Two Indigenous Solar Engineers Changed Their Village in Chile

[Judi Lynn]

Two Indigenous Solar Engineers Changed Their Village in Chile
By Marianela Jarroud

CASPANA, Chile , Sep 2 2015 (IPS) - Liliana and Luisa Terán, two indigenous women from northern Chile who travelled to India for training in installing solar panels, have not only changed their own future but that of Caspana, their remote village nestled in a stunning valley in the Atacama desert.

“It was hard for people to accept what we learned in India,” Liliana Terán told IPS. “At first they rejected it, because we’re women. But they gradually got excited about, and now they respect us.”

Her cousin, Luisa, said that before they travelled to Asia, there were more than 200 people interested in solar energy in the village. But when they found out that it was Liliana and Luisa who would install and maintain the solar panels and batteries, the list of people plunged to 30.

“In this village there is a council of elders that makes the decisions. It’s a group which I will never belong to,” said Luisa, with a sigh that reflected that her decision to never join them guarantees her freedom.

Luisa, 43, practices sports and is a single mother of an adopted daughter. She has a small farm and is a craftswoman, making replicas of rock paintings. After graduating from secondary school in Calama, the capital of the municipality, 85 km from her village, she took several courses, including a few in pedagogy.

Liliana, 45, is a married mother of four and a grandmother of four. She works on her family farm and cleans the village shelter. She also completed secondary school and has taken courses on tourism because she believes it is an activity complementary to agriculture that will help stanch the exodus of people from the village.

But these soft-spoken indigenous women with skin weathered from the desert sun and a life of sacrifice are in charge of giving Caspana at least part of the energy autonomy that the village needs in order to survive.

. . .


[font size=1]
The indigenous village of Caspana lies 3,300 metres above sea level in the Atacama desert in northern Chile. The 400
inhabitants depend on small-scale farming for a living, as a stone marker at the entrance to the village proudly declares.Now,
thanks to the efforts of two local women, they have electricity in their homes, generated by solar panels, which have now
become part of the landscape. Credit: Marianela Jarroud/IPSThe indigenous village of Caspana lies 3,300 metres above sea
level in the Atacama desert in northern Chile. The 400 inhabitants depend on small-scale farming for a living, as a stone
marker at the entrance to the village proudly declares. Now, thanks to the efforts of two local women, they have electricity in
their homes, generated by solar panels, which have now become part of the landscape. Credit: Marianela Jarroud/IPS
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More:
http://www.ipsnews.net/2015/09/two-indigenous-solar-engineers-changed-their-village-in-chile/

[Cleita]

1. I think the Atacama desert could supply the whole world with electricity.

There is thousands of square miles of sunlit desert and no biological wildlife or plant life to kill or endanger and it hardly ever rains. My family lived there for fifteen years and they saw light rainfall only twice in that time. Also, I'm quite familiar with Calama. It was an oasis of indigenous people about 15 kilometers from where my family lived.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Mind-boggling thinking life is even possible anywhere this dry, Cleita! n/t

[eppur_se_muova]

2. I saw a documenatry about this program ....

women from literally all over the world travel to India to learn how to put together a 'Heathkit'-style solar power installation, then return to their homes where they battle against prejudice and conservatism (natch) to get traditional societies to let the women run things for a change. Some of that can be read (or watched) here: http://www.barefootcollege.org/indian-college-turns-rural-women-into-engineers/

[Fred Sanders]

3. Interesting to note that Barefoot College in India is supported by the Clinton Global Initiative, a

project of the Clinton Foundation.

https://www.clintonfoundation.org/clinton-global-initiative/meetings/annual-meetings/2014/clinton-global-citizen-awards

http://www.barefootcollege.org/president-clinton-announces-recipients-of-7th-annual-clinton-global-citizen-awards/


Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Vice President Joe Biden, and Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton among those set to honor newly revealed recipients of 2013 Clinton Global Citizen Awards; 2013 honorees include New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, 16-year-old girls’ education activist Malala Yousafzai, social entrepreneur Bunker Roy, and South Sudanese bishop Elias Taban

Bunker Roy, Founder, The Barefoot College

Bunker Roy is the founder of the Barefoot College, which has been providing solutions to problems in rural communities for more than 40 years. The Barefoot Approach is a proven community-based model, providing basic infrastructure for power and water in remote, rural areas, as part of an integrated solution to alleviating global poverty. The Barefoot model of community-owned, managed, and financially sustained household solar light systems is today replicated in more than 54 countries, empowering more than 600 Women Barefoot Solar Engineers and providing clean energy access to 450,000 people in nearly 1,650 communities throughout India, Africa, Latin America, the Pacific, and Asia. As a result of Barefoot’s work, one million litres of rainwater have been harvested to provide clean drinking water to over 239,000 school children in more than 1,300 communities worldwide. Roy has been named one of the 50 environmentalists who could save the planet by the Guardian and one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine.

http://www.barefootcollege.org

[emsimon33]

4. Informative and interesting as ever

Thank you