The initiative by an NGO will bring more than solar energy to the residents of Favela Marte, in SP: it will expand access to health and culture
Now, we will have in Brazil the first community of Latin America to have its power grid powered by solar panels. The contemplated community was Favela Marte, in São José do Rio Preto, in the interior of SP. Favela Marte will serve as a model for a large project, generating jobs, income and better social development for community residents.
Get to know Favela Marte, a community in the interior of SP
Also known as 'Vila Itália', Favela Marte was born in mid-2014. Over the years, the population of Favela Marte has been the target of numerous lawsuits, whose objective was to expropriate the previously private area.
But everything changed when the community was chosen to serve as a model for Edu Lyra's “Favela 3D” project, seeking more dignified, digital and developed (3D) environments.
This initiative was developed by the NGO Gerando Falcões, created and managed by Edu Lyra, with the objective of breaking the cycle of poverty in the country. The NGO carries out several actions, in addition to relying on investments from the public and private sectors. Besides the spawning hawks, Banco BV and fintech Meu Financiamento Solar will be responsible for financing the installation of solar panels in 240 houses in Favela Marte.
Installation of solar panels in Favela Marte, the first community in Latin America to be supplied with solar energy
By June 2023, more than XNUMX photovoltaic panels generating solar energy will be installed in homes and common areas of Favela Marte. For this, popular houses will be built through the Urban Housing Development Company (CDHU). The houses will be built as an alternative to replace houses that are unable to receive solar panels.
According to project calculations, each family will save between R$4 and R$6 a year on their electricity bill. However, the representative of each family will have to pay a minimum fee, which will be charged by the SP energy distributor.
Banco BV and Meu Financiamento Solar will offer technical courses focused on the installation of the Solar Energy System, with the aim of helping to professionalize the residents of Favela Marte. The general infrastructure service and paving of the streets of Favela Marte will be under the full responsibility of the city hall.
Investments in Favela Marte
And speaking of investments, the estimate is that R$ 52 million will be invested in the project that will benefit Favela Marte. Around R$ 28 million will come from the Government of the State of SP, R$ 15 million were raised by Generating Hawks, with partners from the private sector, and the city of São José do Rio Preto also intends to invest R$ 15 million.
This project is a collective work, with several people working together for the benefit of the community. According to Mayor Edinho Araújo, during a meeting in 2021, everyone is building this with good will and using resources that are being well distributed, in a project that is not so simple and that will serve as a model for all of Brazil.
In addition to Gerando Falcões, which will participate with the “Favela 3D” project, expanding access to health and bringing the right to education, citizenship, women's autonomy, income generation, culture, sport and leisure, Volkswagen Foundation will help the NGO in the conception of two cooperatives inside the favela, in SP, where handicrafts, sewing and incentive to selective collection will be worked. Edu Lyra also took advantage of the SXSW festival, in the United States, to invite billionaire Elon Musk to visit and invest in “Favela 3D”.
