Building Rural Community Buy-in for Renewable Energy

Renewable energy can increase private investment, economic growth, jobs, and access to clean, reliable, and affordable electricity. With help from the Scaling Up Renewable Energy program, USAID supports the Government of Colombia’s efforts to ensure that traditionally marginalized groups in Colombia also benefit from renewable energy.

Northeastern Colombia’s Guajira region has one of the highest sustained wind speeds in the world. Guajira is rich in cultural diversity with a large population of Wayuu people who have their own language, customs, and tribal courts. Guajira also has some of the highest poverty rates in Colombia and a lack of jobs and educational opportunities.

The Government of Colombia, in partnership with USAID, is engaging local communities in Guajira, especially the Indigenous Wayuu and other marginalized groups who are often excluded from decision-making, policymaking, funding, and benefit-sharing.

Darlin Rodriguez, an engineer who grew up in southern Guajira, works with the Guajira Governor’s Office on energy projects and engages with the private sector companies responsible for building new renewable energy projects. He also engages the local communities to improve communication, trust, and buy-in for these infrastructure investments. 

Working with USAID, Mr. Rodriquez and the Governor’s Office are helping to design and implement a local workforce capacity-building plan through Colombia’s regional technological training institute (SENA). SENA is a government initiative developing vocational training programs to increase employment and strengthen the competitiveness of Colombia's enterprises.

The training program is designed to be delivered in phases, starting with an introductory course on renewable energy and the energy transition taking place in Colombia. The training will also cover topics on the environment and climate change and will be tailored to the community’s local language. Each student will have the option to select a training module to gain specific knowledge in topics of interest. At the completion of the training, participants will be nationally certified to help build and manage the future fleet of renewable energy projects.