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Summary:

AIDG Blog interviews Quetsol founder Manuel Aguilar about bringing light to Guatemala, financing for his customers and enterprise, the impact his company has, and being a TED Global Fellow.

Photos

Related:

AIDG Supports Quetsol

Quetsol in the Prensa Libra

Quetsol Founder Manuel Aguilar named a 2011 TED Global Fellow

QUETSOL - english version from Rancho Aparte on Vimeo.

Quetsol Interviewed by Energy Entrepreneurs

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Download: MP3

Summary:

AIDG Blog interviews Donald Stevens of Shelter 2 Home about the Build Back Better Communities Expo, the growth of his company, and the housing sector in Haiti

Photos From the Expo

Related:

AIDG Supports Shelter 2 Home

AIDG Interviews Shelter 2 Home after the earthquake

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Download: MP3

Summary:

AIDG Blog interviews Duquesne Fednard of D&E Green Enterprises 2010-2011 Konkou Biznis Ayiti winner. Duquesne discusses his stove product the Eco Recho, carbon offsets, and the challenges of running an enterprise in Haiti.

Photos:

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Happy Holidays! Thank you for the help in 2010!

2010 has been the most important year of AIDG’s history: After the earthquake of January 2010, you supported us in a way that challenged us to expand our services and analyze our mission. Thank you for that support and that challenge. AIDG has done more in 2010 than in the prior 4 years combined. 6 companies identified and supported. Over 2000 people given technical training, impacting the lives of over ten thousand. Almost 70 volunteers engaged in the field, more than in the past 3 years. More constituents receiving energy, water, sanitation and housing services directly from us and from our incubated companies than we have ever seen. It has been a hard year but we are proud of what we’ve accomplished with your support. Here are some highlights of the year.

http://www.aidg.org/news/2010-winter-newsletter.htm

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The 2009 GuateVerde Winner, Quetsol, has received much positive press in recent months, being featured in the Prensa Libre, the largest circulation daily newspaper in Guatemala, El Periódico and Energy Entrepreneurs.

El Periódico: …Y se les prendió el foco

“Tono” and “Juanish”, the astrophysicist and the business manager, lifelong friends and now partners in a company looking to grow through renewable energy.

Two young men travel to [Guatemala’s] most remote villages to promote a solar energy system that can compete with candles on price. They are the winners of a national competition for renewable technology initiatives. Their goal is to bring light to the nearly half a million Guatemalans that still live in the shadows.

Prensa Libre: Energía solar es otra opción

15 percent of the country’s total population still lives without electricity , but for Quetsol solar energy can be an option.

Quetsol as featured on Energy Entrepreneurs

More Information on Quetsol:

Quetsol’s Profile on AIDG.ORG

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TED.COM just released a video of AIDG’s Executive Director Peter Haas, talking at TED Global in Oxford, about building collapse in Haiti and the importance of mason training programs like AIDG’s.

You can help us train a mason by giving $68. It is a great investment that will save lives in the next earthquake. Donate $68

If you think this talk is informative please RATE IT as INFORMATIVE on the TED.COM site. This will help keep the message alive.

AIDG Masonry Training Flickr Photos

AIDG Confined Masonry Packet (Version 3) : In English | In Kreyol

Related Posts:

AIDG Mason Trainings and Structural Assesments

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Every useful electronics project deserves a good enclosure. Providing a proper case for your circuit can protect it from accidental spills & falls - plus give it a cool look you can proudly show off to those unfamiliar with soldering and such.

