Mujeres Solares de Totogalpa (Solar Women of Totogalpa) – Nicaragua

This women’s cooperative focuses on the construction, use, and improvement of solar technologies, along with international technology exchange around them. The Solar Women of Totogalpa group also engages in many other activities oriented toward sustainability and restoring the land. Development of an “edutourism” model has allowed the communities to profit from such sustainable practices, while also helping the technologies and approach to spread.

Fast facts:

More than 22,000 trees planted;
More than 200 solar cookers built;
More than 40 water and soil retention systems constructed;
14 solar-powered drip irrigation systems installed;
7 solar dryers and 30 improved wood-burning and charcoal stoves built;

The problem

The area around Sabana Grande in Nicaragua has long suffered from severe land degradation, which has resulted in water shortages, low crop yields, and food shortages. Climate change is likely to increase such problems.

The region lacks educational and work opportunities, as well as access to the electrical grid and other basic infrastructure. As a result, women are chained to collecting fuel wood and working in dark, smoky kitchens. Men typically labor long, hard hours for poor pay in the mountains harvesting coffee during the dry season, in order to be able to purchase seeds to plant crops on their own land during the rainy season.

The solution

Mujeres Solares de Totogalpa, or Solar Women of Totogalpa, promotes solar energy and restores the land through an edutourism model. Activities include planting trees on degraded land; constructing water and soil retention systems; organic farming; building solar cookers and solar-powered drip irrigation systems; and assembling solar distillers and photovoltaic panels. Technical exchanges are fostered with numerous institutions, including Cornell University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Helping the planet

Emission of carbon dioxide is avoided by improved agriculture and use of solar energy. Since less wood is being harvested for cooking, more forest is left standing, and can act as a carbon sink. Fields are better managed through use of organic fertilizers, natural pest control, and seasonal organic vegetable-growing. Better land use and improved resource management has improved soil and water quality, and enhanced conservation.

Helping people

Some areas have already begun to recover, making the community less prone to landslides and fires; crop yields have slowly begun to rise; and local farmers are reaping the benefits of sustainable farming methods by adapting them to their situation in innovative ways. Implementation of solar technologies has provided a reliable source of electricity for families, while installation of improved wood-burning stoves has generated financial, health, and quality of life benefits.

Finally, the solar cookers have provided many of the women with a source of work and income, as well as with a completely clean and sustainable way of preparing food or roasting coffee.

Scaling up

The women have become genuine agents of change and now regularly engage with people from around the world to share their knowledge and learn from outside experts. Through the edutourism model, visitors take lessons learned to their own communities and refine and scale the projects suited to their local environment. Networking and knowledge exchange are also helping the successes that have stemmed from the project to spread. The solar technology used in Totogalpa is simple and affordable, which makes it easy to be widely adopted in various communities.