Solar II attendee shows Solar I attendees the technical aspects of the solar-powered water system

Last week I spent some time in Little Rock, AR, attending the Solar Under the Sun (SUTS) training session at Camp Ferncliff. SUTS trains and equips volunteers to be build effective and successful community-oriented solar-powered water purification systems. As a crash course on solar PV installation I was quite impressed with the level of expertise demon- strated by the teachers as well as their commitment to helping those most in need in the world. Nearly all of the trainers had experience in-country working on solar projects or had professional engineering degrees. SUTS is a volunteer-run organization of Presbyterian Church members from Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana and is partnered with other international programs such as Living Waters for the World and the Haiti Education Foundation. And although I’m not the most religious or church-going individual, I was thoroughly inspired by the dedication and commitment of everyone who attended.

From Sept. 9 until Sept. 12, attendees engaged in community building and teamwork exercises, cultural sensitivity workshops, technical training, and partnership modeling. The entire session was broken into two groups of attendees: Solar I (which focused on the community partnership models) and Solar II (which focused on the technical side of designing and building the systems). I bunched with the Solar II folks. In addition to learning the “blackboard” essentials of solar PV installation and the mechanics of water filtration, we built disconnector boxes (i.e. the heart of the system) that would be sent to Haiti. The hands-on learning was a huge plus for me.

Solar II attendees put together disconnector boxes from scratch

(From left to right) Tim, George, Grimsley, and Charles putting some last-minute touches to their disconnector box

Solar II team showing off the product of their labor

Camp Ferncliff had many amenities and the staff was very hospitable. Each training session cost about $500 and covers room, boarding, showers, linens, and three meals a day. The camp even had a solar-powered buggy that you could ride!

On-site solar-powered shuttle

I felt a bit out of place when I first arrived since I figured I might be the youngest of the crowd and maybe the only brown kid. But there was one person actually from Haiti who had been sponsored by SUTS and the Haiti Education Foundation to attend, and another woman from Kenya studying disaster management at Oklahoma State. All together, everyone was welcoming enough to break the ice.

Solar II trainer Jerry Goode wrapping up the camp during the final plenary

By the end of the camp, other than feeling drawn by a higher sense of urgency and duty to assisting those living in the direst of conditions in the world, I felt humbled by a renewed sense of purpose being more thoroughly immersed in nature. As the world turns, we as human beings are merely a footnote in the annals of nature’s history, yet recognizing our interconnectedness with the world, to one another, and with those living on the margins of  global society are fundamental steps toward working for a future in which humankind can live in balance with the world and with each other.

You can find more pics from the training session on my photobucket site.