“Our experience was amazing, there is a huge potential and opportunity for renewable solar energy in developing countries”, according to Dan Selby. Selby and Elsass also had the opportunity to live with host families in the rural villages during part of their visit. 
“We are very thankful for continued work and support that Salud Del Sol has done for the people of Sabana Grande. Their mission is much like that of Rotary International with an ultimate goal of making the world a better place for everyone to live and enjoy,” said Selby.

This restaurant required seven thousand of these bricks and after about an hour and a half we had moved just over one-hundred. As I shuttled the bricks from one pile to another, sweat pouring off me and my hands feeling quite raw, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe for the women who built that first centre. Adobe construction is one of the most physically demanding building projects, and The Solar Women of Totogalpa, small in stature but giants in determination, had worked to achieve a vision that even caught the attention of the United Nations, who declared the partnership with Groupo Fenix and their joint achievement as one of the most inspirational in the world.

Read the rest of Robert’s blog entry here: http://blog3p.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/the-solar-women-of-totogalpa-pt-2/

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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