Travel with GRID Alternatives to install both solar home systems and improved cookstoves for 11 households in Potrero Platanal, Boaco, Nicaragua while learning about household energy matters in rural communities. Potrero Platanal is home to 246 people. GRID worked with Potrero Platanal in 2013 to install solar on the local school, and again in 2015 to install 40 solar home systems to further transform the community with access to electricity. Impacts from access to solar energy over the years have included new educational possibilities, the ability to use electricity for lighting and activities at home, improved health and savings for families by eliminating dependence on kerosene, and increased opportunities for local entrepreneurs. In 2018, GRID will work with the community in both the Spring and the Fall to implement solar home systems and improved cookstoves.
The solar home systems you install during this trip will displace harmful kerosene lamps and provide each household with light and AC power outlets so families can use regular home appliances like lamps, cell phones, TVs, computers, and fans. Even in homes with access to clean energy through solar, the kitchen is a place where families are still exposed to harmful smoke from cooking over open flames.
Because women are responsible for cooking in the household and their children are often with them in the house, both women and children are disproportionately affected by the health and safety hazards that come with burning wood indoors. As household energy managers, women also spend a significant portion of their day gathering wood for cooking. Improved cookstoves are more efficient and require less wood, which means fewer emissions and saving women time. The culturally-appropriate improved cookstoves you will install are designed to minimize household air pollution and significantly reduce the risk of fire and health hazards.
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Activities & Logistics:
During your stay in Nicaragua with GRID, you'll have a chance to experience Nicaraguan culture, learn about community-centered sustainable development, and explore the roots of energy poverty. You will immerse in the rural community, staying with local host families and working alongside community members to install the project. Before and after the project, you will participate in other planned activities around the country. The trip fee is $1,800 per person, which covers all lodging, meals, transportation, activities, taxes, and fees during the 9-day stay in Nicaragua, and contributes to project costs. A 25% deposit ($450) is required to officially reserve your spot on the trip. Airfare and short-term international travel health insurance are not included. Participants can fundraise for the trip from their personal networks or pay out of pocket. Your trip fee makes this project possible.
Contact us to register for the trip and visit the project fundraising page to make your trip deposit and payment.
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