EmPOWERed: A Study of Solar Energy in Mayan Belize

The Solar Mamas Program, created by the Indian-based non-profit Barefoot College, brings illiterate and semi-literate older women from rural communities around the world to India for a six-month training on solar engineering and entrepreneurship. The Barefoot enterprise is unique in that it contrasts the typical flow of humanitarian aid and implements a South-South development dynamic. Belize is one country that Barefoot selects potential Solar Mamas from with help from its ground partner, Plenty Belize. This ethnographic study aims to identify and assess the direct and indirect impacts the solar project has created in traditional Mayan life in the Toledo District. Interviews were conducted in Santa Elena and Jalacte, which are two villages with and without solar electrification, respectively. The study observed positive impacts on various aspects of health, education, and economics, as well as gender relations. Although relatively successful in its mission, constructive feedback was provided to all actors in the solar project with the aim of enhancing the Solar Mamas’ experience and effectiveness as a “new class of leaders” in their communities, as well as to ensure the continued success that solar electrification has had in the Mayan communities.