PROJECTS - EKHOS

CONNECTING INDIA, LATIN AMERICA AND EUROPE TO LIGHT UP LIVES

It all began with an alliance between EKHOS and Barefoot College Tilonia, an Indian organization that empowers and trains rural women in solar engineering.

In 2018, we embarked on an ambitious project with our partners in India and Argentina: to bring solar energy to communities in the Puna of Jujuy with limited access to electricity, placing women at the heart of the process.

After identifying communities without access to electricity and participating in community assemblies, four courageous and powerful women from the Puna travelled to Tilonia, India, for six months to train as Solar Technicians.

Since then, we haven’t stopped. We secured scholarships, built relationships with governments, presented the project at universities and international forums, sought sponsors and donors, and kept the flame of the project alive until it could become a reality on the ground. Just days before their journey to India, the women were even received by former President Mauricio Macri at his office.

AFTER YEARS OF WORK…

Signify Foundation, based in Amsterdam, and Signify Argentina joined the project, contributing solar-powered lighting fixtures that will be installed in public and community spaces across the Puna.

Bringing light is not just about lighting up a place. It is about activating life, fostering development and opening up new opportunities.

Light means safety. It means active community life after dark. Children playing. A community coming together. More hours for young people and children to study. Stronger local enterprises. The possibility of using electrical appliances. Better health by replacing polluting sources of light. Reducing migration from rural areas to cities. A better quality of life. Greater social and economic development.

And all of this is led by the very women who trained in India.

PROJECT STAGES

junE 2025

The first stage of the project began, with solar photovoltaic lighting fixtures installed in public spaces across six communities in the Puna of Jujuy.

AUGUST 2025

The second stage reached six additional communities. But we still need more people and organizations to join us so we can keep moving forward with greater strength.

2026

The local team is being trained in Social Enterprise development, while we continue to seek partners to support the creation of the Social Enterprise that will sustain the project.

THE LOCAL TEAM

Emiliana Chaparro, de Abra Laite, leads the project’s relationship with communities across the Puna and coordinates implementation on the ground.

Marina Sajama, de la comunidad de Abra Laite, contributes the technical knowledge she gained during her training in India.

Claudia Calpanchay de Susques y Huancar, supports the work on the ground.

Magdalena Ema Quispe, de Susques y Huancar, supports the work on the ground.

The women who travelled to Barefoot College to train in solar photovoltaic energy come from the rural communities of Abralaite, Susques and Huancar, in territories traditionally inhabited by Indigenous peoples, in the northernmost part of the Puna Jujeña, within the departments of Cochinoca and Susques.
The local team also includes technical installation professionals, drivers, logistics and communications support.

Thank you Jazmín, Mirta, Lisandro, Wilfredo, Porfidio, Zulma, y José.

Each community receiving the lighting has one or two local representatives responsible for the care and proper functioning of the equipment. Most of the Guardians of Light are women.

GET INVOLVED

YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS.

We are launching the next stage of the project: securing the materials, tools and logistical resources needed to support the safe and efficient installation of the lighting fixtures.

You can contribute through funding, donating tools, increasing visibility or connecting us with potential partners.

Get in touch with us at virginia@ekhos.org