Renewable Energy & Sustainability Heroes by GineersNow Engineering GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue No. 017, Ren | Page 15

This All-Girl Team Develops a Solar-Powered
Tent for the Homeless
Considering their age and expertise, the solar-powered tent is a masterpiece.
Among the 15 teams of young inventors in
the U.S. that were given the Lemelson-MIT
InvenTeam Grant worth $10,000 to solve real-
world problems through engineering, there
is one group that is unique to all of them:
because they are all girls.
Coming from San Fernando High School, the
all-female team has developed a portable,
solar-powered tent to deserve the grant. The
12 girls made the shelter to help the homeless
in Los Angeles.
Daniela Orozco, a 12th grader, said, “How
many people are actually trying to help them
[the homeless] or make them feel better?
Letting them know that people still care about
them, and they are still human.
“ The project is the students’ response to the
alarming 36% increase of homelessness in
San Fernando Valley in 2016.
Using their engineering skills, the girls made
the project entirely on their own. The work that
needs to be done involves coding, electrical
wiring, and sewing.
Considering their age and expertise, their
solar-powered tent is a masterpiece. The
fabric of the tent is insulated, and there are
well-positioned solar panels to power the
shelter.
For a tent, it’s amazing that it has a safety
locking system and a UV system for sanitation.
The girls included these features to ensure
that the homeless people who will live in their
brainchild are safe and comfortable in their
new homes.
The solar-powered tent will be showcased in
June at EurekaFest in MIT as its culmination.
Now the girls, who live in a low-income
community, are asking for funds at GoFundMe
so all of them could travel to Boston and
present their invention.
Renewable Green Leaders • May 2017
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