Archive for the ‘News’ Category
July 25, 2009
Since January, I have been working at Whole Day Café, a locally-owned coffee/sandwhich/pastry shop in Wadsworth, Ohio. There, we do not accept tips. However, if tips are left, they are donated to a good cause, such as an orphanage in Guatemala or Relay for Life. Tips for the months of June and July were given to Salud del Sol, Inc.
Thanks to all of the workers and owners of Whole Day Café. Without such great service, such a generous donation could not have been made!
July 1, 2009
Lori Hanna was interviewed by Nancy Scola of WorldChanging.com to describe the solar autoclave and the application to rural clinics in undeserved areas. The article highlights the solar autoclave for Nicaragua and FrontlineSMS:Medic of Malawi, Africa as two examples of social innovations that are closing the gaps in healthcare delivery.
Two projects led by US students and their international allies are helping to fill gaps in health care gaps in the Global South. Though one project involves cell phone text messaging and the other equipment sterilizers powered by the sun, they have the same inspiration: using simple technology to build on the value of existing social capital.
These innovations are developing in Malawi and Nicaragua, both counted amongst the all-too-many places on the globe where the holes in the net of public health are so gaping that many people slip right through. Numbers tell that story. Of the fifty thousand Malawians who contracted tuberculousis last year, for example, an estimated 70% of them are also carry HIV. And that’s just a small portion those with HIV; nearly one million of Malawi’s 14 million people are infected. Yet in all of the country, there are just 250 or so doctors. Nicaragua is somewhat better off, yet nearly half of all of births happen there with no medical professional in attendance. Into those breaches have, in many cases, stepped community health workers (CHWs), local laypeople who work with the local health care system, often as volunteers. The two projects profiled here are equipping those CHWs with simple, appropriate ways to shrink the holes in their country’s health care nets.
You can read more of the article at the Worldchanging website, http://www.worldchanging.com/archives//010007.html
WorldChanging.com is a nonprofit media organization headquartered in Seattle, WA, that comprises a global network of independent journalists, designers and thinkers. We cover the world’s most innovative solutions to the planet’s problems, and inspire readers around the world with stories of new tools, models and ideas for building a bright green future. We have brought awareness to issues like refugee aid, renewable energy and innovative solutions for improving building, transportation, communication and quality of life. Our readers are ready to change the world, and Worldchanging connects them with the latest ideas on how to do that.
April 29, 2009
Below are the three largest challenges faced by the design clinic team in developing a design for the solar autoclave. We welcome you to contribute your thoughts and suggestions to these challenges in the comments section!
Pressure Release Valve
The team wanted to build the pressure release valve of easily-found materials, however each of their designs proved to be too insensitive. In the end, the team decided to use the release valve off of a commercial pressure cooker. Fortunately, these are available to purchase without requiring the purchase of a whole pressure cooker. Its precisely machined weight and aperture is necessary.
Sterilization Indicator
For much of the semester, the team worked to improve a cylinder/washer design, in which a small plastic cylinder would be filled with a phase-change material, Polywax2000 and a washer. The idea is that the washer starts on top of the solid wax, but as the autoclave heats up and the wax melts, the washer moves to the bottom. There is a calculated amount of wax inside such that when the washer lies on the bottom (i.e. all of the wax has melted), at least 15 minutes have passed, the minimum for sterilizing surgical instruments at 121 degrees Celsius and 15 psig. Ultimately, this design was abandoned because too much pressure built up inside the cylinder.
The final design is a two-compartment cylinder, with one compartment filled with Polywax2000. It functions as does an hourglass, and is manufactured such that when all of the wax melts and flows into the bottom compartment, the solar autoclave operator can rest assured that sterilization is complete. It has a hole in both ends, for ventilation, and a cap that blocks the whole at the bottom.
This design requires further testing, so the team also offered a contingency plan-an electronic timer, using a thermistor and powered by a small solar cell. Currently, the price of one sterilization indicator stands at $2.00, which complies with the team’s goal of under $10 if reusable and about $0.01 if non-reusable.
