Mayan Power and Light

Wow! We made it!

Thank you so much for supporting Mayan Power and Light as we lifted this innovative project off the ground on a shoestring budget.  It's been amazng to see our solar saleswomen step up to this opportunity in their first month of business this December.  

We've all been working really hard for this. And we want to share with you, what you've helped us achieve so far, and how wide our horizons are as we look into the future.  

Watch our video to learn more about what YOU made possible this year and next.  

We've come so far this year and we wouldn't have made ends meet without our individual donors on GlobalGiving. 

Links:

• Check out our new Amaranth Winnower too!
• Learn more about volunteering for Solar in Guatemala

Thank you for supporting Mayan Power and Light in 2015-2016, as 11 women plus 2 young boys start their first microbusiness providing affordable clean energy in rural communities.

From November 14, 2015 to November 20, 2015, we held a weeklong solar and business training class for 24 women and girls from Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Cobán, Quiché, Sololá, and Suchitepequez.

Mayan Power and Light 2015 training program was held as a weeklong camp at the CCDA´s agricultural training center at their coffee cooperative center. Women and girls aged 13 to 43 stayed in dorms, shared 3 meals a day and trained in solar and business skills together. By the end of the week, meaningful friendships were formed.

The women and girls, identified by CCDA Agricultural Technics, come from isolated farming communities in remote regions of Guatemala. In these communities, few have been lucky enough to graduate primary school, with even fewer passing high school. Their communities rely on small-scale agriculture and day-labor on nearby fincas.   With little access to education, financial services and legal assistance, women and girls are the poorest of the poor in these marginalized rural communities.

For most participants, MPL is the first time they will earn their own income.

To start off the virtuous cycle of a sustainable economy, we educated women and girls from these communities to provide the social service of affordable and accessible clean energy while empowering women and girls with their first try at a microbusiness.  In communities where income earning opportunities are few and the demand for lighting is high, Mayan Power and Light creates a system where beneficiaries are serving beneficiaries in a self-sustaining program.

Mayan Power and Light provides un-electrified communities with access to affordable solar lighting, while supporting the local economy and women´s economic participation.

Read our Special Year-End Report for the whole story on our amazing Mayan Women's Solar Business Camp and the impacts we've made as rural girls and women earn their own income while serving community need for solar energy. 

Links:

• Install Solar with us at the CCDA Feb 28-Mar 9, 2016

• End of Year Report (PDF)