Ecobreves – CUBA: An Education in Sunshine

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

HAVANA, Aug 15 2005 (IPS) - A solar research center created in the eastern Cuban province of Granma aims to instill in youth attitudes of caring for natural resources. The educational center, in operation for two years, is sponsored by the non-governmental Cuban Society for the Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources, or Cubasolar.

The Camilo Cienfuegos School, on the slopes of the Sierra Maestra, has around 6,000 students who come from that mountainous ecosystem. They use solar heaters, biomass-run boilers and electricity from a nearby hydroelectric facility, among other natural sources of energy, Cubasolar president Luis Bérriz said.

“We are working for the future, so that people learn the value of saving energy and protecting their surroundings,” Bérriz told Tierramérica.