Pressure Vessel
For the solar autoclave pressure vessel, the team has replaced one of the wooden end caps with an aluminum end cap, used a silicone pie pan as the seal, and used hex bolts with wing nuts to hold it all together. Upon testing with hydraulic oil, they successfully brought the pressure up to 32psig – well above the 15psig required for sterilization – before it started to leak at the seal again. The stresses were well below the yield strength for the can. It is currently thought that the leaking seal, once validation testing is complete, could provide the emergency safety release, because it always fails well above the operating pressure, but fails before rupture of the vessel.
Testing with air revealed that the prototype does not consistently maintain pressure-so, tests run in an oven were not able to achieve 15psi because the system is not completely air tight. Further development is necessary to ensure a good seal. The oven testing also revealed that the time to heat up is very lengthy, but that steps can be taken to decrease this time, such as adding already-boiling water in the autoclave instead of cold water.
April 19, 2009
I had the distinct pleasure of working with a freshmen engineering course at University of Dayton this past semester. When Dr. Margaret Pinnell – the professor for the course as well as one of Salud del Sol’s most involved mentors – approached me about ideas for a project for the course, I was quick to suggest a solar tracking device. Thus, I mentored the class and their group projects over the course of the semester, and was very pleased with the results. Because of Salud del Sol’s infatuation with sustainability and appropriate technologies, I asked the students to write an article for the site describing their projects. Their articles are posted below:
K(A)BEBS – Sean Drennan, Katlyn Lopus, Emily Getter, and Becky Herrman
Redirecting the Sun
During the second semester of the first year at the University of Dayton, the Engineering Innovations class was presented the challenge of building a prototype of a device that could be used in developing countries to track the sun throughout the day. This device would be used to maximize the amount of sunlight directed onto a solar panel to capitalize on the efficiency of the energy. The class was divided into groups and each group had a $50 budget to work with.
K(A)BEBS was formed by four, first-year engineering students. These four students all were taking similar classes, but all brought their own ideas to the group. During the design stage, design ideas varied greatly between group members, which allowed the group as a whole to think outside the box. The students used their knowledge from high school and the knowledge from their math and science courses this year to design and build a prototype that would complete the task at hand.
The design team decided on a design that was much different from the rest of the groups in the class. A device that would remain stationary and be constructed using reflective newspaper tin would be built around the solar panel and redirect the sun onto the panel. The sunlight would enter through the top of the device and would reflect off the panels, which would be at carefully calculated angles. The design team tried to design the device so that no matter where the sun would be in the sky, its’ rays would be directed onto the solar panel after being reflected off the newspaper tin. The team had reasonable results and found that the idea did work but more calculations and testing would need to be done in order to correctly position the reflective panels for use throughout the day. Overall, the design team was happy with their final project and excited to see what could become of their idea on a bigger scale.
Solar Tracking Device Project – Alex Jules, James Lab, Jim Razzante, Alex Reed
In the class Engineering Innovations this semester at the University of Dayton, our team was presented with the project of designing an automated (hands free) and sustainable(reusable) solar tracking device. What the device needed to do was move a solar panel throughout the day so it faced the sun at all times. This would result in increasing the efficiency of the solar panel by forty percent.
We first began by creating several sketches that depicted different ideas that could be used to achieve the desired effect. What we came up with was a system that would use a bucket suspended in a tub of water. The bucket was attached to a pivoting piece of wood which had the solar panel attached to it. Several two liter bottles were cut and placed together which created a source of water that would drip at a constant rate into the suspended bucket. As the day would go on, the dripping water would fall into the suspended bucket and cause it to sink and pull on the rotating piece of wood. This motion would cause the solar panel to be facing the sun the entire day.
When the day came to actually test our design, our team saw great success. Our simple design worked well, although we did encounter some problems. Interference with the weather caused some issues as clouds blocked the sun and a strong wind moved our rotating piece of wood. Our group was able to come up with propositions to create a better device in the future.
Overall, this project was a great introduction to the design process and gave us hope for our futures in engineering.
