By Laura Hosman | Project Leader
We did it!! We successfully carried out our first solar powering deployment in Haiti, last week! The EFACAP school in Lascahobas now has the capability to charge 500 laptops with a DC-only solar system. According to our research and to OLPC, our installation has the distinction of being the world’s largest single-school solar laptop charging deployment!
But that was just one part of the project: The team also set up a brand-new library at the school, full of books in French and Creole, and created an inventory and catalog, and a system for checking out the books.
With the help of a team of local survey-givers, we carried out a baseline survey with 150 respondents, inquiring of both community members and teachers on technology and electricity use in the home, and of use of the laptops in the home and in the classroom. We also talked with the teachers at the school about using the library, and about lesson plans on solar power that our team will continue to develop over the coming semester. Furthermore, we trained the local maintenance staff in how to keep up the solar system.
We need your help to make a second installation a reality in December 2011. That’s just four short months away! We’ll be deploying at a second school in the Lascahobas area, as well as revisiting the EFACAP school with improvements and a system check-up. Please help us demonstrate the scalability and sustainability of our model by assisting us with our second deployment!
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