AGENDA

The Grupo Fenix invites interested parties to participate directly in its development and vision. We  offer a 12-day workshop/tour in which participants learn about solar energy systems, study applications specific to Central America, visit renewable energy installations, and install a PV lighting system in a rural village.  The program includes recreational and cultural activities. The next 12-day workshop will run from the 31st of July thru the 11th of August, 2005.  The cost of the entire trip, excluding air fare and airport expenses, is $1050 per person, which includes a $300 subsidy towards solar equipment for the villages and to development funds for the places where Fenix is working. The course is taught in English and Spanish with simultaneous translation into English. (Spanish ability greatly enhances your experience of Nicaragua, and the Summer course will be taught mostly by Nicaraguans and include more Spanish.)  The course design for 2005 includes new hands on experiences and highlights the socio economic impact Grupo Fenix has had in the process of implementing renewable energy for sustainable development. New students welcome and previous students encouraged to return.
 
A PROBLEM: More than 60% of Nicaragua's rural population have no electricity,  and the cost of electricity is high for poor Nicaraguans. Rural poor rely on wood to fuel in-home stoves for cooking, and more than half of the energy consumed in the country is for firewood for cooking. The resultant deforestation has caused the drying up local rivers, serious erosion and loss of top soil, and mud slides that have killed thousands. Campesinos must walk progressively farther to encounter firewood or purchase the wood at rising cost. Health concerns related to cooking with firewood include respiratory diseases, which now leads contaminated water as a major cause of illness and death. These problems particularly affect women and children, who are most likely to spend significant time in smoke-filled kitchens.
 
A SOLUTION: Grupo Fenix was started in 1996 by a group of enthusiastic engineering students at the National Engineering University (UNI).  They chose the name "Grupo Fenix" receiving inspiration from the mythical bird of Egyptian sun worship, the Phoenix, which is forever renewed, and expresses the hope of these young Nicaraguans that their poor, strife-torn country would rise from the ashes of war and build an enlightened society.  Since 1996, Grupo Fenix has developed into an association of member organizations with academic, non profit and business affiliations which  have been promoting, researching and implementing the use of renewable energy resources in Nicaragua, especially in rural areas. Grupo Fenix counts among its accomplishments:

• Establishment of two solar cooker workshops, one in the Capital city Managua and one in the countryside.
• Design of over 16 new types of solar cookers.
• Construction and repair of over  80 solar cookers.
• Construction of  several styles of solar water heaters.
• Construction of  three solar dryers.
• Construction of  prototypes for solar instrument sterilizer and solar bee's wax melter.
• Establishment of two workshops for local manufacture of photovoltaic (PV) panels, the first a small business in Managua and the second run by land mine survivors in a remote village.
• The construction of more than 300 PV panels
• The construction of several hundred ballasts for 12 volt fluorescent lighting.
• The development of inexpensive LED reading lights for students in remote villages.
• Installation of hundreds of PV systems in towns without previous access to electricity.
• Installation of a  microhydro system, several others in design stage.
• Creation of two village solar water pumping systems
• Construction of  5 Biogas systems.
• Providing over a thousand  hours of training in the use and construction of renewable energy technologies to all levels of participants, from campesinos to scientists. 
• Organization and hosting for eight years of  Nicaragua's only annual Renewable Energy Fair.
• Presentation of monthly popular education conferences on renewable energy themes, almost without interruption since1996

Highlights of Course:

• Visit  the Grupo Fenix Renewable Energy educational and production centers in the city of Managua, learn about the variety of activities involved in making renewable energy a part of life in Nicaragua.
• Spend  a week in remote rural communities where Grupo Fenix has installed renewable energy systems, gaining intimate knowledge about the community, and experience the impact of solar energy on their lives.
• Learn about the history and philosophy of using solar energy, principles of design for solar cookers, water and air heaters, and food driers, and the latest advances in the field of photovoltaics.  
• Hands on experience installing a PV solar electric system in a remote village.
• Hands on experience building and testing permanent solar box cookers.
• Solar cooked meals.
• Celebrate the sun with locally written songs, poems, dancing and cultural exchange. (You are invited to share songs, dance, juggling in the culture nights. 
• In depth discussions with villagers and local non-profits on problems, successes and future possibilities of renewable energy as a part of local sustainable development.

