Flooding in Cap Haitien [9.2.08]. Cap Haitien was relatively lucky compared to cities like Gonaives, Hinche and Cabaret which experienced devastating flooding.
In Haiti, the floodwaters from September’s onslaught of hurricanes are subsiding. People are trying to get their lives back on their feet, but progress and reconstruction are unbearably slow. In addition to work we’ve been doing to get a municipal biogas plant set up in Cap Haitien, we’re doing several smaller projects to help communities meet some of their most pressing energy needs.
While Gonaïves, Hinche and Cabaret experienced the most extensive flooding during the recent spate of devastating hurricanes to hit Haiti, the entire nation was affected. Cap Haitien and many towns in Northern Haiti were completely cut off from the capital, the primary source of essential items like gasoline. During this period, the cost of a gallon of gas sky-rocketed to $20. Charcoal supplies within Cap were also low and the city was suffering from a power outage that lasted several weeks.
Sugarcane charcoal training
To help people cope, AIDG Haiti is putting on several sugarcane charcoal trainings to show families how to make a charcoal alternative from readily available agricultural waste. The methodology was developed by Amy Smith’s D-Lab at MIT and we’ve talked it a lot on this blog here, here, and here.
An early training session in the countryside with Roudelin Augustin and Isnido Elvariste
Moment of truth
Pico-hydroelectric cell phone charging stations
While much disaster assistance is coming into Haiti from governments and NGOs, remittances and cash from family and friends make up a large share of how families are dealing. Cell phone access, thus, provides a lifeline for families affected by these horrible storms.
We’re planning to deploy 5 pico-hydroelectric systems to Haiti that can be used to charge cell phones and other small appliances. Our main target community is Borgne, a rural village near Cap Haitien which sustained heavy flooding, but is receiving little aid.
We are also looking into whether these units can be used to power UV water treatment. The success of that arm will depend on a lot of factors, but I’ll keep you guys in the loop.
We’ve budgeted $5000 to cover the cost of materials, transport and travel, but the project could end up costing us a lot more given how volatile the cost of goods are these days. Watch this space.
In 2007, Paul Polak founded D-Rev “to create a design revolution by enlisting the best designers in the world to develop products and ideas that will benefit the 90% of the people on earth who are poor, in order to help them earn their way out of poverty.” D-Rev seeks to do this by inspiring, educating, and connecting all of the people who are involved in the design process, from the inception to the purchase and use of products.
Please send a resume and cover letter to Stephanie Fry at stephanie {at] d-rev [dot} com. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE!
Advancing events
• Send out flyers/postcards to event coordinator for promotion
• Send out press releases to the event’s local media
• Maintain contact with Event Coordinator
• Make sure travel arrangements have been made
• Make sure event details are included in marketing / pr / communications outlets
Communications Coordination
Website Maintenance (www.paulpolak.com)
• Update Events Page with all event details in existing format
• Update Media Page with media logo, pull quote, date and link to article
• Make sure front page is updated on a weekly basis (newsflashes, tour dates, etc)
• Use Adobe Contribute software Website Maintenance (www.d-rev.org)
• Make sure all content is accurate and in line with 501c3 rules
• Use Adobe Contribute software Facebook
• Post all events, press releases and news on this site Youtube
• Post videos of work and share with others interested in similar work on youtube Newsletters / Constant Contact
• Constantcontact.com is the site we use for newsletters
• Send out newsletter once/month Paul Polak update
• This is a personal email that goes out once per month
• You’ll need an event summary, attaching the Events Calendar
• Recent media attention
• Recent efforts to market the book
• Any other news Video
• Software is Vegas Pro 8, on media computer at office
• Keep video media files
• Edit video footage to post on facebook, youtube, paulpolak.com and d-rev.com
• Make videos as necessary for proposals
Media Relations
• Send out press releases
• Work with local/national media
• Research journalists
• Research media outlet
Office Management
Make sure office is set up
• Phones
• Internet
• Hardware and software
• Lease agreements
• Order supplies
• Keep files Manage HR Outsourcing
• Payroll
• Health Benefits
• Dental
• 401k
• Workers Comp
Development Support
Grantwriting
• Creating skeletons for proposals
• Gathering information from staff to put into proper format for funder
• Creating budgets
• Sending thank you letters and reports to funders
• Proofreading and putting proposals into final format
Connections
• Facilitating connections
• Giving people information on how they can help financially
• Sending information on the organization to people Paul will be meeting with
• Setting up meetings
Personal Assistant
Manage Outlook / Email of Founder
• Check accounts daily
• Mange Calendar and Emails Schedule / travel packets
• Maintain Founder’s schedule
• Communication with family and friends about travel arrangements
• Book travel plans
• Book meetings
Peter Haas, Executive Director, all spruced up and in Dirty Jobs mode shoveling pig waste at a biodigester site in Guatemala
1. AIDG Executive Director, Peter Haas was named an Architect of the Future by the Waldzell Institute. The prestigious Austrian Institute honors young visionaries who work to realize a better world.
