Susan Kinne: Meeting the Challenges of Sustainability in Rural Nicaragua
On October 16th, 2009, we had the pleasure to welcome Susan Kinne to the UC Davis. Susan is the director of the Alternative Energy Program (PFAE) at the National Engineering University (UNI) in Managua, Nicaragua, a position she has held for over 19 years. Her presentation, at a brown bag seminar, was about the work she is doing in applied research with renewable energy in association with a women's cooperative and NGO, Grupo Fenix, to advance renewable energy technologies and social constructs and processes.
Susan explained that Grupo Fenix serves to develop
and empower the relatively isolated and rural community of Sabana
Grande located in northern Nicaragua near the Honduran border. The
community project began with seed funding for landmine victims who
were then retrained to build solar panels. The effort has expanded
over the years to include solar ovens, solar battery rechargers,
development of a solar autoclave, solar water pumps, construction of
residential biogas digesters, etc. Last year Grupo Fenix was
one of five organizations awarded the prestigious International SEED
Award. The SEED Awards (Supporting Entrepreneurs for Sustainable
Development) are distinctive in the growing field of environment and
development awards in that they identify, profile and support
promising, locally-driven, start-up enterprises working in partnership
in developing countries to improve livelihoods, tackle poverty, and
manage natural resources sustainably. SEED is a global network founded
in 2002 by UNEP, UNDP and IUCN to contribute towards the goals in the
UN’s Millennium Declaration and the commitments made at the
Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. This
year Grupo Fenix anticipates finalizing plans and beginning
construction of a "solar restaurant," taking advantage of all of the
renewable energy resources, growing local knowledge, combined with
the organic gardens now on site.
Susan Kinne told of weeks at a time testing recipes to build bricks, of communities and families becoming self-reliant and economically more viable. Her story was uplifting and inspirational.