had difficulties gauging water quality in rural areas due to travel limitations and technical expenses. Anticipated outcomes from the SWP include significant reductions in the incidence of waterborne diseases in over 20 communities, and broader community awareness of simple and effective water testing and water pasteurisation techniques. In June 2008, PML was used to help contain a cholera outbreak in Kenya's Nyakach region near Lake Victoria.

SCI is also now exploring collaborations with local solar lighting companies to meet another express need of those who benefit from its programmes.

Successful execution of solar cooking and water treatment programmes in developing areas can drastically decrease hunger, respiratory and waterborne diseases, and deforestation; increase food security, school attendance, and income generation; and empower women by providing entrepreneurial prospects and participation in micro-business.

By Karyn Ellis
Director of International Programs
Solar Cookers International
www.solarcookers.org

The Public Service Review is an online publication based in the UK.

To see the article, click on the PSR link on the right and go to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene under Contents on the left.

Kenya ~ Site Visits

2009-04-13T13:48:00.000-07:00

I recently returned to East Africa in January of 2009 with the intention of promoting current and future International Development programs and partnerships, contribute to a workshop in Tanzania with SCI’s East Africa trainers, and collaborate with East Africa Director and Staff about the direction of current programs and plans for expansion of SCI's Sunny Solutions and newly established Kenya offices.

In Kenya I met extensively with SCI's Nairobi staff, as well as assisting in a local solar cooking demonstration in the Kangemi Slum outside Nairobi, which was inspiring due to the large number of excited orphans in the charge of the Hamomi Children’s Centre, but also because this solar demo provided the first lunch these children had received at school in months. Since both food and firewood has increased in price due to recent economic crises, it has been not been possible for the Hamomi Centre’s administrators to purchase both fuel-wood and food for these 30+ students everyday. The Hamomi Children’s Centre kept a box cooker, two CooKits and two Hay Baskets when we left, which will enable them to cook food with the power of the sun and allow them to buy rice and beans for the children’s new lunch program. To see the looks of delight on the faces of these underpriveledged kids, and to know that they will now receive a nutritious solar cooked lunch on a regular basis thanks to the help of solar cookers and integrated cooking methods, well that’s what it’s all about.

Dozens of orphans and displaced kids are educated at the Hamomi Children's Centre in this small 3-room classroom.

This single room houses over 30 children per class on a daily basis, with a maximum of 8 benches as seen here, in the baking hot sun under hot tin roofs.

This is the first meal that's been served at the school in months, since there is not enough money to buy both food and fuel for cooking.

Now that they're cooking with the sun, the two single fathers who founded the Hamomi Children's Centre can afford to feed these kids lunch on a daily basis.

- - - - - - -

During my time in Kenya I had the opportunity to visit one of SCI/EA’s newest offices in Machakos (about an hour southeast of Nairobi) and assist in a demo / training for single mothers at a women’s group house. This group of about 20 single mothers reside in a common domicile, each having at least one child and normally two or three. It is a nice facility with a large number of western toys donated by local NGO’s, and the women were eager to learn a new and inexpensive cooking and water treatment technology that would relieve some of their daily burden and expenses. The day long training session included not only instruction on how to cook food with a solar cooker, but how to make CooKits and train others, as well as how to pasteurize contaminated water for storage in water tanks already present on the compound. It was uplifting to leave this group of strong and independent women with the ability to cook daily meals without needing to walk half the day for firewood, but also to ensure that they will have adequate food and safe water for their children, in addition to more time to bring in income, furthering their independence and ensuring the well-being of their families.

Machakos Women's Group preparing food to put in the solar cookers.

Curious girl on her way home from gathering wood, gets an idea of what she could be doing with her time instead.

Tanzania ~ Solar Cooking & Water Testing Workshop

2009-04-13T09:54:00.001-07:00

In Musoma, Tanzania I performed a Solar & Integrated Cooking / Safe Water Workshop, together with SCI's EA trainers, from the 20th to the 24th of January. I was delighted to be working closely with two of SCI's lead trainers, Faustine Odaba and John Amayo in this endeavor as we teamed up with locally-based TanzSolar and Global Resource Alliance (GRA) to introduce solar cooking, water testing, solar lighting and water pasteurization to 35 participants from neighboring communities on Lake Victoria. Attendees of the workshop included WID (Women in Development) and GAD (Gender and Development) women’s groups, local health workers, Victoria Farms fishing and farming professionals, energy conservation specialists, secondary school teachers and students of Musoma Tech’s permaculture studies. 36 local men and women participated in the 4-day Solar / Integrated Cooking and Safe Water Workshop in Musoma, Tanzania in January, 2009.

Faustine translates as I introduce the group to SCI with a PowerPoint presentation.

The participants came from a variety of professional & educational backgrounds, each with their own cooking techniques.

