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Since Tifie’s inception in 2007, we’ve been playing with power. How can we help people provide for themselves in a sustainable way? How can we get light into these homes? How can we provide a sustainable product that won’t be abandoned after a few years? These questions led Robert to develop Goal Zero products, alongside other talented engineers, designers and dreamers.

Dave Rosner has been with Goal Zero since the beginning. He’s been involved in dozens of installs around the world. Besides being an amazing technician and human, he has captured the magic of why power is so essential to helping people lift themselves out of poverty and begin to dream about their future.

Thoughts from Dave

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There is a moment that is incredible to witness. This moment is when a child finds limitless potential. This moment makes families feel safer in their homes. This moment infects the deepest darkest corners of the world with hope. This moment has the potential to improve a life, save a community, or even change the world. This moment is the moment when the underprivileged, the destitute, and the forgotten are given a chance. There is no moment like it. This is the moment of light. When the powerless receive power; free of generators, kerosene, lung infections, or darkness. This powerful moment, both figurative and literal, empowers those involved from all sides. This moment brings education, health, and safety with a simple light. This is a moment that Goal Zero has fostered around the world.

Millions of families are living in homes too dimly lit to read, and the realization of the impact that Goal Zero’s products can have is truly amazing. Throughout the world children must breathe fumes from a lantern to complete their homework. In too many areas the day ends when darkness begins. Even in the world’s most advanced areas, like New York during Hurricane Sandy, all the comforts of technology can be removed in a moment’s notice. The simple combination of a solar panel, battery, and an LED provides the resources to defeat this hindrance to a better life. Be they domestic or abroad, Goal Zero’s reliable power has brought this first light into the homes of those who need it most around the world. Although it is but a light, something so taken for granted, can also be the spark that changes a life. Goal Zero doesn’t just provide solar power to those who need our products. At Goal Zero we provide the moments that can’t be forgotten, and the power that allows us to share their smiles.

When the Workman’s visited the Women’s Center back in March, Robert said that there was something in their joyful smiles and bright eyes that moved him to want to help. Some women in the Center are single mothers who are supporting their families, some are aspiring fashion designers, and some are future entrepreneurs. We experienced the light of their eyes and were moved by the conversations we had with many of the women we met that week.

One morning, we took a trip to a women’s co-op in the outskirts of Marrakesh. We walked into a small apartment and saw posters about domestic violence, nutrition and reproductive health awareness. We saw women laughing around a table, painting, sewing and reading. We talked to their leader, an amazing woman named Norah, who has made it her life’s mission to build communities in poor areas of Marrakesh, providing safety, literacy and sewing classes for women.

Norah is passionate about teaching women how to protect and provide for themselves. She proudly told us about the dozens of other co-ops that she runs free of charge throughout the city, some focused on gardening, others on childcare, others on raising chickens. She goes door to door in neighborhoods to invite women to the programs. She is creative in solving community problems and providing women with the resources and skills to truly meet market needs while increasing their personal skills and confidence. When we complemented her constant smile, she said, “Shouldn’t we smile when we are doing humanitarian work?”

Indeed and Amen.

Meg Merill was our trip photographer and said that this visit was one of the highlights of her trip. “It was so cool to see that these women who have close to nothing can still find happiness and independence in their lives. Their smiles were contagious and they were so welcoming to us! They can create amazing pieces of art out of just a few materials.”

We were so thankful that Norah shared her story with us, and that she provides a safe place for women to be seen and heard. We heard the sadness behind their stories, saw the shiny glimmer in their eyes, and felt the motivations of their heart. Not just the women we met in Morocco, but the six of us women traveling together on this trip. Email, phone calls and quick visits in the lunchroom are great, but something amazing happens when you have face-to-face, heart-to-heart time with one another over a couple of days. When you share your time, your heart, or your story, you make space for each other to say, “you too?” or “I had no idea” or “I’m sorry” and “You’re amazing. “

At the end of the day, we all are sharing a human experience. And part of that experience is connecting to each other. Being seen. Being Heard. Being smiled at. Being welcomed into another person’s story.

Thank you for being part of our story and the women in Marrakesh’s story, and we hope that as the Tifie Community grows, we get to be part of yours too.

Did you know Tifie is an acronym? It stands for Teaching Individuals and Families Independence through Enterprise. On our recent trip to Morocco, we experienced the power of these words firsthand.

Tifie supports a school in Marrakesh for women who are re-entering the job force and are learning skills of cosmetology, IT, childcare and sewing. These women were a collective force of passion and excitement, and were as different from one another as you could imagine: women in every decade of life, married, single, mothers, grandmothers, conservative, liberal, first-time students, in dresses, in pants… But there were two common elements – hopeful smiles and a desire to be independent.

I sat down with several women in the Sewing Program, asking them about their experience at the school and their dreams. Each woman had a unique reason of why she was there:

• “I love to work and I want to be more efficient in my sewing, not an amateur.”
• “Sewing has sparked creativity in me to pursue my dreams and partner with my friends at the school to form a collective. 5 minds are better than 1!”
• “I want to start my own business and provide for my family.”
• “I want to fill my time with something good, and be able to help my husband provide a better life and better school for my children.”