Follow along with Collin as he turns a barebones function generator kit into a sturdy and versatile tone-box fit for noise-jamming & testing purposes. Get more info and a parts bundle:

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/04/circuit_skills_electronics_enlosure.html

Related Posts
Video: History and Science of LEDs [Make, Rad Science]
Make Your Own Printed Circuit Boards
Link of the Day: Introduction to Oscilloscopes
Electronics Nerd Humor from MAKE

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Making a pico-hydro electric system

AIDG’s Technology R&D Program is pleased to present a new series of technical documents that have been produced during various projects we have worked on in the last 5 years. During the first 3 years of the program, the documentation was produced in a haphazard way, but around the beginning of 2008 we realized that that wasn’t going to provide a good base for future work the way that more systematic documentation could. Since that point, we have tried to document projects more thoroughly as they are ongoing, so that the information isn’t lost and we and others can build on the work that has been done. During the last year, we have been extremely lucky to have intern Ben Dana undertake the arduous task of pulling together information from many of the previous projects and put into one place.

In presenting these documents, we would like to accomplish two things. First, we would like to provide anyone who is interested the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and our successes, to see a bit of the process we have gone through in different development projects, and apply those lessons to their own projects. Second, we would like to tap into the worldwide appropriate technology community and stimulate further development of the technologies we have worked with.

We’re still developing a plan for how to best stimulate this type of development. In the next few months, we hope to pursue alliances and implement tools to allow the information to spread as far as possible, to encourage people to do further work, and to provide a forum for discussion of that work and presentation of results. In the meanwhile, we’d like to present several documents, and we invite everyone to comment on them, on anything and everything that comes to mind. We’re looking for feedback on format, appearance, the type and quantity of information that the documents contain, and anything else.

Mitchell-Banki turbine

These are the documents we will be presenting over the following weeks:

• Picohydro Bucket Generator

• Build Manual
• Turbine Performance Testing Results
• Alternator Performance Testing Results

• Build Manual in English and Spanish
• Design Manual in English and Spanish

• Build Manual in English and Spanish
• Design Manual in English and Spanish

• Our experience with the circuit and modifications we have made, in English and Spanish
• Condensed Design Manual in Spanish

• Design Manual
• Fabrication Manual
• Project Summary from Corazon del Bosque Installation

• Design Manual
• Build Manual

• Our experience with the turbine and modifications we have made of Practical Action’s design
• Manufacturing guide
• Project Design Document from Nueva Alianza Installation

For each of the technologies we will be doing a blog post, and the documents will be linked to from the blog post. I hope that you all enjoy the documents, that they are useful, and most of all that you tell us what you think.

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Title: Executive Director
Location: US with 25% time in Haiti
FT/PT: Full-time
URL: http://www.earthsparkinternational.org/qpr2_2.html

About EarthSpark International:

Energy poverty is hardship caused by insufficient energy sources and/or their inefficient or deleterious use. EarthSpark International is a nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the causes and effects of energy poverty and thereby empower communities in need. EarthSpark achieves this by developing local businesses and country‐scale supply chains for clean and efficient energy technologies; providing technical education and training to farmers, students and small and micro‐enterprise owners; and mitigating local environmental damage caused by energy poverty. EarthSpark envisions a world where forests thrive; where schools, hospitals and businesses are reliably powered; where homes have safe, clean energy sources; and where all residents have the opportunities for advancement and health that robust forests and clean energy provide. This spring, EarthSpark launched its pilot Tree Nursery Business Project and Clean Energy Store Project in Haiti. Together, these projects are expected to have a significant impact on two towns with a combined population exceeding 50,000. Please visit EarthSpark’s website to learn about its history, leaders, and current projects: http://www.earthsparkinternational.org.

Description:

We seek to hire an Executive Director who shares EarthSpark’s vision and convictions. The Executive Director will be an entrepreneurial leader with the capacity for perseverance and innovation, both as an individual and as a team member. This individual will have an enthusiasm for EarthSpark’s mission and will possess the ability to persuade, inspire and motivate others. The Executive Director will also be adept at solving the practical problems of daily operations in an entrepreneurial international organization.