SCI's East Africa Director, Margaret Owino and I worked together to develop a comprehensive training schedule for the workshop, which incorporated solar cooking and water pasteurization procedures and techniques, practical use and manufacture of the CooKit and Hay Basket, energy conservation issues, promotional activities, and introduction of solar lighting and water testing concepts. I provided detailed instruction on water testing techniques with the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML) on three consecutive days, allowing the participants to collect samples from their local water sources, perform hands-on testing with the Colilert test tube and 3M Petrifilm, and then critically analyze the results.

The workshop got a crash course in water testing with the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML).

Participants making solar cookers out of materials purchased in the small town of Musoma, in northern Tanzania.

CooKits lined up in a row, cooking local dishes like rice, Ugali, vegetables and meat stew.

Participants took the water tests home with them and incubated them overnight, keeping the tests on their bodies while sleeping. The following day we interpreted the results of the tests, and workshop participants now know which water sources are good and who's water needs to be treated. Since the CooKit is able to pasteurize water as well as cook food, we feel good knowing that those with contaminated water sources now have an inexpensive way to treat their water.

Making Hay Baskets was also a focal point of the workshop, where integrated cooking was introduced and explained. A Hay Basket is not only able to keep food hot for up to six hours, but is able to continue cooking food that's been brought to a boil. The combination of a CooKit and Hay Basket can effectively cook two meals on a sunny day without the need for any wood at all.

Musoma workshop participants with certificates.

Workshop participants learned the techniques quickly, and are enthusiastic to use and teach these new solar cooking and water treatment skills in their nearby villages and communities. I always learn a lot about the many cultural and technological differences in Africa from SCI's talented and experienced staff during these trainings, and judging from the enthusiasm of the 35 participants there will be plenty more work to be done in this area. We will plan the first follow-up on this training in August of this year, and I will work closely with TanzSolar, GRA and SCI/EA to gather feedback and combine our collective goals and objectives to ensure a successful and sustainable outcome.

Uganda ~ Reconnaissance

2009-04-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

My most recent visit to Uganda was an effort to meet with as many new, potential collaborators as I could in order to lay the foundation for future activities. It proved lucrative beyond my imagination and I was able to meet with a number of enthusiastic and inspired individuals with whom I think SCI will have a productive relationship.

Solar Connect Association (SCA) ~ Kawesa Mukasa has been a great solar ally for years, and we had the pleasure of working together last summer on the Integrated Cooking Workshop in Obia, in northern Uganda, which we plan to follow-up on together with Max and Mary Lou Ozimek this August. SCA remains busy with local projects and is enthusiastic to work with SCI in Uganda. Mukasa does a lot of field work and struggles with regular communications, but it is beneficial to have an experienced and knowledgeable solar colleague in Uganda as SCI attempts to plan the Safe Water / Integrated Cooking Workshop I have proposed, which will now likely take place in 2010

Mukasa and Olivia devote all of their time to solar and integrated cooking projects in Uganda. While based in the capital city of Kampala, most of their work is done from the village of Mbarra, about an hour and a half outside of Kampala. SCA is in the process of developing a resource center where people and organizations interested in solar cooking can come for trainings, obtain materials and even stay on the grounds.

United Religions Initiative (URI) ~ I was impressed by the four young representatives from URI with whom I met for an introductory face-to-face. URI has been working globally on environmental, community and conflict resolution issues since 2000. URI is keen to incorporate solar cooking into their programs and have offered to liaison for SCI on the ground in Uganda to facilitate contacts with local environmental and governmental organizations, which is an imperative that we do not currently possess. This is a dedicated and enthusiastic group and I believe that they will be an asset to SCI's expanded international program development in Uganda.

Mukasa with URI, demonstrating the pot being cool to the touch while cooking food in a parabolic cooker.

Lion of Water for Sudan, Inc. ~ On a fluke, I had the honor of meeting an individual who was a part of the community coined The Lost Boys, following the horrific war and genocide in Sudan some 25 years ago. After many years in refugee camps in East Africa, the luckiest of these Lost Boys was brought to the US and Australia where they obtained lodging, jobs and an education through the benefit of sponsors. Salva Dut used these second chance advantages to found Water for Sudan, Inc. which is a non-profit that builds wells for the rural villages still struggling to rebuild themselves in southern Sudan. Water for Sudan lacks the ability to adequately test the water that their wells produce, so I was happy to give Salva's small staff a detailed training session on water testing with the PML, and provided them with 8 Colilert test tubes and 15 Petrifilms and pipettes, which they will practice incorporating into their safe water program in southern Sudan. I believe that this is precisely the type of program that the PML is suited for, and I look forward to hearing of the successes that Water for Sudan experiences with their new found water testing technology. As Bob Metcalf likes to say, we can provide the missing link in safe water programs around the world.

Note: I highly recommend the novel “What is the What” by Dave Eggers on this topic.

I also met with a number of other organizations, like Peace Corps Uganda who will be training volunteers in solar cooking and water pasteurization as a result of our meetings; Disabled Technicians of Uganda, who have been and implementing solar cooking and solar food drying projects for disabled and disadvantaged people for many years; and World Concern where Dr. Valery Shean has organized a successful Peace Resettlement Project in the region and is interested in incorporating solar cooking and water pasteurization into the reformatory programs with the Karamojan tribe.

