John Barrie briefing volunteers[/caption]Ernest Dempsey — Rising population and poverty in the third world is also accompanied by increasing needs and the growing importance for providing sustainable solutions. There are some non-profit organizations with down-to-earth humanitarian project ideas which will not only help the poor population in the third world but also contribute to environmental amelioration on a global scale. The Appropriate Technology Collaborative (ATC) is such an organization which is currently working on a project that will bring light into some of the poor people’s lives in Guatemala.
ATC is the creation of John Barrie (Executive Director of ATC), a former architect/designer who, in his younger days, got hooked on the concepts in E. F. Schumacher’s “Small is Beautiful.” John is the creative force that generates and coordinates most of what ATC does, largely by inspiring student teams and other volunteers.
ATC was founded in 2008 to work side-by-side with communities in developing countries to design, develop, demonstrate, and distribute affordable and sustainable technological solutions that empower people and promote dignity. In 2009, ATC received 501(c)3 nonprofit status. Since its inception, ATC has provided technical support and volunteers for collaborations in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and India, working side-by-side with communities to build, install, test, and monitor solar lighting; a system for providing drinking water and irrigation; a Solar Vaccine Refrigerator (SVR); a treadle pump; an acoustic engine; a solar coffee dryer and inexpensive medical diagnostic tools.
Craig Harvey, 58, from Ann Arbor, MI, started his career as an engineer (mechanical) with the Environmental Protection Agency Ann Arbor (the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory) doing all sorts of analysis and modeling tasks in support of regulations to control air pollution from fuels, vehicles and off-road equipment. He has been retired almost three years, enjoying various types of volunteer work ranging from cat comforting at the Humane Society to mediating small claims court cases. He got involved with ATC in early 2012, helping on a solar power project in Guatemala. He is now on the board (Treasurer) of ATC and here we will learn from him about the Global Giving project in Guatemala.
Ernest: Craig, when and how was the idea of Global Giving project conceived?
Craig: This particular project was the natural next step for ATC, building on our prior collaborations with people in Guatemala and elsewhere. We have learned how much difference a little inexpensive light can make for families – allowing productive endeavors like weaving/sewing and reading/homework to be done after dark much less expensively than the cost of kerosene, currently used for this purpose. And burning kerosene indoors results in serious amounts of unhealthy smoke for everyone in the family to breathe. When Global Giving heard about this project, they approached us about entering it into their “Girl Effect Challenge”. While there is certainly plenty of sunshine in Guatemala much of the year, this same low-power technology would work just fine in New York and New Jersey for providing a little light and cell phone charging ability for people suffering from power outages.
Ernest: What particular area in Guatemala your project will focus on?
Craig: Most of our work in Guatemala has been in villages around Lake Atitlan, homes to many indigenous Mayan people. These have either no grid power or unreliable grid power. There are also larger towns around the lake that draw significant tourist traffic. Population has been growing considerably. The project will provide immediate benefit for: (a) the 32 Mayan women who take the class and can start earning income and respect running a women’s solar power cooperative; (b) 32 families will have solar lighting installed in their homes, so they won’t need to rely on more costly and less healthy kerosene lamps; and (c) two commercial facilities will also have solar power installed. The ongoing benefits spread out much wider – this project will form the template for many other non-profits to create similar opportunities in different parts of the world. In the past several years, feedback from our overseas partners show NGOs that copy our programs serve, on average, over 1,000 people each. Now consider, we have shared our work with over 1,000 NGOs. Considering this sort of leverage, when fully implemented, our Mayan Power and Light program will reduce carbon emissions by over1,000,000 lbs per year and our NGO partners will be able to do the same. People connected with these projects around the world will be healthier and more productive, without relying on handouts from anyone.
Ernest: One question that naturally comes to mind is why women – why not train men or both men and women in technical skills?
[caption id="attachment_17009" align="alignright" width="300"]
Mayan girls learning solar installation[/caption]Craig: We provided the hardware, curriculum and initial instructors for the Circuits and Solar class this past spring at a vocational high school in the village of Santa Cruz. The course was instantly very popular, but we learned that although girls were interested, they wouldn't take a technical class like that with boys. Thus, this new project was born to train women mentors first and then provide the class for just young women.
Ernest: How will this project benefit the poor children in that area?
Craig: Guatemala is the 3rd poorest country in the western hemisphere. Malnutrition is endemic with 1 of every 2 children chronically malnourished. Lack of education, particularly for girls, keep women and families trapped in poverty. Providing girls with education and opportunity can break the cycle of poverty. When a Mayan woman receives more education, she marries later and has healthier children who in turn are more likely to stay in school. Education about electronics and solar power can provide jobs and sustainably improve the quality of life for both students and families who receive solar power. Students who take “Circuits and Solar” will have the skills and support necessary to start small businesses selling and installing affordable solar power to homes that lack electricity and to families who want to save money.
Ernest: Are you collaborating with anyone, individuals or organizations, on this project?
Craig: ATC’s biggest resource is our volunteers. Prior to 2012, we focused solely on student design teams from various colleges/universities around the U.S., especially ones in our home state – the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Michigan State University in East Lansing. But none of this would work without (a) our funding partners such as the IEEE Foundation and Rotary International Foundation, and (b) the many individual donors who are inspired by the vision and effectiveness of ATC.
Ernest: Please tell us what budget you have in mind for the project and also whether it will come entirely from public donations?
Craig: For an initial step, we are looking at $7,500 to provide basic training in electricity, solar power, and installation to 32 young Mayan women, who have already expressed interest in the class. This budget will cover training of women mentors and providing training materials for the students such as small solar panels, batteries, charge controllers, and necessary tools. The budget for the bigger vision of helping them set up a women’s solar power cooperative business is more like $40,000, which gets them into doing full-scale residential and commercial solar power installations, including ATC’s availability to help them deal with unforeseen questions/problems that come up during the first couple years. We are looking for most of this initial funding to come from individual donors, which will assist in our quest for grant funding for much of the bigger vision.
Ernest: How can interested readers donate to your project? Will the donors be updated on the status and progress of the project?
Craig: Anyone can donate directly to this project via the Global Giving website:
http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/solar-women-of-guatemala-education-and-business/.
If they donate even just $10 during November it will help us boost our ranking in the Global Giving "Girl Effect Challenge" which recognizes the wonderful ripple effects of specifically empowering women, who tend to use earnings more for the betterment of their own family and community. The top six projects in terms of number of unique donors (not $) in November, as well as another six projects chosen on merit, will get highlighted exposure all year, resulting in MUCH more funding for us to put into the project.
And the Global Giving site will also have updates/reports on how this project is progressing.
Ernest: And if this project proves a success, will you consider running similar projects in other third world countries?
Craig: Our main focus is on creating a “template” for other NGOs to follow. To help this along, one of our goals is to start training NGOs, so they can take the Circuits & Solar class to women in their own areas.
Ernest: Craig, thank you very much for telling our readers about your initiative! Please do keep me posted on how it all goes.
Visit the organization's website http://apptechdesign.org/to learn more about its work.
