|
Situated in the sun-filled states of
Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, the Navajo Nation is home to
approximately 200,000 Navajo Indians. Despite its location
in the heart of the world’s richest nation, much of the
Navajo Reservation is still underserved - or unserved - by
basic infrastructure such as paved roads, clean water, dependable
electricity, and consistent telephone service. Over half of
the Navajo people live below poverty level.
Predictably, Navajos are also among those
at the farthest reach of the digital divide, unable to take
advantage of the Internet's rich resources, tools, and information
to pursue educational and economic opportunities.
In an effort to bridge this gap, the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation initiated the Native American
Access to Technology Program, which offers grants to Indian
tribes for the acquisition of computers, Internet access,
and other information technology.
The Kaibeto Chapter
The people of the Kaibeto Chapter of
the Navajo Nation were resettled in the northeastern corner
of Coconino County, Arizona in the 1840's. A prominent member
of the Chapter is Kelsey A. Begaye, the current President
of the Navajo Nation.
The Kaibeto community's central meeting
hall, or Chapter House, has neither dependable telephones
nor electricity. When Kaibeto was selected as the site for
a Gates Foundation project, the problem of telephone service
(and, therefore, Internet connectivity) was overcome with
assistance from OnSat Network Communications, a company that
brings satellite Internet access to remote locales, both in
the U.S. and in developing countries.
A satellite dish needs reliable electricity,
of course, as do computers. To meet this challenge, OnSat
enlisted the support of the Solar Electric Light Fund, with
whom OnSat was teaming on a project deep in the Brazilian
Amazon’s Xixuaú-Xipariná Ecological Reserve.
Using solar panels, Kaibeto would be able to plug into the
area's abundant sunshine, and gain power that would be not
just dependable, but clean and affordable besides.
Implementation
After careful study of the power needs
presented by the project, SELF designed a system consisting
of twelve 75-watt BP Solar mono-crystalline panels. The array
provides sufficient electricity for four Gateway computers,
networking equipment, a scanner, a printer, and, of course,
an Internet-connected satellite dish.
In order to ensure that the solar power
system will provide long and trusty service, Kaibeto residents
were trained in how to troubleshoot and care for all components,
particularly the system batteries. Thanks to the new Internet
access, SELF is easily reachable by e-mail should technical
problems arise that the Kaibeto technicians cannot solve by
themselves.
Access to the Internet enables SELF to
stay in close touch with the Kaibeto community to evaluate
the project's long term results.
|
