More than 20 years ago, Nantu Canelos had a dream: Sharamentsa, his community, was illuminated, the wooden houses shining as the night enveloped the lush forest. At that time, Canelos did not know that the territory of the Achuar indigenous people would become the center of a solar revolution.
Sharamentsa is a community of 100 people that is surrounded by some of Ecuador’s largest oil reserves. For more than 40 years, the Achuar, one of 11 indigenous nationalities that inhabit the Ecuadorian Amazon, have advocated for a halt to oil extraction, which has devastated large swathes of the rainforest. But even as they fought against fossil fuels, gasoline was their only option to light their homes and power the boats linked to their livelihood. This area has the most limited electrical coverage in the country.
Now, solar panels installed in four communities located in two of Ecuador’s Amazonian provinces have made Canelos’ vision a reality. Solar energy is shaping the residents’ daily lives – from how they get to work to how they negotiate their connections to the world beyond the Amazon.
A new form of transport
In this remote area of the jungle, rivers are the only roads. little-little onesthe small, gasoline-powered boats that are commonly used, announce their arrival from miles away. But their roar is giving way to the silent glide of solar boats, which move more slowly and leave no traces of gasoline in the water — another advantage for communities that rely on the river for drinking, bathing and cooking.
Loaded with panels on their roofs, four boats circulate through 12 Achuar communities near the border with Peru.Solar Caraa nonprofit that promotes solar energy in the region, handed over the boats to local residents, who will build, repair and operate them. The group, which is funded by outside donations, plans to add 10 more boats in the next two years.
Every Saturday, Domingo Mukucham takes passengers back and forth from Wichimi, a community of 43 families deep in the forest, to the port of Nunkui in Taisha, the nearest village. Previously, passengers had to pay $10 (9 euros) each way on the ferry. small small or walk for seven hours. The ride on the solar boat, called Wampi after a local fish, lasts four hours and is free. This helps family budgets last longer. Mothers can go to Taisha to collect their government subsidies and sell bananas and cassava, or buy medicine and clothes for their children.
Children now have a safe way to get to school, where previously they had to cross a dilapidated suspension bridge. The number of children attending school from nearby communities has grown from 12 to more than 30 pupils, according to Nella Atamain, who teaches math, literature and art.
Light for schools
For years, the Tunas Educational Unit in Kapawi, an Achuar community 30 minutes from Wichimi by plane, had monitors and computers, but no electricity to run them. The only way to get electricity in most of these communities is through gasoline-powered generators, and running one for a few hours a day could cost up to $100 a month — an unaffordable luxury for families surviving on an average monthly income of $90. The province of Pastaza, where Kapawi is located, is one of the poorest in Ecuador, with more than 60% of its residents living on less than $3 a day.
Last year, a group of Achuar technicians armed with drills and cables connected the school to solar panels donated by Kara Solar. Satellite technology, also powered by the sun, feeds a Wi-Fi network.
Thanks to this, students can do their homework on laptops and research other cultures around the world. Those who are about to graduate are using the new tools to learn how to promote tourism in their community. And Luis Mukucham, the school’s director, plans to offer a new course to teach children about solar energy and how to harness it. “I want young Achuar people to be interested in making panels and batteries and even a robot,” he says.
The new appliances also power the home of Bernabé Aragón, a teacher who used to pay for petrol out of his own pocket so that students and their parents had a place to surf the web. Now he can offer it for free. “I want to teach them about computing, about technology and the correct use of the internet, which is very important,” he explains, while printing school exams with his new solar electricity.
A solar economy
For generations, young people in the area have been engaged in agriculture, and others have left the community to seek work outside the forest. The arrival of solar panels opens up new options.
At the Kapawi Solar Center, an open structure facing the Pastaza River, 20 solar panels feed a dozen outlets. There, technicians like 23-year-old Oscar Mukucham conduct panel installation workshops. Others, like Achuar leader Nantu Canelos, have found a market for this experience beyond Ecuador, teaching virtual and in-person workshops in Peru, Brazil and Suriname.
Solar power is also boosting ecotourism. The community-run Kapawi Ecolodge has 64 panels that light 10 cabins, the dining room and other facilities around the clock. The quiet solar boats are ideal for nature tours – they don’t scare away dolphins or birds.
A window to the world
Along with homes and boats, the sun powers mobile phones, providing residents with a window to the world. Web browsing has gone from a rare pleasure to a daily activity. Whereas charging devices once cost money (and involved using gasoline-powered generators), Kapawi residents now charge their batteries for free.
The day after the internet was installed in Kapawi, Elena Gualinga, a 31-year-old mother of four, learned to download movies and soap operas on her cellphone. Aragón, her school teacher, showed her the best websites and helped her create a Facebook account.
Energy must be used to communicate with the world, but from the territory
Nantu Canelos, resident of the Sharamentsa community
The community has a solar-powered radio, which they use to communicate with nearby towns and Puyo, the regional capital. This gives residents a way to quickly call for planes in case of emergencies or invite other communities to sporting events.
Life after dark
Before the arrival of solar power, the day ended shortly after six in the evening. Now, just as in Canelos’ dream, each of Sharamentsa’s 28 huts is lit by solar lights, donated by Nia Tero another foreign non-profit foundation working in the Amazon.
Small white solar lamps allow the village to enjoy at least four more hours after sunset. Spotlights shine in common areas, such as the volleyball court, to prevent encounters with snakes, which were once common. The Achuar cook together and eat later in the evening. Sunlight also lights up and powers loudspeakers at traditional parties.
We cannot talk about fighting extractive activities if we are consuming fuel
Nantu Canelos, resident of the Sharamentsa community
The arrival of this energy also raises fears about the impact on traditions. “Energy must be used to communicate with the world, but from the territory,” Canelos claims. The Achuar communities remain firm in their belief that this will not affect their way of life, but will allow them to spread and preserve it.
The Achuar are clear that the sun is their tool to prevent the construction of roads and the entry of oil companies. “We cannot talk about fighting extractive activities if we are consuming fuel,” he says. “Just as the sun makes life on the planet possible, it also allows the Achuar to keep their culture alive.”
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