Seizing Solar Power | Witness

Across Latin America the impact of poverty and climate change is bringing greater stress to rural communities.

In arid northern Argentina, people have only one source of fuel – wood. It is often scrawny bushes that are increasingly hard to find.

But the region also has a huge untapped resource – solar radiation – and Virginia Bauso’s mission is to harness its potential and promote solar energy as the main power source for entire villages: from kitchens and ovens to heating, lighting, hot water and even a public phone.

She roams the desert spreading innovative technology, including a “kiosk” she invented that cooks food using the sun’s rays. The community of Misa Rumi is now almost 100 percent solar-functional. Another village recently built a solar quinoa dryer, creating new opportunities for employment.

As deforestation and desertification continue to ravage Argentina and beyond, Bauso’s vision could play a major role in charting a sustainable path to energy independence.

Seizing Solar Power explores how solar energy improves rural life on multiple levels by documenting its impact – in the fields of agriculture, education, health and business, as well as power – and contrasting this with isolated communities that are yet to adopt Bauso’s groundbreaking tools.

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