February 26, 2012
Everybody Wins When Kids Eat!
These are children in Dieuxiemme Plaine enjoying food provided by our Jatropha farmers in repayment for loans to extend their gardens. Our latest win-win in Hait.
February 26, 2012
Progress Reports from Haiti
Good news from the field. I arrived in Haiti Wednesday and hit the ground running. As it is when you work here, either a lot happens fast or nothing seems to happen at all. Since last summer the trips have all been of the first type. Fast paced and full of exciting motion as we launched and now seek to grow the IEEE/Sirona Haiti Rural Electricity Program and the Jatropha Program.
Our Jatropha program is scaling quickly. We will plant 100,000 new trees this year moving quickly once the rains start next month. Over 1,000 farmers are signed up to collect seedlings from our nurseries and care for them in their small farms. From its start, Sirona has worked to build sustainable communities. To that end we work with alternative energy and we support those who care for and educate children in our communities. During our first year we raised the money to feed the children at three orphanages 1/4 of the years food. Never wishing to create total reliance we have assisted as we could when donors wish to help children.
Last year we had some farmers who wished to expand their gardens but needed money to allow them to do so. Sirona lent ten farmers $50 each, and rather than seek repayment in cash we asked that the farmers bring $50 worth of food to the local school and the committee in charge of the Jatropha Program would keep track of the fulfillment of the loans. We reduced the administrative burden on our side and we were able to ensure that hundreds of children would receive lunch at school. The first meals were served this past week and there are many, many happy people in the community. It is wonderful when everybody wins.
I spent Thursday and Friday in Grand Goave with our Country Manager, Lexidan Edme. It was a coincidence that I was in the city at the same time the Edmes were, so they brought me out for our meetings that were planned for the weekend. In Haiti you take opportunities when they are in front of you. We discussed deployment of a new IEEE product, the Light Stick, as well as our current status with USAID funding proposals. I had lengthy interviews with our field technicians and have a good understanding of what is happening at each of our six SunBlazer sites. Bottom line: its all still a success.
January 27, 2012
IEEE/Sirona: Rural Electrification Project Ramping Up
The IEEE/Sirona Haiti Rural Electricity Project is designed to do many things in addition to bringing light to rural people in Haiti. The project is economically sustainable, and relies upon a customer base that pays a monthly fee for electric service. The cost to the Haitian family is $6.70 per month (or 250 Haitian Goude), a price set to be less than they were paying for kerosene, candles and cell phone charging.
In addition, our work encourages entrepreneurship and development of a formal economy. Customers pay their fee to the local Operator who runs the solar 1.5 Kw SunBlazer unit and pays a monthly lease to Sirona. In this way our economics are stable and we can both service the equipment for the long term, and roll revenue into more units and supply energy to more homes. Every unit creates a business. Finally, our program is designed to create jobs. We have worked hard to prove that our model works, and thanks to the rural people of Haiti we have shown that we can deliver a SunBlazer into rural areas and successfully collect payments for seven months. We have not had a single incident of theft or damage to a unit, every home has paid, and every Operator has paid. Now it is time to create more jobs: assembly jobs.
Over the holidays both the Sirona and IEEE Community Solutions Initiative (CSI) teams rolled up our sleeves and readied ourselves to do a lot of work in Haiti this spring. USAID is working with us on potentially funding two grants, one which will place another 18 SunBlazer units in rural Haiti in the next few months, and the other to build out an assembly facility in Port au Prince so that Haitian jobs will be created to build more SunBlazers. Nine units are currently in New York partially assembled. These units were donated by the IEEE and their volunteers are preparing not only the units, but also the assembly processes, for delivery in Haiti. IEEE and Sirona team members will work together to establish Haitian assembly of SunBlazers beginning with the completion of the first nine units in Haiti. These units are destined for St. Marc where USAID/OTI have projects underway. Then, nine new units will be built in Haiti and sent to communities currently on Sirona's waiting list. There are many contractual details to work out, so much of the work this month has been done from California via e-mail and in New York by the IEEE members. We anticipate returning to Haiti sometime next month. Our Haitian In-Country Manager, Lex Edme (pictured above) has already made trips to St. Marc with OTI to evaluate potential Operators in communities selected by the OTI team.