Again, as their student teacher who is heavily involved in projects like this, I was impressed with the results and proud of the work they had done. Our only hope now is that they will take away what they have learned about appropriate technologies and solar trackers and spread the word. They have a great opportunity to see some change in the world. Once again, comments and suggestions are always appreciated!
Many thanks and peace always,
Daniel J. Hensel
Director of Product Research
March 17, 2009
Managua, Nicaragua will host a regional meeting on Renewable Energy in Central America from March 18-20.
The meeting, called 13th Regional Forum: “Renewable Energy in Isolated Rural Locations in Central America,” is co-sponsored by Finland, Austria and the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, among others.
The objective of this confrence is “to disseminate successful experiences of the Central American region and the technologies used in the field of the rural energy in isolated areas using renewable energy sources, to increase the productivity and the quality of life of the rural communities that are not interconnected to the grid; including mechanisms of financing for this type of projects.”
Participants include, Ministries of Energy and Environment from the Central American System for Integration (SICA), international and regional institutions, NGO’s, academics, and private sector from Central America, Europe and others. Companies from Austria and Finland will attend the meeting and present their products and technologies applied to the use of these energy sources.
For more information on this conference and other endeavors of the Energy and Environmental Partnership of Central America, please visit, www.sica.int/energia or email info.aea@sica.net.
March 8, 2009
Thank you, Las Mujeres Solares for giving us reasons to celebrate International Women’s Day! Below is a tribute of memories from this past summer,
One of my favorite memories of Adelina is when she had to climb on her roof to re-attach part of her solar panel. Even though she always does everything at the house (she is the mother, father, provider, fixer-of-anything, cook, gardener, everything), and I was so accustomed to seeing her doing unexpected things, she was nonetheless sooo embarrassed to be climbing on her roof. She just thought it seemed so un-lady-like! It became a huge ordeal, and I thought it was just as normal as everything else I’d witnessed in Nicaragua! -Lori Hanna
I think most of the best memories with Dona Carmen involve her reactions to my brother Matteo and I being goofballs, such as singing Disney songs or playing soccer in that little hallway/living area or toying with my niece Skarleth while doing the dishes. I rarely saw Dona Carmen laugh except for those times. I also enjoyed teaching her how to cook French Toast… she took it with humility and appreciation, and then surprised me when she served us French Toast a week or two later! She said “I learned!” -Daniel Hensel
I always appreciated how willing Maria was to teach me about the culture of Sabana Grande. Maria dedicates her time to caring for her three grandchildren cooking, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, doing mountains of laundry, cleaning her house inside and out, and gardening all of the fruit, vegetable, and herb plants surrounding her home. Once I had bridged the language gap, I felt comfortable asking how I could help contribute to the chores around the house. Maria was quick to respond that she thoroughly enjoyed cleaning and cooking for everyone in her home, and if I wanted to learn, she would love to teach me. From learning how to wash clothes on a rock while bringing water from a well; to hand making nacatamals, the lessons in learning how to be a homemaker from Maria were some of my favorite memories from this past summer. -Anna Young
The cooking lessons were not limited to Sabana Grande. While working for Grupo Fenix in Mangagua, Nicargua during summer 2009, Vince Romanin, had the opportunity to learn a peanut hot sauce recipe from two Mexican nuns, Pera and Luce, who work with Grupo Fenix. Vince reminisced about his time with Pera and Luce, “The Nuns were always gracious hosts, and were even willing to give me cooking lessons! I still think of them every time I make peanut hot sauce.” (see the following link for Vince’s blog posting of his cooking lesson for peanut hot sauce. Including the recipe!)
Grupo Fenix Volunteer Pete Kolis lived with Frederlinda Perez in Sabana Grande this past summer. When asked about his favorite memory of Frederlinda, Pete was eager to respond with many;
I love Freder’s mashed potatoes. It was a little slice of home when they showed up on my plate. I half expected gravy, cranberries, rolls, and apple sauce to be just inside the kitchen. Now, let me tell you that orange sweet potatoes are familiar to me, but I was surprised to find orange mashed potatoes so far south. So I asked Freder what they were made of. It turns out that ketchup can both sweeten potatoes and turn them orange. Truly a taste of home! If you don’t believe that they were delicious, grab some french fries and see which condiment you crave.
