Mornings in Lalmatia

Every morning I wake up to the sounds of street vendors walking and biking by my apartment. The vendors may be riding a flatbed riskshaw, known as a van, loaded with vegetables, carrying armfuls of chickens or ducks, walking with a large metal pot on their head filled with fish or even playing a musical instrument with extras for sale. However, it is their distinct cries of torkari! (vegatables), mach: pabna mach, rui mach! (fish: pabna fish, rui fish), payaj! (onion), or whatever they might be selling that awakens me to the hot humid Lalmatia mornings. In fact, they are so unique and loud, that the vendors’ cries have been heard all over Bangladesh and even in some U.S. cities, as their unique voices are carried over cell phone and skype calls. These vendors are actually one of my favorite characteristics of living in Lalmatia, for the distinct calls do not seem to be as present in most other parts of the city. Though once in a while I will run downstairs to purchase something, most of the time, they act as my alarm clock, and I sleepily translate torkari  to, “Good Morning, welcome to another day in Lalmatia!”

Vegetables

Bananas

Spices

Picking up paper and cardboard

Leafy greens

Rice

1 string musical instrument

Blog Post on the Fulbright U.S. Student Blog

Fulbright actually has an official blog where current and past Fulbrighters share about their experience, research and also give tips for applicants and future Fulbrighters. Earlier this month I wrote a post about my time so far in Bangladesh. Below is my entry, and also check out the Fulbright blog, especially if you think you might want to apply for a grant!

Learning About Solar Energy with an Economic Lens in Bangladesh, By Holly Battelle, 2010-2011, Bangladesh

Posted by Holly B. | Posted on 23-09-2011

Category : Alumni Articles, Bangladesh, Field of Study, Fulbright Application, Fulbright Projects, Getting Started, Language Evaluation, South and Central Asia, Study/Research Grant, Tips

Tags: Adaptability, Application Tips, Community Engagement, Conducting fieldwork, Critical Languages, Developing World, Feasibility, Field Interviews, Finding Mentors, Fulbright Testimonials, Fulbrighters in the Sciences, Language Requirements, Persistence,Promoting Mutual Understanding, Starting the Application Process, Sustainable Energy and the Environment, Taking Risks

My Fulbright research has taken me to all corners of Dhaka and to some of the most remote places in Bangladesh. Solar technology was first used here in rural areas not connected to the national electric grid. Most of these off-grid homes use kerosene hurricanes for light, which can be expensive, low quality and have negative health impacts. As an alternative to kerosene, some organizations in Bangladesh provide small loans to households for solar home systems (SHS). The systems can provide an average of six hours of electricity for a household to power light bulbs, small fans or TVs in some cases.

My most memorable and rewarding days in Bangladesh have been spent in the countryside biking on narrow dirt paths flanked by never-ending rice paddies, hiking through beautiful green scenery, or sharing a water taxi with locals to talk about SHS. The rural villagers I’ve spent time with and the families with SHS are some of the kindest people I’ve met. I am often the first American they have ever seen, and it’s been an amazing experience to talk about solar or local culture over a cup of tea or cha.  For every question I ask locals, I respond to a question about myself, my family, research and country.

When not in the countryside, I’ve spent my time learning about the budding urban solar industry in Dhaka. Solar is becoming more popular in Dhaka due to new policies and because of frequent power outages. When the power goes out, homes and businesses will usually run a diesel generator. Many residences, however, are turning to solar to supplement their generators.

Based on my economics background, the Fulbright Program has allowed me to explore solar – a completely new interest and area of study for me. In addition to learning about the solar industry in Bangladesh, I have been doing both urban and rural solar cost estimates to determine how soon homes and apartment buildings can break even by investing in solar compared to kerosene and generator alternatives. I strongly encourage all applicants and future grantees to take advantage of their academic and professional backgrounds to discover new interests during their Fulbright year.  

My general advice for study or research applicants:

• Spend time thinking about who or which organization you’d like your host affiliation to be and what your expectations will be when you arrive. Because it often takes many emails and phone calls to get in touch with a potential host, you should start early in thinking about your Fulbright application. Having a host that is excited about your research and who is willing to support you can really make a huge difference, especially in the beginning. For countries like Bangladesh, try getting in touch with previous Fulbrighters. Ask them if they know anything about your potential host or if they can give you suggestions. When communicating with your potential host, try to be as clear as possible about your expectations and whether or not they will be able to meet them.
• Be flexible and open to modifying, expanding, focusing and perhaps changing your Fulbright project. This is one of the best parts of having a Fulbright grant. Technology, policies and cities constantly change, and a great deal can change from the time when you apply for your Fulbright to the time when you arrive. Roll with the changes and take advantage of having the flexibility to modify your research as needed.
• Try hard to learn local languages. Since so much of Bangladeshi culture is intertwined with the language, some of the most rewarding moments during my Fulbright grant have been when I’ve been speaking Bangla. Even though I often struggle to explain myself in Bangla, the effort is always appreciated and can never be fully translated by someone else.

