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The Initiative “Lighting Up Hope and Communities
in Rural Nicaragua” will be funded by proceeds from
the Benefit Concert given by the renowned Freiburg Baroque
Orchestra on
November 5 in
the Freiburg Concert
Hall.
“Lighting Up Hope and Communities” is
one of this year's winners of the international competition of
the Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development
(SEED) Initiative.
The Seed Awards highlight innovative and entrepreneurial Multi-Stakeholder-Initiatives
searching for sustainable solutions to urgent societal and ecological
problems. For more information on SEED Iniative please refer to www.seedinit.org.
“Lighting Up Hope and Communities” is the
result of a collaboration between the Renewable Energy Centre
(PFAE), launched at the
National Engineering University in Managua and
the cooperative Solar Women of Totogalpa (SWT) in Northern Nicaragua.
With the help of various experts
on solar
technology
the joint initiative aims to launch a cooperative business
that will produce and market products made from recycled
solar
cells, adapted
solar
cookers and sun-dried fruits and medicinal plants. Rural
communities as equal partners with PFAE will develop alternative
energy strategies in a manner that respects the dignity and needs
of local cultures.
The initiative will
provide a model for sustainable development that will increase
the use of solar
power across rural Nicaragua and will further help to decrease
carbon emissions due to the reduced use of grid electricity
or domestic, petrol-fuelled
power generators. Moreover, the joint initiative will generate
more local job opportunities and will provide community members
with skills on producing
and using solar technologies for the benefit of the community.
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