Freder lives with her mother and father, Doña Ramona and Don Nicasio. Walking back from the Solar Center, I often saw Freder and Doña Ramona through the window of the kitchen, busy cooking. One day, Doña Ramona decided that I wasn’t doing enough to earn my meals and told me that I would have to dance for my dinner. Making sure that it was visible through the window, I danced, and performed so well that I commanded an encore performance.
I wasn’t the only performer in the house, though. Along with her own son, Freder had assumed responsibility for three of her sister’s children, and the five of us, after studying, drummed, harmonized, lip-synced, and danced for her to the sounds of the radio in her kitchen after dark.
One day, wanting to purchase a large bucket at the town’s bucket store, I joined Freder on a trip to town. Walking with Freder (about 5′1″ in heels), I (5′11″ in my stockinged feet) must have looked quite the sight. I certainly felt it. Looking down the crowded street to the indoor market and all the buyers and vendors therein, I had the sudden realization that I was the tallest person within my sight. And not only the tallest–I could see the top of every person’s head. My distress was eased when Freder bought me a vanilla smoothie from a local vendor, but the germs worried me. Until that point, I had been careful to avoid drinking un-purified water, milk, or anything that might have the local germs. The smoothie–cold, sweet, and delicious–violated all of that. I suggested that if I fell sick and died the very next day because of the unpasteurized germs, it would be her fault for having purchased me the vanilla smoothie. Cold-hearted, she laughed at my hypothetical doom.
Near the very end of my stay with Frederlinda’s family, I had the pleasure to take Freder out for hamburgers and shakes at Gigi’s Hamburgers, an “American-style” hamburger joint in the nearby town. Though nothing to compare to a good butterburger, it made me happy to be able to thank her for letting me stay with her and her family for the summer. -Pete Kolis
February 12, 2009
Director of Product Research Daniel Hensel took up the lead in entering the Solar Autoclave Design Team into a nation-wide medical invention competition, called the BMEidea. The competition is aimed at new medical innovations that can help the industry somehow. Most interesting, however, is that some mini-business plan is needed as part of the competition! This is where Salud del Sol comes into play. Through a selection process and as a reward for entering early, the Solar Autoclave project received a $500 stipend.
The competition is hosted by NCIIA, National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance. The team (consisting of Lori Hanna, Daniel Hensel, Matt Pittinger, Adam Ryba and Christopher Weiss) must complete a 20-page document detailing the product and its economic viability, then it will be judged by a panel. Winners will be announced June 13th, with first place earning $10,000.
For more information on the competition, please visit http://www.nciia.org/bmeidea/comp/time.html.
Thank you for your support, and wish us luck!
January 31, 2009
An innovative company, Promethean Power Systems, is designing a solar powered refrigerator system that will be used in areas of India where access to an electric grid is unreliable. The company was founded by Sorin Grama and Sam White after Promethan Power Systems recieved the award for runner-up winner in MIT’s $100K Entrepreneurship Competition in 2007.
Promethean Power Systems is designing an energy-efficient hybrid solar refrigerator system for food distribution networks that operate in off-grid or partially electrified areas. The system uses clean, quiet, solid-state technologies such as thermoelectric cooling modules and solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. A small generator is used during extended periods of cloudy conditions to backup the solar panels. By comparison, conventional refrigeration systems are not designed for efficient, off-grid operation. They use diesel-thirsty power generators and freon-based refrigeration compressors that require constant maintenance.
The market need for this product is quite obvious and the passion of these two social entrepreneurs is also apparent by their vision, “to develop a complete, stand-alone rural refrigeration system that stimulates businesses, reduces dependency on fossil fuels and increases the quality of life in emerging markets by enabling its users to reliably store food, vaccines and other perishable items.” We look forward to hearing more about Promethean Power Systems as they fulfill their vision and provide social and environmental benefits to communities of India.
