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AIDG's 2006 Annual Report |
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Page 2 of 10
AIDG Retrospective: 2005-2006
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to
the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we
provide enough for those who have too little." -- FDR
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January 2005: AIDG gained non-profit status. In April of that year, an AIDG team conducted 3 community outreach projects for energy production in Guatemala: a biodigester installation for the orphanage, Casa Guatemala, and 2 axial flux windmills in communities in the Western Highlands.
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August 2005: XelaTeco, AIDG’s first incubated business, opened its doors with 10 talented engineers & metalworkers (7 men, 3 women). Later that fall, XelaTeco won a contract funded by the United Nations Development Program to install a micro-hydroelectric system for the Comunidad Nueva Alianza. |
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October 2005: Hurricane
Stan caused one of the Guatemala’s worst humanitarian emergencies. Vicious mudslides caused over 600 deaths and left thousands displaced. Working with our local partner, CEDEPEM, AIDG & XelaTeco distributed 750 emergency alcohol stoves to victims of the storm. |
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October 2005-2006: AIDG and XelaTeco conducted community outreach projects in the Quetzaltenango region of Guatemala. Together, they installed biodigesters and solar water heaters for several under-served communities, including the Comunidad Nueva Alianza. |
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June 2006: AIDG selected 11 graduate students for the inaugural year of its Internship Program. The internships give students international development and appropriate technology experience in developing countries. The 2006 interns colloborated with XelaTeco to improve product designs. |
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July 2006: AIDG launched TecoTours, its service learning program. A TecoTour is not merely a chance to observe another country’s culture or survey programs. It involves direct engagement. On the trip, volunteers work on meaningful projects in communities using technologies produced by XelaTeco.
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August 2006: An AIDG team assisted with a MIT D-Lab workshop in Haiti on how to make charcoal from agricultural wastes. A version of the D-Lab’s charcoal maker, with adaptations by Peter Haas, was successfully field-tested. The AIDG team also studied the feasibility of starting shops in Haiti and the DR. |
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December 2006: With help and coordination from AIDG, XelaTeco completed the micro-hydroelectric installation at Comunidad Nueva Alianza. The system is now providing 40 families (roughly 200 people) with green, predictable and reliable electricity in their homes for the first time.
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