AIDG uses market mechanisms to get green technologies to people earning less than four US Dollars a day. AIDG combines product design, small enterprise incubation, and traditional outreach projects as a means to train the next generation of infrastructure service providers for poor communities.
AIDG provides their enterprises with $10,000-$100,000 in loans, training in technical and business skills, and access to engineering talent from top international universities. We also contract these SMEs to do a few traditional aid outreach projects as training and help them build a clientele among local villages and foreign NGOs.
A pilot enterprise, XelaTeco, in Guatemala is on track to earn $250,000 off a $55,000 loan from AIDG, installing hydroelectric, solar, biodiesel and stove systems in rural communities. To date XelaTeco has electrified four Guatemalan communities and provided renewable energy to a few thousand individuals. Currently, AIDG is in the process of securing funding partners to incubate 10 other enterprises like XelaTeco in Guatemala and Haiti over the next few years.
An interesting fact, you may not know about Pete:
Before founding AIDG, he worked both in the information technology field as a consultant in network topology and wireless and on a sustainable organic farm doing infrastructure improvement work.
We’re very proud to announce that our uber-intern Stephen Lee has joined the AIDG team as our Project and Operations Manager. Steve began working with us in Guatemala as part of his Master’s work in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University.
Duration: 1 min 4 sec
Here, Steve talks about his intern project and his work setting up our network and IT infrastructure in our Boston, Guatemala and Haiti offices.
More recently, Steve has completely revolutionized our ability to collaborate with external design partners/clients. He created a real-time communication framework for relaying field data collection in Guatemala to a client in Hong Kong [Humdinger Wind Energy]. He slashed our labor burden on that data collection saving us at minimum 500 man-hours over the course of this year and more realistically a few thousand man-hours. He is one of the big reasons why we can do so much with so little cash.
Yeah, he walks on water.
His more official bio:
Stephen obtained a Masters Degree in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University in 2008. His masters project was a study of collaborative and participatory relationships in the design, dissemination, and evaluation of appropriate technologies in rural communities. Stephen has worked extensively in the nonprofit and NGO sector, most recently as a project lead for TechSoup, helping to build a global platform for technology donations. Since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, he has also served as a volunteer for Forum Bangun Aceh, an Indonesian community-based organization helping affected communities through microenterprise and education projects. Stephen has a B.S. in Computer Science from Northwestern University.
In their second generation prototype, they have managed to increase efficiency as well as reduce noise, cleaning time and the cost of production compared to the initial version developed by researchers at the University of Hohenheim. The protos team is now prepping for large-scale production.
Duration: 7 min 9 sec
Job creation and the Protos
The protos technology was designed not only to provide people living in poor households with an alternative to wood, fire or charcoal as a cooking fuel, but also so that local job creation was part of the entire value chain. This applies to plant oil as well as the stove itself. As BSH introduces the second-generation protos cooker, we also remain committed to local production. To this end, the protos team is currently taking steps to establish local manufacturing capacity with a partner in Indonesia.
