"Imagine Light"
The Cabécar people live in the rain forest in the Talamanca region of Costa Rica. Their communities are not on the national electrical grid. TOOLS FOR LIFE is contributing €15,000 toward the construction of photovoltaic systems in 10 remote mountain villages in order to provide them with clean sources of energy.
Initial situation
The villages inhabited by the Cabécar people are located in remote regions of the Costa Rican rain forest and are not on the electrical grid. At the moment, the only sources of light the people living in these villages have available to them are fires or handcrafted torches. Not only do these sources only capable of providing diffused light, their emissions are harmful to both the Cabécars and to the environment on which they depend.
The project covers ten mountain villages, which are home to 213 extended families. The population engages mainly in small-scale agriculture and lives in harmony with the surrounding rain forest. However, the Cabécar’s traditional way of life is in peril. It is threatened by extreme weather events resulting from advancing climate change.
Measures We Are Taking
TOOLS FOR LIFE is contributing € 15,000 to the project, which is being carried out by LOVE FOR LIFE e.V. The project will ensure that the people living in these mountain villages have access to sustainable solar power. Access to clean and sustainable forms of energy will improve the Cabécar’s lives by providing them with new possibilities for development. Some of the Cabécars will receive solar technician training. This will allow local people to carry out the necessary maintenance and repairs. The long-term objective is to put Cabécar communities in a position where they will be able to operate all of the solar equipment themselves. As an additional benefit, using solar energy is an effective way to protect the surrounding rain forest from both emissions and clearing.
Current situation
The project of LOVE FOR LIFE e.V. was successfully completed! TOOLS FOR LIFE supported the project with an additional 5,000€, which had arisen due to delivery difficulties by COVID-19, to help 229 families from more than 10 hard-to-reach areas with a sustainable source of electricity. A total of 213 solar systems were constructed and installed. In a two-week training process, 15 residents were also trained as solar technicians so they can take over maintenance.
New pictures can be found in the gallery below.
Facts and numbers
EURO BUdget
Months
The background to the project
The majority of the indigenous population currently lives in the Talamanca region, in indigenous territories established in 1977. There, both the indigenous and the migrant populations often lack access to basic services. The Centre for Indigenous Development has pointed out serious disadvantages in terms of education, for example. It was not until 1992 that reforms were passed in Costa Rica to ensure improvements in the social and cultural standing of the indigenous population. Prior to this reform, indigenous people were not even able to obtain passports, for example. In early 2016, the government-run electricity provider ICE announced that it would work to give the indigenous population living in southeastern Costa Rica telephone and internet access.
| Country | Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Human Development Index | 68 |