Snowchange Oral History: Project Activities

Since 2008 the Indigenous Chukchi Turvaurgin Community has worked with Snowchange Cooperative and Northern Forum Academy to solar-electrify nomadic reindeer camps of the Khalarcha Tundra. This work is done under the auspices of the Barefoot College led by Mr. Bunker Roy based in Tilonia, India. In 2009 a specialist from Turvaurgin, Mrs. Maria Krivoshapkina was trained as a qualified solar panel engineer in India. In 2010-2011 the project partners worked to deliver the first solar panels to the pilot brigades to tundra. The panels are scheduled to arrive in summer 2011. The Snowchange Cooperative funded the pilot phase of the project and the Arkleton Trust based in the UK is monitoring the project. The monitoring effort is led by Mr. Chris Madine from Newcastle, the UK. The Arkleton Trust provided the initial contacts and facilitated the project start. Through the work of Mr. Madine, the Trust continues their monitoring efforts on this initiative.

Nutendli 2010: The international delegates from Snowchange Co-op and from the Arkleton Trust Uk visited the Nutendli community office in Cherski, which is the main town of the region in April 2010. Photo credit: © Mika Nieminen, Snowchange Co-op, 2010. Used with permission.