At the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North Lunch Meeting on March 11, 2021, John Barrie talked about a Rotary Global Grant called Mayan Power and Light he is supporting.
Mayan Power and Light is a self-sustaining social venture business incubator that helps Guatemalan women start small scale businesses to serve rural populations. Mayan Power and Light businesses sell affordable solar power, water filters and clean cooking stoves.
The program addresses eight of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals according to sustain, a program of the United Nations Compact for Sustainable Development.
Mayan Power and Light is a collaborative venture between The Appropriate Technology Collaborative, regional governments, Guatemalan Technical schools, Guatemalan women’s rights activists and rural community leaders. Located in the Western Highlands of Guatemala the program creates jobs, provides power, improves health and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Mayan Power and Light projects interconnect to create long-term, sustainable solutions with empowered communities.
- Demonstration Projects:
- Community buildings offer improved services while demonstrating the benefits of solar power, water filters and clean cookstoves.
- Solar powered computer labs improve quality of education.
- Cellphone charging stations allow kids to charge their family cellphone while at school.
- Social Entrepreneurship:
- Practical coaching sessions support small businesses and encourage them to integrate social and environmental impacts into their business models.
- Rural women develop business plans and skills to serve her community, benefit the environment and earn her own income.
- Generation of Change:
- Hands-on, STEM-rich trainings at schools, universities and community centers increase awareness about appropriate technologies that address poverty and the environment.
- Specializing in solar power, workshops help people make educated investments in home solar power solutions. Students learn to calculate their power needs, where to set solar panels, and solar components.
- Community Empowerment
- Sessions with community leaders build their capacity to plan and lead sustainable projects independently.
- This process encourages community-directed initiatives from planning to fundraising and maintenance.
For more information on Mayan Power and Light take a look at his power-point presentation.
