- Published on
by Allison Archambault
This post comes from Bill Nichols who has been volunteering with EarthSpark in Les Anglais - Thank you Bill for your time, intellect, and flexibility! Bill is a marketing strategy consultant who occasionally provides his services to NGOs. Prior to assisting us at EarthSpark, Bill spent three months in Ethiopia assisting the German-based Solar Energy Foundation.
"I am in the midst of spending nearly three weeks with ESI in Les Anglais. I am volunteering my business expertise in sales and marketing to assist ESI and their Haitian partner, COREA, in the launch and operation of their new retail store. So far I sense that I am learning at least as much from our Haitian hosts as I am sharing with them.
Lessons so far:
1 . To drive across Les Anglais’ fast flowing river at night one must hire a river guide to wade across in front of your vehicle to ensure that the fording route you follow is only hub cap deep. Apparently it is advisable to avoid the car swallowing passages.
2 . In a town with no running water, willingness to take a bucket shower is essential. (I have found that a bucket shower can be every bit as refreshing as a flowing water shower back home.)
3 . The members of ESI’s local partner, COREA - - a town economic development group - - are highly motivated for the successful launch and operation of their store. The COREA members readily volunteer to take responsibility for each task that comes up…then they follow through and get the task done.
4 . Marketing in rural Haiti requires some tools that we don’t use much in the US. For example, a megaphone carrying barker walking through the weekly market announcing a sales special…or, in a place where literacy is low, product demonstrations become very important.
5 . And of course I have learned that in soccer-crazy Les Anglais, we can schedule no meetings during World Cup matches. When Brazil and Argentina were both still in the Achase, this was especially true as the Haitians are wild about those two teams."
This post comes from Bill Nichols who has been volunteering with EarthSpark in Les Anglais - Thank you Bill for your time, intellect, and flexibility! Bill is a marketing strategy consultant who occasionally provides his services to NGOs. Prior to assisting us at EarthSpark, Bill spent three months in Ethiopia assisting the German-based Solar Energy Foundation.
"I am in the midst of spending nearly three weeks with ESI in Les Anglais. I am volunteering my business expertise in sales and marketing to assist ESI and their Haitian partner, COREA, in the launch and operation of their new retail store. So far I sense that I am learning at least as much from our Haitian hosts as I am sharing with them.
Lessons so far:
1 . To drive across Les Anglais’ fast flowing river at night one must hire a river guide to wade across in front of your vehicle to ensure that the fording route you follow is only hub cap deep. Apparently it is advisable to avoid the car swallowing passages.
2 . In a town with no running water, willingness to take a bucket shower is essential. (I have found that a bucket shower can be every bit as refreshing as a flowing water shower back home.)
3 . The members of ESI’s local partner, COREA - - a town economic development group - - are highly motivated for the successful launch and operation of their store. The COREA members readily volunteer to take responsibility for each task that comes up…then they follow through and get the task done.
4 . Marketing in rural Haiti requires some tools that we don’t use much in the US. For example, a megaphone carrying barker walking through the weekly market announcing a sales special…or, in a place where literacy is low, product demonstrations become very important.
5 . And of course I have learned that in soccer-crazy Les Anglais, we can schedule no meetings during World Cup matches. When Brazil and Argentina were both still in the Achase, this was especially true as the Haitians are wild about those two teams."
- Published on
by Allison Archambault
Despite enthusiastic adoption in other areas and local availability, the Miracle Stove (Réchaud Mirak in Creole) has not caught on in Les Anglais. People know about it, but few have tried it or seen it in use. The Miracle Stove is a simple modification to the widely used aluminum stove (réchaud tol in Creole). If the Aluminum stove looks something like a spaghetti strainer, the Miracle Stove looks like that spaghetti strainer in a bucket. Both stoves use charcoal (or alternative charcoal if available) and are used in the same way, but the Miracle Stove uses 25%-50% less charcoal than the traditional stove, a significant savings both in terms of fuel costs and pressure on the forest stock.
