CHAGRES, PANAMA PROJECT
Overview:
Communities in Panama's Chagres National Park are unique in that they are restricted from having grid electricity due to their proximity to the country's water supply. The aim of ESW-NU in these communities is to improve their quality of life by providing local sources of energy through photovoltaic technology, e.g. solar-power.
Over the past three years, teams from ESW-NU have successfully implemented photovoltaic systems in the Chagres communities of Santo Domingo and Santa Librada. Currently, systems in Santo Domingo are illuminating community buildings, powering their only computer, protecting livestock, and even powering families' homes. After the joint installation with ESW trip members and the community's solar committee, Santa Librada's children have power at their school and a freezer with safe food to eat. The current team is working on powering more homes and installing more computers, as well as looking into a new project to design a machine that hulls rice without harming the environment.
In all of these related projects, the Chagres team's focus is on sustainability and education. These systems are student designed, but the installation and maintenance of these systems is in collaboration with the community and co-operative organization in the park. The team's students facilitate education about the systems and their installation, but it is the responsibility of each community to keep the systems running safely.
ACOCHA, a cooperative group in the Chagres National Park, has asked ESW-NU to continue work in the park by entering other communities. A future goal is to train a "solar expert" team within ACOCHA to troubleshoot, design, and eventually implement its own solar projects. ACOCHA has the potential to spread the team's efforts throughout Chagres and raise their own funds for future projects. The ESW-NU Chagres team will continue work with ACOCHA as it strives to make a bigger impact on the Chagres National Park.
Funding:
The current Chagres International Projects team is supported by a $75,000 EPA "P3" grant, which was awarded in the spring of 2007, and by funds raised through the GlobalGiving Foundation. Donations can be made at http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2066a.html.
The Chagres team has agreed to fund electrification of the remaining four houses in Santo Domingo, and the team has also agreed to supply one laptop to the community of Santa Librada. Supplies for the houses already electrified in Santo Domingo came from the Chagres team and the local government. Santa Domingo took the initiative in 2008 to write their own government grant, and they successfully secured funding to electrify 10 houses. Previous to that, the Chagres team supplied four houses with solar panels and taught the community solar committee how to install the systems. Similar plans are being discussed for the neighboring Santa Librada community. There are also pending plans to install a computer in Santa Librada's school. The Chagres team needs donations and/or funds to, at the very least, transport the spring and summer student trip teams, electrify the remaining four houses, and buy a laptop for Santa Librada. Securing more donations would allow the Chagres team to pursue new projects like the rice hulling machine and to enter new communities.
Donations are not limited to grant money. The team also accepts airline miles, consulting hours from solar professionals, and supplies.
Meeting Times:
TBD, if you are interested in this project please contact Maria Salazar.
Contact:
Maria Salazar
E-mail: mariasalazar2007@u.northwestern.edu