Solar Cooking Articles from HowStuffWorks

2009-04-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

Check em out:

How Solar Cooking Works

How are solar cookers saving lives in Chad and Darfur?

East Africa Biz

2009-02-15T09:32:00.000-08:00

(SCI Quarterly Report)

I recently returned to East Africa in January of 2009 with the intention of promoting current and future International Development programs and partnerships, contribute to a workshop in Tanzania with SCI’s East Africa trainers, and collaborate with East Africa Director and Staff about the direction of current programs and plans for expansion of Sunny Solutions and newly established Kenya offices.

Contacts in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya were productive, some interesting opportunities developed and I had a number of promising meetings with the following organizations:

• Solar Connect Association (SCA) ~ Kawesa Mukasa has been a great solar ally for years, and we had the pleasure of working together last summer on the Integrated Cooking Workshop in Obia, in northern Uganda, which we plan to follow-up on together with the Ozimeks this August. SCA remains busy with local projects and is enthusiastic to work with SCI in Uganda. Mukasa does a lot of field work and struggles with regular communications, but it is beneficial to have an experienced and knowledgeable solar colleague in Uganda as we attempt to plan the Safe Water / Integrated Cooking Workshop I have proposed, which will now likely take place in 2010.

• Peace Corps Uganda (PCU) ~ Mukasa of SCA accompanied me to Peace Corps in Kampala to meet with the Assistant Director and 10 staff members. Enthusiasm was high as there is already great interest in expansion to various alternative energy projects for volunteers in Uganda. The newest group of volunteers arrives next month and each of the program directors was interested in solar cooking, water testing and/or pasteurization for various reasons, and PCU will struggle to evaluate ways to include solar trainings into an already shortened Pre-Service Training (PST) with an increasingly restricted budget. While lodging and transportation of an SCI trainer sounded reasonable to most of the staff, I believe they were collectively put off by SCI’s high training fees ($100 per day) and even with an offer to split that cost, in the end it looks as if SCA will train a group of PC staff initially, who will in turn train interested volunteers during training off-time. I am confident that solar cooking and water projects will take off with the [PCV’s] volunteers and that our services will be required on a larger scale in the near future.

• Disabled Technicians of Uganda (DTU) ~ Edward Sembajjwe has been leading DTU in Uganda to initiate and implement solar cooking and solar food drying projects for disabled and disadvantaged people for many years. DTU is a small organization looking for collaborations and assistance in any capacity and Edward has expressed an interest in working with SCI and SCA in project planning in Uganda. DTU’s most recent initiative targets disadvantaged families in displaced camps who use bio-fuel as their primary source of energy.

• United Religions Initiative, UG (URI) ~ I was impressed by the four young representatives from URI with whom I met for an introductory face-to-face. URI has been working globally on environmental, community and conflict resolution issues since 2000. URI is keen to incorporate solar cooking into their programs and have offered to liaison for SCI on the ground in Uganda to facilitate contacts with local environmental and governmental organizations, which is an imperative that we do not currently possess. This is a dedicated and enthusiastic group and I believe that they will be an asset to expanded IPD program development in Uganda.

• World Concern, UG ~ Dr. Valery Shean works in the small and disrupted village of Karamoja in NE Uganda. She has organized a successful Peace Resettlement Project in the region and is interested in incorporating solar cooking and water pasteurization into the reformatory programs with the Karamojan tribe. Considering that Dr. Shean has lived in the area for the past 12 years and now calls this village home, I see a high likelihood for project implementation and sustainability, which I will personally facilitate with regular correspondence and information distribution. World Concern is a large organization that works worldwide to eradicate poverty and hunger, promote community development, dig wells and provide clean drinking water. Dr. Shean will likely be a gateway for further project dissemination and collaboration with World Concern in Uganda and possibly other parts of Africa.

• Water for Sudan, Inc. ~ On a fluke, I had the honor of meeting an individual who was a part of the community coined The Lost Boys, following the horrific war and genocide in Sudan some 25 years ago. After many years in refugee camps in East Africa, the luckiest of these Lost Boys was brought to the US and Australia where they obtained lodging, jobs and an education through the benefit of sponsors. Salva Dut used these second chance advantages to found Water for Sudan, Inc. which is a non-profit that builds wells for the rural villages still struggling to rebuild themselves in southern Sudan. Water for Sudan lacks the ability to adequately test the water that their wells produce, so I was happy to give Salva and his small staff a detailed training session on water testing with the PML, and provided them with 8 Colilert test tubes and 15 Petrifilms and pipettes, which they will practice incorporating into their safe water program in southern Sudan. I believe that this is precisely the type of program that the PML is suited for, and I look forward to hearing of the successes that Water for Sudan experiences with their new found water testing technology. As Bob likes to say, we can provide the missing link in safe water programs around the world.
Note: I highly recommend the novel “What is the What” by Dave Eggers on this topic.

