In January 2018, 10 Nicaraguan women joined GRID Alternatives for our 4th annual Mujeres del Sol (Women in Solar) project to install a solar-powered drinking water pumping system in the rural community of San Isidro, Nicaragua.
Residents of San Isidro live far away from the nearest city, where they buy basic supplies. There are approximately 300 people who live in San Isidro and do not have access to conventional electricity. Community members make a living working in small-scale agriculture and some residents have institutional jobs or harvest coffee for part of the year. Women in the community tend to have a very traditional role and children only have access to a multi-grade school.
This project is unique, because all of the volunteers who worked on this installation are Nicaraguan women interested in working or knowing more about the renewable energy industry. This is one of many projects organization-wide that GRID Alternatives will do in 2018 as part of our Women in Solar Initiative designed to encourage more women to join the solar industry.
The project consisted of installing a water pump powered by photovoltaic energy from start to finish. This project was in partnership with AVODEC, a grassroots non-profit based in Jinotega, Nicaragua that works toward the long-term sustainable development of rural communities through sanitation, health care, education, economic development, and housing. . A total of 23 families are directly benefitted by this project.
In May of 2017, GRID Alternatives worked with the San Isidro community, installing a solar system on the local school and another on the health clinic. We worked with the community again in August of 2017 to install 18 solar systems in the homes of the families of San Isidro. This solar-powered potable water pumping project was our third project in partnership with the community.
For GRID's annual Mujeres del Sol project, Nicaraguan women are invited to apply to participate in the hands-on PV installation. 10 women are selected and GRID covers all costs for their participation. Prior solar or renewable energy experience is not required of participants, many of whom are looking to grow their skills to build careers in the renewable energy field.
To see photos from this project, click here.
Interested in sponsoring GRID's Mujeres del Sol project in 2019?
Email international@gridalternatives.org and we'll get in touch about how you can support workforce development and opportunity for Nicaraguan women!