ESCARGO: It's not just a fancy acronym

The Smallbean ESCARGO (Excess Solar Capacity as A Revenue Generation Option) project is a direct outgrowth of our experience building computer labs in the developing world. Based upon what we saw in countries like Tanzania, we learned that true sustainability for larger computer labs cannot be achieved unless these installations are coupled with a means for local communities to generate revenue in support of the lab. Computer teachers need to be paid. Technology breaks or becomes obsolete. Monthly Internet access is expensive.

This state of affairs is coupled with the fact that in countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, electricity is expensive, unreliable and, in many places, non-existent. The result is a heavy reliance on polluting and unhealthy alternatives such as fossil fuels and disposable batteries. The Smallbean ESCARGO system is designed to address this problem while also furthering the goals of the Citizen Archivist Project and creating a sustainable source of revenue generation to support the operation of Smallbean Citizen Archivist Project sites.

In conjunction with Newton-Tanzania Collaborative, Smallbean began planning in 2010 for the implementation of a prototype ESCARGO computer lab at the Launch Pad Rural Innovation Center in Kwala, Tanzania. Stemming from a need for design assistance in the early stages of the ESCARGO project, Smallbean and NTC approached Design Museum Boston and became a pro bono client of the Designing A Difference program. In addition to serving as an educational and cultural hub in the community, the ESCARGO prototype will generate revenue to support operation of the computer lab and Smallbean cultural preservation activities through the rental of battery units powered by excess solar capacity from solar panels on the roof of the structure. The ESCARGO system as designed by Design Museum Boston is fully modular in nature and will be scalable to other rural communities throughout the developing world.