• D.Light, TZ ~ I had the unique opportunity to meet with the founders of D.Light, who invented the solar lanterns I introduced at the last board meeting, and two of their most recently appointed representatives who are heading the newly established D.Light Distribution Office in Dar es Salaam. D.Light is selling individual lights for approximately $35 all over Tanzania, and expressed a willingness and desire to facilitate shipping and distribution of lights to SCI’s Kenya offices through TanzSolar. The SCI/EA trainers returned to Kenya with a demo lantern for each office, and I plan to work with Rene to write a grant geared specifically towards the incorporation of solar lanterns into SCI’s East Africa branches.

• PATH, Kenya ~ In Nairobi I met with Rikka Trangsrud from PATH, Kenya, who work on independent community and health oriented programs in collaboration with local Community Based Organizations (CBO’s) country-wide. PATH also works with various commercial and public sector collaborators to identify, adapt, and develop a commercial market for effective Household Water Treatment and Storage (HWTS) systems. Solar and integrated cooking, along with water pasteurization and solar lighting all fit well within the parameters of Path’s priorities and guiding principles. Rikka has been in Kenya for decades and I look forward to expanding the reach of solar cooking and water pasteurization promotions together with SCI/EARO and PATH.

In Musoma, Tanzania I assisted our SCI/EA trainers in a Solar & Integrated Cooking Workshop from the 20th to the 24th of January. I was delighted to be working closely with two of our lead trainers, Faustine Odaba and John Amayo in this endeavor as we teamed up with locally-based TanzSolar and Global Resource Alliance (GRA) to introduce solar cooking, water testing, solar lighting and water pasteurization to 35 participants from neighboring communities on Lake Victoria. Attendees of the workshop included WID (Women in Development) and GAD (Gender and Development) women’s groups, local health workers, Victoria Farms fishing and farming professionals, energy conservation specialists, secondary school teachers and students of Musoma Tech’s permaculture studies.

Margaret Owino, SCI's East Africa Director and I worked together to develop a comprehensive training schedule for the workshop, which incorporated solar cooking and water pasteurization procedures and techniques, practical use and manufacture of the CooKit and Hay Basket, energy conservation issues, promotional activities, and introduction of solar lighting and water testing concepts. I provided detailed instruction on water testing techniques with the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML) on three consecutive days, allowing the participants to collect samples from their local water sources, perform hands-on testing with the Colilert test tube and 3M Petrifilm, and then critically analyze the results.

Workshop participants learned the techniques quickly, and are enthusiastic to use and teach these new solar cooking and water treatment skills in their nearby villages and communities. I always learn a lot about the many cultural and technological differences in Africa from our talented and experienced staff during these trainings, and judging from the enthusiasm of the 35 participants there will be plenty more work to be done in this area. We will plan the first follow-up on this training in August of this year, and I will work closely with TanzSolar, GRA and SCI/EA to gather feedback and combine our collective goals and objectives to ensure a successful and sustainable outcome.

In Kenya I met extensively with Margaret and the Nairobi staff, discussing plans for 2009 and intentions for project expansion and execution out of the three new offices in Kisumu, Kakamega and Machakos. I assisted in a local solar cooking demonstration in the Kangemi Slum outside Nairobi, which was inspiring due to the large number of excited orphans in the charge of the Hamomi Children’s Centre, but also because this solar demo provided the first lunch these children had received at school in months. Since both food and firewood has increased in price due to recent economic crises, it has been not been possible for the Hamomi Centre’s administrators to purchase both fuel-wood and food for these 30+ students everyday. The Hamomi Children’s Centre kept a box cooker, two CooKits and two Hay Baskets when we left, which will enable them to cook food with the power of the sun and allow them to buy rice and beans for the children’s new lunch program. To see the looks of delight on the faces of these underpriveledged kids, and to know that they will now receive a nutritious solar cooked lunch on a regular basis thanks to the help of solar cookers and integrated cooking methods, well that’s what it’s all about.

During my time in Kenya I had the opportunity to visit one of SCI/EA’s newest offices in Machakos (about an hour southeast of Nairobi) and assist in a demo / training for single mothers at a women’s group house. This group of about 20 single mothers reside in a common domicile, each having at least one child and normally two or three. It is a nice facility with a large number of western toys donated by local NGO’s, and the women were eager to learn a new and inexpensive cooking and water treatment technology that would relieve some of their daily burden and expenses. The day long training session included not only instruction on how to cook food with a solar cooker, but how to make CooKits and train others, as well as how to pasteurize contaminated water for storage in water tanks already present on the compound. It was uplifting to leave this group of strong and independent women with the ability to cook daily meals without needing to walk half the day for firewood, but also to ensure that they will have adequate food and safe water for their children, in addition to more time to bring in income, furthering their independence and ensuring the well-being of their families.