President Martelly recently stated that his government's goal is to reach 200,000 homes in two years. Sirona will be working alongside to accomplish this goal. Our Sirona and IEEE/CSI teams are made of big thinkers and action oriented people. We dream big, we work hard, and we enjoy seeing the positive change that our work brings in rural Haiti now, and eventually in other countries where energy poverty persists.
December 31, 2011
Sustainable Change Occurring in Haiti through Alternative Energy
This week brings the end of three years of work in Haiti. As a friend commented recently, we really have come a long way. I am thrilled and amazed by the progress we have made towards our mission to build sustainable communities by placing the power to create, use and sell alternative energy into the hands of the poor. The most exciting thing to report about 2011 is that it was the year in which we empowered Haitians to change the lives of people in their communities, sustainably.
With over 100,000 jatropha trees planted (and an additional 150,000 funded for next year) we will soon see dramatic economic changes in rural Haiti. Each tree produces enough oil-rich seeds to create a gallon of oil that is a drop-in replacement for diesel fuel. This means that for the next 25-45 these 100,000 trees will bring economic improvement to rural Haitians while the trees improve soil and reverse deforestation. A critical byproduct of producing jatropha oil is a charcoal replacement briquette that is made by pressing the residue or seedcake from the pressing process. Our nurseries each produce 10,000 seedlings every three months and farmers eagerly take these seedlings to their land and plant them without displacing any food crops. Our press needs repairs and as soon as it is ready we will make our first oil. 2012 promises to be another incredible year.
We end 2011 with 240 homes that have their first electricity. Far from the grid these homes are serviced by the IEEE/Sirona Haiti Rural Electricity Program. The IEEE worked with Sirona to design and ultimately deploy six Sunblazer units. These are 1.5kW solar charging stations run by entrepreneurial Operators. Each Operator has forty customers who pay a modest $6.70 per month for basic electricity. Customers receive an energy kit that has a rechargeable battery, lights and the ability to charge cellular phones. When the kit is exhausted (five to seven days on average) the customer brings the battery kit back to the charging station and three hours later the kit is ready to return to their home. The IEEE and the Sirona team have been thrilled to see that, due to our culturally appropriate business plan, all 240 customers have paid every month, every Operator has made his lease payment to Sirona keeping the program sustainable, and nothing has been stolen or damaged since deployment in June.
This program has had such success that the Haitian Secretary of Energy has announced that Sirona Haiti's electricity program is the model for electrification of rural villages. USAID is supporting the program by building Sirona a Haitian assembly facility. This spring the first Haitian built Sunblazers will roll out to rural communities and provide the first electricity many have ever had--at a price lower than what they are currently paying for noxious kerosene, candles and cell phone charging.
We are very excited for next year, the groundwork has been laid for amazing progress to occur in 2012. As the year ends we thank all of our partners and friends in Haiti, our supporters, all of our donors, all of the IEEE volunteers and all of the funding provided by the IEEE for the Sunblazer pilot units. We thank the Government of Haiti for including Sirona in the energy sector strategic planning process and inviting us to display our unit at the Caricom Energy Week events. Many have read the article in World Magazine, and we appreciate all of the kind words and donations that this article has generated. Thank you, one and all. 2012 promises to be a very exciting year full of progress in Haiti and beyond. Year end donations are graciously accepted by the Sirona Cares Foundation!
December 20, 2011
Jatropha Program Thriving with 100,000+ Trees Planted
It's amazing what happens to a community when you give them options for a better future. It is exciting, and incredibly rewarding. Since 2009 we have been working with rural Haitians and refining our Jatropha Program. Because Haitians developed the plan there is a strong sense of ownership and pride associated with the work of planting these trees.