Walking through one of the small weekday markets in town, we met Léonie who fries breadfruit, potatoes and dough to sell to market-goers. Cooking on a typical aluminum stove, she said she had heard of a miracle stove but had never tried one, and she agreed to try using a sample miracle stove from the store for a day. We returned at the end of the following day when she was packing up, and we were greeted with a giant smile. Léonie held up the bag that in the morning had contained one typical day’s worth of charcoal and showed us how, at the end of the day using the miracle stove, 25% of the charcoal was still left in the bag. She saw no downsides to the stove and was delighted to show off the savings – about 10 gourdes or $0.25 worth of charcoal, a significant sum when the going rate for a day’s labor is 100 gourdes. She asked to keep the stove for another day, and we agreed to leave it with her. We took pictures and the other women in the market crowded around to talk about the stove and the pictures. After only a day, Léonie had become a spokesperson for the miracle stove. She continues to use it as the field trial progresses.
Despite enthusiastic adoption in other areas and local availability, the Miracle Stove (Réchaud Mirak in Creole) has not caught on in Les Anglais. People know about it, but few have tried it or seen it in use. The Miracle Stove is a simple modification to the widely used aluminum stove (réchaud tol in Creole). If the Aluminum stove looks something like a spaghetti strainer, the Miracle Stove looks like that spaghetti strainer in a bucket. Both stoves use charcoal (or alternative charcoal if available) and are used in the same way, but the Miracle Stove uses 25%-50% less charcoal than the traditional stove, a significant savings both in terms of fuel costs and pressure on the forest stock.
Walking through one of the small weekday markets in town, we met Léonie who fries breadfruit, potatoes and dough to sell to market-goers. Cooking on a typical aluminum stove, she said she had heard of a miracle stove but had never tried one, and she agreed to try using a sample miracle stove from the store for a day. We returned at the end of the following day when she was packing up, and we were greeted with a giant smile. Léonie held up the bag that in the morning had contained one typical day’s worth of charcoal and showed us how, at the end of the day using the miracle stove, 25% of the charcoal was still left in the bag. She saw no downsides to the stove and was delighted to show off the savings – about 10 gourdes or $0.25 worth of charcoal, a significant sum when the going rate for a day’s labor is 100 gourdes. She asked to keep the stove for another day, and we agreed to leave it with her. We took pictures and the other women in the market crowded around to talk about the stove and the pictures. After only a day, Léonie had become a spokesperson for the miracle stove. She continues to use it as the field trial progresses.
- Published on
by Allison Archambault
The store is painted, and the Les Anglais community group, COREA, is laying plans for a grand opening on market day of next week. (Wednesday, July 7th) We’re still waiting on most of our solar PV products to clear customs, so the “Grand Opening” will focus on the benefits of clean and efficient cook stoves and on general education and outreach promoting both the Clean Energy Store (Magazen Enèji Pwòp in Creole) and the benefits of clean and efficient energy products.
Since the painting of the storefront, there has been a buzz in the town about when the store will open, so COREA members are anxious to move forward. The storefront painting features a solar panel, a Barefoot Power Firefly solar powered lamp, an overhead light, a battery, and a Réchaud Mirak (Miracle Stove.) I can’t decide whether I love the lamp or the Miracle Stove the most. Bob, the local artist who painted the store, is well known around town and has just finished an Obama mural at the local hotel.
The store is painted, and the Les Anglais community group, COREA, is laying plans for a grand opening on market day of next week. (Wednesday, July 7th) We’re still waiting on most of our solar PV products to clear customs, so the “Grand Opening” will focus on the benefits of clean and efficient cook stoves and on general education and outreach promoting both the Clean Energy Store (Magazen Enèji Pwòp in Creole) and the benefits of clean and efficient energy products.
Since the painting of the storefront, there has been a buzz in the town about when the store will open, so COREA members are anxious to move forward. The storefront painting features a solar panel, a Barefoot Power Firefly solar powered lamp, an overhead light, a battery, and a Réchaud Mirak (Miracle Stove.) I can’t decide whether I love the lamp or the Miracle Stove the most. Bob, the local artist who painted the store, is well known around town and has just finished an Obama mural at the local hotel.
- Published on
by Daniel Schnitzer
Location: Sidwell Friends Middle School
3825 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20016
Free Parking; Metro Accessible
When: Thursday, January 28th 6 - 8pm
RSVP and invite your friends and colleagues here. If you can’t make it, invite your friends and colleagues!
