ASA

ASA, Brazil: Program for one million solar roofs in the semi-arid region (P1MTS)

The Articulação do Semiárido Brasileiro (ASA) is a vast network committed to defending, disseminating, and implementing a new approach to the relationship between the populations and the environment of the Brazilian semi-arid. This approach is based, in particular, on the development and promotion of public policies that address the basic needs of local populations, especially regarding access to water, land, and appropriate technical assistance.

ASA brings together more than three thousand civil society organizations with diverse profiles—rural unions, farmers' associations, cooperatives, NGOs, among others—active throughout the semi-arid region. Its mission is to strengthen civil society through the development of participatory processes that promote sustainable development and harmonious coexistence with the semi-arid environment, based on local cultural values and social justice.

The CoRe II project

Through the implementation of a pilot solar energy production project in the semi-arid region of Brazil, the CoRe II project aims to challenge and influence national energy policy. It is based not only on criteria of environmental sustainability, but also on principles of social justice and equitable income distribution.

The project places particular emphasis on training young people from rural areas in photovoltaic energy production and management techniques. The creation of a social solar factory-school will enable local communities to acquire skills in manufacturing photovoltaic equipment and developing renewable energy solutions tailored to their specific needs. Ultimately, the project aims to strengthen local capacity across the entire production and installation chain of solar components, based on a cooperative management model.

Planned activities

• Establishment of a center of excellence for technological innovation in the field of social enterprises producing clean energy, integrated into community value chains

• Organization of distance technical training courses on the production and management of photovoltaic energy

• Modeling and reproducing the matrix of cooperative social enterprises

• Creation of a solar workshop-school

• Organization of in-person training courses dedicated to the development, testing and production of photovoltaic equipment and solutions adapted to local socio-productive activities