Quetzaltenango, Guatemala - January 5, 2007 - The Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) and its first incubated business, XelaTeco, completed a micro-hydroelectric project in El Palmar, Guatemala last month that is providing 40 families (roughly 200 people) with electricity in their homes for the first time.
Before the existence of XelaTeco, which was established with the financial and technical backing of U.S. non-profit AIDG, an isolated village like the Comunidad Nueva Alianza (CNA) had few options for getting electricity, let alone renewable energy. Due to their remoteness, an electric grid extension was years if not decades away. The high and volatile cost of diesel in Guatemala made reliance on electric generators impractical. The concrete shell of an old micro-hydroelectric system existed at the community. Unfortunately, no providers could completely rebuild it at a price that CNA could afford.
When it burst onto the scene in August 2005, XelaTeco filled a much-needed niche. It was a new breed of business in Guatemala that manufactures, installs and repairs green technologies for people living between $2-4 a day, development agencies and institutions. Because XelaTeco could locally manufacture many essential, yet very complex components for much less than their purchase price in U.S. or European markets, it became the CNA's leading choice of contractor.
Peter Haas is the founder and executive director of AIDG, an NGO that starts businesses in developing countries to provide the rural poor with renewable energy and clean technologies that meet their basic needs. He contends that locally-based and socially responsible enterprises such as XelaTeco will be the key to providing underserved communities with long-term and sustainable access to clean water, sanitation and electricity.
"That is the revolution", he says, "locally designed, locally built, locally implemented, locally maintained."
"With the right providers, the basic amenities of a first world standard of living are available to the rural poor," Haas explains. "These amenities help people lift themselves out of poverty. They save time and money, they prevent debilitating diseases, and they create opportunities for enterprise and commerce."
With funding from AIDG and the United Nations Development Program's Small Grants Program, many of the barriers that kept CNA from obtaining electricity in their homes were removed.
In addition to the micro-hydroelectric system, XelaTeco has also installed several biogas systems and a solar water heater for the CNA. Javier Jimenez, community leader at the CNA, explains why the community is actively pursuing sustainable development. "It is important for us to protect the environment", he says. "The different projects allow us to diversify our income," he continues, "and enable us to live better lives in the future".
The importance of reducing the human impact on the environment was underlined in the aftermath of Hurricane Stan, one of the 21 named storms in the record-breaking Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2005. Over 600 people, mostly indigenous persons living in extreme poverty, died in mudslides thought to be a result of extensive deforestation.
As the effects of global warming become increasingly apparent, organizations like XelaTeco and the AIDG can lead the way in providing underserved rural communities with the basics of life while also minimizing negative environmental effects.
XelaTeco's product range includes windmills, solar water heaters, water pumps, water purifiers, biodigesters, and small-scale hydroelectric systems.
