MISSION AND OUTREACH

  In a world where roughly 2 billion people lack access to electricity, clean cook fuel, and adequate drinking water, the development of basic infrastructure is vital to begin breaking the cycles of poverty. Unfortunately the failure rate for NGO-financed infrastructure projects is disturbingly high due to inadequate maintenance long-term. The AIDG was formed in late 2004 to addresses this issue through the incubation of micro-manufacturing facilities for green infrastructure improvements in developing countries. It empowers local workers to use local materials to produce, sell, install and repair village and home scale solutions for energy production, clean water access, and sanitation. These manufacturing facilities are nurtured into self-sufficient businesses that in time pay their seed capital forward, offering money and technical training towards the creation of similar enterprises in other countries.

The AIDG uses these incubation relationships to advance four other programs:

1. An infrastructure outreach program, performing improvements for rural community organizations in need,
2. An educational and tourism program, giving hands on learning experiences for people from developed countries,
3. An online library of designs and information, and
   
4. A product distribution program that gives other NGOs access to the products of our incubated business. 

Through the spread of knowledge, training and actual goods we have a ground up impact on the lives of the rural poor.

XelaTeco and Beyond 

The AIDG began training at its first micro-manufacturing facility in Quetzaltenango (Xela) Guatemala in August. Since then XelaTeco has produced biodigesters, windmills, high efficiency stoves, pumps, water filters, solar LED lighting systems and micro-hydro products. It is installing a midscale, 40 home, hydroelectric system about 2 hours south of Quetzaltenango.

XelaTeco is comprised of 10 Guatemalan workers, all highly skilled with university and technical school backgrounds, many lacking other viable work opportunities. Our team is split between seven men and three women, with the varied skill set necessary for completing our variety of projects, from accounting and civil engineering to electronics and metalcasting.

In the next three years, we aim to open four additional shops. Two locations have been decided, one in the Dominican Republic, to serve the DR and Haiti, and the other in Thailand, to serve Thailand, Laos and Burma. For the other two shops, we are currently considering locations in Africa, Central Asia and Oceania.