Our Story
This journey started on the Cuyabeno River in an attempt to test Torqeedo’s electric outboard engine technology in Latin America. No other major attempts had been made to implement this technology for productive and economic purposes or daily activities, thus electric motors operating mainly in European lagoons in luxury boats. However, it quickly became a dream: to transform aquatic mobility in rural areas towards technological advancements that use renewable energy sources, improving living conditions, preserving the natural environment and providing sustainable and productive alternatives for communities.
In 2015, Prof. Gordon Wilmsmeier, member of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and his team embarked on a 4-day tour. They navigated the waters of the Putumayo and Cuyabeno rivers on a boat powered by three electric outboard motors (Torqeedo Cruise 10.0). They traveled 175 km, managed to showed the technology to communities and verified the efficiency in these mighty rivers. The results of this journey, the reaction of the communities and the performance of the engines is narrated by Francisco Schuler in the documentary "Tres Fronteras" (Salamandra Cine)
WE BELIEVE THAT THE BEST WAY TO PRESERVE THE TROPICAL JUNGLE IS TO EMPOWER INDIGENOUS CUSTODIANS. BY TRANSFORMING THE USE OF ENERGY IN VULNERABLE TERRITORIES, WE ARE ACTIVATING TECHNOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVES RESILIENT TO DEGRADATION AND EXPLOITATION
NAUTICAL ELECTROMOBILITY SOLUTIONS CAN SERVE AS KEY ELEMENTS TO LEAD REGIONAL SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND AT THE SAME TIME PROTECT THE FRAGILE BIODIVERSITY IN PERIPHERAL REGIONS AND POST-CONFLICT AREAS IN COLOMBIA
At the time, Kara Solar Foundation undertook, as well, a navigation journey. This 18,000 km trip aimed to transport the first solar boat from Sucumbíos located in the northern part of Ecuador, all the way to the territory of the Achuar indigenous community, located in the Amazon. The boat, designed with the community and collectively governed by the Achuar, has been strengthening the connections between communities for more than 2 years and transports indigenous people using the sun as energy source.
Prof. Wilmsmeier learned about this initiative and with the desire to expand these inspiring and innovative ideas in nearby countries, he moved to Colombia. In 2018, supported by iNNpulsa and the BMBF, the iNNoPiangua project “Sustainable Value Chains in Artisanal Fishing” began. This project, carried out by the Universidad de los Andes in the territory of the Community Council “Esfuerzo Pescador” (Iscuandé, Nariño), seeks for communities to join new mobility technologies for the development of their productive activities and enhance the consolidation of value chains for local products.
Throughout this process, territories of ethnic communities, National Natural Parks, fishermen and tourism associations as well as educational institutions have been visited. The project's aspiration is to replicate these efforts in multiple regions of Colombia and the world, giving special importance to the cultural and natural setting, and communities energy needs. Additionally, the purpose is to expand these initiatives and accompany a technological, energy and productivity transition that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.
