We’re back in Managua again.  We are going to be doing some searching for packaging and logistics for our solar lamp.  But while we’re searching here, I thought I would point out something I saw on the front page of the national newspaper today…about another American organization…also currently in Managua…searching for something else.

It’s time to reflect and not think about solar lamps for a bit. Mario, Victorino the director of our partner organization and I went out for a short trip into the country yesterday. I feel like every time we head out there I see something new. Continue Reading

Above is a video from El Sardinal, Noel Lopez talks about his Kerosene lamp in comparison to the solar lamp.

Yesterday, we took a two hour drive out to the “dark zone,” places with no access to electricity – Escambray and El Sardinal. I have lived out in this area twice in my life – once for about a week – but I am still completely astounded by the landscape. There is an 80-foot waterfall cascading down from a white-rock mesa in the distance. Continue Reading

Above is an interview with a Jinotega community member on his thoughts about the lamp. This was during a small workshop in which we created an angled base for the solar panel. I will explain the angled base in another post. Today I will be going to the countryside, so come back tommorow for some videos of what the solar lamp will be like in the field.

Above is a gentleman named Fransisco Gonzales, affectionately known as “El Chino” accross Jinotega evidently because of his east-Asian appearance. He is the director of a local secondary school and a professor of electronics at a local college. He came up with a great idea for protecting the solar panel, as well as creating a 18 degree angle to the ground which is optimal in Nicaragua. As you can see we had to improvise our tools for doing most of the work. I was pretty surprised by this solution for cutting wood.