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Mayan villagers in the Guatemalan highlands have just
received funds in connection with greenhouse gas mitigation achieved
through their community-owned micro hydro power system. This is
believed to be the first time that an indigenous people's organizacion
has benefited from the nascent global greenhouse gas emissions market.
Read the full press release here . Also read a travel log about Chel, Guatemala .
Fundacion Solar ,
based in Guatemala City, is a local NGO that has been active since 1995
promoting renewable energy. They are now developing the Chel Micro
Hydroelectric Project as part of its Program for Rural Energy Services
in the remote highlands of Guatemala.
The
Chel Micro Hydro Project is projected to have a capacity of 165kW and
will be connected to a mini grid supplying electricity to a community
of almost 2,500 people living in 3 small and near-by villages located
about 44 kms north of the municipal capital of Chajul in the Department
of El Quiche, located 170 km from the capital city of Guatemala.
 In
the absence of the renewable electricity to be supplied by the Chel
Micro Hydro Project, electricity would have to be supplied by a costly
and polluting diesel plant. The isolated, Ixil-speaking community was
devastated by the armed conflict of the 1980s. This project will be a
major step forward in unifying the community and expanding their
economic opportunities.
Fundacion
Solar offers technical services, policy development and legal help. The
NGO has also played an active role in the creation of a directive body
to run and maintain the project. In 2001, they helped the community
form the Asociacion
Hidroelectica Chelense with the purpose of administrating and operating
the Chel Micro Hydro Project. 
The Asociacion Hidroelectrica Chelense
now has two contributing boards of elected leaders, a Junta Directiva
as well as a Women's Commission, each comprised of leaders elected by
secret ballot.
The Chel Project is
based on the participation of local villagers, through their formation
and development of the local Asociacion Hidroelectrica. As decided by
the Association, 80 days labor contribution per family is the price of
entry into the system and connection with the grid and home wiring. By
the onset of construction there were already 572 individual village
participants to begin the series of civil structures needed to support
the project. The community hand-build the mountain road last year in
order to transport the equipment for their micro hydro system. When the
rivers were too high to traverse, teams of men carried the huge
electrical poles on their backs for miles to reach the remote community.
The
aid of our supporters has allowed Green Empowerment to provide
technical expertise in assessing the system design and helping to
ensure that the micro hydro system will work properly. If you would
like to support future projects like this, you can do so by giving a
gift on-line , by mail , or you can contact us for further information.
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