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS: 

• The Solar Culture Course is offered twice yearly, after August the following session of the course will be from the 2nd through the 13th of January 2006.  Intensive one week Courses in Solar Spanish in the village of Unile, $150.00 (See http://www.grupofenix.org/ )
• Option of individual non-structured stay in the village for holidays, at $15.00 a day or a total of $105.00 per week.  Proceeds go to the development of the Village Solar Training Centers.
• Weekend Tour after the Solar-Cultural Course to a site selected by your group.  Options include twin volcanic island of Ometepe and Microhydro site,  Colonial Granada, the deep volcanic lake of Laguna de Apoya, fishing village and estuaries, or other options depending on course participants.(Additional costs involved). 

THE INSTRUCTORS: 
     Richard Komp, Ph.D., the course advisor and instructor for the January sessions, is the author of PRACTICAL PHOTOVOLTAICS and has been working on solar cells since 1960. He has taught numerous courses and workshops on solar energy all over the world; is currently the president of the Maine Solar Energy association and has a small photovoltaic company, Sun Watt Corporation. Richard also teaches graduate courses on Solar Energy at the UNI.
     Susan Kinne, initiator of the solar cultural/course, has been on staff at the UNI for the past  15 years, and is currently director of the Fenix Program for Alternative Energy.
      Nicaraguan Grupo FENIX staff consists of pre-grad and young engineers and technicians who have made renewable energy their life mission. The rural staff now includes land mine survivors who were trained as solar technicians during the 1999- 2001 project directed to FENIX thru Falls Brook Centre of Canada.
 
PAYMENT: A $50 deposit or full payment of $1050 by July 15th 2005 will save you a place in the course, which will be limited to a total of 15 participants. Checks should be made out to SKYHEAT ASSOCIATES and sent to: Richard Komp, Skyheat Associates, 17 Rockwell Rd. SE, Jonesport ME 04649. If you only pay the deposit by check, the remaining amount is to be paid the first day of the course in cash (U.S. dollars).
 
AIR TRAVEL:  We can recommend a "Green" travel agency, EARTH ROUTES, travel@earthroutes.net 207-326-8635, RFD 1, Box 22-B, Penobscot ME 04476.  Each airline ticket plants three trees through the non-profit Seed Tree.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Richard Komp (primary contact) e-mail: sunwatt@juno.com, phone: 207-497-2204, or Susan Kinne in Nicaragua, e-mail: skinne1@juno.com  Website: http://www.grupofenix.org

The first part of this is an appeal forwarded to us by Peter Rees from Tobert Kates.
The second part is from Move-on.org, and discusses ways we can encourage our government to provide more relief to the tsunami victims.

Action Alert: List of Agencies for Donations to Aid Tsunami Relief in Asia
27 December 2004
There is no darkness greater at this time than the devastation that has hit Asia.
LightUpTheDarkness.org has compiled a list of agencies and organizations that are involved in relief efforts

Dear Friends:

It is always difficult to know how to respond to overwhelming disasters such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami.  But a friend sent me a message that she received from the U.S. Support group for Sarvodaya, a Sri Lankan non-governmental organization that has worked for peace in the never-ending Sri Lankan conflict, ending hunger, and supporting the marginal and poorest people.

I first came across Sarvodaya and its amazing leader Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne in 1986 when the Alan Shawn Feinstein World hunger Program awarded him and his organization the first of its World Hunger Awards. I have not kept up with them  over the last ten years, but I think if you are considering support here is a small but unique group to whom to entrust your modest gifts.

Here is the extract from the note sent by: Richard Brooks < rbrooks@dcs.wisc.edu>

“THE TIDAL WAVE

But the absolutely terrifying news of the earthquake and tidal wave keeps getting worse and worse.  The idea of thousands of people drowning and hundreds of thousands--or millions--being affected is just too much to absorb. I have had emails from Tamil and Sinhala friends alike. International aid agencies are rushing to the rescue and Sarvodaya's reach will be more important than ever.

