Duration: 4 min 19 sec

Thanks for making our work possible.

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Tonight we’re having our 5th annual holiday party. Can you believe it? It’s been five years since AIDG got started with $800 and a bag of tools. We’ve accomplished a lot in a short amount of time and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Our holiday party is how we say thanks to all our friends, colleagues and supporters. So if you are in the Boston area come mingle and get an update on the work you helped make happen. If you’re new to the AIDG community or want to be a part of it, don’t be shy! Come out and meet everybody. Hear the stories first hand.

Come Celebrate with us 

LOCATION: Our office space in Chinatown.
33 Harrison Avenue, 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02111
DATE: Tuesday Dec. 29, 2009
TIME: 6PM -9 PM

RSVP: Cat Laine claine@aidg.org 800-401-3860 x703 

Directions:

On the T
From  the Orange Line: Stop at Chinatown. Exit near intersection of Essex St and Washington St. Go East on Essex towards Chinatown. Make first right on Harrison Ave. If you hit Beach Street, you’ve gone too far.

From  the Green Line: Stop at Boylston Street. Exit near intersection of Boylston St and Tremont St. Walk East on Boylston/Essex St 2 blocks (away from the Common). Take a right on Harrison Ave. If you hit Beach Street, you’ve gone too far.

From  the Red Line: Stop at Downtown Crossing. Exit near intersection of Summer St and Washington St.  Go Southwest on West on Washington St towards Park Street.  Turn Left on Essex. Make first right on Harrison Ave. If you hit Beach Street, you’ve gone too far.

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Duration: 2 min 55 sec

Catapult Design is working with AIDG and the [Appropriate Technology Design Team] to design an affordable wind-powered generator capable of producing enough electricity to charge a cell phone, power a radio, or operate LED lights for nighttime use. The generator is intended for rural, off-the-grid communities without electricity. Catapult Design’s product, a pico vertical-axis wind turbine, is designed to operate in low wind speeds while charging a
12v car battery – this battery will in turn power small electrical devices.

Duration: 20 sec

The setup and control station down at the NASA-Ames Research Facility wind tunnels in Mountain View, home for our wind turbine blade testing.

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Duration: 2 min 29 secs

AIDG biodigester intern, Christopher Salam, talks about his work with us in 2009. Chris has been assisting on biogas field visits, building and managing the demo biodigester installations at AIDG’s Guatemala office and testing biodigester effluent enrichment through vermicomposting.

Recorded Nov 2009.

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Intern Profile #3: Alex Surasky-Ysasi (AIDG Guatemala)

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Duration: 1 min 33 sec

AIDG Micro-Hydroelectric Intern Will Stone talks about his work with us in Guatemala. Will assisted in the upgrade of a Pelton Turbine at the Nueva Alianza community and designed a Mitchell Banki Turbine for use at the Corazon del Bosque ecopark.

Recorded Nov 2009.

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After months of competition, over 30 hours of business development training, and endless hours of practicing business pitches on October 24, 2009 six talented teams presented their business plan proposals in the final phase of AIDG’s business plan competition: GuateVerde 2009.

Needless to say, with such strong competitors and outstanding presentations, choosing a winner was not easy but it is with great pleasure that AIDG announces this year’s GuateVerde winner, Quetsol.

Quetsol is a new business that will provide high efficiency, low cost solar technologies that aim to increase access to basic illumination, electricity generation, and water pumping in Guatemala. Their mission is to help their clients save money and improve their quality of life through the use of appropriate technology.

Who are Quetsol?

Quetsol’s Director of Technology and Finance, Manuel Aguilar, holds a Master’s Degree in astrophysics and a Bachelor’s Degree in astrophysics and physics from Harvard University. His work experience includes founding and managing a global-macro hedge fund, working as a quantitative analyst for a private equity group, as well as significant astrophysics research.

Director of Marketing and Sales Juan Rodriguez has a Business Administration degree from the Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala City with an emphasis in finance and marketing. For the past four years, he had worked as a marketing manager for Proctor & Gamble Interamericas and formally owned and managed his own advertising agency.

The third member of the Quetsol team is Matthew King, their Director of Logistics and Operations. Mr. King is a recent graduate of Harvard University with a Bachelor’s degree in the Comparative Study of Religion. His studies have also taken him to Cuba, via the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, and Japan. His work experience includes solar photovoltaic and biodigestor installations in Nicaragua, appropriate infrastructure development advocacy in Brazil, and activism against deforestation in California.

Manuel Antonio Aguilar and Juan Fermín Rodríguez

Samples of Quetsol’s proposed product line

AIDG is greatly looking forward to working with this talented team and continuing in our mission to increase access to basic energy through local business support. Congratulations to Quetsol and thank you to all the staff, volunteers, reviewers, judges and supporters who made GuateVerde 2009 a huge success!

