The following stories from Nicaragua and Niger are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."
ANGELA BARETTO (NICARAGUA)
As a freshly graduated architect, I was convinced that I wanted to contribute to a more sustainable future for the built environment. That is why I decided to pursue a master’s degree in environmental design and engineering back in 2011.
It was through this course that I became truly aware of the impact that buildings, and especially their heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, have on our global energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, focusing on measures that would improve their energy efficiency became my main interest.
After graduating, I had the great opportunity to work as a consultant in South-East Asia, which allowed me to develop my knowledge of HVAC technologies and design principles. In the beginning, it was quite intimidating for me, as a young female professional, to enter a mostly male-dominated sector. However, thanks to my educational background, strong determination, and great support from my mentors, I soon found myself comfortably collaborating with electrical and mechanical engineers to develop design solutions for high-performance buildings.
Throughout my professional experience in South-East Asia, and now in Central America, ASHRAE standards have been my main guidance when it comes to performance criteria for HVAC systems and energy efficiency, thermal comfort, air quality, and refrigerant management. It was therefore a logical decision for me to become an ASHRAE member.
- “It is also my commitment to encourage female students and young professionals not only to become involved, but also to become leaders in the sector.”
Motivated by the way entering the HVAC and energy efficiency world helped me broaden my professional skills and outreach, I moved back to my home country of Nicaragua in 2017 with a mission: to encourage other young professionals to develop a career in these fields. I gave presentations at the main private and public universities in the country and ultimately managed to gather 35 students to create Nicaragua’s first ASHRAE student branch. The main objectives of this group were to foster interaction and collaboration between future professionals with architectural and engineering backgrounds, to introduce them to the HVAC industry, and to provide them with relevant literature and up-to-date knowledge through specialized presentations and activities. Unfortunately, because of Nicaragua’s ongoing sociopolitical crisis, the student branch activities have had to be put on hold for now.
Nonetheless, I have continued with my work as a consultant. I am currently coordinating the sustainability and energy efficiency strategies for the new building of a high-profile regional institution in Managua that aims to become the country’s first certified green building. My scope of work includes energy modelling for the adequate selection and sizing of its HVAC systems.
Additionally, I have carried on with my voluntary work for ASHRAE, which gave me the honour of being one of its representatives at the Twinning Workshop on Energy-Efficient and Climate-Friendly Refrigeration and Air Conditioning: Latin America, which took place this year in Guatemala. As a follow-up activity, I have contributed to the review of Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) window 3 applications by providing technical insight on behalf of ASHRAE.
It is my commitment, from my position as a professional and educator, to continue working for the sustainable development of the refrigeration and HVAC industry in my country and my region. It is also my commitment to encourage female students and young professionals not only to become involved, but also to become leaders in the sector.
MARDIYA ISSOUFOU ADDOU (NIGER)
In 2007, during my eighth year in school, a repairman came to our house one day to repair my mother’s refrigerator. After five minutes he handed her a bill for 36,000 francs. A week later, the fridge broke down again and a cousin who worked as a refrigeration technician came over and repaired it in less than 20 minutes. He explained to my mother that the other repairman had just swindled her. That day I promised my mother that in the future I would be the one to repair our fridge.
The urge to repair an air-conditioning unit, a job long considered the domain of men, came while visiting a sick aunt at the Issaka Gazoby Maternity Hospital, where the unit in her room had broken down and the repairman was on holiday. Her room was indeed very hot, and I had to use wet towels to bring down the temperature.
In 2010, while attending the Issa Beri technical school, I was offered seven different professional fields during a career guidance session. I chose a field that now brings me pride: refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC).
The challenges began with training, where for three years there were only two girls surrounded by 23 boys. I obtained my first qualification, a vocational training certificate (BEP), in 2012 and my second, a vocational baccalaureate in RAC, in 2013. I then spent the next two years as the only girl among 36 boys at the Ziniaré Vocational Training Reference Centre (CFPR/Z) in Burkina Faso, where the field of training is considered to be for men only. I met the challenges and finished at the top of the class. A big graduation ceremony was organized, attended by several notable personalities, where I was handed my third qualification, a technician’s diploma (BTP), by the minister from Taiwan. Despite the looks and remarks that my work uniform elicits, I am proud to wear it all day long.
My experience encourages me to face the challenges, which can sometimes be an obstacle to obtaining the assistance I request from different financial institutions.
From 24 August to 25 September 2013 I attended training on refrigeration and automobile mechanics for young people from ECOWAS Member States at a reference centre in Burkina Faso.
- "I promised my mother that in the future I would be the one to repair our fridge"
From 4 March to 5 April 2014 I did a practical internship at the Société nigérienne du charbon (Sonichar) in Anou-Araren. It consisted of monitoring and maintenance of refrigerated and air-conditioning units.
From 1 to 31 August 2014 I did a practical internship at the Operational Equipment Maintenance and Repair Service (SERMEX) of the Ministry of Public Health.
In 2015, after completing my academic curriculum and obtaining my degree, I was offered a contract as manager of the refrigeration and air-conditioning department responsible for monitoring, installing, servicing and maintaining all cooling appliances in the buildings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. The Issaka Gazoby Maternity Hospital also approached me in 2017 to hire my services for the hospital’s permanent cooling system. On top of this experience, my servicing skills have been greatly improved through numerous household service calls.