Jatropha is a shrub that produces non-edible fruit. The seeds of this fruit are rich in oil, and this oil is extracted with a mechanical press. Once pressed the oil does not need further refining to run in most diesel engines (generators, trucks, tractors, etc.). Jatropha oil can be mixed with diesel fuel. This will bolster the economics in rural areas, and lower carbon emissions in Haiti. As if this isn't enough, the byproduct of the pressing process (seedcake) can be compressed into an alternative charcoal briquette. This will also generate income in rural Haiti and protect the vulnerable island from further deforestation.
Today we have over 1,000 participating farmers in southern Haiti and over 100,000 trees have been planted. Hillsides have been bolstered, soil improved, and no food displaced by the process because we either inter crop Jatropha at safe distances or use it as a border crop (because animals do not eat it). Each of these trees should yield enough seed to create a gallon of oil each year. If we assume the price of a gallon of oil to be $5.00, that means these communities will bring in $500,000 a year. Jatropha lives 25-45 years, so in 25 years these communities will have made $12.5 million dollars. The proposition is exciting, and encouraging.
More encouraging was the news we received from the JDT Foundation last month. Named for Joseph Dennis Thomas, the Foundation focuses upon improving education, the environment and the economics in Haiti. Sirona is honored to have received grants from the JDT Foundation which will pay for the planting of our next 100,000 trees in 2012. In addition, another grant from Dupont will allow us to plant even more trees and begin the process of producing jatropha oil this spring.
It has taken a lot of hard work to get here, but it is gratifying to see the difference that Haitians are making. The program is run as a partnership with Sirona funding nurseries to generate seedlings, and the trees are then planted voluntarily by farmers to help improve their land. We are always looking for ways to create even more sustainability, so this past year we allowed 10 farmers to "borrow" $50 each to extend their farms. Rather than be repaid in cash we elected to have these farmers pay back the debt in food to the local school's lunch program.
Many thanks to the JDT Foundation, to Dupont, and to our supporters who have gotten our friends in Haiti this far.
November 25, 2011
Giving Thanks & Counting Blessings from My Work in Haiti
Happy Thanksgiving to all who read this. Growing up Thanksgiving Day meant family trips to visit my grandparents. Everyone came, my cousins, aunts, uncles, and the special not-really-family members like Miss Jean and a hippy named John Fowler who were adopted by our family. My grandmother cooked, and our family enjoyed a few days together. I did not appreciate the reality of all I had to give thanks for, it was simply my life.
I have been working in Haiti for three years now, and for three years my Thanksgiving is completely transformed from those before. I am humbled by my blessings, and see my life as filled with relative abundance. I am deeply grateful and appreciate things more than ever. My health, my home, my family, and the simple fact that we have food to eat and water to drink every day without question.
Many people ask me if it makes me sad to work in Haiti, to see grinding poverty and it's effects. Isn't it depressing? A great number of people believe that I and others like me that work in Haiti deserve high praise for our work. I would love to address both of those points here, today, on Thanksgiving.
First, no, it does not make me sad to work in Haiti, and if you know Haiti you would know why. I am not blind to the poverty, but when I think about Haitians I think of them as my friend Clay describes them, Haitians smile with intention. I am more interested in the positive attitude that our partners have, and excited by the possibilities for change. Haiti is moving forward and it is an exciting time to work there. I am amazed by the myriad of solutions Haitians find for the issues they face daily. When something breaks it is repaired with unrivaled ingenuity. When problems arise communities gather to solve them. With 80% unemployment every day involves the chore of finding a way to bring economic value to ones life, and as with repairs, the ingenuity is inspiring. I have never been anywhere in my life where a courteous hello is the expected norm all day, every day, to every stranger you meet. "Tap-taps" are converted pickups that carry loads of people daily, and it is rude to board a tap-tap without greeting every rider on board with either "Bonjou" or "Salut".
