A "Brighter" Future for Bayonnais

The following is a posting from the website of http://www.dissigno.com/
under the heading of Latest News:

On September 15th 2007 dissigno and Eco Systems will travel to Haiti for The Pedal Power Project, which will bring distributed electricity to Bayonnais, Haiti. Currently in Bayonnais, nearly 80,000 Haitians live without access to any form of electricity. The Pedal Power Project will launch a pilot using Eco System’s pedal technology for 50 families. Electricity is created through pedaling and stored in a 12-volt deep cycle battery. This in turn charges smaller 6-volt batteries called home units. The home units are then rented to members of the community with low wattage LED lights. In addition, the electricity will power electric drills and saws, charge cell phone, and power cold storage for food and medicine. The system has several advantages. The technology is less expensive, requires no fuel supply chain, and is safer and healthier. There is no fire, smoke inhalation, or burning risk. In addition, it reduces the need for wood fires, further limiting deforestation. This innovative service can scale and replicate easily with the addition of battery/LED units and generators.
dissigno and the local school OFCB will partner to operate as a “for profit” enterprise to maintain sustainability. It will provide distributed electrical power & lighting for community members, create employment opportunities, and stimulate ancillary enterprises. dissigno will install the technology, provide operation training, and enterprise support. It will also assist other community members in creating ancillary enterprises surrounding the initial product. Enterprise opportunity is the key towards poverty eradication.

I will now take an excerpt from the blog page of Peter Daniel who is here in Haiti and living at OFCB. He writes as follows:

Given that there is little to no electricity in Bayonnais outside of the small 2 acre compound where I live, this microenterprise project offers not only evening light to those dependent upon the sun, but it also creates jobs and encourages growth. An environmentally friendly substitute for kerosene lamps, they do not involve an increase in price to make the switch. (A friend of mine relayed an encounter with a Haitian student on a previous mission trip: the student was falling behind in school because his family needed him to help farm from the end of school until dusk; he asked my friend for a flashlight, saying that he would be okay if he could only study at night…or consider the increase in productivity of a seamstress who could work a while during the evening after returning from the marketplace.)

Peter Daniel is here to teach English and Art, among other subjects, and will be my American neighbor for the next eight months. He has a blogpage and will share his own insights as to what life is like here. He also has a larger vocabulary than I do. If you would like to keep up with his perspectives, check out his blog at:

http://peterbdaniel.wordpress.com/

As an added bonus to his page there is an Art link called Flickr Photos that is wonderful to look at. I spent quite a while viewing the amazing photography.

As for the Ecolights, Kent Shell brought one to our Community meeting and gave a demonstration. There was an immediate excited response and many lined up to add their name to a list for a future distribution. It will be a blessing to many to be able to have a means for doing tasks after dark and to have a way to power other equipment at a reasonable cost.

I have one for my own use and have already enjoyed the benefits of using it. One major blessing is being able to read after the generator has been turned off. The only drawback is contending with the bugs that are attracted to the light. It's annoying, but still a blessing. :)