In a disaster, our first concerns are always for people we know and love.  I immediately wanted to hear from the Ariyaratne family...and of course, the first message was from Ari, with a plea for help. I thought of so many Sarvodaya friends and wondered how their families fared; the Suwasetha home for teenage mothers, the home for malnourished and abandoned children; and the Nonviolent Peace Force's Rita Webb (she's okay) as well as other volunteers. Then I began remembering the shacks of poor people living on the beaches by the railroad tracks, and houses on the river banks.  The grounds of the Matara center and all the villages along the coast where the tsunami must have swept almost everything away.

The purpose of this email is to provide instructions on what we can do.

But one of the most powerful messages of Sarvodaya  is that we are all one family, so the sadness we feel extends far beyond the people whose names we know.  We have been asked to help.  Even though international aid agencies and governments will surely contribute, our gift has to be more personal.  In village after village, the rebuilding of lives offers opportunities to nurture the sense of community that Sarvodaya has always been about.

What We Can Do Right Now

1. Send a check to:  Sarvodaya USA, 5716 Manchester Avenue #3, Los Angeles, CA 90045.  D.J. Mitchell, our accountant and a longtime friend of Sarvodaya, will wire funds to Sarvodaya every few days. Your contribution will be tax-deductible this year if it is postmarked before January 1.  Otherwise, it will be tax-deductible in 2005.  Either way, it is needed immediately.  If you send a check, please let me know < rbrooks@dcs.wisc.edu> and we will make doubly sure it is acknowledged.”

With warm regard
Bob Kates

Millions of lives are on the line. The U.S. government can lead billions of dollars of aid into the tsunami relief effort, if it chooses. Let Congress and the President know that Americans are supporting strong leadership in this relief effort.

Take Action

The tsunami in southern Asia and Africa may be the worst natural disaster of our time. More than 116,000 lives were wiped out within hours. The toll in death and suffering from smashed cities, broken families, rampant disease, and crippled economies cannot even be calculated. In the face of this horror, MoveOn members have poured in requests to help, asking how we can push through our sadness and lend a hand.

Rising to this challenge is at the heart of global leadership, and the world is depending on us. The U.S. government can lead billions of dollars of aid into this relief effort, if it chooses. Americans are generous and ready to step forward, but the U.S. Congress and the Bush administration have made a weak initial contribution to the effort -- first offering $15 million and then $35 million when they came under pressure. Clearly, we can do more.

Let Congress and the President know that Americans are supporting strong leadership in this relief effort -- that millions of lives are at stake and we have to help. In this hour of need, if America chooses to embrace our role as a world leader, we can have an unparalleled impact. Send a message to our leaders at:
http://www.moveon.org/tsunamirelief/

But we can't just wait for this Congress to move. We can help directly, as individuals, and save lives today. Our friends at Oxfam are already scrambling on the front lines to fight off starvation and disease -- and beginning to rebuild. Because Oxfam has worked for years with grassroots groups in the hardest hit areas, they were able to mobilize local leadership to help survivors immediately after the tsunami hit. And Oxfam will be there for the long-term, helping communities recover and regain their ability to meet basic needs. Oxfam needs to raise $5 million immediately to provide safe water, sanitation, food, shelter, and clothing to 36,000 families in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India. Your contribution can make this possible.

Please give what you can, at:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=631

Of course, Oxfam is only one of dozens of great organizations, like UNICEF, CARE, and the Red Cross/Red Crescent, rushing to help with the immediate need. Their efforts give the victims a head start, but it won't be enough unless the great nations of the world step forward in a big way for the long-term challenges.

Indonesia, by far the hardest hit country, is also the world's largest Muslim nation. Their estimated death toll stands at 85,000 -- in some areas, 1 out of 4 people have already been killed. Now it's time for America to show its true colors. We want to be known as a nation that leads the world with compassion, generosity, and community -- not with disastrous foreign military adventures. We are a nation that values human life, family, and extending freedom and opportunity to where it is most needed. We must now reach out in a serious way to do just that.

