This is the first in a series of guest blog posts by Alissa Emmel about renewable energy projects in Nicaragua.

I just got back from three weeks in Nicaragua, and so Aaron has asked me to write some guest posts about the application of renewable energy and appropriate health technologies that are helping the rural poor in Nicaragua. In each of the posts I will discuss a problem and what the local communities are doing to provide a solution.

I went to Nicaragua with a group of people through Solar Energy International (SEI), an awesome training organization based out of Colorado. The first half of the trip we spent working with solar energy and the second half we spent working on wind energy and water purification. For the solar portion we went to Sabana Grande in the rural north of Nicaragua near the border with Honduras. There we spent a week with the Solar Women of Totogalpa.

The local women (and men) of the Solar Women of Totogalpa provided us with trainings on solar photovoltaic (PV) installation and solar cooking. The Solar Women cooperative began as a result of training from Grupo Fénix, an organization that started as a club of students at the National Engineering University. Grupo Fénix’s mission is to create sustainable lifestyles through technical and cultural exchange, and to promote and investigate renewable energy technologies.

First off, the women (and men!) were amazing. The members of the local community were our instructors (with translation support provided by SEI). If you are ever in Nicaragua I highly encourage you to go to Sabana Grande to see their solar center; it is an absolute inspiration. In addition to constructing a solar oven, we also learned how to install solar panels and I made my own solar battery charger. I was able to stay with a wonderful host family in the community and got to see first-hand the impact that renewable energy could have in a rural community.

For the second half of the trip we were in Bluefields and Kahkabila on the Atlantic Coast. There we partnered with blueEnergy, an NGO that focuses on improving lives in marginalized communities. They do this by integrating appropriate technology transfers (with a focus on wind, water and health) with capacity building and the empowerment of local communities. There I got to help repair a wind turbine, build a biosand water filter and look at some new well technologies that were being implemented. In the coming posts, I will describe each of these projects in more detail and show how they are making a difference in people’s lives.

Other posts in this series:

1. Renewable Energy Projects in Nicaragua
2. The problem: cooking with firewood
3. The solution: solar ovens
4. Re-seeding the Forest
5. Is renewable energy practical?
6. The Solar Women of Totogalpa
7. Making a biosand water filter