Turning Sunlight into a Lifeline: Clean Energy in the Amazon

Part One

I’ve been lucky enough to travel to the Peruvian Amazon. Many families there live without electricity, refrigerators, and wash their clothes in nearby rivers. Something as simple as flipping on a light switch or keeping food is a daily struggle. For many Indigenous communities in the Amazon, this is just everyday life. But even with all these challenges, something amazing is starting to shine through — a spark of hope powered by the sun and built on deep respect for the land.

The Big Problem: Power and Pollution in the Amazon

The Amazon isn’t just a forest — it’s is one of the most amazing places on Earth. It’s full of life, with thousands of different plants and animals—many of them found nowhere else in the world. It’s also home to about 30 million people, mostly from Indigenous communities who have been stewards of the land for generations. There are areas where some indigenous peoples have no contact with the outside world. Many of these communities lack electricity or rely on two to three hours of diesel-generated power at night. They also rely on gasoline-powered boats, which are expensive, polluting, and make them dependent on outside industries.

A Brilliant Opportunity: Clean Energy on Rivers

The Amazon is one of the few places without mass-built roads or electricity networks. But here’s the exciting turning point: solar power.

Back in 2016, the Achuar people of eastern Ecuador started a new journey. Instead of noisy, dirty gas-powered boats, they began sailing across the Amazon’s winding rivers in solar-powered canoes—quiet, clean, and powered by the sun. The project is the brain child of Kara Solar, an Indigenous-led non-profit. Locals now use a fleet of solar-powered boats to travel the rivers of eastern Ecuador. These boats help them get to school, reach health centers, sell goods at markets, transport tourists, and even keep an eye out for illegal logging. Since then, support for building new roads dropped dramatically — from 41% down to just 2%. That’s the power of solar transportation.

Who’s Funding Kara Solar?

Kara Solar has support from funders who believe in this clean energy vision too — including the Cisco Foundation, Honnold Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, and others.

One key supporter is the Inter-American Development Bank, which in late 2024 approved a project worth $600,000 to help scale solar canoe transportation, build local manufacturing, and strengthen Indigenous technical teams

Looking Ahead

Kara Solar’s mission isn’t just a local story — it’s a message for the world: imagine a way of living that protects the planet, strengthens culture, and uses the sun as our power source. These solar boats help Indigenous communities stay connected and independent. The group plans to expand across the entire Amazon through Indigenous-owned solar energy hubs. Clean energy is expanding, even in the Amazon!

Stay tuned to our Solutions section for Part Two of this wonderful story! Most of all, don’t lose hope!