With this wind, the white sails of life will glow brighter
An artist will flourish
A student will study
A child will play
Hands will go uncharred
Sweaters will be sewn to keep warm
Eyes will see more
Relationships will grow stronger
Singers will serenade one another
The world will grow bigger
Out of the darkness, into the light
Two weeks ago I got to observe the installation of the wind turbine pictured above in the village of Portreritos. The turbine will be a battery charging station for the 4 household beneficiaries, and with that battery, life will be renewed for the 20 people living in those houses. Access to electricity will lead to light at night, music and news on the radio or TV, the ability to charge a cell phone and therefore keep in touch with family and work contacts…but so much more. While engineering students from Northwestern University soldered, welded, balanced, measured, and cranked away at the technical aspects of installing this beautiful white wind apparatus, I learned about the lives of the people who it will benefit and what their “enlightened” future might look like by conducting and videotaping interviews with each household. It was a blast and what I came here to do!
“I want to be more intelligent...I don't want to sleep my life away," said 78 year old grandmother Arcaria Gonzalez, pictured above with one of her grandsons. Arcaria cannot wait to have electricity because it means she will be able to read at night and learn about the world beyond her life in Portreritos. Currently, without electricity, her already poor eyesight is much too strained to read by candle light when evening falls, so she goes to bed at 6 or 7 most nights. During the day, at the height of sunshine, the house is still too dim to see very well. With electricity, not only will Arcaria be able to read, she’ll also be able to live out her artistic desires. In addition to sewing and drawing, she is known in the community for her beautiful paper flower arrangements. It makes sense that she will be receiving light from the wind- a force of nature- since, she told me, it is nature that taught her how to draw. All of the drawings proudly mounted on the adobe walls of her house are of the flowers and birds that surround her, and her paper flower arrangement was as colorful as her personality. Of the many people I have met in the communities Green Empowerment and AsoFenix are working with, I have not met any artists, or such a warm, energetic, and creative person as Arcaria, and it is a true treasure to be able to help her live out her last years doing the things she loves most.
The rest of Arcaria’s family all live nearby and will also benefit from the electricity. Above is a picture of one of her daughters and her 4 children. There is a husband in this household, however he apparently suffers from alcohol abuse, so it is a woman run household. In addition to having a well kept house, this family has a large garden where they grow coconuts, papaya, banana, lemonds, oranges, wheat, and beans. They are 100% self sufficient, as are many, but have more than the average household. Truly overcoming the odds of not having a man of the house as is tradition here.
The new light source will help them become even more productive and strong, with many possibilities. The mother of the household, who’s name I forget at the moment, said that she would like an electric stove and a refrigerator to use with the wind energy so that she can have a run a business for her family. Although the batteries cannot charge more than a blender, the ambition and entrepreneurial spirit she expressed was awesome and goes to show, furthermore, that people really do want to progress and do more with their lives, that they are smart and ambitious- contrary to the general perception of “campesinos” by other non-campesino Nicaraguans
This family will be able to reap many other positive things from the new light source, however…in addition to receiving more grand works of art from their mother/grandmother, they will be able to save $15 a month that is otherwise spent on gasoline to light the candles they use to see around the house at night. And, less money spent on gasoline means extra funds for things like school supplies, materials for their house, medicine when it’s needed, and a number of other things that have been unattainable until now. Education will also be improved because the children will be able to do their homework without having to worry about the wind blowing out the candle, or burning them while they write their ABC’s out…not something most students have to worry about in the States or other developed areas of the world! The mother of the household will also benefit greatly, of course, by having the ability to see what she is doing in the kitchen at night and work faster with two hands rather than one since one hand will no longer have to hold a candle. When all the work is done for the day, if they choose to use that saved $15 to buy a radio or TV, perhaps they’ll sing, dance, and learn together as a family. If they choose to simply buy some special food from time to time and save the rest, it is certain that their lives will be very different, exciting, new, and with hopes for a brighter future. The power of wind combined with the efforts of Green Empowerment, AsoFenix, and Northwestern University, and the openness of the people of Portreritos to trust in foreigners like myself will energize the lives of all involved- the people receiving the light, and those who are privileged enough to be able to give it.
