Solar lighting reaches the islands of Belém – see fieldwork

Last Wednesday, July 19, Instituto Peabiru has worked, along with partners, on site at the Community Nossa Senhora da Conceição, on the Island of Paquetá, Belém, where 23 solar energy kits were installed in homes and a community center.

Houses of the Nossa Sra da Conceição community along the Jamaci River on Paqueta Island (Belém, PA) are now lit with solar energy. July 2017. Photo: Mariana Buoro

The field team had collaborators from Instituto Peabiru, IDEAAS (Institute for the Development of Alternative Energies and Self-Sustainability), GEDAE (a study group for the development of alternative energies from the Federal University of Pará – UFPA); MMIB (Women’s Movement from the Islands of Belém); and the Parish Saint Francis of the Islands, all partners in the Light for a Better Life Program.

The Program offers low-cost sustainable energy access to isolated communities in the Amazon. In the case of this particular Community, services with high local demand such as lighting and cellular recharge points were made available through the “Bakana Solar” kit.

Ms Ermelinda Costa smiles with the new light bulb installed in her home. Community Nossa Sra da Conceição, Paquetá Island, Belém, PA. July 2017. Photo: Mariana Buoro.

During the visit, part of the team was dedicated to matters of technology in the solar installations and systems. Meanwhile, another part applied a diagnostic questionnaire to all families in order to establish a profile of energy demand, initial impressions, and impacts of the arrival of solar energy on the families’ quality of life – essential to think of scale extension and replicability of the systems .

Technicians deals with adjustments in the solar panels that now illuminate the homes of the Community Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Paquetá Island, Belém, PA. July 2017. Photo: Rafael Araujo.

The initiative is part of the mobilization of several partners for the provision of energy services to riverside communities in the Amazon that suffer from energy exclusion.

Click here to learn more about the Light for a Better Life Program.