Haiti is reeling from a devastating earthquake, which has left hundreds of thousands homeless and without basic energy services. Portable power options like solar lamps and phone chargers will have an immediate impact, providing not only light and power, but also creating safe communities and individual well-being. A Haitian entrepreneur who survived the earthquake stated, “In the first phase we need small solar lamps for people to use (in the tent camps) as well as solar street lights as a way to light the streets.” He continued, “In the second phase, we need job creation and the best way to help over the long term is therefore to send money to help buy from local solar manufacturers.”
Location: Sidwell Friends Middle School
3825 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20016
Free Parking; Metro Accessible
When: Thursday, January 28th 6 - 8pm
RSVP and invite your friends and colleagues here. If you can’t make it, invite your friends and colleagues!
Haiti is reeling from a devastating earthquake, which has left hundreds of thousands homeless and without basic energy services. Portable power options like solar lamps and phone chargers will have an immediate impact, providing not only light and power, but also creating safe communities and individual well-being. A Haitian entrepreneur who survived the earthquake stated, “In the first phase we need small solar lamps for people to use (in the tent camps) as well as solar street lights as a way to light the streets.” He continued, “In the second phase, we need job creation and the best way to help over the long term is therefore to send money to help buy from local solar manufacturers.”
- Published on
by Daniel Schnitzer
EarthSpark International is now actively working with a coalition of other Clinton Global Initiative members to coordinate the distribution of solar-powered products. We are partnering with International Relief & Development and organizations like Mercy Corps and Partners in Health to distribute tens of thousands of solar lamps to those in need and to assist these organizations in their disaster relief efforts. Companies including SunNight Solar, SunTransfer, d.Light Design, and BareFoot Power are poised to send over 50,000 solar lamps to Haiti with our help.
EarthSpark International is now actively working with a coalition of other Clinton Global Initiative members to coordinate the distribution of solar-powered products. We are partnering with International Relief & Development and organizations like Mercy Corps and Partners in Health to distribute tens of thousands of solar lamps to those in need and to assist these organizations in their disaster relief efforts. Companies including SunNight Solar, SunTransfer, d.Light Design, and BareFoot Power are poised to send over 50,000 solar lamps to Haiti with our help.
- Published on
by Daniel Schnitzer
I got a chance to visit Viva Rio’s remarkable compound in Bel Air, a slum neighborhood in Port-au-Prince. Their space includes a biogas digester which recycles human waste collected in their public toilets, wetlands for purifying the waste water from the digester, tilapia ponds filled with the reclaimed water, rooftop gardening using recycled tires and organic residue from the biogas digester and more. They also run a youth Capoeira program, which was a treat to see in action.
I got a chance to visit Viva Rio’s remarkable compound in Bel Air, a slum neighborhood in Port-au-Prince. Their space includes a biogas digester which recycles human waste collected in their public toilets, wetlands for purifying the waste water from the digester, tilapia ponds filled with the reclaimed water, rooftop gardening using recycled tires and organic residue from the biogas digester and more. They also run a youth Capoeira program, which was a treat to see in action.
- Published on
by Daniel Schnitzer
It is estimated that Haiti is now left with less than half of its wood stock relative to 1982. If the status quo with respect to the state of energy use is maintained, it is not unreasonable to forecast the complete depletion of that resource in the very near future. Not many groups of people have successfully destroyed an entire resource, particularly one as valuable as trees, but it’s happened before, as recounted in my previous post on Easter Island.
While the cultures of Haiti and Easter Island are obviously different in many ways, the reasons for their environmental crises are strikingly similar. Both shared unsustainable agriculture and a devotion to wood as the chosen resource for a commonplace ritual – be it transporting stone statues or cooking meals.
Haiti must reduce its appetite for charcoal, which is currently used in ninety percent of households. This can be achieved by either switching to more efficient stoves, or by switching to stoves fueled by alternatives to wood charcoal.
The tragedy of these circumstances is that such stoves are inexpensive and are even being manufactured in small quantities by non- and for-profit ventures around the country. I have personally seen or used no fewer than five locally produced efficient or alternative fuel stove designs.