In regards to further program expansion, it is my sincere hope to get SCI’s feet on the ground in West Africa in the upcoming year. I am pursuing involvement in a Sustainable Village that has been initiated by Empowerment Society International (ESI) in Liberia. I am still in contact with Gabriel Kapandou in Benin and hope to consider further collaborations with he and his colleagues with the Ministry of Health (MOH), Population Services, Inc. (PSI), Le Centre Régional pour l'Eau Potable et l'Assainissement (CREPA) and the Environmental Engineering Group (EEG). As Burkina Faso is my old stomping ground as a returned Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV), I would of course like to incorporate this country into the expansion mix, as it is already on the list of top 25 countries best suited for solar cooking.

East Africa Report

2008-07-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

International Program Development (IPD) East Africa Report: Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya

Karyn Ellis: Solar Cookers International (SCI)

June 8th - July 2nd, 2008

I traveled to East Africa over the summer to look into some potential new projects in regards to development and expansion of SCI's solar cooking and water pasteurization programs. This report, together with the related photos, will tell the story of my experiences and participation in these events.

(This report was meant primarily for SCI colleagues and board members, so feel free to skip to the pix if not affiliated with SCI).

Uganda ~ June 8th – June 17th

My trip to East Africa began with a very pleasant introduction to Kawesa Mukasa and the staff of Solar Connect Association (SCA). I was impressed at the outset by SCA’s active involvement in community efforts, promotion of Integrated Cooking and manufacture of subsequent materials at their Kampala based office. There are an abundance of hay baskets and fuel efficient stoves available in SCA's office, and employees busy cooking with integrated cooking devices and making WAPI’s throughout the day.

I arrived in Kampala in the company of the hosts of the project, Mary Lou Ozimek and her son Max, along with their friend and priest from Ohio Father Alexander Inke, who originates from the village of Obia in Eastern Uganda on the border of Congo. Father Inke provided transportation (11.5 short hours) to his village where we were greeted warmly with song and dance by what seemed to be the entire town. Our accommodations were more than comfortable in a local clinic that Father Inke has been working on for some time, and we were treated with the utmost kindness and hospitality throughout our stay.

The five-day training workshop provided by Mukasa and Olivia Kanyesigye of SCA was well organized, with an impressive turn out by the 36 women who had signed up for the workshop as well as what seemed like every friend and family member in the area. The workshop was nicely structured to maximize information distribution, solar cooking and CooKit and hay basket construction, while allowing the flexibility to accommodate our surprise guests from Aid Africa (AA) who were able to make the trip from Gulu (approximately 150K) to demonstrate the 6-Brick Rocket Stove. I had met with Ken Goyer and Peter Keller in Sacramento the week before my departure and requested AA’s participation in our workshop, and was pleasantly surprised and impressed by how quickly they were able to mobilize their team in Uganda. Rather than send us a single representative for the workshop, we were honored by the presence of AA’s top four trainers, who came equipped with the materials and expertise to effectively demonstrate the importance of a fuel efficient stove as a fundamental component of Integrated Cooking. AA’s staff put on an impressive presentation demonstrating the construction and fundamentals of the Rocket Stove, and stayed two extra days to learn more about solar and integrated cooking, as well as water testing and treatment. A wonderful alliance was made and I look forward to productive and happy collaborations with our new friends at AA.

As a bonus to the workshop I was able to test five local sources of water in Obia, instructing our SCA & AA colleagues in depth and presenting the results to the workshop participants, providing a nice transition into the workshop’s water treatment and solar pasteurization segment.

In addition to this successful and rewarding workshop in Northern Uganda, I was able to make some good contacts with a few local NGO’s in Kampala: Heifer International expressed an interest in a collaborative community outreach and using the CooKit for possible milk pasteurization. Peace Corps Uganda fully embraced the importance of solar cooking and water testing and treatment in volunteer projects and local activities, requesting further assistance and training from SCA; and CARE Uganda referred me fervently to CARE Kenya and has requested a demonstration on Integrated Cooking by SCA in the next week.

Hopes for the future in Uganda include a close collaboration with both SCA and AA, assisting in follow up of the Obia project, program development, material distribution and networking with government officials and environmental NGO's for a possible Safe Water / Integrated Cooking Workshop in Kampala next year. I would like to work with Bob and Margaret, SCI-EARO, SCA, AA to develop a five day workshop, focusing on safe water testing and treatment and modeled after the June 2008 workshop in Kenya, supplemented throughout with environmental education, income generating techniques and technical approaches for the practical implementation of integrated cooking.

