Brazilian NGO, IDEAAS, will set up a commercial entity to enable the transition to solar powered lamps for the fishing industry. This will reduce the industry’s carbon footprint, cut the fishermen’s production costs and ideally set up a template that can be expanded elsewhere.
Two hundred families of fishermen – about 1000 people – will benefit directly, along with four local enterprises whose staff will be trained in solar energy and a further 10,000 fishing families who will be involved in awareness-raising activities. Other micro-enterprises will benefit from the charity’s work in building local capacity to market and maintain the new lanterns.
Linking the project to a carbon credits scheme based on emissions saved is an avenue which can be used to provide additional funding to support replication of this scheme across Brazil. Two banks have already agreed to provide increased access to micro credits.

About the winner: IDEAAS is the Institute for the Development of Natural Energy and Sustainability, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, headed by Agronomical Engineer and Social Entrepreneur Fabio Rosa. Mr Rosa has extensive experience in designing and implementing low cost rural electrification systems and programs, solar photovoltaic energy systems, business and management models on decentralized generation, the use of alternative energies to promote rural development and the introduction of innovative models for technical progress. He has received several awards on social entrepreneurship, use of electricity and technical innovations for the benefit of humanity, technology.