One of my favorites is made by a business owned by four brothers in Port-au-Prince. My affinity for their business extends past their mission and stove design. What I am most enthused about is their business model, which contrasts sharply with the way clean stove dissemination has been practiced in Haiti. Many NGOs and institutional programs have tried to increase the penetration of clean stoves through hyper-local micro-manufacturing. These programs do not have a good track record for sustainability. They collapse because they lack both the incentives and the resources to grow. To encourage adoption of clean stoves, we should adop business models engineered for success, not failure. Few manufacturers sell directly to the end-users of their products. Instead, they centralize their production facilities to achieve economies of scale and sell in bulk to distributors. This is precisely the approach being taken by the manufacturer in Port-au-Prince, and the one EarthSpark seeks to encourage by providing them with distribution channels.
Check out pictures of efficient stove manufacturing in Port-au-Prince.
It is estimated that Haiti is now left with less than half of its wood stock relative to 1982. If the status quo with respect to the state of energy use is maintained, it is not unreasonable to forecast the complete depletion of that resource in the very near future. Not many groups of people have successfully destroyed an entire resource, particularly one as valuable as trees, but it’s happened before, as recounted in my previous post on Easter Island.
While the cultures of Haiti and Easter Island are obviously different in many ways, the reasons for their environmental crises are strikingly similar. Both shared unsustainable agriculture and a devotion to wood as the chosen resource for a commonplace ritual – be it transporting stone statues or cooking meals.
Haiti must reduce its appetite for charcoal, which is currently used in ninety percent of households. This can be achieved by either switching to more efficient stoves, or by switching to stoves fueled by alternatives to wood charcoal.
The tragedy of these circumstances is that such stoves are inexpensive and are even being manufactured in small quantities by non- and for-profit ventures around the country. I have personally seen or used no fewer than five locally produced efficient or alternative fuel stove designs.
One of my favorites is made by a business owned by four brothers in Port-au-Prince. My affinity for their business extends past their mission and stove design. What I am most enthused about is their business model, which contrasts sharply with the way clean stove dissemination has been practiced in Haiti. Many NGOs and institutional programs have tried to increase the penetration of clean stoves through hyper-local micro-manufacturing. These programs do not have a good track record for sustainability. They collapse because they lack both the incentives and the resources to grow. To encourage adoption of clean stoves, we should adop business models engineered for success, not failure. Few manufacturers sell directly to the end-users of their products. Instead, they centralize their production facilities to achieve economies of scale and sell in bulk to distributors. This is precisely the approach being taken by the manufacturer in Port-au-Prince, and the one EarthSpark seeks to encourage by providing them with distribution channels.
Check out pictures of efficient stove manufacturing in Port-au-Prince.
- Published on
by Daniel Schnitzer
In addition to efficient charcoal stoves like the “recho mirak” and the clay-insulated stove being made in Port-au-Prince, Haitian entrepreneurs are making liquid fuel stoves. Our stove test included footage of the kerosene stove made by Ecole Atelier in Camp Perrin.
I took that stove with me to Terrier Rouge on the opposite side of the country to test it with Biodiesel made at Jatropha Pepinye. It performed beautifully. I also got a chance to use another kerosene stove that is actually being produced in Terrier Rouge. See more pictures on Picasa.
In addition to efficient charcoal stoves like the “recho mirak” and the clay-insulated stove being made in Port-au-Prince, Haitian entrepreneurs are making liquid fuel stoves. Our stove test included footage of the kerosene stove made by Ecole Atelier in Camp Perrin.
I took that stove with me to Terrier Rouge on the opposite side of the country to test it with Biodiesel made at Jatropha Pepinye. It performed beautifully. I also got a chance to use another kerosene stove that is actually being produced in Terrier Rouge. See more pictures on Picasa.
- Published on
by Daniel Schnitzer
Let me tell you a story. It is one that is known to few, but to those who know it, has had a lasting impact on the way they think about society and the environment. It is the story of a long-forgotten civilization, which at its pinnacle was never known to the outside world. It is the story of the people of Easter Island – the Rapanui – who named their island Te Pito Te Henua – “the navel of the world.” That name implies a deep connection to life. It speaks to the lushness and diversity of the flora and fauna that the mythical first king, Hotu Matua, and his subjects discovered, like some providential land out of a dream.
