Anthony from Scotland, Age: 24. Masters Student of Mechanical Engineering. I participated in the Green Life Volunteers Solar Power Project in collaboration with the Green Go Solar Project during the summer of 2018 and I couldn’t recommend it more! The team running the project were amazingly knowledgeable about every aspect of implementing an off-grid solar system and I learned so much from the course despite already having a technical background in solar systems. The project perfectly balanced classroom-based theory with hands-on workshop training to ensure everyone gained the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out the installs, regardless of their backgrounds, and we got the chance to demonstrate this by delivering an practical lesson on building solar panels in a local high school.
Getting the opportunity to spend two weeks in the beautiful town of Puerto Jimenez was also a fantastic experience, made better by the fact that we got to live with local families and really immerse ourselves in the Costa Rican culture. My host family were amazingly friendly, helped me practice my Spanish and cooked us delicious food every day. The Osa peninsula is also home to a diverse range of nature and wildlife and in our free time we were able to go surfing, hike in the rainforest, go dolphin watching and kayak through the mangroves to name a few.
Overall, I was extremely impressed with how the project was run and it definitely exceeded my expectations. A lot of this was down to the passion and enthusiasm of Janina, Keith, Richie and Jason and if you have an interest in renewable energy, making a difference in local communities and getting to explore a stunning part of the world, I wouldn’t hesitate to sign up for an upcoming project. I had an amazing experience, met some great people and will definitely be getting involved with more projects in the future!
