Good FOUR Business

Xela Teco plugs rural villagers into renewable energy

When one isolated village in Guatemala decided to wire itself for electricity for the very first time, they decided to step out of the past and go straight to the future with renewable energy. They were able to do it with the help of Xela Teco and the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group. Xela Teco installs and repairs sustainable power generators in rural Guatemalan communities that otherwise couldn't afford electricity. The company specializes in hydroelectric systems and biodigesters that turn animal waste into methane gas to fuel stoves. Many Guatemalan villages are too small to build power plants and too remote to establish transmission lines. That's where Xela Teco comes in. With support from the U.S.-based AIDG, Xela Teco uses local expertise to service the technologies that can deliver water, electricity and heat without harming the environment. In one village near El Palmar, Xela Teco recently installed a solar water heater and a complete micro-hydroelectric system. Forty families there can now enjoy electricity in their homes for the very first time. Amazing considering some villagers make as little as $2 a day. They are showing the rest of us that you don't have to have the green to go green on energy.