Creating solutions: XelaTeco

[Photo from AIDG on Flickr]

XelaTeco is an organization that helps gather and distribute technologies in the communities of Guatemala.

Xeni Jardin covered the story with photos and audio on NPR’s Day to Day.

Xela Teco builds environmentally friendly technology that can be used to bring survival basics to poverty-stricken villages in the Mayan highlands: clean water, electricity and fuel.

[Photo from AIDG on Flickr]

XelaTeco is supported in part by the sustainable design brain trust of AIDG, Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group.

The Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) helps individuals and communities get affordable and environmentally sound access to electricity, sanitation and clean water. Through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach, we help people get technology that will better their health and improve their lives.

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XelaTeco opened its doors in Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala in the summer of 2005 after an intensive search for engineering talent at local universities and engineering schools. The highly skilled team that came together was comprised of 10 Guatemalan workers, of which 3 were women. The combined skill sets of the team ranged from accounting and civil engineering to electronics and metal casting, many of the essentials for completing the varied projects they would soon undertake.

If you have experience working with sustainable technologies in communities, share them with us in the comments.