Cool Spot Story 31

Cool Spot Story 31 (20.05.2014) – Quilombo Solar

The first time I came to the Quilombo I was stunned by the beautiful place where it's situated. It's in the middle of the Atlantic rainforest, the restaurant, where they do great feijoada's (a Brazilian national dish, made of rice, beans, meat, cabbage and farofa (manioc flour)) with Samba groups playing, it surrounded by magnificent trees and nature. Already the road leading to the center is rural and I’m always glad that I'm not the one driving. The project with the adolescents is very interesting, and promoting solar energy in Brazil is definitely a different thing than in Switzerland. For me it's very surprising how many people don't know about solar panels and sustainable energy around here. Especially since the sun is shining pretty much every day, Brazil's the perfect place to use the great weather to produce solar energy. Thinking about how many houses in Switzerland

are already equipped with solar panels, keeping the many clouds in mind, the sensible thing to do, would be investing the money in projects here in Brazil. So much more energy could be produced with the same installations... So I reckon it's very important to promote solar energy around here, inform and educate people about renewable energy sources and show them how much power the sun has really got to offer. It's a shame not to use it. A lot of people from all around Rio de Janeiro come to the Quilombo on a Saturday or Sunday to enjoy the exquisite food, the great location and the fantastic music. A big banner welcomes the visitants at the Quilombo, explaining the project Quilombo Solar. Sometimes we stay for the Feijoada, explaining how solar panels work, with a table full of little things that only use solar energy. The people are amazed by the little cars that drive in the sun, the turbines that turn as soon as a ray of sun hits them and the lamps that start shining, once they are in the dark. Very handy is also the solar phone charger, with the short capacity of our smartphones nowadays. For the kids participating in the project to learn about sustainable energy and solar power it is a chance to learn about electricity and learn about things, not many people know of here. I think it can be really useful for their future, since I reckon using the solar power here in Brazil is a great way to solve at least one of Brazils problems. The Greenpeace volunteers working in the project are great to spend time with. Interested in the world’s future, with ambitions for change, and an understanding of the importance of protecting our environment and preserving nature. I've never personally had anything to do with Greenpeace, but always liked the activities they made and the ambitions they had. Now getting to know the Volunteers here in Rio de Janeiro definitely made me think about becoming one as well. Here in Brazil, where they have so many natural wonderful places it's surprisingly hard to find people that appreciate them. Separating waste doesn't exist (even glass and metal just goes with everything else!!!), rubbish on the beaches is normal and public transport is so bad everyone who can afford to go by car, does. So for me it was a relieve to see that there are also people who don't always take thousands of plastic bags at the supermarket, turn off the light in a room they're not in and take their rubbish with them, instead of leaving it on the ground. They don't only know that solar panels exist, but also know how they work and have already helped putting up whole installations. There is still a lot of work to be done, until everyone in Brazil and on the world will know about solar panels and sustainable energy sources, but it's projects like Quilombo Solar that are getting there, step by step. For me it's a great experience to be part of the project and be able to contribute another point of view coming from the different background I have. As always the biggest problem is getting funds for the project, but I think investing a bit of money in projects like Quilombo Solar is definitely worth it.

About the Author: Bettina Baggenstos, a Swiss 20 years old girl, lives in Zurich with her mother and has travelled to many countries to learn their culture, language and traditions. Now she is in Brazil for six months learning Portuguese, and working as volunteer in three social projects, including the Quilombo Solar Project. And, part of her plans is to be an architect and continue her volunteer work with Greenpeace Switzerland or any other NGO.

This is the 31th episode of a blog post-series called Cool Spot Stories written by young and committed Reporters.