January 22, 2009
Sunday, January 11, Lori met with Amy Elliot of MedWish International (www.medwish.org) to learn more about the non-profit organization and to discuss ways that the two organizations could partner. She was first given a tour of the MedWish facility in Cleveland, Ohio, where she learned all about the great work that is being done there.
MedWish has a mission to save lives and save the environment. They collect usable medical equipment from local hospitals and other healthcare providers and then send these items to underserved populations. Thus, they help to save lives in developing countries and to reduce solid waste in landfills by recycling medical equipment. They also pay close attention to their own operations to ensure they are fulfilling their environmental mission through recycling and other green practices. Additionally, MedWish is a host for medical mission trips to some of these same countries.
The business has a focus on sustainability, as evidenced by their policies. For instance, the supplies are provided to recipients free of charge, but the recipients have to pay shipping. This prevents abuse of their services and creates vested interest. MedWish International was founded in 1993, but has seen especially blossoming growth in the last few years, receiving 380,000 pounds of equipment in 2008. They have five staff members in Cleveland, but much of the work is done by volunteers from all walks of life.
MedWish International has supplied aid to over 70 countries, including Nicaragua. In 2008, they helped to send an ambulance filled with medical equipment to the St. Martin de Porres Hospital in Chinendega, Nicaragua, as well as an additional 20-foot container shipment of medical supplies later in the year. This hospital hosts international medical brigades from the U.S. that provide medical care, which include people from Ohio.
During her visit, Lori learned of the dire need for solar powered autoclaves within the organization of MedWish. Amy explained that every recipient of a MedWish shipment made in 2008 would have requested an autoclave if one were available. However, discarded autoclaves that still function are hard to come by. They currently only have two in stock, despite the vastness of supplies collected. It is this need that prompted the meeting and discussion with Salud del Sol. MedWish could be a distributor of Salud del Sol’s solar autoclave, or perhaps they could be a distributor of a Salud del Sol manufacturing kit that provides instructions for communities to build their own solar autoclaves. There are many opportunities for partnership between Salud del Sol and MedWish. Other ways that the organizations can benefit each other include finding funding sources, partnering for grants, networking with customers and recipient groups, and connecting with mission trip groups. Salud del Sol is excited about the possibilities for future work with MedWish International, as this meeting was just the first step toward brainstorming a mutually beneficial relationship for two organizations with very intertwined missions of social and environmental responsibility.
Enjoy!
- Lori
January 15, 2009
Lori in Sabana Grande, Nicaragua 2008
During our first year of existence, we made huge strides toward fulfilling our mission: to provide communities in Nicaragua with the opportunity to improve their own healthcare systems while supporting sustainable development that creates jobs for members of these communities. In the spring, the four founding members wrote a full business plan for the solar autoclave venture, which led to winning $10,000 toward the project in the University of Dayton Business Plan Competition. During the summer, three members and a few other ETHOS students were able to travel to Nicaragua to perform testing on the autoclave, conduct business and computer training, and begin networking for Salud del Sol and Las Mujeres Solares.Throughout the year, five engineering students were researching and developing the solar autoclave during their senior capstone course at the University of Dayton. As the year ended, I completed my Honors Thesis: “Solar Autoclave for Rural Nicaragua,” which ties together all of the efforts that have been happening over the last three years.
Alongside these accomplishments, we have recently been increasing our organizational capacities as well. This month, we will file to become a non-profit corporation. We are forming our Board of Trustees, establishing our roles, and constantly moving forward.
We hope that you will continue to peruse our website, as 2009 promises to be another exciting year. We already know that four ETHOS students will be traveling to Nicaragua this summer for ten weeks, including our Director of Product Research, Daniel Hensel. Opportunities continue to pop up, and we continue to take full advantage of them. Please feel free to write any questions, comments, or advice for us through the comment threads throughout our website, for we are constantly looking for new ways to grow our organization and fulfill our mission.
With appreciation,
Lori Hanna
Executive Director