Tanzania ~ June 18th – June 22nd

What I had hoped would be a hop, skip and a jump across Lake Victoria turned into a day tour of capital airports of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, and a hopper from the coastal port of Dar es Salaam back up to the southeastern portion of Lake Victoria (not far from where I started) and the village town of Musoma. As it happened I arrived on the same flight as Marianne Walpert of TanzSolar, SCI’s newest cohort and solar collaborator. As referenced in previous reports, Marianne has recently established the nonprofit TanzSolar to provide affordable solar panels to rural internet providers, small businesses and local individuals. TanzSolar already has a strong foothold in the community as a result of a close collaboration with an old friend and colleague, Robi Machaba of Juasun, an internet company based in Musoma. Robi has lived in Tanzania for over 20 years and is well established in the community and passionate about what he does. In addition to introducing affordable solar panels to the rural communities of Tanzania, TanzSolar will carry an inexpensive solar lantern from a company called D-Light. TanzSolar is interested in expanding its solar repertoire with solar cooking and water testing / treatment and has expressed a sincere interest in collaborating with SCI. Marianne is motivated and easy to work with, and we would both like to nurture this relationship to bring solar cooking and water treatment to the northern region of Tanzania by using TanzSolar’s compound as a base for trainings in the TZ / Lake Victoria region, as well as a place to store materials for further trainings, sales and demonstrations. We are working with SCI-EARO to provide a week-long training at TanzSolar’s compound later this year.

With the help of Marianne and Robi I was able to meet with a good number of individuals in Musoma interested in assisting in the spread of solar cooking and water testing and treatment in the region. Approximately 20 people were in attendance for a demonstration at the TanzSolar compound, where I showed a PowerPoint presentation, highlights of the workshop in Uganda, and the SunCookers DVD while cooking nine dishes of local food in the compound yard. Despite a fickle sun, the food cooked well and all were impressed by how well the local dishes of Pilau and Ugali turned out. In addition, it was a solid venue in which to introduce the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML) and illustrate the advantages of water testing and pasteurization.

Participants included European workers involved in nonprofit community development projects, as well as local business people affiliated with schools, churches and youth groups in the area. It was decided that once a solid group of 20+ community leaders are identified as dedicated to spearheading local training groups of their own in integrated cooking and water testing and treatment, SCI’s Katito crew will travel to Musoma to provide a week-long training. Both SCI-EARO and I will perform follow up counseling with the participants at set intervals throughout the next few years to assure proper usage and sustainability. In addition, TanzSolar will provide a space to store materials and information for further workshops and to encourage participants to facilitate further trainings. Between TanzSolar and colleagues at Juasun, there will be someone to receive and supervise materials and sales, providing an effective umbrella under which SCI will be able to successfully operate in northern Tanzania on a number of levels. It is my hope that the affiliation between SCI, TanzSolar and Juasun will provide a solid base for the effective spread of solar cooking and water testing and treatment, as well as an opportunity for SCI to expand with simple and inexpensive solar lighting.

Kisumu, Kenya ~ June 23rd to 27th

Arriving overland in Kisumu I conveniently ran into Bob & Faustine at the venue for the Water Testing Workshop, Tom Mboya Labour College, where we settled in to a week of water testing fun! With close to a full house to reward efforts made by SCI-EARO and Bob, 20 representatives from various districts of Ministry of Health (MOH) & Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA) were in attendance as Bob deftly executed an informative full two days of lecture on Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML) water testing and hands-on methodology. Rose Namori and Zakayo Njara of WRMA supplemented Bob's lecture well with compelling accounts of their own detailed experiences with water testing procedures and comparisons between the PML and local water testing methods. There had been an outbreak of Cholera a few weeks before our Safe Water Workshop, and MOH and WRMA health workers were able to contain the outbreak utilizing the PML to test water in the rural Nyakach region near Lake Victoria. This is a strong testimony to our cause, and such an encouraging step for such an influential government organization to be using the PML officially in their work, where not even a year ago they had no resources of this kind. What a monumental opportunity for the governments of Kenya to demonstrate the practicality and effectiveness of the PML in life threatening situations, and one that will pave the way for implementation in other countries.
SCI’s EARO put on a comprehensive and effective demonstration of solar cooking throughout the workshop, providing delicious local solar cooked fare and explaining the process to participants during breaks and lunch demonstrations. The lecture and water testing portion of the workshop was followed by day trip in the field where participants were able to see local water sources where the water tested in the workshop was gathered, followed by a grand celebration outside Sunny Solution’s Katito office, including solar cooked food & crafts made by solar cooks, and an official ceremony honoring EARO's 10-year anniversary. The ceremony was an impressive and monumental tribute to the Safe Water Workshop and ten years of work well done in Kenya!

I met the Director of Archway Technology Management, Ltd. at the event described above, and the following day Margaret and I attended the Stakeholders’ Forum for Sunny Solutions’ Evaluation. This preliminary seminar involved brainstorming sessions with local health workers, hotel/food vendors, development agents, fuel vendors, government workers, teachers and local solar cooks discussing benefits, challenges and techniques of solar cooking in the community. This information will be compiled into a questionnaire by Archway and distributed to the participants, the results to be combined with field work results and an analysis of documented paperwork from the Sunny Solutions offices. Archway’s Regional Director Akich Kwach and Team Leader Cleophas Onono struck me as professional and competent, and I hope that they will succeed in providing an accurate and useful portrayal of Sunny Solutions' accomplishments and identification of areas to improve effectiveness and productivity. It appeared to me that Archway’s approach was locally appropriate and possessed a solid and thorough base for analysis.

