When you participate in the a Green Speed Dating event, your $25 helps bring solar electricity to rural Nicaragua. The Solar School Project aims to install a 2kW DC solar electric system on the roof of the public school in El Pedregal, San Lorenzo, Boaco, Nicaragua. El Pedregal is a small village located in an extremely rural area of central Nicaragua, approximately three hours walking distance from the nearest town of 6,000 people. The community has one school with one teacher who teaches all of the children in the community at once in the same classroom. The town has no electricity, no potable water, and most residents do not even have latrines.

The solar electric system will be battery-based and will include an inverter converting DC electricity into AC electricity so the school is able to have power outlets in the walls to power fans, computers, televisions, radios, or other appliances it obtains in the future. The solar system will not only bring light to this small community, it will give the community members a place to hold community meetings , give adults who are taking classes in other towns a place to study in the evening, and increase the opportunity for more advanced teaching aids during the day. The presence of electricity at the school may also encourage other teachers to teach in the town, since many teachers prefer to be placed in communities with more modern conveniences.

Nicaragua, located in Central America between Honduras and Costa Rica, is home to approximately 6 million people. It is know for its production of bananas, coffee, and tobacco, for its tropical climate, its rich culture, and for its beautiful geography sprinkled with lakes and volcanoes. It also happens to be the poorest latin country in Central America with 48% of its people living below the poverty line. Like most developing countries, much of this poverty is located in the rural areas, where people live day-to-day hoping they make enough money to feed their families. More than half of Nicaraguans live without electricity so you can imagine the impact solar energy can make to a community located in such a remote area that it has no hope of ever being connected to the electric grid.

The fundraising goal for the project in El Pedregal is $20,000 which includes 1kW DC of photovoltaic modules, an inverter, batteries, a charge controller, a racking system, a basic electrical infrastructure, shipping costs, and training materials. The projected date of installation is March of 2009 by volunteers form the Los Angeles area and community members in Nicaragua. For more information about this project, fundraising activities, or how you can help, please visit www.power-tothe-people.org or contact us at greenspeeddating@gmail.com.

Thank you for your interest and support!

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