Carbon Credit for Humanitarian Solar Power

88 Homes and Counting: Light That Lasts

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.

Solar light replacing candles and kerosene in a family home in rural Guatemala

Dear Friend,

For families in rural Guatemala without reliable electricity, darkness has traditionally meant relying on candles or kerosene for light. Solar power changes that.

The Appropriate Technology Collaborative (ATC) has now brought solar lighting to 88 rural Guatemalan homes toward our current goal of 100 homes, replacing candles and kerosene while reducing emissions and improving household safety.

That means 88 families can turn on clean, dependable light at night without relying on fuel-based lighting. Children have light for studying. Parents have more useful hours in the evening for activities such as weaving and other home-based work. Families can charge phones at home while reducing the money they spend on candles or kerosene.

A Climate Benefit, One Home at a Time

Each solar home system reduces a family's dependence on candles or kerosene and helps avoid approximately one metric ton of CO2-equivalent emissions per year — roughly comparable to the emissions from driving an average gasoline-powered car 2,500 miles.

At 88 homes, that represents approximately 88 tons of avoided CO2-equivalent emissions for each full year the systems are operating — about the same as avoiding roughly 220,000 miles of gasoline-powered driving each year.

But the benefits go well beyond carbon.

Replacing candles and kerosene means less smoke and soot inside the home, fewer open flames, and a lower risk of burns and accidental fires. Families gain cleaner, safer light for studying, weaving, caring for children, and everyday life after sunset.

88 Down. 12 to Go.

We are now just 12 families away from reaching our current 100-home goal.

Each remaining installation means another family gaining dependable solar light, another home reducing its reliance on candles or kerosene, and another long-term reduction in emissions.

Climate action does not have to be abstract. In rural Guatemala, it can be something a family switches on every evening.

Thank you for helping us bring that light to 88 families — and for helping us reach the next 12.

With gratitude,

John Bottenberg
Acting Executive Director
The Appropriate Technology Collaborative (ATC)

Links:

• The Appropriate Technology Collaborative Home Page