This season, we’re reflecting with deep gratitude on the global connections that shape our clean-energy education work. One powerful example is the Solar Suitcase—a tool whose origins trace back to lifesaving efforts in Nigeria. When Dr. Laura Stachel experienced firsthand how hospitals lacked reliable light during childbirth, she and her husband—solar engineer Hal Aronson—created a simple, durable solar kit that could illuminate clinics and save lives. Their organization WeCareSolar, begun with the spirit of practical innovation, now travels across borders and generations, using clean energy to help communities strengthen their local resilience.
At Spark Northwest, we’re honored to carry this lineage forward in the Pacific Northwest. After learning directly from the suitcase’s founders, our Tribal Project Manager, Eriq Acosta, began introducing the technology to Tribal and rural communities—including the Port Gamble S’Klallam, Makah and Nooksack Tribes. Teachers, students, and community members have used these small, hands-on systems to build confidence, ask better questions, and imagine what solar could look like in their homes, schools, and gathering places. Just as importantly, the suitcases stay in the community after the trainings, serving as both a teaching tool and a real source of backup power during outages or storms.
The journey of the solar suitcase reminds us that resilience is a shared, global endeavor. The confidence sparked in a classroom can become a community’s first step toward energy independence. And every one of us has a part to play in building a future where communities—Tribal, rural, urban—have the tools they need to adapt, thrive, and care for one another.
We’re grateful for these connections, for the teachers and learners who keep the work moving forward, and for everyone who believes that clean energy education is a gift that keeps on giving.
Read on for more news and updates from Spark Northwest, including an introduction to our new board members, upcoming educational events, and don’t forget—Giving Tuesday is TOMMOROW!
