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.

For me being in Nicaragua - especially in the northern area of Jinotega where I am now puts things in perspective.  Continue Reading

Which is better, a solar lamp made by Bright New Ideas on site in Nicaragua or a home made kerosene lamp?

This video was filmed 29 March 2008 in the community of La Hermita, Jinotega in northern Nicaragua where there is no access to electricity and likely will not ever be any. These children have class in this building, which is also a house. As you can see, when I asked which is better, the answer was, “…the solar lamp is better because it gives more light and the kerosene lamp uses oil.”

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When Mario and I got word that having three modes of brightness on our light would probably be too complicated for people in rural Nicaragua, our team mate Matt who is sitting way up in snowy Minnesota rushed in for an international-style rescue operation. Continue Reading