SANTAREM, Brazil (AP) — For the riverine community of Nova Sociedade, deep inside a protected area of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, the Arapiuns River is the only route to the outside world.
The Arapiuns flows into the Tapajos, one of the Amazon River’s major tributaries, across waterways so vast that navigating them can feel like crossing the open sea. Yet during a historic drought in 2024, Nova Sociedade’s residents had to walk as far as 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) in search of water.
“At daybreak, our struggle would begin,” said Tiago Silva, an Arapium Indigenous community leader in Nova Sociedade. “Children carrying water, elderly people carrying water. We all suffered.”
Two years later, the community is better prepared for this year’s El Niño, the naturally occurring climate phenomenon that raises global temperatures and can worsen drought in the Amazon.
In June, Nova Sociedade installed solar panels to power water pumps that fill storage tanks and provide clean water to all 36 families in the village. The Amazon-based nonprofit Saude e Alegria provided the system and has equipped 29 other communities with similar technology ahead of another possible severe drought.
Before solar power arrived, Nova Sociedade relied on diesel generators for basic electricity. Fuel is costly and polluting, and the generators provide limited, unreliable power.
Across the Amazon, the spread of off-grid solar power, closed systems not connected to utility companies, is helping remote communities reduce their reliance on diesel while improving access to clean water and electricity in homes, schools and health centers.
Last month, each Nova Sociedade household received its own solar-power system donated by Schneider Electric through Saude e Alegria. The easy-to-install kits include batteries to power lights at night and enough electricity to charge phones and other small devices.
“This technology uses the power of the sun and can replace other ways of generating electricity that often require clearing the forest or burning fuel, the very practices driving global warming,” Caetano Scannavino, an environmentalist and manager of Saude e Alegria, told residents as they received the solar kits. Scannavino also warned of another severe drought likely coming in October and November.
As community leaders called chiefs of households, residents rose smiling to collect their kits.
Some described the technology as a blessing. Women artisans said better lighting would allow them to continue weaving traditional jewelry and baskets after sunset, extending the hours they can spend producing an important source of income.
Most of those still without power live in the Amazon
Nova Sociedade illustrates how off-grid solar power is changing daily life in isolated Amazon communities. Beyond providing water and household electricity, the technology is increasingly supporting schools, health centers and local businesses.
According to official data, the number of off-grid systems…
Read More: Solar power helps Amazon communities ditch diesel and prepare for El Niño