We heard from them that they desired to be independent, to have the resources to provide for their families, to work and create income in a trade they are proud of. We were able to meet their children and celebrate with them when we attended the FIRST GRADUATING CLASS of the school while we were there. We danced, we sang, we clapped, we celebrated with over 40 women who are on their way to their next exciting dream. Be thankful we don’t have the video footage of them pulling us onto the stage to dance with them. 😛

We are thankful and expectant for the seeds of hope that the Grand Atlas Association is sowing and can’t wait to see the exciting businesses, co-ops, and creativity that will come from these bright and beautiful women.

To find out more about the project and how you can help visit the project page here.

The trip I went on for Tifie was to the Philippines.  We went in May of 2014, 6 months after the storm hit the area.

The tents we were setting up were located on a piece of land that was owned by a local family.  They cleared out part of their sugar cane crops to create a community for these tents.  The tents were designated for the families of the farm workers in the area.  As we were setting up I asked a family about their experience during the storm.

They told me that when the storm hit, the only place they could go was out into very field we were setting up the tents – to the sugar cane crops.  They put their small children underneath their own body and wrapped their arms and legs around the sugar cane and held on.  They were out in the field for over 7 hours while the storm came through.

Out of all the stories I heard, and the devastation I saw, this story hit home.  I could still see the fear in their eyes of what if.  They wanted to protect their children and themselves, but what if they could only hold on for an hour?  What if the sugar cane roots where not strong enough?  What if the storm didn’t end?

I asked if she was afraid of more storms and she had a smile on her face and said, no – because now she knows how to survive one!

She is truly an inspiration to me.  Throughout the storms of my life – I know I can make it.  Each time I go through one I learn more about how to make it through the next one!

This is Rebecca’s story, what’s yours?

When someone asks me what I do, I don’t have a quick response. Today I might have put together a marketing campaign, updated the website with a project story, met with board members, or wrote thank you notes to donors. Tomorrow might be fundraiser planner, volunteering with a local project partner or outlining goals and objective for a project. And that is just this week!

Tifie’s mission is to support community projects that help marginalized people provide for their own basic needs. The thing that gives me goose bumps about that statement is the word marginalized. People on the outskirts, people who, for some reason, are on the wrong side of the line. And what I’ve learned in the last eight years of working with Tifie is that we all have something to give and receive from each other. We’re more similar that not, with hopes for our future, dreams for our children, pride in our home and love for our families and friends. Isn’t that the heart of community?

I’m honored to work for Tifie and thankful that I get to play a small part in making someone else’s life better. Whether it’s our most recent project of sending safe and dry shelters to midwives and expecting mamas in rural Nepal post-earthquake, or whether it’s sending women in dire need of surgery in Congo solar-powered flashlights to give them a means of light and power to start a business, or it’s… the list goes on. All of our projects have a person, a family, a child who is going to have a better life because of the work we’re doing.

My job is to tell that story and give you all a way to have meaningful and impactful experience when you partner with Tifie.  If you’re excited about volunteering, sustainability, marginalized people, Ghana, education, Peru, agro-businesses, Morocco, second chances, marginalized people, fundraising, refugees, grow beds, solar power, shelter, entrepreneurship, families, single moms, technical skills, the DRC, basic needs story-telling or giving your time, resources or money, we’ve got something you’ll be interested in.

This is Halen’s story, what’s yours?

We are a firm believer that when you do good, you get good in return. But, if you have never volunteered with an organization before, it can be a bit overwhelming. Well, we know it is a bit cliché to say, but the best thing to do is find what you are passionate about and jump in. But just in case you are still hesitant here is Tifie’s guide to doing good.

Find your passion

Everyone is more likely to succeed when they are fighting for a cause they believe in. Take a look around and see what interests you, then you can search for an organization that shares that same passion.

Reach Out

So you have found the cause you want to fight for? Now it is the big moment of reaching out, don’t be afraid, non-profit companies are always excited to hear from people who share their same passion and want to help. So whether you want to volunteer your time or a skill, they will welcome you with open arms.

Jump In

You just received your first assignment and are all ready to jump in and start helping. What an amazing thing to be a part of, now you can be a volunteer pro and start inviting your friends along for some fun!

Want to learn more about the projects Tifie works with? Head on over to our Discover Projects page to take a look.

 

“The night after we installed solar power in Bwe for the ‘Light a Village’ project in the Congo, we wandered in the village to see who was using their lights that were being powered by Goal Zero batteries. We came upon this hut that had over 30 children crammed inside, all who had paid to come watch a show.  It was the first movie house in Bwe, and one of the first of many businesses born from the ‘Light A Village’ project! Given power and light, it’s amazing to see the ingenuity of what entrepreneurs can create.  Small shops, refrigeration services, cell phone charging – it’s truly endless.

Tifie started because we had a vision for how life can change when someone has a job and can provide for themselves. We had no idea the creative jobs that would be created from the products and tools that we provide.” – Halen, Director of Tifie