The first Rapanui were blessed with abundant natural resources – porpoise, fish, birds and rat were primary foodstuffs, and some 21 species of now vanished plants and trees were used for canoes, rafts, rope, cloth, harpoons, firewood and construction. But Easter Island is not famous for its trees. It is known throughout the world for its monolithic statues, called moai, and the numinous intelligence they seem to project.
We know now that the moai were a manifestation of religious beliefs and peaceful competition amongst clans on the island, whose chiefs strove to outdo the grandeur of each other’s moai and ceremonies. While they realized that the resources of one clan were vital to the survival of the others (for example, one clan claimed the two best harbors in its territory, while another’s domain included the best stone quarry), they failed to appreciate the fragility of the island they called home.
Throughout much of the island, trees had been cleared for garden plots, which lead to less than ideal conditions for trees to re-grow. The trees were then being used for the transport of moai, and to cremate the bodies of the dead, a sacred tradition that had been practiced for centuries, and which consumed massive amounts of wood. As it became all too clear that their once bountiful island was moving inexorably towards desolation, the Rapanui urgently invoked their ancestors by devoting more and more resources to erect ever-larger moai.
Without the diverse and abundant source of trees and native plants they once enjoyed, the Rapanui were no longer able to make robust canoes and rafts capable of taking them far out into the ocean to hunt tuna and porpoise. Instead, they were forced to turn to small crustaceans and a limited population of birds. In a few generations, these food supplies dwindled as well, hurling the Rapanui into a civil war that overthrew the reigning chiefs and saw the tearing down of every last moai on the island.
The Easter Islanders had nowhere to go after it had become all too painfully obvious they had ruined themselves. Their descent into cannibalism shortly before the outbreak of civil war is a stark reminder of the vital connection between the environment and our humanity.
Let me tell you a story. It is one that is known to few, but to those who know it, has had a lasting impact on the way they think about society and the environment. It is the story of a long-forgotten civilization, which at its pinnacle was never known to the outside world. It is the story of the people of Easter Island – the Rapanui – who named their island Te Pito Te Henua – “the navel of the world.” That name implies a deep connection to life. It speaks to the lushness and diversity of the flora and fauna that the mythical first king, Hotu Matua, and his subjects discovered, like some providential land out of a dream.
The first Rapanui were blessed with abundant natural resources – porpoise, fish, birds and rat were primary foodstuffs, and some 21 species of now vanished plants and trees were used for canoes, rafts, rope, cloth, harpoons, firewood and construction. But Easter Island is not famous for its trees. It is known throughout the world for its monolithic statues, called moai, and the numinous intelligence they seem to project.
We know now that the moai were a manifestation of religious beliefs and peaceful competition amongst clans on the island, whose chiefs strove to outdo the grandeur of each other’s moai and ceremonies. While they realized that the resources of one clan were vital to the survival of the others (for example, one clan claimed the two best harbors in its territory, while another’s domain included the best stone quarry), they failed to appreciate the fragility of the island they called home.
Throughout much of the island, trees had been cleared for garden plots, which lead to less than ideal conditions for trees to re-grow. The trees were then being used for the transport of moai, and to cremate the bodies of the dead, a sacred tradition that had been practiced for centuries, and which consumed massive amounts of wood. As it became all too clear that their once bountiful island was moving inexorably towards desolation, the Rapanui urgently invoked their ancestors by devoting more and more resources to erect ever-larger moai.
Without the diverse and abundant source of trees and native plants they once enjoyed, the Rapanui were no longer able to make robust canoes and rafts capable of taking them far out into the ocean to hunt tuna and porpoise. Instead, they were forced to turn to small crustaceans and a limited population of birds. In a few generations, these food supplies dwindled as well, hurling the Rapanui into a civil war that overthrew the reigning chiefs and saw the tearing down of every last moai on the island.
The Easter Islanders had nowhere to go after it had become all too painfully obvious they had ruined themselves. Their descent into cannibalism shortly before the outbreak of civil war is a stark reminder of the vital connection between the environment and our humanity.
