What We're Doing at
NOLS Mexico

Facility

The center of NOLS Mexico is the unique off-the-grid headquarters in Coyote Bay near Mulegé. This high-tech, low-impact facility was specifically designed to meet the needs of students, and is recognized for excellence in sustainable building.

Recycling

• Shower water is transferred to a holding tank and eventually used to water the plants around the grounds.
• Water for kitchen and bathroom faucets comes from a well on the property, and drinking water is trucked in from the nearby town of Mulegé. Fresh water is a scarce commodity in this area and as such is used sparingly.
• Just about everything at NOLS Mexico is recycled, including food. Scraps from meals are fed to two very happy pigs. At the end of the operating season, the pigs serve as a meal and a community celebration.
• Human waste goes into a composting bin below that is periodically raked to create optimum oxygenation of the human waste. Once broken down, the material is quite harmless, emitting almost no smells, and is used for fertilizer for the plants around the grounds.
• We are finally able to further support our school-wide sustainability initiative though a new recycling program in Loreto (1.5 hours South town). We now recycle glass, plastics, cans, and cardboard.
• Toilet paper tubes are saved for kindergarten students in Mulege who use them for art projects!
• All the oil used by NOLS vehicles is taking back to La Paz (7 hours South) by the oil company to be recycled.

Efficiency

• Photo: Amy Rathke

  Solar panels don the roofs of NOLS Mexico-- the energy is collected throughout the day and stored in batteries, which continue to power the branch at night.
• NOLS Mexico meets 90 percent of its electricity needs with solar energy. Creative Energies of Wyoming completed an upgrade of the system in February 2007.
• We converted propane water heater to a solar heater. The water system includes a pressurized procedure to use less water, almost 60% of the normal amount.

Goals

• We expect to generate 98 percent of our electricity from solar energy in the future.
• Convert propane water heater to a solar water heater, and continue to reuse all gray water for plant irrigation.