University of Michigan's Mtrek Group Works Firsthand with blueEnergy

By Casey Callais -- A University of Michigan M-Trek trip recently visited blueEnergy for four days to get a taste of what working with blueEnergy is like. M-Trek is a program that brings small groups of MBA students together to bond before they begin their classes.

The trip was organized in part by Lizzie Reisman, former blueEnergy Development Director and current Ross MBA student.  Lizzie convinced a handful of fellow adventurous students to visit Bluefields, Nicaragua for their bonding trip experience.

The M-Trek group spent their time building water filters, conducted interviews with local families to determine energy access needs and distributed solar-powered lamps to the families for testing. One of the locations for lamp distribution was Rama Cay. According to Eric Lopp, blueEnergy Program Coordinator and organizer of the Rama Cay visit:

"After the wet 35-minute trip by dory (a small boat carved out of a log) blueEnergy and the M-Trek group received a gracious welcome at the Moravian Church where over 100 natives dressed in their customary white greeted us. A leader from Rama Cay gave us a short tour of the island explaining their customs and showed us a number of the solar energy installed by blueEnergy."

Click on the video below to see what the group had to say about their time with blueEnergy.

 blueEnergy extends a special thanks to Lizzie for her work in putting together such a great trip!