Up and Running

Quick update for everyone from the last trip to the school,

The system is up and running and has been for three months now. They are using the power for all the intended uses(lights, fans, phones, etc.) plus devising new ones including shaving heads on the weekends. A few students have even started to stay at the school some nights to study and not spend hours walking back and forth from home. Here is a flick of the power room when I was there:

As for the interns, we have some delays from our friends over at the Department of Homeland Security, they are being strict with the visas. We are going through some fundraising to try and pay for process of bringing Jonathan and Maxmillah over to the Solar Living Institute. We need $2,400 to cover the additional costs of certifying the institute to be allowed to offer an exchange visa. Please
help by donating today!

New documentary promo!

Solar Maasai mini documentary from Kevin Myers on Vimeo.

Upcoming Event

Come one, come all to the upcoming celebration.

The Solar Maasai / SunPower to the People Team has returned from Maasailand with stories of a successful, yet challenging, endeavor! The Emprukel schoolhouse near Enoosaen village in rural Southwestern Kenya now has light, fans, vaccine refrigeration, computers, and electrical outlets for the first time. The school is already attracting new, credentialed teachers, more students, and the interest of Kenyan parliament as a model of future rural schoolhouse solar electrification! The school is well on its way to becoming a hub of educational excellence in this remote Maasai region of the Transmara district, and expansion plans are already underway. The US Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, was in attendance at the grand opening ceremony and made a personal promise to the community to fund the much needed school improvement projects of glass window installation (a rare architectural feature in this region) and the replacement of the makeshift desks which currently fill the seven classrooms. After a month-long series of close calls and unforeseen obstacles (and 18 months of planning prior to arriving in Kenya), the 5kW off-grid SunPower solar electric system has now been realized. While the system was not technically finished by the opening day celebration (inverters hadn’t yet cleared customs in Nairobi), the lights did come on when Ambassador Ranneberger received the honor of flipping the main power switch to officiate the ceremony (wheew, it was seriously close, good thing we arrived before dawn to rewire the system with a temporary inverter!).  The One Million Lights foundation was also in attendance to present solar powered LED lanterns to each mother of an Emprukel school student!

 Emprukel valley illuminated at night for the first time. Taken from the adjacent hilltop, the spots of light are LED lanterns spread across the valley, and the long strip of light in the middle is the illuminated schoolhouse in the distance.

During our stay in Kenya, we also led a month-long PV training intensive and graduated 17 solar technicians from the village and surrounding area. The top female and top male students – based on final exam scores, solar enthusiasm, dedication to the project, and demonstration of leadership in the community – were awarded with internship positions at Northern California’s pioneering solar school and demonstration site, the Solar Living Institue in Hopland. We look forward to returning to the village in March to tune the system, install the remaining monitoring equipment, and pick up the internship recipients, Jonathan Ntuitiai and Maxmillah Nairesiai. See video, "The Next Phase - Education" below for an introduction to Jonathan and Maxmillah.

The next phase: Education

Dear Solar Maasai Supporters,

As you know, we trained, tested and graduated students in solar and electrical while working in Kenya. However, this is not the end of the road for our brave scholars. Two of them, one female and one male, were chosen for their exceptional performance, great attitude and solid character to pursue further education. This education comes in the form of attending the Solar Living Institute, the training and demonstration site that both Kevin and I originally learned the ropes of renewable and sustainable practices from. Now these two amazing Maasai are getting the opportunity to attend. Their names are Maxmillah and Jonathan and this video, produced by random pictures, introduces them better than I can.

Solar Massai - Meet The Interns from Random Pictures on Vimeo.

They will be starting their program in early March, so keep a look out for a chance to meet them. They will in California for nine months so there will definitely be events where they will be around. Also stay tuned for our next event coming up on the 30th of this month, more info later this week.

Ashe Oleng,
Barrett

A New Star is Born

Can you identify the picture above?
Is it the night sky? The deep sea?

No, its Emprukel Primary school from the adjacent ridge at night.

That's right, the valley is lit for the first time. The central longer light is the school
building and the outlying lights are the solar lanterns distributed to the households.
Thanks to our friends in Kenya, at Sunpower and at One Million Lights, this remote
community is well illuminated as never before. You can't hear the cheers in this picture
but I can assure you that from where it was taken, you can hear the excitement.

The solar install is complete now, the team members have all returned to the their
respective homes for the holidays. After having checked in, everyone is in good health
and spirit and grateful for experience.

I personally would like to thank everyone involved, the thousands of hands that went into
making this project what it is and will continue to be for this community.

Its not over though!
We still have a documentary to be launched, 2 students from the village to bring back to
solar training here in the states and more families and schools to help! We also have to
wish Kimeli well as he departs at the end of next month for his studies in Australia.
So 2010 looks as busy as ever for our team and the various organizations in involved.

Thanks again to all of our sponsors and supporters that made this all possible.

Stay tuned for the film being edited currently by random pictures. I will post and email
our email list when its ready.

Assante Sana,
Barrett