NiaTero - 2020 Annual Report - Flipbook - Page 43
INFRASTRUCTURE & INNOVATION
Transportation/Energy: Our primary focus is to support the
design and replication of solar powered watercraft to meet
the self-defined needs of our Indigenous partners in the
Amazonia and Pasifika regions. Our 2020 R&D grant to Kara
Solar, a Quito-based NGO
working in close partnership
with the Achuar peoples
in Ecuadorian Amazonia,
has resulted in a reliable
prototype that is successfully
operated and maintained by
local technicians. In 2021, we
will test the prototype for
scalability and replication with
three additional Amazonia
regional partners. We have
initiated conversations with
Pasifika-based Indigenous
partners in the Solomon
Islands to assess feasibility of
replicating a prototype in that ecosystem. These boats offer
pathways to reduce dependency on gasoline, improve our
partners’ transportation self-sufficiency, tap local ingenuity
NIA TERO - THRIVING PEOPLES. THRIVING PLACES.
in design and maintenance, and reduce hard-currency costs
in the near and long term.
Technodigenous: In partnership with the Land Tenure
Facility, the inaugural Technodigenous event took place in
October 2020 with participants
from all of Nia Tero’s key regions,
representing over 15 Indigenous
peoples’ communities. This
convening offered a platform for
sharing Indigenous approaches
to innovation which affirm cultural
practices and ways of being.
The event launched a series of
additional conversations about
Indigenous/Technologist ways of
approaching innovation.
Opportunities in 2021 will
bring the co-design of practical
solutions to address topics
identified at the inaugural
event, additional gatherings, and a compilation of prudent
principles for fruitful Indigenous/Technologist relationships.
CROSSCUTTING, AMPLIFICATION & SCALING - INFRASTRUCTURE & INNOVATION
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