Bringing Light to Darkness

Today the US EOS team and much of the Nicaraguan EOS team went out into the field to meet some of our beneficiaries and install some solar panels.

First we visited two women, each of whom had gotten our improved ovens in the last year. Miriam employs her daughter and they pull 12 hour shifts to turn about one hundred pounds of flour into cookies that get sold all over north Nicaragua. She is outgrowing our barrel-based oven and we are helping her install a larger and more conventional oven so she can continue to expand her business.

Miriam taking full advantage of her EOS oven.

Carolina started six months ago with one oven and now has two going. She and her husband turn 150 pounds of flour in cookies, including delicious anise cookies. I don't want to admit how many of those delicious cookies I ate today.  And the one day a week she isn't baking, she is going to school to become a lawyer.

Carolina packing up some delicious anise cookies for us.

Both of these women were such an inspiration for me. Long hours and an unpredictable water supply did not deter them from pursuing their dreams for a better life for themselves and their families.

Then we hopped in the truck to climb out of the city of La Trinidad and take a steep and uneven road up into the mountains. There are five communities and they have been seeing a lot of changes. A few years ago the road was widened and improved so that during the dry season, not only could two horses pass each other but trucks can make their slow and bumpy way up the mountain. Also, they grow chia and the market has been growing. So with increased access and funds, they are looking to improve their community. Thirty-two households banded together to negotiate a mass install of small solar electric systems.  We ask all our beneficiaries to contribute a share of the cost for their technology installation, but with the whole group vouching for each other, we could allow some families to pay over six months, as they sold their chia or other crops.

Now, fifteen years ago I installed a small DC solar electric system in my own home. I remember how thrilled I was to put away the kerosene lamp and be able to get high quality light with the flip of a switch. But I shared a common building that had electricity with others.

Salvador installing a panel.

These folks live high in the mountains and night time meant only smoky dim lights or darkness. Their homes are made of earth, they cook over open fires and live off the land.  We installed in each of three homes a panel, a battery, LED lights complete with switches, and a small inverter for charging cell phones.  The last installation finished after dark. We were working in a darkening house with headlamps and cellphones for light until we completed the installation. Then voila! I appreciated light so much more after working in the dark.

Alvaro installing a charge controller.

On the long drive back down the mountain, Alvaro, who is in charge of our solar program, told me about how rewarding it is for him to visit people who he had installed solar panels for in the past. He said it totally changes both how people live and how they feel about themselves. They can study, write or work after dark, obviously. But it also changes their sense of self. Instead of feeling like poor campesinos, they feel like they have joined the rest of Nicaragua and the world, living a life of dignity.

When they demonstrated their smoky kerosene lamps and as we worked in the darkening house, I could see what Alvaro meant. Solar electricity is a tangible leap forward, executed with a thoughtfulness for the environment. I was thrilled to be part of it.

Greg enjoying homemade beans, rice and tortillas from the house where we did one of the installs.