Nicaragua Workshop

Held in conjunction with Grupo Fenix, a project of the Program for Alternative Sources of Energy of the National Engineering University in Managua. Participate in hands-on learning in a small Nicaraguan village, Sabana Grande, Madriz, which has taken up the challenge of becoming a solar culture community with Grupo Fenix. Come join us in installing solar panels. Build your own solar battery charger or LED headlamp. Live with families in Sabana Grande who can show you the benefits of and obstacles to using solar energy in their community. Start your day (or afternoon) with solar-roasted coffee from the community’s many solar cookers. The Solar Women of Totogalpa will show you the almost-finished Center which will house their solar cooker workshop and training center, and eventually a restaurant. Stay another week after this course and help us build adobe bricks for the Center.

The systems you build will strengthen the community’s ability to develop sustainable businesses within the community. Solar technicians from Sabana Grande are instructors in the course, and community members will give optional classes on medicinal herbs and cooking with soy. Part of the tuition goes towards solar ovens and solar PV systems for the community. The workshop price includes

Costa Rica Workshop

Held at Rancho Mastatal, an environmental learning center and retreat located in the last virgin rainforest of Costa Rica's Puriscal County. Participants will stay at the center where they build usig natural building techniques, including bamboo and cob, and support the use of renewable energy systems. Rancho Mastatal practices and promotes living responsibly in the tropics, while educating its visitors about the significance and majesty of the world's disappearing tropical forests. Take advantage of this great opportunity to enjoy one of Costa Rica's most undiscovered regions while learning about renewable energy.

In our fourth year at Rancho Mastatal, this winter's workshop builds on the success of our past workshops. Our program is focused on learning through hands-on work. We'll spend about one-third of our time in the classroom, studying renewable energy technology basics. The rest of our time will be in the field or lab, getting our hands dirty, learning by doing. The course is taught in both English and Spanish.

Topics Include

• The Design & Installation of a solar-electric system
• Building solar ovens with a women's cooperative
• Building a methane biodigestor (Costa Rica)
• Tour of a methane biodigestor (Nicaragua)
• Constructing solar battery chargers (Nicaragua)
• Micro-Hydro site survey (Costa Rica)
• Medicinal Plants (Nicaragua)
• Social & Cultural Issues of Working in the Developing World