Daniel
and Eduardo Rivero are pig farmers who live in the Andes mountains
in the village of Callapa, near La Paz, Bolivia in South America.
Located at about 12,000 feet in the mountains, the temperatures at
night are very cold yet during the day, the temperatures are warm
with a strong sun.
They
have a farm where they raise pigs to be sold at the market. At night,
the baby pigs are cold, get sick and sometimes die due to the colder
temperatures.
The
farmers are poor and rely on selling the pigs to make their living.
When the baby pigs cannot survive the cold, the farmers lose their
investment. It is very important that they keep the pigs alive so
they can sell them later. They wanted to find a solution to keep the
pigs alive that was cheap, readily available and that would not harm
the environment. The baby pigs warm themselves in the sun during the
day. After seeing how smart the piglets were, the farmers too decided
to use the sun!
Here
is a picture of the structure before they started the work. Note that
the building is white which will reflect the heat of the sun. The
building is also made of brick. Brick is not a good insulator and
so this building is very cold in the mountain nights.
The
farmers decided to build a greenhouse that would use the sun to make
the building warm for the pigs. The greenhouse has a roof made of
a material that the sun can pass through, allowing the heat to enter
the building. It works the same as when your car is parked in the
sun and gets hot inside. They painted the wall a dark color to absorb
the sun's rays and store the heat for use in the night.
Here
is a picture of the farmers after they completed the greenhouse. They
are happy because they make more money by keeping the baby pigs healthy
and warm. They are also glad that they were able to build a simple
structure that uses a free energy source available every day and that
does not harm the environment.
Daniel
and Eduardo Rivero are pig farmers who live in the Andes mountains
in the village of Callapa, near La Paz, Bolivia in South America.
Located at about 12,000 feet in the mountains, the temperatures at
night are very cold yet during the day, the temperatures are warm
with a strong sun. 
They
have a farm where they raise pigs to be sold at the market. At night,
the baby pigs are cold, get sick and sometimes die due to the colder
temperatures. 
The
farmers are poor and rely on selling the pigs to make their living.
When the baby pigs cannot survive the cold, the farmers lose their
investment. It is very important that they keep the pigs alive so
they can sell them later. They wanted to find a solution to keep the
pigs alive that was cheap, readily available and that would not harm
the environment. The baby pigs warm themselves in the sun during the
day. After seeing how smart the piglets were, the farmers too decided
to use the sun! 
Here
is a picture of the structure before they started the work. Note that
the building is white which will reflect the heat of the sun. The
building is also made of brick. Brick is not a good insulator and
so this building is very cold in the mountain nights. 
The
farmers decided to build a greenhouse that would use the sun to make
the building warm for the pigs. The greenhouse has a roof made of
a material that the sun can pass through, allowing the heat to enter
the building. It works the same as when your car is parked in the
sun and gets hot inside. They painted the wall a dark color to absorb
the sun's rays and store the heat for use in the night. 
Here
is a picture of the farmers after they completed the greenhouse. They
are happy because they make more money by keeping the baby pigs healthy
and warm. They are also glad that they were able to build a simple
structure that uses a free energy source available every day and that
does not harm the environment.