Mayan Power and Light

The early months of 2015 seemed to be a time of financial challenge for everyone, and ATC was no exception. Approved for our legendary $40,000 Rotary Club GlobalGrant, we worked through 6 months of administrative hurdles to get the cash from the Rotary Club GlobalGrants initiative and down to the ground here in Guatemala.  While we worked through all of that, you, our GlobalGiving supporters kept the show on the road!

THANK YOU!

With your funds Mayan Power and Light broke into teaching “Circuits and Solar” at the University level!

ATC and our Solar Team, SEA Solar congratulate Faculty and Students of the Architecture and Engineering School of Mesoamerican University for taking our first University level introduction to solar class.  Students learned about electricity, circuits and solar power, including hands-on training using professional grade solar and electronic equipment.

As a Mayan social enterprise, SEA Solar distributed affordable small-scale solar to 15 rural school children, supported by their education NGO, Amigos de Guatemala. They presented their products to Mayan Families, el Comité Campesino del Altiplano, and several other national organizations. 

Mayan Power and Light is also about solar business, right? Over this year, Mayan Power and Light invested in research and development of solar equipment best suited for Guatemala´s low-income market.  The MPL team has been researching and testing solar products used in Africa and analyzing marketing strategies and cost potentialities for our specific context.  We needed this data to negotiate with el Comité Campesino del Altiplano (CCDA), in order to train women in their national network in solar sales.

In October, 24 women from across the country will do a week-long workshop learning-by-doing solar, marketing and sales. This intensive week will build powerful sales teams and networks to support each other in the distribution of affordable lighting for women´s empowerment! Taught by the SEA Solar team, by the end of the week the teachers and students are business partners with clear goals and strategies for success!

Make More Impact! Pitch in a few bucks next Wednesday September 16, 2015 for GlobalGiving Bonus Day! All donations under $1000 will be matched with 30% more funds and puts us in the running for winning the most unique donors, up to $1,500 of prize money! That money goes along way in women's microbusiness investment!

Links:

• Our website is back up and running! Check out our projects page!

Question:  What do you do when your next two Mayan Power and Light workshops are delayed?

Answer:  You teach “Circuits and Solar” at the University level, which is exactly what SEA Solar did last month.   

ATC and our Solar Team, SEA Solar congratulate Faculty and Students of the Architecture and Engineering school of the of Mesoamerican University for taking our first University level introduction to solar class.  Everyone learned about electricity, circuits and solar power, including hands-on training using professional grade solar and electronic equipment. 

SEA Solar is available to teach solar at Colleges, Universities and for NGOs anywhere in Latin America.

More information write to Info@seaguate.com

We have just been awarded a grant to provide several new Mayan Power and Light workshops and to train two groups of Mayan women entrepreneurs in sales and installation of solar power in Guatemala. 

On August 1, 2015 we will have a group of volunteers from the U.S., England and possibly Ecuador work with SEA Solar to install solar power on a pre-school in the rural western highlands of Guatemala.  Photos to follow.

Please consider a new donation to Mayan Power and Light.  We will have two new women’s businesses and we need to purchase inventory for demonstrations and sales.  With an extra $2,000 we can bulk purchase entry level solar lights which will cost less and thus help with sales.  More families will gain the incredible advantage of bright solar light instead of trying to see at night by kerosene lamps and candles. 

With your help our new businesses will have more solar hardware to sell, they will purchase it at a lower price and they can sell at a lower price.  Bulk purchasing makes it possible for Mayan Power and Light businesses to become self-sustaining.

Thank you,

John Barrie