When I stumbled upon Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, I knew right away that they were doing something special. There unique approach to creating positive change involves long term commitments to the community; I was especially impressed with their commitment to green technology. I was lucky enough to be able to get Peter Haas, the founder and Executive Director of the AIDG, to take some time out of his very busy schedule to answer ten questions for The Sietch.
1. The Naib: Could you tell Sietch readers about AIDG? Specifically how did it start, who is involved and what role do you play in the organization.
Peter Haas AIDG is a new international development charity that starts small businesses in developing countries to produce, install and repair clean and green technologies for the rural poor. We started a little over two years ago. Our first business, XelaTeco, located in the 2nd largest city in Guatemala, Quetzaltenango (aka Xela), was founded in August 2005.
The need for an organization like AIDG crystallized for me during a trip to Cuba (legal, of course) with Global Exchange. We were studying urban agriculture at the time and visited many farms. Two farms struck me the most; both were pig farms outside of Havana. One had a biodigester that had been installed by a family member in technical school. A biodigester is a system that turns animal waste and kitchen scraps into biogas and fertilizer. This place was clean, free of the normal pig-farm smell, and tree-covered. Their kitchen lacked the black soot normally associated with open wood-burning stoves.