Renewable Energy for the Developing World- Hands ON

Solar Energy International's Renewable Energy for the Developing World-Hands-On (REDWHO) workshop combines classroom sessions with a strong emphasis on real-world projects in the community along with hands-on labs. You will have the opportunity to understand, design, and install systems that can dramatically improve the living conditions of the local people.

For millions of people around the world, renewable energy can replace dirty, expensive, and inconvenient energy. For those in the developing world, it may provide the first electric lights a family has seen, replacing darkness at sunset with the opportunity to read, study, or recreate after a day of work. This hands-on workshop teaches volunteers how to ensure quality renewable energy assistance to the people who are most in need.  

In the classroom portion, students will gain a basic understanding of all the major renewable energy system types, including solar-electricity, micro-hydro electricity, and wind-electricity, solar cooking, solar hot water, and methane biogas digesters in developing world applications. Participants will learn the components, applications, and limitations for each system type, and will be able to analyze a site and make suggestions on the most appropriate renewable energy technologies. 

Participants will join with Sol Verde, a women's solar cooking cooperative from Guanacaste Costa Rica, to build and use solar cookers. Participants will also help install a small solar-electric system on an un-electrified rural school, and will work together with a Sustainable Harvest Honduras to build a methane biogas digester for the Durika community. These hands-on installations give participants the opportunity to interact with local members of the community and experience both the challenges and satisfaction of working within the developing world. 

About the Location:

This workshop is held at Fundacion Durika, a private reservation of approximately 18,500 acres located 17 kilometers northeast from Buenos Aires city. This fascinating region is off the beaten tourist past, mainly due to the terrain difficulties and the fact that there is no substantial infrastructure available to visitors. For this reason, the Dúrika community offers a special opportunity to know and enjoy this part of Costa Rica, as very few people have done before in the past. 

Join us for this special experience, not only to learn about renewable energy, but to learn about a different way of life, and challenge your assumptions about how we can best live on the planet. 

Participants must be willing to leave behind drugs, alcohol, meat, hot showers, and other amenities of 20th century life for a week of experiential learning. All lodging is dorm style; if you have special needs, please let us know. 

Logistics:

Participants must arrive at the San Jose, Costa Rica airport by 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 15, 2010, and will be returned to the same airport by 2 p.m. on Monday, May 24, 2010. Please allow enough time for the vagaries of travel when you schedule your flights. 

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Topics include:

• Solar Electricity for Rural Development
• Wind Electricity
• Micro-Hydro Electricity
• Solar Hot Water and Water Purification
• Solar Cooking and Food Drying (with Sol Verde, a women's cooperative)
• Technology Transfer and System Maintenance
• Methane Biogas Digesters (with Consecha Sostenible Honduras)
• Social & Cultural Issues of Working in the Developing World
• Hands-On Installations in the Local Community

For more details, download the following pdf