Impact Spotlight
Expanded solar energy projects to reach 100 Indigenous communities across South America
Training Indigenous youth and women as solar technicians and community energy leaders.
Strengthening regional solar infrastructure, governance, and intergenerational technical capacity.
About
Indigenous Cabécar, Bribri, and Emberá communities live in some of the most remote regions of Costa Rica and Panama—many reachable only by foot after days of travel. Despite stewarding the rainforest for generations, they remain among the most economically marginalized and energy-insecure groups in Central America, often displaced or ignored by national infrastructure. In some areas, communities displaced by hydroelectric dams now live without access to electricity—facing a stark contradiction of energy injustice.
Love for Life (LFL) works with Indigenous-led organizations to reverse this pattern through clean energy, self-governance, and technical training. Their long-standing partners—such as Kabata Könana in Costa Rica and AMARIE in Panama—anchor a growing regional network that promotes food and energy sovereignty through systems designed for rainforest conditions and installed by local technicians. Since 2020, Love for Life has reached over 250 families across nine Indigenous territories with solar energy and continues to scale its impact with support from HF.
“Being a young solar energy technician has been one of the most incredible experiences. I had never imagined that one day, I would become a solar technician myself: learning how to install the systems, how to measure the rise of the sun [...] Wow, you’re just amazed by the work that is being done!”
HF Partnership
With continued support from the Honnold Foundation, Love for Life is expanding its Indigenous-led solar initiative to reach remote rainforest communities in Costa Rica and Panama. This phase strengthens core infrastructure, scales solar installations in Cabécar, Bribri, and Emberá territories, and reinforces a powerful intergenerational training model led by local Indigenous solar technicians.
The project supports women’s leadership by advancing the role of Indigenous women technicians into senior coordinator positions, while deepening governance capacity through partners Kabata Könana and AMARIE. Technicians receive hands-on training at regional hubs before leading installations and repairs in their communities, supported by engineering consultants and local supply chains. The effort integrates sustainable fee models, community solar committees, and long-term maintenance planning, ensuring system longevity and community ownership.
Love for Life’s vision centers not just on access—but on self-determination. By pairing high-quality solar technology with Indigenous leadership and environmental justice, this work strengthens both livelihoods and landscape conservation across Latin America.
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