Indigenous Women Bring Light to Rural Belize
In the Toledo District, Belize, several rural villages lie far away from the national electricity grid making it difficult and costly to electrify their communities. However, due to a partnership funded by the UN-backed Global Environment Facility’s (GEF’s) Small Grants Program (SGP), three Mayan women solar engineers are installing solar energy systems and contributing to sustainable development in small indigenous communities in Southern Belize. The women were trained by the Barefoot College in India to build and repair small household solar systems as part of a South-South cooperation exchange
They have installed solar systems to four indigenous communities impacting over 1000 residents. In 2021, despite of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, these solar engineers, along with national authorities and partners installed these solar energy systems to two of Belize’s most remote communities. It has been estimated that they have helped to avoid 6.5 tonnes of carbon emissions.
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