In the wake of disasters, rural health could end up running on sunshine 

After Hurricane Helene shut down most of the power grid, the Footprint Project brought 47 portable solar arrays and battery systems to the area to help restore power. These solar panels offer an alternative to diesel-powered generators, so people in remote areas experiencing a natural disaster don’t have to rely on burning fossil fuels, which contributes to the climate crisis.

The Footprint Project is working to make disaster recovery efforts more sustainable by replacing diesel- and gas-powered generators with solar-powered batteries. The team works with local solar companies, nonprofits, community groups, and governments to distribute as much solar-powered climate tech as they can in the wake of disasters.

A small community in the mountains of North Carolina, Hot Springs, relied on a solar-powered microgrid with battery storage when the substation that supplied its power washed away in the flooding after Hurricane Helene. Microgrids like that could be a critical part of building extreme weather resilience elsewhere, too.

The nonprofit Footprint Project is helping communities in North Carolina restore electricity after Hurricane Helene by delivering and installing solar equipment donated by companies or purchased with donated funds.

Solar-powered irrigation systems are helping Nigerian smallholder farmers reduce fuel costs by over 60%, extend their growing seasons, and increase crop yields, while also improving local air quality and reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

Solar-powered cold storage units operated through Farmer Producer Organizations in India have reduced post-harvest losses from as high as one-third of crops to minimal levels. This enables smallholder farmers to save on storage and transportation costs while gaining control over when to sell their produce at better prices.

Women farmers in Bihar are installing and operating solar irrigation pumps and selling water to neighboring fields—cutting irrigation costs (often versus diesel), improving agricultural output, and generating a steady income.

The WNC Helene Recovery Community is a Discord server created to help those affected by Hurricane Helene. The server provides a platform for people to connect and support each other, with channels dedicated to various needs, such as healthcare, mutual aid, and recovery updates. The server is designed to be easy to use and navigate, with a team of moderators providing guidance and support. The moderators have also implemented a vetting process to ensure the safety of users and prevent scams.

Aflorar Herb Collective provides herbs to community members in the wake of Hurricane Helene and intense recovery efforts to address high levels of stress, anxiety, insomnia and other mental health struggles. The group uses locally grown herbs and traditional practices to make teas, salves, soaks and other remedies to calm the parasympathetic nervous system and provide a moment of much-needed self-care and rest to those impacted by the storm.

Restring Appalachia matches people who lost their instruments to Hurricane Helene with donors offering up instruments of similar quality. So far, roughly 175 people have signed up to donate about 400 instruments, with about 20 delivered to Asheville so far, though the need still outpaces the supply.