Kopernik

This Month's Stories

We're Reaching Indonesia's Most Remote Areas

Since last month, we've been busy with a full list of program activities throughout Indonesia:

East Nusa Tenggara: 1,200 technologies, consisting of solar lights, water purifiers, and fuel-efficient cookstoves, have arrived at the office of our local partner, Pekka, in Adonara Island. To accompany the product shipment, we also sent a field staff, Imanta Kasih, who will be there for more than a month to assist the end-users with proper usage, maintenance, and warranty policy of the products. To date he has completed informal trainings in 26 villages in which 640 people attended to learn more about the products. Read the latest blog post about this project here.

With the Nazava water filter, this woman is now able to drink water from her well without needing to boil it. (Photo by Laura Surroca)

East Java: In the last week of April, our local partner Farabi organized a second training session for the women technology agents in Bojonegoro to build their motivation for becoming entrepreneurs. Read our project officer's blog post who attended the training here. Both Kopernik and Farabi are currently assisting a group of about 20 women in setting up a business cooperative from where they will continue to sell life-changing technologies to households in their community. 

Papua: On May 29th, Kopernik will hold a joint technology fair in Sarmi with Tiko Ida Community Radio, where a range of technologies will be demonstrated to community members and local organizations. Papua as a province has the highest percentage of people living below the national poverty line, and there is a great need there for technologies that will give them access to drinking water and safe, bright lights at night, among other needs. We look forward to working with communities there to help improve people's lives, one technology at a time.

Ewa is Named Social Entrepreneur of the Year!

A big congratulations to Ewa, our Co-Founder! We're pleased to announce that she has been named Social Entrepreneur of the Year by Rutgers University. The award was presented during the university's Social Entrepreneurship Day on April 17. The award is now proudly hanging on our office wall! 

Tech of the Month: Envirofit Biomass Cooking System G-3300

In light of the semi-recent debate over a study on cookstoves in India entitled Up in Smoke that spurred several heated responses, we'd like to highlight a rocket stove that is changing the game for improved cookstoves and acknowledged by the study as a leader of the new generation of stoves. 

The Envirofit G-3300 is a cleaner energy, biomass cookstove that 1) reduces smoke and harmful gasses by up to 80% 2) reduces biomass fuel use by up to 60% and 3) reduces cooking time by up to 50%. Made of durable, quality materials with a design that maximizes efficiency, this stove promises longer product lifespan and the best and fastest biomass cooking solution on the market. And the numbers do back it up: though it is not the only stove that Envirofit sells, the G-3300 is their bestselling model, comprising most of the 350,000 sales that the company has made to date in developing countries. 

We've received a sample in our office and are pleased with the stove's performance after testing it out. Kopernik plans to distribute roughly 300 units of the G-3300 in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, where there is a need for cleaner cooking solutions than their current option of traditional brick stoves, which contribute to deadly indoor air pollution and a higher rate of deforestation. We kindly ask you to help us get this project fully funded sooner rather than later so we can quickly deliver the stove's positive impact to people who need them. 

Cooking over open fire and dealing with harmful smoke is a common daily practice in East Nusa Tenggara. (Photo by Laura Surroca)

Our Facebook Page (and Shout-Out) Goes Global

Thanks to our volunteers who are scattered around the globe, we now have several Facebook accounts that will keep our supporters updated with our progress in four languages! 

• English - facebook.com/thekopernik
• Japanese - facebook.com/kopernikjapan
• Korean - facebook.com/kopernik.kor
• Bahasa Indonesia - facebook.com/KopernikIndonesia

We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome new members to our team:

• Tanya Bosshard, joining us as External Relations Officer
• Boma Harahap, joining us as Project Officer
• Carissa Paramita, joining us as Video Productions Fellow
• Dr. Richard Mammone and Taku Sugimoto, joining our Advisory Board 

We are grateful for all the support we've received and look forward to delivering more technologies to the last mile with everyone's collective help!  

Vote for Kopernik

We've been vocal about this already, but apparently not enough because we are still ranked at #10. We need to be in the top six to win any funding for our projects with Indonesian partners. Will you help us get the most votes for The Give contest and share this video with your family and friends? It's so easy.

Remember, you can vote once every day until June 30th (and you must be 21+ to vote). So why not take a second right now to vote for us:

1. Click here: http://www.cultivatewines.com/cause/9977
2. Sign in with your Facebook account
3. Click "Vote for this!"

Sign the pledge to vote daily with us here, and we'll make it easy for you to remember to vote by sending you daily reminders!

For Your Information

Join us

In the past, we've had supporters organize parties and events to fundraise and promote Kopernik. If you are interested in doing the same, click here for more info. If you have other ideas about spreading the word about the projects, we'd also love to hear from you!

Stay connected

Join us on Facebook and share our news with your friends. 

Follow us on Twitter @thekopernik to stay updated on our whereabouts.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for videos from the field.

Pin useful information and inspiring photographs with us on Pinterest.

Read more about the reach and impact of our projects on our blog Kopernik in Action.

Stay abreast with advancements in the fields of appropriate technology and international development, one article synopsis at a time, with K-lab Weekly.

The Tipping Point Campaign

Sign up to give a small gift each month and we'll put it towards the project closest to completion. By joining our Tipping Point Campaign and donating $25 each month, you can make sure projects are fully funded and out the door quickly--the easiest and most effective way to improve lives through technology.

This month your donation will again support the distribution of Give Safe, Drinking Water to Rural Nigerians.

Requests for technologies featured on the newsletter

$30 will enable us to support a household with one unit of Envirofit G-3300 in the following projects:

• What's Cookin'?

$14 will enable us to support a household with one unit of Nazava water filter in the following project:

• Drinks are on me!