- Published on
by Daniel Schnitzer
A few days ago, I met with a businessman here in Port-au-Prince who, in addition to having a seasonal fruit export business, is a distributor of solar panels, inverters and batteries. For the past few years he has tried, and failed, to sell Solar Home Systems in a part of Haiti with very little access to public electricity. There are many reasons why the systems did not sell well - the retailer had insufficient technical expertise, there was no after sales service, the price was very high, and there was no end-user financing. When I told him about EarthSpark’s model, he was flabbergasted that we were trying to develop supply chains for such small solar technologies. He didn’t seem to understand that while, yes, there is a market for the $300 - $800 systems he tried to sell (and intends to import more to try again), that market is much smaller than the market for $160 systems and even smaller compared to the one for $20 solar lamps. He also seemed to fail to understand the reasons why people would want to buy these smaller technologies. His objection was that people want to watch TV, and that anything less expensive than $300 would not be of good quality. In fact, while his large systems are of very high quality, you can easily find small, high-quality solar technology made by companies like Barefoot Power and SunTransfer. And while many households do aspire to own a TV, this is not their top priority; our 2008 survey showed that of many possible end uses for electricity, lighting was by far the most desired.
The demand for these technologies should be no surprise, and a recent blog post by Mathias Craig, CEO of blueEnergy, provides us with some clues for why these small, affordable technologies are so important. The above graph, which Mathias used in his post, shows the relationship between the Human Development Index (HDI), a quantitative measure of well-being which combines measures of infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy and other indicators, and per capita electricity consumption. This graph is very interesting because it shows that this relationship is characterized by diminishing marginal returns. That is, for every additional kWh of electricity consumed, the amount by which HDI grows decreases. An easy way to visualize this is by observing that if we draw an imaginary line following the general shape of the points on the graph, when we go from 0 to 2,500 kWh there is a change in HDI of 0.8 - 0.3 = 0.5. But when we increase kWh by the same amount again, and go from 2,500 to 5,000 kWh, HDI changes by just 0.9 - 0.8 = 0.1.
This very clearly shows that the first few kWh of electricity have the biggest impact on quality of life. So for a country like Haiti, which sits between Pakistan and Zambia on the graph, a small solar light or system may not seem like much, but it can improve lives drastically - far more for each kWh they use (or dollars they cost) than big, expensive solar home systems.
A few days ago, I met with a businessman here in Port-au-Prince who, in addition to having a seasonal fruit export business, is a distributor of solar panels, inverters and batteries. For the past few years he has tried, and failed, to sell Solar Home Systems in a part of Haiti with very little access to public electricity. There are many reasons why the systems did not sell well - the retailer had insufficient technical expertise, there was no after sales service, the price was very high, and there was no end-user financing. When I told him about EarthSpark’s model, he was flabbergasted that we were trying to develop supply chains for such small solar technologies. He didn’t seem to understand that while, yes, there is a market for the $300 - $800 systems he tried to sell (and intends to import more to try again), that market is much smaller than the market for $160 systems and even smaller compared to the one for $20 solar lamps. He also seemed to fail to understand the reasons why people would want to buy these smaller technologies. His objection was that people want to watch TV, and that anything less expensive than $300 would not be of good quality. In fact, while his large systems are of very high quality, you can easily find small, high-quality solar technology made by companies like Barefoot Power and SunTransfer. And while many households do aspire to own a TV, this is not their top priority; our 2008 survey showed that of many possible end uses for electricity, lighting was by far the most desired.
The demand for these technologies should be no surprise, and a recent blog post by Mathias Craig, CEO of blueEnergy, provides us with some clues for why these small, affordable technologies are so important. The above graph, which Mathias used in his post, shows the relationship between the Human Development Index (HDI), a quantitative measure of well-being which combines measures of infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy and other indicators, and per capita electricity consumption. This graph is very interesting because it shows that this relationship is characterized by diminishing marginal returns. That is, for every additional kWh of electricity consumed, the amount by which HDI grows decreases. An easy way to visualize this is by observing that if we draw an imaginary line following the general shape of the points on the graph, when we go from 0 to 2,500 kWh there is a change in HDI of 0.8 - 0.3 = 0.5. But when we increase kWh by the same amount again, and go from 2,500 to 5,000 kWh, HDI changes by just 0.9 - 0.8 = 0.1.
This very clearly shows that the first few kWh of electricity have the biggest impact on quality of life. So for a country like Haiti, which sits between Pakistan and Zambia on the graph, a small solar light or system may not seem like much, but it can improve lives drastically - far more for each kWh they use (or dollars they cost) than big, expensive solar home systems.