Impact Spotlight

15 home solar installations, eliminating reliance on diesel

Solar training and vocational education for 44 Indigenous youth

Access to clean water for remote homes via solar-powered pumps

About

Fundamental Needs is a grassroots, Indigenous-serving nonprofit working to meet essential infrastructure needs on the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute Reservations. In a place where 13,000 families live without reliable electricity, clean water, or broadband due to decades of underinvestment and environmental injustice, Fundamental Needs is partnering directly with residents, local schools, and tribal leaders to deploy solar-powered solutions that reduce emissions, improve health, and cultivate a locally rooted clean energy workforce.

“This project is a collaborative investment in energy and water sovereignty. By equipping homes with solar systems and investing in local workforce training, we’re helping young people gain lifelong skills while ensuring communities no longer have to depend on expensive and polluting fuels just to survive.”

— Alana Nichols, Executive Director

HF Partnership

With support from the Honnold Foundation, Fundamental Needs will deploy off-grid solar-plus-storage systems to 15 remote homes on the Navajo and Ute Mountain Ute Reservations. Alongside installations, the organization will provide vocational training and paid internships for 44 students in partnership with Diné College and Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute, introducing participants to solar installation, battery maintenance, and energy justice concepts. The project also includes clean water systems, with solar-powered pumping and filtration units tailored to off-grid use.