Impact Spotlight

80 home solar systems for Indigenous families across 8 communities

Workforce development and employment opportunities for 10 Shuar technicians

Improving conservation outcomes for 15,000 hectares of land

About

The Shuar Indigenous people of the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazons were semi-nomadic until the mid-1900s, when colonization of their ancestral lands coupled with missionization led them to reorganize into settlements. Now, the Shuar community members, currently reliant almost entirely on kerosene and wood for energy, are calling for solar energy.

Fundación Selva Sagrada is an Indigenous-led organization working with 80 communities in the Morona River basin in the Ecuadorian Amazon to defend their fundamental freedoms as Indigenous peoples and promote alternatives for ecosystem conservation.

“The solar energy project will improve the education of children; it will improve family income from bio-enterprises; it will alleviate the suffering of many families who had to bring firewood from distant places.”

— Mr. Esteban Tiink, President of the Puntuim Community

HF Partnership

In 2022, the Honnold Foundation partnered with Selva Sagrada and members of the Shuar community to install 30 solar home systems and train community members on the management and maintenance of the systems.

Now, the Honnold Foundation is extending its funding for Selva Sagrada through 2024, allowing for 50 additional solar installations, expanded education, and new workforce development opportunities across the eight Shuar villages.