Project Initiation Date: December 2003
Estimated Completion Date: November 2004
Homes Lit: 100 (200 lights and 100 solar panels)

In October of 2003, Dave Irvine-Halliday along with his Mexican gradstudent Rodolfo Peon was invited by the Tecnologico De Monterrey to lecture on the promise of LED lighting in the developing world. There they met with several members of the Marist Brothers, a Catholic order who have worked for 30 years in the indigenous towns of Northern Mexico, in the State of Chihuahua. The Marists Brothers have initiated a lighting program to install lighting systems in the homes of indigenous residents in the villageof Norogachi and the surrounding communities. A fully funded pilot project of 100 homes is in the final stages of development.

For thirty years, the Marists Brothers have worked in the Tarahumara Region in the State of Chihuahua, an area that covers approximately 38,255 square kilometers with a population of about 60 000 inhabitants. The Marists are involved in projects that stimulate the socioeconomic development and believe that providing light to these communities will brighten lives and bring hope.