Top photo: Holly Battelle, 2010-2011, Bangladesh, sharing a water taxi with locals en route to a village with solar home systems (SHS)

Bottom photo: Holly Battelle, 2010-2011, Bangladesh, on top of her apartment building in Dhaka which has 1 KW of solar panels

CBO

I am still so proud to have worked at the Congressional Budget Office. It has been nearly 9 months since I arrived in Bangladesh and 9 months since I left the CBO, and halfway around the world, I am still reminded of CBO's importance and need in Washington DC. Yesterday, NPR had an interesting piece about super-hero Doug Elmendorf, one of my former supervisors and the current director, keeping the super-committee (committee on deficit reduction) in line and on task. 

Below is the article, or click here to see it on NPR's website. 

Urban Solar

My solar research in Bangladesh can be lumped into two main categories: rural and urban solar. While I am not out tromping through rice paddies, I am trying to understand the market for implementing solar technology in urban Bangladesh, specifically Dhaka. In my last post I discussed the various reasons and lack of infrastructure for why solar home systems make sense for rural areas.  However, it is also possible to make a convincing case for solar in Dhaka. At least, that is what I am attempting to do.

Me on my apartment building's rooftop in Dhaka as 20 solar panels (1kw) are being installed. 

Solar Home Systems

In addition to traveling, playing and exploring in Bangladesh, I am actually here to do some research on solar technology in Bangladesh. My host organization is Grameen Shakti, a non-profit that primarily works on SHSs for rural electrification, but also has biogas and improved cooking stove projects. I have gone on a few field visits now to learn about how solar home systems work, who uses and benefits from SHSs and to familiarize  myself with Grameen Shakti's business practices.

A SHS is made up of essentially three different inputs: the solar panel (generally 10 - 100 Watts), a charge controller and a rechargeable battery. The diagram below shows essentially the basics of how SHSs work. During the day, the sun's light strikes the photovoltaic and a certain portion of this light energy (photons) is absorbed and passed on to electrons. These "excited" electrons then separate from the atom and flow in a single direction creating a current. The current will first travel through the charge controller to the battery, where the electricity is stored. Once the sun goes down, the stored energy from the battery will pass back through the charge controller and electricity will power a combination of lights, small fans, mobile phone charger and in some cases a TV. The purpose of the charge controller is to protect the battery from becoming overcharged (if it is very sunny) or over-discharged (to prevent people from sing too much electricity from the system).

diagram and some more info from: http://www.ashdenawards.org/solar

In Bangladesh, the primary users of SHSs are rural villagers who do not have access to grid electricity. As a result, before purchasing a SHS, villagers will rely on candles and kerosene lanterns as their primary light source at night. In addition to being inadequate sources of light, kerosene emits fumes and both kerosene and candles are fire hazards. As a result, SHSs greatly improve the quality of life for their users, allowing businesses to stay open later, and give opportunities to residential users for reading, studying, working (to earn additional income) and recreation.

Solar home system in Rangamati.

Mango pie

Christy, another Fulbrighter, and I made mango pie the other day. I have not even thought about pie in the last six months, but as it is fruit season (and rainy season), there is an abundance of mangoes. The recipe Christy has is actually from a cookbook that some Peace Corps volunteers in Guinea made to pass along recipes using local ingredients. The pie came out delicious, and tastes a bit like apple pie, but a little juicier, tangier and sweeter - America meets Guinea meets Bangladesh! Next time you have some extra mangoes, try out this recipe!

Savar Shipyard

Last Friday I went out to Savar, about a 30 minute bus ride from Dhaka, to visit two French friends who work at a boat yard on various floating solutions for Bangladesh. Some of the innovative projects currently going on in Savar include refurbishing a floating hospital to reach remote island chars, building fiber glass fishing and transport boats, and preserving traditional Bengali wooden boat designs and craftsmanship (Friendship). I had the pleasure of going out to the yard to hang out with friends, explore the floating hospital, climb aboard some of the large wooden tourist boats and sail around the Vagolpur river.

Floating hospital undergoing renovations (background) and a
fiberglass transport boat (foreground).

Sailing the newest wooden sailboat.