What an inspiring community you have created here at GlobalGiving. Hundreds of generous people from around the world coming together to improve the lives of Native American families by donating to our Solar Heaters for Native American Families project. We really can't thank you enough for your support and generosity!
We are only $250 away from our goal of raising $14,000 for solar air heaters for Native families, and that is a great thing, because we already have families selected to receive these heaters. In October of 2013, we helped Winona LaDuke’s White Earth Land Recovery Project submit a grant to the Clean Energy Resource Team (CERT). Winona was successful in securing the CERT funding for a Solar Air Heater Training and related wages for members of the White Earth Tribe. Winona is also facilitating the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold to attend the training. Thanks to donors like you, we are able to donate 10 heaters to the White Earth Land Recovery Project for installation on the White Earth Reservation. The newly trained installers will be paid to install these 10 systems to families in need to relieve the bitter cold of northern Minnesota. Not only are we keeping families warm, we are creating meaningful jobs for our nation's First Peoples!
Our Tribal Program partner, Henry Red Cloud said to me, "My biggest dream is for First Nations communities to become energy independent before mainstream America." Together, we are helping this dream come true.
We hope you will stay connected to our work through Facebook, Twitter, and on our blog so you can continue to see the positive impacts of your investment in this project. You can also join our email list to receive monthly updates. Thanks again for your support!
Wow! So far, generous donors to this project have raised enough money to build 7 solar air heaters. Thank you! When this campaign is complete, we will distribute these heaters in an exciting new way. We have just initiated a new means for distributing our solar air heaters through our new website, www.solarwarriors.org. Any Native American can apply to receive a solar air heater as long as they live near one of our trained technicians.
Through this application process, not only can we distribute solar air heaters across a broader geographic range to reach more people, but we can also provide work opportunities for graduates from the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center (RCREC). We currently have former students, trained in the installation of solar air heaters, at 12 different reservations across the West and Great Plains. Now, each heater we install through this application process helps us keep these individuals employed in the renewable energy industry.
This part of our program is brand new, and we are currently working with Ariel Frazier, a graduate from RCREC and a certified Solar Air Heater Technician, to install a new heater for an online applicant. She is installing this heater for Stottin Newbrough on the Cheyenne River Reservation, where he supports a household of 4 people on a salary of $5,000-$15,000 per year, depending on the firefighting season.
From Stottin Newbrough:
Propane is expensive…so I have to cut fire wood. Our woodstove is located in the basement, so it hardly heats the whole house.
We can't thank you enough for your generosity! Native American families are in great need of heat during the cold months of the year. As we make plans for 2014, please consider continuing your support of this project. Happy holidays!
Links:
After completing a Solar Air Heater Training with the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, we were able to donate five solar heaters to a group of our students who want to start their own renewable energy company in Montana. Kale Means, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, assumed responsibility for the heaters and, two weeks ago, we received these pictures of him installing a heater for Pam Robinson and her family on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.
It is great to see our students taking their own initiative to spread clean energy throughout Indian Country. We also hope that these heaters help Kale develop a reputation as a source of renewable energy in his community, just as Henry Red Cloud has done on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Recently, Kale also attended our Native American Green Business Development Training and he is taking the next steps toward launching his own renewable energy company. This training is something that we have been working towards for the last year. While the training is the continuation of a process we started in 2008 – giving Native American students the technical skills they need to enter the green job market – it is only the first step in our new Green Business Development Program. The next will be awarding one “Start-Up Assistance Scholarship” to the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center student with the best application, which means we think he or she will have the best chance of succeeding in his or her environmental social enterprise. The fact that this training is only the start of us helping more Native Americans create livelihoods that benefit Mother Earth made this week extremely special for me.
Thank you for your generosity and support of renewable energy on tribal lands! We could not do this work without friends like you. We love sharing how your donations have changed lives. Was-te!
Trees, Water & People just completed a successful Solar Air Heater Training with eight Native American students from Wyoming, South Dakota, and New Mexico. During the training, two solar heaters were installed at homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation, home to the Oglala Lakota Tribe. These installations gave trainees great hands-on experience with installing the heaters and also provided the families with a new source of clean, free heat from the sun!
The Eastern Shoshone Tribe’s Employment and Training Department sent four members to this training, and will now employ these individuals to install 25 systems for the elderly and disabled in their community. One Eastern Shoshone student explains that she wanted to attend the training because renewable energy will, “help the community and build my resume for future employment.” She is now employed by the tribe installing the solar air heater systems through the summer!
Earlier in the year, Trees, Water & People began offering online applications for Native Americans to apply for a solar air heater outside of the Pine Ridge Reservation, where our main partner, Lakota Solar Enterprises, is based. Thanks to our robust training program, TWP now has a network of skilled installers on reservations around the country. Funds raised on GlobalGiving.org will support these donated heaters, providing heat to a family, but also providing a source of income to our former students. We have now received 9 applications, and we currently have funding for one solar air heater. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we have that heater installed. Thank you for your support! Your generosity is truly making a difference for Native American families in need.
Links:
Henry Red Cloud, Trees, Water & People's Tribal Renewable Energy Program partner, was recently featured in Indian Country Today. The feature story, titled “The Renewable Energy Revolution,” highlights Henry’s efforts to bring renewable energy and green jobs to tribal lands of the United States.
“My biggest dream is for First Nations communities to be energy independent before mainstream America.” – Henry Red Cloud
Henry Red Cloud owns and operates Lakota Solar Enterprises (LSE), one of the nation’s first Native American-owned and operated renewable energy companies. In partnership with Henry and LSE, Trees, Water & People’s Tribal Program has built and installed more than 800 solar heating systems for families living on tribal lands across the country. In addition, TWP and Henry train Native Americans in a wide variety of renewable energy applications, including solar, wind, geothermal, and sustainable building. Together, TWP and Henry also co-manage the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center (RCREC) on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. RCREC is a place where tribes from around the country receive hands-on training in renewable energy applications from fellow Native Americans.
Click here to read the full Indian Country Today article!
Links:
Project Reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you will get an e-mail when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports via e-mail without donating.
We'll only email you new reports and updates about this project.
