By Casey Callais -- It was an exciting week for blueEnergy and a small group of participants enrolled in Solar Energy International's Sustainable Community Development: Wind Power for Rural Communities class hosted by bE Nicaragua.
Alex works winding a coil
The SEI group of five was introduced to how and why blueEnergy works with renewable energy and clean water solutions on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. Mornings of presentations were followed by afternoons of hands-on work where the participants had the opportunity to wind a stator coil, assemble, mount and balance a set of turbine blades and build water filters.
Kieth and Thibaut mixes cement for water filters
The participants also took part in a three-day trip to Monkey Point to perform turbine tower and battery maintenance. Upon returning, a tour of some of the Baptist wells and the solar latrine was given, as well as a visit to see the Independence Day parades and several locations of interest in the city of Bluefields.
Guthry works with Alex to connect the wiring
Reid and Tasha's work overseen by Ronald
This was the second SEI workshop hosted by blueEnergy and we hope to make it a regular event. Special thanks to Laurie Stone from SEI for making this workshop possible!
Wrapping up the end of the 2010, blueEnergy was proud to host a December workshop held by Solar Energy International (SEI). SEI is a non-profit leader in renewable energy education and training.
The six-day workshop was comprised of both lectures and hands-on work, as well as a trip to Kahkabila to help blueEnergy perform much-needed maintenance on the community's turbine installation.
The first several days were spent learning about blueEnergy, the communities we work in and the problems they face. The SEI group was given the opportunity to begin carving turbine blades and try their hand at winding stator coils. They also helped prepared the blades for Kahkabila's replacement turbine.
On the fourth day we brought the replacement turbine to the community of Kahkabila. The SEI team was set to change the old turbine to the upgraded blueDiamond 4 model, replace rusty guy wires and perform standard battery maintenance. Led by the blueEnergy's technical coordinator, Pedro Carvalho Neves, the SEI team worked all day for nearly three days, eating meals in shifts, and learning first-hand the challenges of working in communities in Nicaragua's Atlantic coast.
blueEnergy and Solar Energy International work to replace the turbine in Kahkabila
Kahkabila locals assist with replacing the tower sections
Tightening the nuts on the replacement blades
After returning from the community, the SEI participants spent the last two days learning about other blueEnergy programs and worked to build a biosand water filter, as seen in the following video:
Both blueEnergy and the Solar Energy International participants throughly enjoyed the week-long workshop. It was a great opportunity to perform much-needed turbine maintenance with the advantage of so many helping hands, as well as a chance to educate about the needs of communities on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua.
SEI participants and blueEnergy volunteers in Kahkabila
