CDAE 195: Alternative Energy Workshop in Dominica
(2006)
Energy Efficiency Group
Jared Burke, Liz Cunningham, Meredith Hanrahan, Becky Witinok-Huber
As part of a Community Development and Applied Economics course at the University of Vermont a group of students went down to the island of Dominica to teach, and build alternative energy systems. A subgroup of that class worked on teaching energy efficiency to natives of the island.
Goals for the Trip
1) The first goal of the group was to teach energy efficiency. Before alternative energy systems could be taught we felt that locals needed to have a basic understanding of energy efficiency. People needed to understand that they should be turning off lights and appliances when they were not in use. We also wanted to stress the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs in order to decrease the amount of electricity used.
2) Our second goal of the trip was to conduct a light bulb exchange, distributing 150 compact fluorescent (CFL) energy efficient light bulbs to the locals. These bulbs were donated to us by The Climate Institute of Washington in coordination with the Organization of American States. This distribution of free light bulbs was intended to demonstrate the reduction of energy consumption through the use of energy efficient light bulbs. We felt that when residents looked at the change in their electric bills after using these bulbs they would begin to buy compact fluorescent bulbs on a regular basis thus pursuing energy efficiency.
3) Our last goal was to conduct a survey of everyone we gave a light bulb to. Included in the survey was how much residents were paying a month for electricity, whether or not locals where already used compact fluorescent light bulbs, and what residents already knew about energy efficiency. We would also record names and addresses of the people we gave light bulbs to and would set up a way to check back in with them in the future about how much money they saved from using the bulbs.
Executing our Goals
-Because our group was on the island for 10 days, and because we only had 150 light bulbs to distribute, we decided to focus on one small village to do our energy efficiency education and light bulb exchange, Grand Fond. Grand Fond is located outside of Rosalie and is made up of about 200+ homes (See Circled Yellow Star on Map below).
-In
order to conduct the exchange Liz and Jared went out canvassing on March 21st. They went door to door distributing (1)
a flyer about energy efficiency and where compact fluorescent light bulbs could
be purchased on the island, and (2) a flyer informing people of the light bulb
exchange the following day. Both
flyers were written and printed up before the group got down to the island of
Dominica.
-While going door to door Liz and Jared were able to interact, face to face and one on one with the residents of Grand Fond. This enabled them to talk about some of the aspects of energy efficiency as well as talk about compact fluorescent light bulbs in great detail.
-The following day on March 22nd the entire group: Jared, Liz, Meredith, and Becky conducted the light bulb exchange in Grand Fond. The flyers that were distributed the previous day instructed people to bring with them their electric bills, and a regular light bulb to exchange for the new one.
-During the exchange residents would complete the survey and trade an old bulb for a brand new compact fluorescent bulb. During the trade it became apparent that our group did not have anything positive to do with the old bulbs, so we decided to allow the people to hang on to their old bulbs in case they needed them in the future. We felt that when people had to unscrew a bulb and bring it to the exchange they would be more likely to replace it with the new compact fluorescent than if they had not taken the bulb out at all.
-In the end the group felt like we had educated the people of Grand Fond about energy efficiency as well as put them on a path to using compact fluorescent light bulbs in the future.
What Future Groups Can Do
Although our group felt very successful and proud about the work that we got done in Grand Fond, there is still more that future groups can do in terms of this specific project.
1) Future groups could work with the Dominican Government in order to distribute more compact fluorescent light bulbs. While our group was on the island a government official expressed intent on the side of the Dominican Government to conduct a mass distribution of CFL light bulbs across the island. A major concern about these CFL light bulbs is that although they are energy efficient, they include mercury which is very toxic and could be very detrimental to an island that prides itself as “The Nature Island of the Caribbean.” Future groups could speak with the government about setting up some sort of waste hazard program that could deal with toxic materials like those found in CFL light bulbs. The issue should at least be discussed before the government starts distributing thousands of compact fluorescent light bulbs. If people want to continue drinking from all the fresh water streams all over the island, residents and the government are going to need to deal with the problem of handling hazardous materials.
2) Another major project that future groups could work on would be gathering information from the residents of Grand Fond who filled out the survey. Future groups could collect data on how much people are spending on electricity after using CFL light bulbs. This data could then be organized and distributed through the local news services or the government of the island. The sole purpose of collecting information on how much people were spending on electricity was so that resident could see with their own eyes (and wallets) how much money (and energy) they were saving by switching to CFLs.
3) Groups in the future could also work with the Climate Institute and Cuba in distributing more light bulbs throughout Dominica )Cuba has expressed interest in donating a large number of CFL light bulbs to the people of Dominica).
Other Feelings about
Overall Experience
Many books and journals about doing work in developing countries say that you cannot give anything away for free. Most people in the field say that in order to really educate people, you must force them to do things for themselves. This transfers over to the installation projects we were also working on while in Dominica. I am afraid that people saw the light bulb exchange as a way of obtaining an expensive bulb for free. Hopefully most of the people who received bulbs were people who really needed to save money on their electric bill and this hopefully helped them out. I fear that although we asked people to only accept one per household, some people took multiple bulbs leaving none for other residents. I think that in the future when organizations decide to distribute compact fluorescent light bulbs they do so in a manner that makes the recipients earn them. For example forcing residents to physically sign up for a research study which tracks the amount of money and energy that is saved through the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs, in order to receive their bulb. This way people would be consciously signing up to interact with an organization devoted to demonstrating the positive impact of compact fluorescent light bulbs. In this same format entire homes could be equipped with CFL light bulbs, showing how much money a home using only CFLs can save.
Another way of conducting the light bulb give-away/exchange could be to go door to door instead of a mass exchange. From my experience in going door to door, people have more time to discuss all the aspects of the compact fluorescent bulbs and energy efficiency and there can be a guarantee that each house only gets one bulb (that is, if light bulbs are limited).
All that being said I feel that our project was highly successful. We were able to teach energy efficiency in a one on one environment when we canvassed door to door, and during the exchange itself. We distributed 150 CFL light bulbs in a poor village that could really use the savings on their electric bills. We distributed information about where residents could buy the energy efficient bulbs, as well as the amount of savings that could be received from using them. Finally, we started conducting research about how much residents are spending on their electric bills and how much money could be saved through the use of these bulbs. In my mind the project was a complete success and had a profound impact on me. In the future I look forward to doing more grass-roots type work in developing countries, preferably back in Dominica.
Links:
The Climate Institute of Washington D.C.
http://www.climate.org/climate_main.shtml
CDAE 195 Website
http://www.uvm.edu/~gflomenh/Dominica/
Three Rivers Website
http://www.3riversdominica.com/
Vermont Campus
Energy Group
Webpage Produced By Jared Burke