For residents of Morro da Babilônia, a favela in Rio de Janeiro, geopolitics rarely enters their daily conversations. But as the city prepares to welcome leaders from the G20, a group that brings together the world’s main economies, on Monday, residents are hoping that one specific project will find its place in the sun.
A short distance from the famous Copacabana beach, Babilônia has been slowly expanding its use of solar energy since 2015, with Revolusolar, a local non-profit organization, installing panels to power around 50 homes in a community of fewer than 4,000 residents.
Next year, the organization hopes to expand the project to 100 families at a cost of 1.5 million reais.
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Revolusolar is participating in G20 Social, a side event created by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for non-governmental groups to participate in the global forum. Lula is expected to participate in the closing ceremony of the G20 Social this Saturday alongside First Lady Janja Lula da Silva.
“We managed to give her one of our texts,” said Adriano Hazad, a resident of Babilônia and an employee of Revolusolar, who took the event as an opportunity to discuss plans with authorities in the State of Rio.
The organization, which also provides solar energy to eight other communities across Brazil, including an indigenous community in the Amazon rainforest, hopes the visibility will bring funding and government support for sustainable energy in favelas.
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“When we are a showcase for the world, I believe it is the time to stand out and make our project grow,” said Hazad.
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