By Lacey Gaechter | National Director
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.
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