Everybody Solar has partnered once more with the nonprofit One Spirit to help Bring solar to the Charging Buffalo House.
Home to about 40,000 Oglala Lakota, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has an unemployment rate that hovers at about 80% and life expectancy is lower than any other area in the Western Hemisphere except Haiti.
This project is fully funded and Installed! See pictures here.
$35,675 Needed/ $35,835 Pledged
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In addition, the rates of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are significantly higher than the rest of the U.S. According to the American Indian Heritage Foundation, approximately 60% of homes there are considered to be substandard — lacking water, electricity (39%), adequate insulation, and sewage systems.
The savings from the solar installation at the Buffalo House, will allow them to provide the community with trainings on the brain tanning process for leather, as well as other courses on creating useful and/or sellable materials from the hide and bones of buffalo. This project will provide new sources of employment on the reservation and enhance the local economy, thereby supporting all members of the Oglala Sioux tribal community at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The Buffalo House is a brand-new building that has been many years in the making. More than a meat-packing plant, the Buffalo House brings with it a hope to reconnect to a traditional source of meat, restore culture and ceremony, offers a means to combat hunger and diet related disease, and most importantly, an opportunity for self-sufficiency. The importance of the buffalo cannot be overstated. Historically, the buffalo was an integral part of daily life. Nearly all activities, such as hunting, cooking, sewing, making art, teaching, praying, singing and celebrating, incorporated and honored the Buffalo Nation.
By providing the Buffalo House with a 13.5 kW solar energy system, will produce 20,000 kilowatt hours (kWh), averting 32,870 lbs. of carbon-dioxide (CO2)* from being released into the atmosphere over the first year. In addition, the system will be saving the site over $1,800 annually in electricity costs. In a region where 97% of the population lives below the federal poverty line and hunger and diet-related diseases are rampant, this savings translates into crucial services.
The creation of the buffalo house has also brought with it the project to bring the buffalo back to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The overall vision of reconnecting to the Buffalo includes: increasing the buffalo herd on the reservation, setting up the USDA-certified meat processing facility, making traditional meats available to the One Spirit Food Program, creating local employment and maintaining funding on the reservation.
As stated by one tribal elder, John DuBray, “the buffalo Nation teaches us how to be a family. They care for their young and very old, keeping them safe in the center of the circle. By bringing the Buffalo Nation back to the reservation, families will be strong again.”
Bring Solar to the Buffalo House (BH) and support the heart and soul of the Lakota Nation.
One Spirit’s mission is to help the Lakota meet their basic needs and provide a culturally rich life for their youth. The goal of all programs is to reduce or eliminate hunger, to replace the high drop out and suicide rates among youth with an enthusiasm for learning and a pride in their Lakota heritage, and to provide protection from the winter cold that can drop to 40 below zero.
One Spirit is a United States 501c(3) non-profit organization.
For more information on One Spirit, please visit their website www.nativeprogress.org.
THANK YOU to hundreds of giving people and organizations for your contributions to bring solar to the Lakota Buffalo House!
Special Thanks to...
Daryl Bosma . Anne Christophe . David Ellis . Runa Jone . Jim Katz . George Kline . David Lemon . Karla Mundy . Arthur Paine . Kizhanatham Srikanth . Alain Valette . Polly Wingfield . Nancy Zycheck
and...
. Murdock Electric .
. The Gumerlock Family Foundation .
*Data calculated from EPA carbon emissions calculator