Ed Blume, Frank Giglio, and Connie Griffith (left to right) check the solar heater on the roof of one of CEA’s dorms prior to being plumbed. Connie and Jim Coder, another workshop participant, devised the board and rope pointing to the left to raise the lid in the morning and close it in the evening without having to climb onto the roof. (Photo by course instructor Richard Komp.)

A solar water heater now sits on the roof of the CEA dorms where volunteers stay and above the home of Carlos Chuc Tuyub, a popular Akumal waiter who lives in the pueblo.

More than a dozen people from Akumal, Cancún, the U.S., and Canada built the solar heaters during the successful Solar Energy Workshop at CEA in March.

You wouldn’t think a hot shower would mean much in such a hot climate, but I thoroughly enjoyed the sun-saturated water from the tank above rooms 17 and 18 of the dorm building.

And Carlos beamed a wonderfully wide smile when he talked about having hot water in the shower that he shares with two other families. Now other people in Akumal pueblo want hot water for their homes.

Led by instructor Richard Komp from the Maine Solar Energy Society, the workshop participants built the two solar heaters, a solar cooker, and solar-powered battery chargers during the seven-day workshop.

The mix of workshop participants could not have been better. Each and every person had unique experiences to share and contribute. One, a retired diplomat who watched the French Foreign Legion leave Vietnam, now promotes an outstanding solar cooker for a non-profit; another shared her vision of an off-grid home that she’ll build in British Columbia; and a local architect took participants on a tour of a solar home that he designed. Nelly Sidoti, born in Columbia and now living in New York City, added energy and humor to the workshop as a translator for the half-dozen Spanish speakers.

The workshop generated interest from everyone who heard about it, so we plan to hold additional workshops and add more solar energy installations in the coming months. One of the outcomes we would like is to run the CEA Center and Dorms completely on renewable energy, with solar as the principal source. We’re looking for ideas, participants, and funding.

Ed Blume