Children walk arm in arm to school. Beautiful ribbons adorn the complex braids on the heads of little girls. Uniforms of every color line the side of every road, in the city and in the villages. Women walk with grace skillfully balancing inconceivably large parcels on their heads. Haitians have incredible posture. If poverty is all you see in Haiti you are missing the point. The culture is complex and the people are warm, they love to laugh. Celebration is constant as every hurdle of life is conquered.
To the second point, whether people like myself deserve praise for working in a place like Haiti, for myself I will say that I do not. If you love something, like I love creating sustainable solutions for rural Haitians, the joy of the work fills you, and thanks are unnecessary. If I could bottle and sell the incredible feeling I get from this work I would have at my disposal the most addictive drug ever made. I speak for many friends when I say this, the secret is out: we love what we do, we love Haiti, and we don't deserve special attention for what we're doing.
In giving thanks today I will mention my special blessing, like Miss Jean and John the hippy I am blessed to have been adopted as a not-really-a-family-member by Haiti. I am greatly enjoying the forward progress of our IEEE/Sirona Haiti Rural Electricity Program and thrilled by the government's adoption of our program as the method for providing energy to rural homes. I am incredibly proud of our Jatropha farmers who have planted more than 100,000 trees this year. I am excited, and thankful, and again I wish all who have made it to the end of this post a very Happy Thanksgiving!
November 10, 2011
Latest from Haiti: Reliable Energy Becoming a Reality for Haitians
Energy Week in Haiti was a great event. It was held at the Historical Sugarcane Park in Tabarre which was a beautiful site. Every day of the three day conference was so well attended that there was not enough seating for the attendees in the conference room. It was great to meet so many people that are making huge strides to bring alternative energy to Haiti. As always, the IEEE/Sirona Rural Electricity Program was well received. Even the President of the utility asked us to place a unit in his home town.
The new Secretary of Energy, Dr. Rene Jean Jumeau, arranged the conference. Haiti has established its strategic plan for energy throughout the country. The larger cities will be handled by the national utility, the towns will utilize micro grids, and the villages will be lit by Sirona's model (solar-based generating stations that recharge home kits for customers). Quite literally, this country is going to be lit and a great amount of the energy supplied will be from alternative energy sources.
We are actively engaged in organizing Haitian assembly and local suppliers of our equipment, the next step will be hiring and training a work force and get our units rolling out to villages. The IEEE has donated an additional nine units, so we have a lot to do. I am thrilled and amazed by the rapid progress that the Haitian administration is making in this area.
President Martelly set energy as a very high priority for his administration and the speed with which this is coming together is exciting. I spent the morning looking at assembly facilities and met great suppliers at the conference. It is all truly coming together.
As if that isn't enough exciting news, Sirona has applied for an Intel Foundation grant to fund equipment for tele-education and tele-medicine in the villages where our units are co-located with schools. We won't know before the end of the year, but it is a very exciting proposal. We have created the very unique situation by placing reliable energy in these remote villages. Perhaps the children there will be learning on computers, and the adults gaining access to training and information. Like everything we do, the element of sustainablility is built into the model. The facilities can also generate revenue by operating at certain hours as a cyber cafe or providing entertainment like broadcasts of soccer games or movies. Exciting things, life changing things, become possible with energy.
November 04, 2011
CARICOM Energy Week: Sirona Participating in Haiti's Event
Sirona has been invited back for another presentation in Haiti of our IEEE/Sirona Haiti Rural Electricity Program. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is an organization of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy. Renewable energy is one sector in which CARICOM works to support its member nations, and next week is CARICOM Energy Awareness Week.
Haiti is participating as are many other CARICOM member countries, with it's own program entitled: Energy: Cornerstone of Haiti's Reconstruction. As I mentioned in an earlier post, after participating in the strategic planning process of the Haitian energy sector I am excited by Haiti's committment to exploration and implementation of alternative energy solutions.