Nairobi ~ June 28th - July 2nd

The African Women and Water Conference led by the women's organizations Women's Health Alliance, Crabgrass, Groots and A Single Drop was located at Wangaari Mathai's Greenbelt Center just outside Nairobi and took place the week following our Water Testing Workshop in Kisumu. Bob and I were able to meet some of the women the Saturday preceding the conference and specifically with Mariah Klingsmith who will be remaining in Africa for one year following the conference to follow up with each of the 30 participants from 15 countries in East, South & West Africa. We provided Mariah with a solar cooker, a WAPI, a PML and educational materials, and Bob was able to give her an informal yet detailed training on the specifics of water testing. Mariah will communicate with me directly in regards to programs involving the CooKit and the PML, and provide photos and brief reports during her journey throughout the upcoming year.

After a day of rest in Nairobi battling a virus that wouldn't die, work resumed in the form of networking and various meetings with official government institutions and NGO's:

I accompanied Bob to the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation to meet with Chief Kepha Ombacha, Water Sanitation Officer Adam Muhommad Ahi, and Fred Donde of UNICEF. Mr. Ahi was one of the principal influences in the cholera testing referenced above. Each government representative expressed sincere appreciation for the process and materials and an enthusiastic faith in the future of the project, as well as an understanding of how necessary the PML is to their work. There was a self-ascribed emphasis on continued collaboration with WRMA and self-motivation on the part of active participants. Those who participated in the workshop will be called upon to initiate future trainings and we will look forward to reports of improved health in all regions soon.

Peace Corps Kenya was very receptive to our ambitions, and Director Ken Puvak has been a proponent of solar cooking for years. Public Health & Sanitation Assistant Director Timothy Kibet is interested in incorporating solar cooking and water pasteurization into secondary projects and volunteers' work with youth groups and schools. Bob will return later in his stay to instruct Timothy and Louis Othieno on water testing with the PML. There are two Peace Corps Volunteer trainings in the next few months in which Peace Corps would like to see SCI participate.

CARE Kenya works on programs involving HIV/AIDS, Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), slums and refugee camps with UNHCR. Country Director Bud Crandall had limited time and was only able to ask some fundamental questions regarding time, cost, process and cultural acceptance, after which Bud surmised that a small project in the Dadab Refugee Camp might be worth a purchase of approximately 100 cookers to gauge interest and practicality in that area. We described some of our previous efforts in Dadab as well as other refugee camps, and Bud will potentially recommend solar cookers for one or more of their project sites in Sudan.

WHO Kenya seems primarily interested in Safe Water projects, and with whom Bob has had positive dealings with in the past, providing a nice foundation for our most recent collaborative push. I was able to show my PowerPoint presentation to Technical Program Officer Wilfred Ndego, but due to conflicts in schedules and communications, some important interested parties were not available until later that afternoon, to which Bob was able to come to the rescue as I prepared for my flight home. In addition to an interest in water testing and treatment, WHO also strongly promotes the reduction of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) in their support of MOH, further enabling a seamless relationship between water treatment and solar cooking. Margaret will meet with James Teprey of the Emergency & Humanitarian Action (EHA) segment of WHO about possible collaborations in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) and refugee camps.

Safe Water Workshop in Kenya

2008-06-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

SCI has recently initiated a Safe Water Initiative and will incorporate simple and safe water testing into current international programs involving solar cooking and water pasteurization. SCI’s Board President and one of its founders, Bob Metcalf, is the designer of the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML) that is being introduced to government ministries to assist with official water testing procedures at the grassroots level. Contacts made last year with officials from Kenya’s Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA) and Ministry of Health (MOH)~ the leading institutions involved with clean water in Kenya, enabled representatives from each of these ministry’s primary locations throughout the country participate in the Safe Water Workshop provided by SCI in June, and in turn train others in their districts, who will then train others, and so on creating a trickle-down effect all the way to the village level.

SCI's goal is to provide a simple and inexpensive method of testing water in remote areas that heretofore has not been possible due to scarce laboratory facilities and costly transportation fees. This is a revolutionary process that will significantly increase the ability of people in Kenya to know the quality of the water they drink, and to purify contaminated water with simple and inexpensive solar technologies. Here are some photos of the first Safe Water Workshop, involving detailed instruction on specific PML water-testing techniques, the importance of cleanliness and sanitation, and practical methods of treating contaminated water.

Bob introducing the Safe Water Workshop and getting acquainted with participants.

There were approximately 50 participants present for the workshop, 20 from WRMA and 20 from MOH.

Each sample is tested in two ways: in a test tube to test for presence of E-Coli, and on a Patrifilm to determine the number of E-Coli present in a sample.

