What is the Excess Solar Capacity As a Revenue Generation Option (ESCARGO) project?

In Citizen Archivist Project locations like 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 model is designed to address this problem while also furthering the goals of the Citizen Archivist Project and creating a sustainable source of revenue generation for the school, hospital, library or other institution receiving the installation.

How does ESCARGO work?

The ESCARGO idea is simple: install more solar capacity than needed to power one of our energy efficient technology labs and then capture and resell this sustainable source of excess power. For example, the Smallbean technology lab currently operating at the Kwala Secondary School in Tanzania requires just 120 watts of solar power to charge the ten laptops and supporting Citizen Archivist tools at the location. By installing an additional 500 watts of solar panels at the school and instituting a simple charging and distribution system using rechargeable batteries and the preexisting capacity of the Smallbean solar suitcase, the school would have both a revenue generation source and the ability to sell sustainable non-polluting energy to some of the 5,000 residents of Kwala.

The ESCARGO Pilot in Kwala, Tanzania

Smallbean is teaming up with the Newton-Tanzania Collaborative and other entities in the for-profit and nonprofit communities to implement an ESCARGO pilot in Kwala in Q4 2010. The ESCARGO pilot installation will provide the following:

• sustainable clean energy to a minimum of 25 households in Kwala;

• job training and employment opportunities for Kwala residents in the alternative energy field;

• a source of revenue that will be used both to support Kwala Secondary School and to subsidize a portion of the Smallbean costs associated with the ESCARGO installation;

• an opportunity to expand the Citizen Archivist Project via a “payment in kind” structure that allows residents to pay for a portion of their electricity costs via the collection of oral histories and other types of CAP data.

Want more info on ESCARGO?

For more information on the ESCARGO pilot, including details about how you can get involved with the Kwala pilot or future larger ESCARGO installations, please contact Smallbean directly.