If you happen to be in Haiti, I will be at the event Monday-Wednesday in Tabarre at the Parc Historique de la Canne a Sucre which is across from the American Embassy. On Tuesday at 11:15 I am scheduled to speak about our innovative Sunblazer program which brings both energy and economic development to communities unreached by Haiti's grid. We are borrowing our Sunblazer unit from St. Etienne for display. The event will be attended by government officials, the media and the general public.
We are receiving very positive attention in Haiti and I am very excited about next year.
October 12, 2011
Hear What Haitians Say about the IEEE/Sirona Haiti Rural Electricity Project!
The following video is footage that I took during the trip a couple of weeks ago. I went to Haiti to visit all six of our units and interview our Operators, Field Technicians and most importantly, our customers.
- All 240 original customers are paying their leases each month (roughly $6.70 US) for basic energy in their homes supplied by rechargeable battery kits.
- All six Operators love the equipment and every one has asked for more.
- Over 2,000 homes are on our waiting list at the moment, and all of those are within the vicinity of an operating system.
As we have the funding to expand we will reach many people and provide a life-changing service. Because our model is economically sustainable, it provides a rate of return to potential investors.
Thanks to the IEEE volunteers who built and funded these six stations, to the Haitian government for inviting us to their energy sector strategic planning workshop, to the amazing supporters of our work, and most of all, to our Haitian customers and crew who have made this a success.
We are currently raising funds to expand our program and set up in-country assembly facilities. Please watch the video and consider a donation of any size. Many thanks, in advance!
October 06, 2011
Haiti's Energy Sector Invites Alternative Energy Solutions
Last Monday and Tuesday I was invited to participate in the strategic planning process for the Government of Haiti's energy sector. It was a fascinating workshop focused upon one goal: getting energy to Haitians. President Martelly spoke to us thanking us for our assistance. He pointed out that Haiti must develop energy solutions so that commerce, education and healthcare can move forward. His administration has named energy as a key issue, and it was very clear that this group was focused on solutions, not talk.
The utility, EDH, has an overwhelmed grid which needs significant improvement to begin serving the population effectively. It was clear that this will take years, and rather than wait the goal of this workshop was to consider alternative energy projects that could help bring energy to Haitians beyond the grid. Sirona was invited to give a 20 minute presentation and it was very well received. Rather than promote studies, we were able to give evidence of a concrete program that is providing an energy solution to 240 homes today in rural Haiti. During my presentation I turned on the light from a home kit.
It was, needless to say, very impressive that our IEEE/Sirona Haiti program had 100% payment for three months straight from our original customers. There was no incident of theft, loss or damage to any of our equipment, and the waiting list exceeds 2,000 homes eager to participate. I am thrilled to announce that following this workship we are working on several fronts to scale our pilot in the coming months and begin Haitian assembly of new SunBlazer units. There were other solar, hydro and wind groups that gave impressive presentations. My takeaway was this: Haiti is keen on exploring and promoting alternative energy as it improves it's grid, and this is a very positive step for Haitians.
In a developed country the per capita energy consumption per year is 4,000Kw. In Jamaica, a developing country, the per capita energy consumption per year is 2100Kw (basic electricity is available to the majority of Jamaican homes). In Haiti, the figure is only 75Kw per capita, per year. There is plenty of room for many solutions to work together, and I believe that in the future Haiti may become a leader in alternative energy for taking this innovative approach to their current problem.
I have been working on two UN Foundation working groups to advise the Secretary General on next years UN Campaign: The Year of Access to Sustainable Energy for All. The goal of the campaign is to get sustainable energy to the 4 billion people who currently lack it by 2030. It was exciting to see Haiti taking these steps, and I will not be surprised to see them lead the world in the future by supplying a great deal of their population with renewable energy.