This photo depicts Faustine placing a test tube in her bra to incubate overnight. The final process of testing water with the PML is to incubate the tests for 12-24 hours ~ and the perfect temperature for incubation happens to be body temperature. (Let us learn from the chicken!) So when you're out in the bush without any modern amenities, incubating water samples on the body is the logical solution. The incubation process is the part we've had the most resistance about ~ many (especially older) villagers equate incubating something on your body to voodoo, or just find it too weird. Even some of the government workers were uneasy with the process ~ these are the petrifilms that were left to incubate on the table overnight; an option (especially since it was warm out) but incubation takes much longer at inopportune temperatures.

This is a 'hay pouch' created by Mr. John Rumberia ~ a water testing expert from the village of Embu: understanding the cultural discomfort with incubating water samples on the body, John fashioned this method of incubating tests with a hot water bottle and a couple of cloth bags. The process of this 'hay pouch' is modeled after the hay basket for it's insulative qualities ~ rather than incubate a water sample on one's body for 12-24 hours, it is possible to keep it warm in an incubating pouch like this one.

Hello Musoma! Tanzania

2008-06-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

I traveled to Musoma, Tanzania to pursue collaborations between SCI and TanzSolar ~ a newly established nonprofit that will provide affordable solar panels to local internet organizations, health clinics, schools, small businesses and individuals throughout Tanzania. While TanzSolar specializes in photovoltaic (PV) systems, they are interested in expanding their solar reach and open to working with SCI to bring simple solar cooking and water pasteurization techniques to the area as well.

Marianne and her sons showed me great hospitality while I was in Musoma, treating me like family and taking time from their busy schedules to help with a solar demo and introduce me to some active and influential business people in the community; like Sergio Velasquez, an independent development manager, and Robi Machaba of JuaSun, a local internet company that works closely with Marianne and TanzSolar. With their help we rounded up a good group of locally active individuals interested in improving their environment by providing alternative methods of cooking, treating water and generating income in their community. Together we organized a very successful day of informational presentations on solar cooking and water pasteurization ideologies, processes and techniques, generating a great deal of participation and interest. With the help of those listed above and SCI's East Africa Office, SCI and TanzSolar will plan to host a 5-day integrated solar workshop on the TanzSolar grounds later in the year.

Mt Kiliminjaro in the distance, from the window of the tiny plane we took from Dar es Salaam to the small town of Musoma on Lake Victoria.

Marianne and me.

The TanzSolar grounds ~ a good sized compound with three buildings and a massive yard.

These are two different clay stoves found in the market in Musoma, both burn charcoal 'conservatively', but charcoal requires a great deal of wood to produce and seems to be the leading method of cooking in Musoma.

We bought pots at the market and painted them black for the demo the next day. If we had had a bit more time we would have let them 'bake' in the sun for a few days ~ as it was they were a bit 'tacky' but served their purpose. Black chalkboard paint works very well for painting pots since it is a matte substance which eliminates shine and does not chip easily, and is also available in practically any village in Africa.

Marianne painting lids. The pots and lids are painted black to attract the heat of the sun, and the pots are placed into a heat-resistant clear plastic bag which has a greenhouse effect of trapping the heat and keeping it in the pot. Like here in the US, black pots are not as prevalent as silver ones, so painting pots black is an essential component to solar cooking.

I showed a PowerPoint presentation, the SunCookers DVD about SCI's exploits in Kenya, and some photos of the recent Integrated Solar Cooking workshop in Uganda to the 20-ish participants. The presentation was given in the living room of TanzSolar. The Q&A session was lively and I see a lot of interest in possible project directions in Musoma.

I interpret this one as an amazed gaze up at the ever-productive sun :)

Sun Spots Newsletter ~ Fall 2007

2007-09-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Sun Spots Newsletter ~ Fall 2007

I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a new member of the SCI staff at such an exciting time. Given my professional & educational background in sustainable development & environmental systems, along with a focus on simple solar technologies for women in rural Africa for my MS in International Development Technology, this position for me was a long time coming! I’ve never felt better suited to a company and its goals and aspirations.

SCI has so much potential in this ever-growing field, and I look forward to being an integral part of its expansion in developing countries across the world. With Sunny Solutions as a successful model in various regions in Kenya, the International Program Development segment of SCI looks to broaden its horizons to other countries in need of alternative methods of obtaining clean drinking water and fuel for cooking. I am eagerly anticipating my trip to Kenya next month to meet Margaret and the rest of the Sunny Solutions team and see for myself the inspiring work going on in our overseas branch.

In the immediate future, SCI looks to continue its partnerships with other humanitarian relief agencies to assist refugees in Africa, integrating training and follow-up services to ensure effective and appropriate assistance and a sustainable outcome. I personally would like to see increased collaborations with existing volunteers in government organizations overseas, such as Peace Corps, Crisis Corps and the Red Cross, to give solar technology reliable exposure in areas where there is established need for improved water quality and reduction of resource expenditure.

In all upcoming projects, it is SCI’s hope that solar water pasteurization and cooking technologies will work hand in hand to achieve a better quality of life for people in rural communities, by significantly reducing deforestation and contaminated water, and by giving women and girls more time to generate income and spend time with their families.