GRID Greater Los Angeles hosted its first women's build this past weekend. Women from as far as Washington DC, Delaware, Colorado and Arizona and as close as East LA and Santa Monica came together to cooperatively install a 1.8 kW system for the Galarza family in Watts. Prior to the installation, the women attended a free two-day course on PV theory and design led by Solar Energy International (www.solarenergy.org) instructor, Kelly Larson.
The group also included a fabulous young woman from one of GRID's local job training partners. A fellow participant "was impressed at how the staff of GRID Alternatives took care to train the YouthBuild student." "Their support," she explained, "made a big difference in her life."
GRID-GLA is honored to be able to play a role in providing a comfortable learning space for women. Another participant observed "how beneficial it was to be in an all women's group. Honestly, I didn't think it was necessary, but after the experience, I really see the benefits." Anna Bautista, the Site Supervisor, added "It was empowering to see the women gain confidence every moment they were in the field." We look forward to many more all-women installations and events with SEI as well as seeing more women in general at all GRID installations.
We'd like to thank Kelly Larson and SEI as well as the wonderful ladies that attended the class and installation.
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