The $35 million offered by the Bush administration seems like a lot of money, but it's insignificant compared to what's needed in a disaster relief effort than spans continents and is expected to be the most expensive in history. To put it in perspective, we're spending $35 million in Iraq every 7 hours. (The Bush administration is about to ask for another $80 billion to cover the next installment of this tragic occupation.) [Bush Says America Will Lead Global Relief Effort, Washington Post, December 30, 2004 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33290-2004Dec29.html ]

We can and will do better. Thanks for doing your part to show the true generosity of the American spirit.

Sincerely,
Adam, Ben, Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Justin, Laura, Mari, Noah, Rosalyn, and Wes
  The MoveOn.org Team
  December 30th, 2004

P.S. Just as we were finalizing this email, we received a note from 17-year-old MoveOn member Annalise Blum, who has a great idea for New Year's Eve parties. Here's her email:

Dear Joan and Wes,

We arrived in Cambodia today and turned on the TV in our hotel room to learn more about the Tsunami. It has been horrifying to follow the rising death toll and especially learn about all of the children who have died. I really wanted to do something when I learned that just as many more people could die from lack of access to clean water and the spread of disease if not enough is done quickly.

I realized that New Years Eve Parties would be a perfect place to have people contribute online to the relief effort. Someone in our group came up with the name "Throw out a lifeline Online."

If MoveOn were to send out a message to its members suggesting that they turn on a computer and donate money to one of the relief organizations at their new years eves parties, it could save thousands of lives. Maybe this sort of message would be a welcome opportunity for its members to help people directly. I would greatly appreciate anything you could do to help.

Below I have written a message I am planning send to my friends. MoveOn, if interested, could send out something similar.

Throw Out A Lifeline Online

Help the Victims of the South Asian Tsunami

As most of you undoubtedly know, many parts of the eastern coastal regions of South Asia were hit on Sunday, December 26th, with one of the largest tsunamis in recent history. The death toll of the tsunami, caused by an earthquake of 9.0 magnitude, has already risen to over 60,000 people. All regions affected are in desperate need of clean water, food, temporary shelter and medical help to the survivors. Some estimate that one third of the dead are children.

World Health Organization expert David Nabarro told reporters "there is certainly a chance that we could have as many dying from communicable diseases as from the tsunami".

Start this year off by contributing money to an effective aid organization to prevent this humanitarian catastrophe from getting even worse. If you are going to a New Year's Eve Party, make it meaningful by turning on a computer and encouraging everyone to donate.

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A major human tragedy is unfolding in Sudan, one that has reportedly claimed at least 30,000 lives, and could claim hundreds of thousands more unless the world community works together, starting immediately, to end it.
http://www.moveon.org/news/sudan.html

Although Secretary of State Colin Powell is in Sudan now, he has yet to declare that the atrocities there constitute genocide [1].  Such recognition would make a huge difference, catalyzing the world  community to help stop the bloodshed.  Powell should also publicly condemn the genocide.  But so far, he has stopped short of this.

Yesterday on NPR, Powell said: "Why would we call it a genocide when the genocide definition has to meet certain legal tests and based on what we have seen there were some indicators but there was certainly no full accounting of all indicators that lead to a legal definition of genocide and that's the advice of my lawyers..." [2]

Please call Powell today at:

  Secretary of State Colin Powell
  202-647-4000 or 202-647-6607 or 202-647-6575

  Urge him to:
  - Immediately declare the atrocities in Sudan to be "Genocide"; and
  - Publicly condemn them.

Please also call your Senators and Representative:

  Senator Olympia J. Snowe
  Washington, DC: 202-224-5344

  Senator Susan M. Collins
  Washington, DC: 202-224-2523

  Congressman Michael H Michaud
  Washington, DC: 202-225-6306

Urge them to demand that the United States recognize the genocide and condemn it.

Calls for action from newspapers throughout the country have been compiled by the Center for American Progress, at:
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=97645

Footnotes:

[1] Genocide is commonly defined as "the systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group."  - Dictionary.com
The formal definition of genocide, under the United Nations' 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, is:

"any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
  (a) Killing members of the group;
  (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
  (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
  (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
  (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."

Source: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/p_genoci.htm

[2] http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=3057010

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