Buen Power Peru's approach will begin by bringing together a large corps of educators in the city of Cusco to offer training and information sessions on the uses, benefits, and science behind solar energy and solar lights. The teachers, who typically procure second jobs to mitigate systemically low salaries, will bring this information back to their distant communities. Through educational sessions, they will then sell lights from d.light design at an affordable, subsidized cost to residents of their communities. Teachers will earn remuneration from the light sales. By utilizing teachers, Buen Power Peru will eliminate one of the largest financial burdens of bringing solar energy to disconnected communities: that of establishing distribution networks over the thousands of miles of dangerous, unpaved roads connecting major cities to distant communities.
Buen Power Peru Announces USAID Grant to bring Solar Lights to 10,000 rural Peruvians
Buen Power Peru (BPP), a solar energy enterprise co-founded by an American engineer and a Peruvian entrepreneur, has just announced its intention to bring solar lights to approximately 10,230 low-income Peruvians with Stage 1 support from USAID's Development Innovation Ventures (DIV). Buen Power Peru will receive $99,992 in grants as part of the Innovation Fund for the Americas (IFA), the Americas arm of DIV launched in 2012 by President Obama at the VI Summit of the Americas. BPP will use funding to build a network of local teachers in largely inaccessible Andean, Alpine communities to distribute clean, renewable solar light to those without access to traditional sources of electricity.
Approximately 20% of all Peruvians lack access to electricity. With investment from USAID's DIV, Buen Power Peru will map out a strategy that aims to scale low-cost lighting and energy solutions to all 4.2 million Peruvians living without power. The solar lights chosen for this project are manufactured by d.light design, a US company also working with DIV in Kenya and Uganda.
Over the next year, the grant from USAID will cover the cost of importing and distributing solar lights capable of lighting a typical family house in selected Andean communities. It is estimated that with these lights, Alpine residents, who live at altitudes where the sun sets at 6 PM year-round, will enjoy an extra four hours of productive, waking hours every day. A corresponding evaluation will gather evidence on the impact of solar access on members of the community in four main areas: the output of women working in the home who weave artisanal clothing from Alpaca fibers; the quality of study for children who will have nighttime hours to read and finish homework; savings the family will gain from not having to purchase expensive batteries to power flashlights; and the air quality in the homes no longer using kerosene lanterns for light. This data will assist BPP in developing a system of best practices to empower teachers across all of Peru to make a living wage while drastically improving the lives of their countrymen and women who have been for generations working and living in the dark.
About Buen Power Peru (BPP)
Buen Power Peru is a Peruvian social enterprise that seeks to alleviate the lack of electricity in Peru. The Company's products enhance the end users' Quality of Life by bringing affordable, personal solar lights to indigenous Peruvians located in remote mountain and jungle areas, as well as solar panel systems and solar hot water systems to Peruvians not connected to the electric grid. Buen Power Peru is located in Cusco, Peru. For more information, visit the Company's Website at www.buenpower.com.
About Development Innovation Ventures at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) USAID's Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) is an investment platform that finds, tests, and scales new solutions to development challenges around the world. The Innovation Fund for the Americas (IFA) is the Americas arm of DIV that aims to invest in cost-effective, breakthrough solutions to key development challenges in the region. For more information, visit www.usaid.gov/div.
The issue
The night before we set out for Anta to meet with our partner Buen Power! Peru,
we were reminded that we live a region where energy is not always a
given. At some point in the early morning, the power in all of
Urubamba, the town where the Visionarias were staying, turned off for
nearly 12 hours—without explanation. While the power outage did not
affect us in any substantive way, it brought to light, so to speak, the
issue of power in our lives and how impactful it can be to both
individuals and communities.
Buen
Power conducted a four hour interactive training where our girls
learned about how solar panels work, affordable models of solar lamps,
methods for teaching community members about the products, as well as
how solar may provide some entrepreneurial opportunities. The training
was conducted on the edge of a mountainside, overlooking the Anta
Valley, near a beautiful home that was completely powered using solar
energy.
The
girls asked many questions about how the technology worked and they
discussed where they see it useful in their homes and communities.
During the debrief of the day’s activities, led by Maria, TVN’s
assistant professor, the girls also started to talk about the
sustainable development of an energy infrastructure and how it is
important to consider all factors involved, including the jobs that are
necessary to ensure a strong energy infrastructure. 
The
girls were also very interested in how Buen Power came into being.
Alicia, the director of Buen Power shared with us her vision and
encouraged the Visionarias to pursue their passions with all their
hearts, all the while remembering to be strategic and to use their
intelligence to help make the change they desire. At the end of the day
we asked how many Visionarias were interested in pursing the Solar
Energy Activism Track, and an astonishingly high number of Visionarias,
18 in total, raised their hands.
Today’s activities were not just inspiring for the Visionarias, but also for the TVN team and our partnership with Buen Power. Alicia is an inspiring social entrepreneur who started Buen Power several years ago when volunteering in the Sacred Valley and observed how many children were not able to do their home work due to a lack of light. Several years later she find herself as the Director of a Peruvian organization focused on distributing knowledge and products to rural communities; she is a keen partner of the TVN and strongly believes in women leaders and the impact they have within their communities.
If you enjoyed reading about our program and the lives it impacts, please consider donating today. Gifts help support the program, the participants, and the communities.
Today’s activities were not just inspiring for the Visionarias, but also for the TVN team and our partnership with Buen Power. Alicia is an inspiring social entrepreneur who started Buen Power several years ago when volunteering in the Sacred Valley and observed how many children were not able to do their home work due to a lack of light. Several years later she find herself as the Director of a Peruvian organization focused on distributing knowledge and products to rural communities; she is a keen partner of the TVN and strongly believes in women leaders and the impact they have within their communities.
If you enjoyed reading about our program and the lives it impacts, please consider donating today. Gifts help support the program, the participants, and the communities.
d.light solar lighting Gadget Product Reviews New Product News with Billy Carmen
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The d.light S300 can provide up to 16 hours of bright light and a 100-hour night light on a full charge. The S300 is a dual-purpose ...d.light S300 Flood Light Charger Demostration from The Damer Group
The d.light S300 provides bright white light at a wide angle, enabling the illumination of an entire room. It features 4 brightness ...- HD
d.light solar lighting Gadget Product Reviews New Product News with Billy Carmen
https://smallbrandnation.com Purchase at: https://SmallBrandNation.com d.light uses the world's best product design principles, ...- HD
d.light S300 Solar Lantern/Mobile Charger
The d.light S300 can provide up to 16 hours of bright light and a 100-hour night light on a full charge. The S300 is a dual-purpose ...d.light S300 Flood Light Charger Demostration from The Damer Group
The d.light S300 provides bright white light at a wide angle, enabling the illumination of an entire room. It features 4 brightness ...- HD
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