Environment and Climate
Solar water heaters built from recycled materials
Santiago Barrio co-founded Inti Solar, a non-profit building solar ecosystems for off-grid communities in Latin America, which began in Cusco with a network of over 100 volunteers.
In Cusco, Peru, Inti Solar built a network of over 100 volunteers and secured its first $3,000 in funding. That is where the non-profit started. Santiago, a university student at UADE, co-founded it to develop solar ecosystems for off-grid communities in Latin America.
The first work was with a team of engineers, building solar water heaters using recycled materials. The organisation then went through the Watson Institute Accelerator to refine the model.
“It's a tangible, immediate change for people who are usually left behind.”
Santiago Barrio
It goes beyond sustainability, he says. In off-grid communities, relying on traditional fuels creates massive health and safety risks. Bringing in accessible solar ecosystems, he says, "directly transforms daily hygiene and drastically improves their quality of life."
"We have the research, the initial designs, and the proof of concept," he says.