Everything but the burner, which requires some sophisticated tech, can be produced locally.
Early tests with 100 Filipino families (late 2004-2006) have attested to the commercial viability of the stove. In April 2006, the German company introduced protos to a broader swath of the public on the Leyte and Samar Islands in the Philippines. 500+ people have purchased the stove and “the local manufacturer now has the capacity to deliver up to 1500 units per year to the original local islands”. When Pete was recently in Austria, he met the head of Siemens Home Appliances division. They are working very hard to find partners and expand the availability of the stove to other developing countries.
Protos Base Specs
Power Range: 2-2.5 kW Efficiency: 45-55% (similar to an LPG stove) Fuel Type: plant and vegetable oils (e.g. jatropha, cocnut, cotton seed, castor, used oils, etc.) Emissions: approx. ten times lower than a high quality kerosene stove CO2 balance: neutral
Similar to a camping stove, Protos consists of a tank, a pump, a frame, a valve, a fuel line, and a burner. But all the materials are designed to meet the high temperatures the burner maintains—up to 1,400 °C—to ensure continuous vaporization and combustion with minimal emissions and soot formation. With Protos, the company hopes to replace traditional three-stone fireplaces, reduce carcinogenic emissions, prevent deforestation, and provide a cheaper means of preparing food in developing countries.
“In Darfur, some 2.2 million refugees cook their meals over inefficient wood fires in camps, with plenty of risks to refuel off-site. There’s nothing high-tech about this stove, but it slashes the time refugees need to spend in heightened danger.
AIDG Board Member, Adam Hyde, who has been working with Walmart in China on greening their activities tells us that our site are still blocked there. Harumph. In honor/protest of that fact, here is a great short video from Good Magazine on internet censorship.
Energy Savings Fair Date: Saturday, October 25 Time: 9AM to 3PM Location: Lexington High School, 251 Waltham Street, Lexington Speakers:
10:00 AM
Mark Durrenberger, New England Breeze: “Wind Energy in Massachusetts: The basics of wind energy including site evaluation, permitting, zoning, installation, and economics including grants, tax benefits, and net metering”
11:00 AM
Gray Watson, Lexington Resident: “Performance and Economics of a Lexington Solar House”
12 Noon
Todd Cataldo, Sheldon Corporation: “Building Energy Star Rated Homes”
1:00 PM
Mark Weissflog, KW Management Corporation: “Renewable Energy systems in Lexington:
The integration of solar electric, and solar hot water systems in homes and businesses in Lexington”
2:00 PM
Anne Kelly, Ceres: “The Still Inconvenient Truth of Climate Change: Solutions for the Home, the Marketplace and the US”
Description:
Save on your energy bills while you help the environment.
Experienced vendors and other organizations will provide you with the information and contacts you need to take immediate action.
Practical Solutions for Home and Business
Speakers in LHS Science Lecture Hall
More than 35 exhibitors with products and services to reduce energy bills in your home or business! Learn from the experts about: Solar PV, Solar Hot Water, Geothermal Heating, Building Insulation, Green Building, Energy Efficient Furnaces, Windows, Appliances & Lighting, Alternative Fuel Cars, Wind Power, Energy Audits, and More!
A&A Services, Inc
All-in-One and Moore Building Systems
Back Pages Books
Bay State Energy Solutions
Bedford Global Warming Action Coalition
Boehm ArchitectureKW Management
Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition
LIFE Lexington Interfaith Environmental
Mass Biofuel
Mass Energy
Massachusetts Climate Action Network
National Grid (Keyspan)
New England Breeze
Nexamp
Next Step Living
O’Neil Fine Builders
Quad Cycles
Sheldon Corporation
Sirois Electric
Solar Works
US EPA
Water Furnace
Window Woman of New England
Borrego Solar
Boston Green Building
Boston Green Realty
Carlisle Climate Action (mghanauer@yahoo.com)
Clean Power Now
Climate Technologies
Dr. Warm
Eco-Bridge Waste Watchers
Energy All Stars
FHI Windows
FPP/TheWeatherstrip
Global Warming Education Network
Home Depot
Hughes Energy
To give a little perspective on our own economic crisis, here is an hour-long documentary on Argentina’s economic collapse in 2001 and the factors that led up to it. Note: the film is not entirely objective, but offers an interesting perspective nonetheless.
