I went to the City today to get some information from a few different sources. I spoke with a few people before my trip to schedule meetings to gather information about the renewable energy economy in Guatemala. All but one canceled on me. I had 4 meetings today and only achieved one.
I was with a man named Alejandro Moran. He is what I would like to call the renewable energy expert for Guatemala. He just happens to be one of my best friends and when we are together, we are very dangerous. We have this idea we have been working on for a long time about solar greenhouses and co-generation. A very profitable business model.
Anyway, the meeting was with a great company in Guatemala that works with distributing small scale solar. We discussed the economics and the application of the ShineBox and the SwitchBox in great detail. Our products are very similar to a product they are already distributing so they could easily make the change to distribute our products.
I also obtained some great feedback from the conversation about how to improve the SwitchBox. I had a prototype in their office today, and we went through the applications and how people would use the device. They made 2 major recommendations: 1. Use replaceable batteries like the BL-5C Nokia Li-ion. Sustainability is key to the future. 2. Make the product out of Aluminum. He said even if not for durability, the most important thing about a product is perception. People in developing countries are a lot more likely to purchase metal products than plastic. There is a large separation between quality products and cheap plastic products in Guatemala. There is not much in between like in the states. It is almost like they only have $600 cell phones and $25 cell phones. There is not much of a market in between. Although they can barely afford it, guess which one they prefer?
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