Requirements:

Other qualities the Executive Director will possess include:

• Collegiality: ability to communicate, listen, and collaborate with partners
• Strong sense of self, ethics, and integrity
• Ability to learn by doing and to adapt and respond constructively to challenges
• Experience working in low-income neighborhoods in the U.S., a developing country, or in the international arena would be valuable but not essential
• A willingness to work at EarthSpark sites in Haiti about 25% of the time
• Proficiency in Haitian Creole or French would be valuable but not essential
• Community organizing experience (e.g., grassroots coalition-building with networks of community leaders and partners) would be valuable but not essential

Duties and Responsibilities:

Executive Leadership:

• Serve as an international ambassador for EarthSpark, strengthening its reputation and public image
• Continually refine and improve organizational approaches that support EarthSpark’s mission
• Communicate frequently with EarthSpark donors, partners and extended network contacts
• Coordinate and lead EarthSpark’s fundraising efforts
• Manage day-to-day operations and lead by inspiring and motivating partners, colleagues, and EarthSpark’s extended networks
• Engage the Board to help EarthSpark achieve its programmatic, financial and mission objectives
• Work cooperatively with the Board to complete and continuously refine EarthSpark’s strategic plan

On-the-Ground Duties:

Supervision and Oversight:

• The Executive Director will have a high level of responsibility and autonomy in daily tasks but will collaborate with senior staff on important matters
• The Executive Director will answer to the Board of Directors
• Evaluation of the Executive Director will be carried out by the Board and founders annually

To Apply We ask that applicants submit their resume and cover letter to info {at] earthsparkinternational [dot} org by November 15, 2009.

For more information: EarthSpark International

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08 December 2009 - UN MINUSTAH: The “biodigestor” - a pilot project in a poor neighborhood in Port-au-Prince is making methane gas for electricity, using human waste from public toilets. If successful, the project would provide an alternative, green fuel to wood charcoal, and could help the country overcome its massive environmental problems linked to deforestation.
One poor neighborhood in Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince, is the scene of a new pilot project that will provide new sources of energy, and improve basic sanitation on the streets.

The project starts with some public toilets. Here, for the price of about a penny (US$0.01) residents have the chance to clean up, and use the bathroom. In most Haitian cities, people dont have access to running water. So modern toilets are a real luxury. Particularly when they are open to the public.

SOUNDBITE (Creole) Aline Saint-Fort, Public Bathroom Attendant:
Other public toilets are no where near as clean. And they are expensive. In most places in the city you pay five or even ten cents to use the bathroom thats ten times what we charge.

With the capacity to take one thousand users a day, the project hopes to improve sanitation. But the real benefit is a by-product produced in the yard outside. Engineers with Viva Rio, the Brazilian NGO that runs the project, built this large underground reaction tank called a biodigestor. Inside it are bacteria that are transforming human waste into methane gas a biofuel that can be used as a powerful, and virtually free, source of energy.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Valmir FACHINI, Project Coordinator, Viva Rio:
The way it works is simple. The waste comes from the toilets, and gets dumped into the reaction tank. This starts the fermentation process, the produces bio-gas. The gas crosses a column of water, and comes to rest at the top of the tank. This bio-gas can be used for cooking and electricity.

The fermentation inside the bio-digestor also enriches the roots of the surrounding foliage, which act as a filter for liquid waste.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Valmir FACHINI, Project Coordinator, Viva Rio:
This reactor has a capacity to produce fifty cubic meters of biogas per day. This will generate 3000 watts of electricity per twenty four hours.

Biogas is cheap and easy to produce. If the project is replicated, it could give Haitians green alternatives to charcoal fuel. This would combat deforestation the underlying cause of the countrys massive environmental problems.

And thats not all. Filtered water coming out of the bio-digestor is rich in nutrients and can support many forms of plant and animal life. Ducks feed on insect larvae. And fish prosper here. With proper care this pond will become a fishery, creating food and jobs in the neighborhood.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Valmir FACHINI, Project Coordinator, Viva Rio:
Here in these tanks, the water comes rich with nutrients. The sunlight permits the production of algae. And the algae are the primary food source for fish.
So one pilot project in Port-au-Prince is helping an underserved neighborhood to produce green energy and improve sanitation at the same time.

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