GuateVerde 2009 Judges: Ing. Saúl Santos, Dr. Dennis Rodas, Ruth Degolia, Peter Haas, Cat Lainé, Lic. Juan Molina

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AIDG would also like to announce that in response to the current dire situation at Lake Atitlan, we will be making a special investment in another GuateVerde team that is helping address the issue and support the communities most effected. Lake Atitlan, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Guatemala, has suffered from a harmful cyanobacterial bloom in the second half of 2009. The blue-green algae has spread across the surface of the lake covering it in a thick green scum. Local news reports cite sewage, agricultural runoff, and erosion related to deforestation as causes of the bloom.

Duration: 2 min 44 sec

The lake as it should be. Photo by Deborah Coleman

The lake now. Source: Prensa Libre

Flowercin/Altec, a team based out of Solola, will be working with the local municipality at the Lake to collect organic material (trash) and convert it into nutrient-rich and affordable organic fertilizer. Flowecin’s business was previously recognized in Technoserve’s Idea Tu Empresa competition in 2007.

We at AIDG love Lake Atitlan and hope that through Flowercin/Altec we can help in the effort to improve the conditions of the lake and all who rely on its health.

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Six entrepreneurs with ideas on how to promote renewable energy and sanitation in
Guatemala have proceeded to the semi-finals of GuateVerde, AIDG's 2nd business plan competition in Latin America and the Caribbean. These semi-finalists will compete for up to $50,000 in grants and small-business financing. The winners will be announced November 24, 2009.

Flowercin		FLOWERCIN (FLOWER, CREATIVITY & INNOVATION) is a young team that has previously been recognized by Technoserve. Their idea is to process the organic waste generated in the municipal market and slaughterhouse in Solola to reduce pollution of Lago Atitlan.
Quetsol		Quetsol is a new company that provides high efficiency, low cost solar solutions to meet their customers' basic energy needs. Their mission is to help their clients save money and improve their quality of life through the use of appropriate technology.
Sistemas Electricos		Sistemas Electricos started in 1984 as an energy consultancy. They want to perform energy audits for Guatemalan companies and organizations as well as design strategies to help their clientele to use their resources more effectively and sustainably.
SET Renova		SET Renova provides effective and affordable energy solutions for families, businesses and industries in Guatemala. They aim to be a leading provider of low-cost renewable technologies in the country, thus promoting sustainable development. Their main products are solar thermal units, solar water heaters, and solar panels.
Reciclaje PET		Reciclaje PET wants to tackle the massive plastic waste problem in Guatemala by recycling the PET plastic packaging material most commonly seen in soda or water bottles into household items such as brooms.
Ingecofun		Ingecofun, our 6th and final semi-finalist, is also interested in plastics recycling. They want to provide farmers and large landownders with a recycled plastic alternative to wood for fencing and enclosing their properties.

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On Wednesday, August 26 the AIDG office in Guatemala hosted a group of enthusiastic 9-11 years old in an exciting compost workshop in our very own garden. Students from the new environmental club at the Beehive School arrived with bags in hand filled with compost they collected from their homes days before. With our Biodigestor Intern Chris Salam on hand to guide the kids through the amazing world of anaerobic digestion and vermicompost, the wide-eyed group of future environmentalists got their hands dirty and put their food waste to action.

From a lesson on what is compostable to feeding the ARTI biodigestor, the workshop was a huge success. In a region where recycling is close to none and garbage bin sightings are rare, it’s exciting to see that the movement for environmental awareness indeed has no borders. Although Guatemala may not be moving as far or as fast along the “green” track as other countries, the Beehive School’s environmental club is a perfect indication that there is hope…and in this case in comes in the form of a dynamic group of 4th and 5th graders.

AIDG is pleased to be able to support local community education initiatives on environmental awareness and introduce alternative technological solutions to long endured energy, sanitation and water issues. We thank the Beehive School and their students for also responding to the current environmental situation and we invite others to do the same. We await you with open arms, big smiles, and composting worms!

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AIDG’s is pleased to announce its first business plan competition in Guatemala, GuateVerde! The winning business plan may win up to $50,000 in small business financing and support over two years. The proposed business should serve to increase access to energy, water or sanitation using renewable and sustainable technology. For more information: www.guateverde.com

Para AIDG es un gran gusto anunciar su primer concurso de microempresas en Guatemala! El Concurso Empresarial: Guate Verde premiará al equipo ganador hasta con $50,000 de financiamiento con dos años de apoyo empresarial. La empresa propuesta (y el producto) debe servir para aumentar el acceso a la electricidad, el agua, o el saneamiento usando la tecnología renovable y sostenible. Para más información: www.guateverde.com

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