M.U.M. helps Alaskan village with renewable energy project

Several current and former Maharishi University of Management students and sustainable living faculty member Lonnie Gamble spent September in a small village on Admiralty Island in Alaska installing sustainable energy technology as part of a project to help indigenous Alaskans deal with the crushing energy costs.

The average cost of power in the village of Angoon is 60 cents per kilowatt hour ? up to 10 times higher than the typical cost in the lower 48 states.

The success of the $125,000 renewable energy project has led to the village and tribe, with M.U.M. as a partner, to apply for several millions of dollars for the next phase, which entails having renewables and efficiency replace fossil fuels in powering the villages of the Tlingit and Haida nations in southeast Alaska.

Sustainable living alumni Troy Van Beek and Robbie Gongwer and Gamble, with the assistance of students Ashley Smith and Micah Salaberrios, installed solar energy panels, solar hot water, a wind turbine, monitoring equipment and energy-efficient fixtures, such as LED bulbs on two demonstration projects: a home and a school. They also worked on weatherization in order to minimize energy loss.

The tribe quickly overcame its skepticism about the successful implementation of solar energy in its climate. Once the tribe saw the technology in action, Mayor Albert Howard began planning its extension to the entire village.

?We fulfilled everything we promised to do and more,? Gamble said.

In addition, Salaberrios and Gongwer are collaborating on a documentary. Smith did a summer internship in the village working to create a culture of sustainability by linking that traditional culture and connection to the land with modern concepts and technology.

?Our team worked very hard on this project ? months of preparation and logistics work to get everything staged, and then a month on site working long hours seven days a week,? Gamble said.

The remoteness of the Tlingit island village of about 450 residents was a challenge, since there are no roads and access is via a six-hour ferry ride or 45-minute flight.

?We had to make sure we had everything we needed, because if you don?t have something, you can?t just go out and buy it,? Gongwer said.

This article and photo was provided to The Ledger by The Review, Maharishi University of Management's electronic newsletter.

For the complete article and photo, see the Friday, Oct. 22, 2010, printed edition of The Fairfield Ledger.