Duration: 59min 5sec
For those of you with limited amounts of time, here is a breakdown of the first 20 minutes of the movie plus extra background info:
0:00 - 6:36
2001: The Argentine economy is on the verge of collapse. To prevent a further run on the banks, the government institutes restrictive economic measures that essentially freeze all bank accounts. Thousands of people take to the streets in protest. Initially the video shows peaceful cacerolazos, a popular type of protest in which people create a ruckus by banging pots, pans and other utensils together. There are calls for the resignation of President Fernando de la Rua and the rest of the administration responsible for the newest economic crisis. Protests unfortunately become increasingly violent. On December 19, 2001, “the government declares a state of siege giving it special powers to stop the worst looting and riots in a decade sparked by austerity measures and poverty” [Guardian.co.uk].The police react violently.
6:37 - 7:32
Filmmakers ask what has happened to Argentina that a relatively rich country could have so many people suffering from hunger and poverty.
7:33 - 13:15
The never-ending debt is posited as a major cause. From post-colonial Argentina’s 1st foreign loan from the British Bank Baring Brothers in 1824 to modern day debt to the IMF, the filmmakers contend that most loans where made for the benefit of big business and not the population at large. They briefly mention the private debt of multinationals operating in Argentina: Citibank, First Boston, Bank of America, Chase Manhattan, Deutsche Bank, Esso, Fiat, IBM, etc and set up Economic Minister Domingo Cavallo as a villain in the piece.
13:16 - 19:57 In this section, we get interviews with normal people who were affected by the bank freeze, plus a bit of a history lesson regarding “odious debts”. According to Wikipedia, “odious debt is a legal theory [in international law] which holds that the national debt incurred by a regime for purposes that do not serve the best interests of the nation, such as wars of aggression, should not be enforceable.”
Most notable quote: A director of the IMF, Karen Lissakers, representing the United States said, “If we applied the theory of odious Debt, the Third World’s debt would no longer exist.”
In the summer of 1919, as his two-year rule drew to a close, Tinoco arranged an exchange of cash from the Royal Bank of Canada for debt instruments issued by Banco Internacional de Costa Rica. When his regime crumbled, [*pg 145] Tinoco absconded with the funds. The successor government denied any obligation to repay, arguing that the Tinoco regime had been illegitimate, had not been internationally recognized, and could not even have been regarded as the de facto government of Costa Rica. Given these circumstances, it was argued that the debts were illegitimate and that the government of Great Britain, which, with the United States and France, had refused to recognize his regime, was estopped from seeking repayment on behalf of its subject bank.
The case was arbitrated before Chief Justice William Howard Taft, who found that the new Costa Rican government could not void unilaterally all financial obligations incurred by the Tinoco regime based on claims of illegitimacy. However, on a close analysis of the factual record, Chief Justice Taft further found that the circumstances of the loans in question were so irregular that they could not be regarded as debts of the state. Given domestic circumstances at the time of the loan, that the proceeds had been paid directly to Tinoco, and Tinoco’s reputation for corruption, Chief Justice Taft found that the loans had not been made in good faith and had been personal to Tinoco. The interpolation of patent corruption converted an otherwise valid state obligation to an odious debt.
Following Argentina’s economic collapse in 2001, 30 unemployed auto-parts factory workers marched into an idle Buenos Aires plant and refused to leave. This simple protest — the take — ultimately pitted the workers against their bosses, the banks and the Goliath of corporate globalization. Journalist and social activist Avi Lewis’s documentary chronicles the workers’ passionate mission to reopen the plant — and restore their lost dignity.
His more official bio:
