| La Florida La Florida, a community of 61 families, is located in the State of Santa Barbara, 250 miles northwest of Honduras' capital city of Tegucigalpa. Agriculture drives the local economy. For most, that means raising beans and corn. The more affluent grow coffee or raise cattle. The State of Santa Barbara has the third largest percentage of illiteracy in Honduras. The school in La Florida is a two-room structure, with a staff of two teachers and a population of about 130 students, from pre-school through 7th grade. La Florida was chosen as an Enersol project site because improving educational conditions had strong community and institutional support (from the local chapter of the Red Cross). The community expressed a willingness to do the physical work, parents pledged financial support to maintain equipment, and teachers committed to incorporating computer-based tools into both school age and adult education curricula. The EduSol system installed in La Florida provides enough solar energy to support 6 hours of computer, 3 hours of electric light and 1.5 hours of radio/tape recorder use each day. In addition to the solar system installation, La Florida received a laptop computer and educational CDs (including games) appropriate for students in grades 3-6, an English language instructional CD, and an encyclopedia program. |
