In May 2014, GRID Alternatives led a team of SolarCity employee volunteers to Nicaragua through SolarCity’s GivePower Foundation to install a 1.38kW off-grid photovoltaic system on a primary school in the rural community of El Islote. This small fishing village sits on the edge of a freshwater peninsula in Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America. Its 24 homes are four watery kilometers from the nearest electrical post. While some of the homes have small 50W DC-direct solar systems, community buildings like the school have had no electricity at all. During medical emergencies community members have to take a boat to the nearest clinic more than five miles away.
The SolarCity volunteers spent three days in the community, installing everything from solar panels to light sockets; educating the community about AC power and system maintenance; experiencing the local food, culture and environment, and making new friends among the villagers and each other. Volunteers also visited the colorful colonial city of Granada and swam in mineral springs on the island of Ometepe, home to two volcanoes in the middle of Lake Nicaragua.
Although El Islote is a very poor community, it is tightly knit and the residents are committed to improving it. They worked together to build the school in 2011, and see the solar panels a step forward for both the quality of education and quality of life in their community. Apart from providing a central charging place for cell phones and other AC appliances, the electricity in the school will allow the teacher to plan lessons in the evenings and improve adult education opportunities. The school can now also house medical equipment for the community and serve as a resource for medical brigades that occasionally visit to do vaccinations and check-ups at the school.
Thanks to SolarCity’s GivePower Foundation and the fantastic SolarCity volunteers for helping power El Islote’s future! Click here to see photos from the trip.