Helping Communities Develop
It has been three days since I arrived to Guatemala. Since the plane ride down all you can see is green. The beautiful landscape is complemented with the nice and welcoming people. I have been spending...
View ArticleLiving in Mano de Leon
We went to live with a community off the grid (without electricity) for a few days. It was amazing to see my change in perception of what is substantial in life after living with these people for a...
View ArticleKiva Project
Quetsol, the company I am interning with, is looking to become a non-MFI partner with Kiva. Kiva is a non profit institution that allows individuals to lend money, whether it is to micro finance...
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Changing solar energy batteries– more complicated than expected.
Switching a lightbulb at Babson is an easy request, all it requires is to go buy one and change it. In contrast, providing light to rural communities in Guatemala so the children are able to read...
View ArticleThe pilot Experience
Today, after a five hour car ride from Guatemala City, we just arrived to Coban, Guatemala. The reason we are here is to launch the new Pay as You Go model for the company. In this new Business model,...
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Changing Products & Responsibility to past clients
Hey all– thanks for checking in and reading my updates on my work with Quetsol in Guatemala As the title suggests, I would like to illustrate one of the issues Quetsol is having right now as it...
View ArticleThe Importance of communication and Proper Planning
As described in my past entries, I’m currently working on the launch of the Pay-as-you-go pilot. In a nutshell, people from communities will be able to purchase the use of the solar systems installed...
View ArticleWith electricity comes consumption– Do providers have moral obligation to...
Hey all, One of the biggest demands that I have seen out in the field is for solar energy systems that can power televisions. For someone like me that does not watch a lot of television and can see the...
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My Perception of local communities vs. The Reality
Coming into this experience, I had a picture in my head of a typical rural community. While some of my thoughts were confirmed—subsistence farming, simple eating, mainly isolated living—many were not....
View ArticleCollecting the Battery Replacement Second Payment
As I previously mentioned, Alex and I did a battery replacement in the community of Mano de Leon. The replacement was for our host-family’s system. While the replacement went very smoothly, we were...
View ArticleThe Pilot and Quality Control
Part of my work has been being in the field and servicing the Pay-As-You-Go kits that are being used in the pilot. One of the lessons that I have learned is that it does not pay to cut corners with...
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The Spaceship and Spirituality in Coban
During the PAYG (Pay as you go) pilot launch, we were staying close to one of the company’s offices in Coban, Guatemala. This city, apart from being one of the biggest cities in the country, has a deep...
View ArticleFirst PAYG store owner in Latin America
As previously mentioned in a blog post, I helped make the instruction manual for store owners that would be the points of sale for community members to buy the required codes. As we arrived to do the...
View ArticleUnintended Consequences—Store, and Potential Clients from Pilot areas
After doing this pilot work, I have been able to recognize some unforeseen impacts that should have been considered more fully before implementing the plan. For example, in San Vicente, there are a...
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