Audi and Litro de Luz: light for Lower Xingu Indigenous Reserve

The event lasted seven days (May 29 to June 5) and benefited a total of 20 indigenous communities, 140 families, and more than 600 residents with the supply of 170 compact lighting and energy solutions, including lanterns and solar poles. The chosen location was the region of the Lower Xingu Indigenous Reserve in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso (MT).

The event benefited the indigenous communities of Castanhal, Três Patos, Mainumy, Bom Jesus, Maraká, Iguaçu, Camaçari, Aiporé, Sítio Amazonas, Paranaitá, 3 Famílias, Sítio Vitória, Kayasu, Jawary, Jyenap, Progresso (Novo Progresso), Maitá, and Nova Geração e Sobradinho, who also provided the infrastructure for project volunteers.

“This is a project that, in addition to its main purpose of bringing sustainable lighting to communities without permanent access to electricity, also highlights the importance of companies supporting social projects. Actions like this allow us to always remember that we need each other,” states Antonio Calcagnotto, Director of Institutional Affairs and Sustainability at Audi do Brasil.

“This is an extremely valuable project for the communities who receive the sustainable solar solutions as well as for all the volunteers who took part. Bringing light to the Xingu Indigenous Reserve reinforces our purpose and shows us the importance of respecting the origins and beliefs of all human beings. It was an important lesson in a project that was so rewarding to everyone involved,” says Rüdiger Recknagel, Managing Director of the Audi Environmental Foundation.

“This is the third year of our partnership with Audi do Brasil and the Audi Environmental Foundation, and it was certainly the most challenging. Bringing solar solutions to these 20 communities and getting to know the lives of the indigenous people in Xingu in depth is undoubtedly one of the most fulfilling experiences I have ever had. This project will not only bring light, but it will also give value to the indigenous peoples, the true guardians of the forest,” says Rodrigo Eidy, President of Litro de Luz Brasil.

Planning for this year’s project began in June 2023, when 20 indigenous communities in the Xingu region (located in the south of the Brazilian Amazon) were visited for four days by Litro de Luz representatives along the Arraias and Manissauá-Miçu rivers before teams from Audi do Brasil, the Litro de Luz NGO, and the Audi Environmental Foundation jointly assessed their respective needs.

Potential areas were preselected according to the Litro de Luz database, which mapped communities in the region who have no or only limited access to the regular electricity grid. Through this analysis and interaction with local leaders, the communities located within the Xingu Indigenous Territory were selected for the project, in part because their isolation would make the impact of the action greater and more efficient, and above all because of their limited or, in some cases, complete lack of access to the electricity infrastructure.

Another aim of the initiative is to support and value the traditional indigenous culture of the Xingu, which occupies a key environmental conservation area in Brazil, contributing to the preservation of biodiversity, mitigating climate change, and providing a reference for the culture and tradition of the indigenous peoples who inhabit it.

According to a 2018 World Bank report, around 1 billion people around the world have no access to electricity. In Brazil, around 2 million people have no access to electricity, according to data from the Ministry of Mines and Energy in 2019.

Audi and Litro de Luz

The partnership between Audi do Brasil, Litro de Luz, and the Audi Environmental Foundation began in 2022, when around 200 riverside communities in the Amazon received 30 solar posts and more than 150 lamps, benefiting more than 600 residents of Nova Canaã, Nova Jerusalém, and Lindo Amanhecer.

In 2023, the action was repeated among local indigenous and Caiçara communities on the south coast of São Paulo. Together with members of the community, around 40 volunteers from Audi do Brasil and Litro de Luz installed and assembled 140 lighting fixtures, including solar energy lamps and poles using lithium batteries, for communities who have no access to permanent electricity in the towns of Cananeia and Ilha do Cardoso. In total, it is estimated that 147 families from 12 different communities benefited.

“With the Litro de Luz project, the Audi Environmental Foundation and Audi do Brasil aim to continue bringing clean and safe energy to light communities that have no access to the power grid. Our project in 2023 with the NGO Litro de Luz brought valuable insights by promoting engagement with diverse cultures, including indigenous and Caiçara communities, and increasing the importance of mutual respect for all. This is a lesson that I believe all the volunteers have learned from this experience,” says Rüdiger Recknagel, Managing Director of the Audi Environmental Foundation.