
Photographs and videos: Jenifer Veloso
Nestled deep in the southern reaches of the Amazon rainforest, Vila Limeira is a village situated 70 miles from the nearest city and accessible only by boat. This area is the frontline of a critical environmental conflict — one where the stakes include the survival of the forest and the future of its people.
Vila Limeira lies within the Médio Purus Extractive Reserve, a zone protected by Brazilian law. The reserve is threatened daily by illegal logging and cattle ranching. “Ribeirinhos,” traditional river people, depend on the forest’s diverse ecosystem for their survival. Diversifying economic production in these extractive communities is essential for preserving the forest and safeguarding livelihoods.
In efforts to protect both the forest and the community, Vila Limeira has embraced sustainable energy solutions. The village of 90 people was once a community with limited access to electricity — heavily dependent on diesel generators that provided only three hours of electricity a day. It’s now the first community in southern Amazonas with 100% solar energy.
“The arrival of solar energy has brought many improvements for us,” said Raimunda Ferreira de Oliveira, who has called Vila Limeira home for 24 years. “We are creating jobs, improving our farming, our income and — overall — a greater life.”
In the past, Ferreira de Oliveira would start her day early, before the relentless heat became unbearable. She would load a large basin with clothes, pots and pans and balance it on her head. With her free arm, she would carry a second container filled with fish and, thus, begin her daily half-mile trek to the Seruini River. There, she would wash her laundry, clean her cookware and prepare fish for preservation, relying on the river for all her daily needs.
Today, Ferreira de Oliveira enjoys the comfort of washing her clothes at home, with a fan cooling the heat, all thanks to the photovoltaic mini solar grid that provides clean, renewable energy around the clock.
This transformative change became possible in 2021 with the installation of the grid, made possible, in part, by $350,000 in grants from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to the World Wildlife Fund.
“In sensitive ecosystems like the Amazon, off-grid renewable energy is more than power — it’s life-changing for forest communities,” said Daniela Gomes Pinto, a program officer with the Mott Foundation’s Environment team. “As traditional forest protectors, when their lives are improved, they become even stronger allies in the fight to protect the rainforest. These energy solutions safeguard the forest and contribute directly to climate change mitigation. Empowering these communities is one of the most effective ways to ensure the rainforest remains standing.”
Life in Vila Limeira now means access to sustainable energy around the clock. With internet access on their TV, Ferreira de Oliveira’s family can now enjoy watching Brazil’s soccer teams compete. Every home has a refrigerator, a washing machine and advanced means of agricultural production. This has brought independence for women, access to higher education and the hope to dream bigger.
In 1958, Napoleão Oliveira da Silva moved his family to the Amazon to work as a “seringueiro” (people who tap rubber trees), following a government policy promoting development in the region. Like many seringueiros, Silva and his family faced harsh conditions, trapped in a system of debt bondage known as “aviamento,” where they were paid not in wages, but in supplies controlled by rubber barons. This exploitative system kept them in perpetual poverty.
As the rubber industry declined in the 1970s, the government shifted its focus to large-scale agriculture and cattle ranching. Silva’s family began farming in Vila Limeira, mainly growing mandioca to survive. However, life remained difficult due to limited farming resources and the high cost of diesel generators. Each family needed 10 liters of diesel daily, which provided only three hours of unstable power at night. This cost them R$5,000 per year (about $1,000), nearly 3.7 times more than what families in larger, more populated areas with continuous energy access paid.
Six years ago, the tightly knit community began seeking solutions for equal energy access and a way to transform their lives.
“In 2018, we were sought out by the community from Vila Limeira,” said Alessandra Mathyas, conservation analyst for the World Wildlife Fund – Brazil. “They wanted to understand what solar energy was like and how they could use it in their community.”
Mathyas arranged for a survey of energy needed for homes and agricultural production, as well as the school, community center and church. The results of the survey suggested that, instead of individual solar panels, a photovoltaic mini grid would be the best solution. WWF began coordinating with Aurelio de Andrade Souza, chief executive officer of UsinAzul, a private sustainable energy and consulting firm.
Souza’s sizing of Vila Limeira’s future solar system began with assessing the community’s energy consumption while also recognizing the latent demand that might arise. He anticipated that energy consumption would increase once a viable system was operational. Mathyas and Souza worked together to account for current energy needs and projected future increases, including population growth due to the availability of electricity.
“The system was designed to handle periods of low solar radiation during the region’s winter,” explained Souza. “It includes a battery bank, solar panels and a backup generator, which has only been used three times in the last three years. By around midday, the battery bank is fully charged, meaning it can easily meet the community’s energy needs throughout the night, when there is no solar radiation.”
The mini solar grid was initially scheduled for installation in 2020, but the pandemic delayed the project until 2021. Approval from the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), the federal agency overseeing Brazil’s National System of Protected Areas, was required before the project could proceed. Once approved, a 30 kWp grid was installed, featuring modern equipment such as a lithium battery bank with a 15-year lifespan and individual meters for each home.
The installation process involved both WWF and the residents of Vila Limeira. The community prepared the area for solar grids, constructed a storage space for the batteries and trained two individuals in system maintenance, including monitoring battery performance, consumption and charging.
Jonas Nogueira de Oliveira was one of the individuals trained and responsible for the maintenance and monitoring of the solar grid.
“I was chosen by the people here to take care of this material and equipment,” he explained, with tears in his eyes. “I worked with the technicians during the assembly process, and in October 2022, they sent me to participate in a preparatory course with ION Energeia’s headquarters in Sorocaba.”
Nogueira de Oliveira underwent an intense 27-hour training course to learn how to manage and repair damaged equipment and how to monitor the amount of energy being consumed and stored within the batteries of the mini grid system.
“My goal is to learn more every day,” he said. “I will do my best to continue the process of improving our solar plant and everything that benefits our community, our population.”
The community is currently planning to expand its agricultural efforts, aiming to produce up to 50 tons of açaí annually. They have agreed on several goals for the next 20 years, including implementing projects that will increase their energy demand, continuing reforestation of the land, and ultimately living with zero negative impact on the rainforest.
With the increased access to solar energy, the community will be able to power more efficient agricultural tools, irrigation systems and larger-scale refrigeration for their produce. This will enhance productivity, reduce spoilage and open new opportunities for trade with larger markets.
Families in Vila Limeira now spend R$720 ($129) per year on solar energy, significantly reducing their energy costs. By lowering costs and improving operational efficiency, the community will increase its economic output, which will help advance individual development through better access to education, health care and increased profits.
In the process, Vila Limeira can be a model for the rest of the world.
“Today, we have energy in our homes, like the city has,” said Nogueira de Oliveira. “We have energy here in the interior, where we live in the middle of the forest. No one could have ever imagined that we would have this benefit, but we have this while preserving the environment, preserving nature.”