CASE STUDY | ETHIOPIA, Solar Computing

Ethiopia ConnectED
This project would have been impossible without the incredible support of the Aleutia team. They are passionately dedicated to international development, but more than that, they are brilliant engineers. I shared with them a vague idea for the computer learning center, and they custom designed a solar-powered solution. JR Atwood, Project Manager, Ethiopia ConnectED, University of California Berkeley

Challenge
Compact, rugged computers needed for ICT education project in rural Ethiopian village (Kaliti) No internet connection available in village so engaging o ine content and interactive education software essential

Results
Small Aleutia T1 computers with no moving parts and solid state drives can handle dusty environments and operate for years Aleutia computers pre-loaded with open source Edubuntu Operating System, featuring typing games, astronomy , chemistry, and math applications, as well as o ine version of Wikipedia: a school with no periodic table now had an interactive digital one. Portable Aleutia solar kit allows PCs to operate 14 hours/day inde intely with no need for mains power

No reliable access to electricity so sustainable solar power vital for the project

Impact
700 students from neighboring communities use 2 Aleutia computers in rst 5 weeks of program.

Aleutia Computers | Development House, 56 Leonard St, London EC2A 4LT | 0844-ALEUTIA | www.aleutia.com

Aleutia: Can you tell us a bit more about this project? Atwood: I recently returned from Ethiopia where we built an autonomous solar-powered computer learning center for 750 kids in a rural village, an education initiative inspired by Sugata Mitras research in India on self-organized learning environments. Modeled on Dr. Mitras Hole-in-the-Wall project, the mission of Ethiopia ConnectED is to facilitate autonomous and child-mediated learning in resourceinsecure areas of the Global South by building a network of solarpowered computer learning centers that utilize free and open source software. Aleutia: How did the students respond to the Solar Classroom? Atwood: On the opening day of the computer learning center, the kids rushed in to the building we had constructed. Immediately, the rst kid instinctively reached for the light switch. When he ipped it, though, no lights came on. (The energy infrastructure in this town is insecure and unstable, at best rolling brownouts are a daily nuisance.) Along the far side of the room, however, was a tabletop of glowing computers, complete with working monitors and speakers all powered. The kids literally did a double-take. You could see there was some real confusion or cognitive dissonance going on: No electricity, but powered computers?! One student asked if it was magic that did this. No, we said but a bit of technological alchemy. We showed them the solar installation that Aleutia had engineered for us and explained how it worked. And there was this incredible sense of possibility and hope that lled the room that no longer were they dependent on the grid for educational activities. It was pretty powerful and one of the more indelible moments of our project.

Aleutia: How did you nd working with Aleutia? Atwood: This project would have been impossible without the incredible support of Mike, Sharif, and the rest of the Aleutia team. They were even generous enough to meet with me when I had a layover in London on my way to Ethiopia to make sure I knew how to properly transport, set-up, install, and manage all the technology. On the ground, things were a breeze. All correspondence was handled in a prompt and professional manner, and they went out their way to anticipate any hiccups along the way. Because of their thorough care and great products, I didn't have to do any troubleshooting on my own.

About JR Atwood: Jason R. Atwood is a Ph.D. student in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley and the director of Ethiopia ConnectED. In 2011, he presented the ndings of his work in Ethiopia at the TEDx Conference. About Aleutia: Aleutia manufactures energy e cient PCs and servers in the UK with an aim to provide a ordable, reliable computers to as many individuals and schools in remote areas as possible, particularly in Africa. Since 2006 our computers have been deployed in 63 countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and from Greenland to Saudi Arabia. Our customers include Tesco, Schlumberger, Pret a Manger, Virgin, Cambridge University, and the NHS.

_______________________________________________ "You could see there was some real confusion or cognitive dissonance
going on: No electricity, but powered computers?! One student asked if it was magic that did this. No, we said but a bit of technological alchemy."

_______________________________________________

Aleutia Computers | Development House, 56 Leonard St, London EC2A 4LT | 0844-ALEUTIA | www.aleutia.com