Supporting energy sovereignty by providing access to solar power (interview with dory trimble of honnold foundation)
Dory Trimble (@dorytrimble) is the Executive Director of Honnold Foundation (@honnoldfoundation), a nonprofit organization started by Alex Honnold, the professional rock climber and star of the Oscar and Emmy award-winning documentary Free Solo.
The Honnold Foundation works to reduce the world's environmental impact while addressing social inequalities by providing solar power access to those who need it most—both in the United States and abroad.
In this podcast episode, Dory sheds light on how a lack of access to energy is tied to and perpetuates social inequity; why achieving energy sovereignty for vulnerable communities is vital for them to be able to reclaim their local decision-making power; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Dory and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kamea Chayne.
Musical feature: Trust The Sun by Power to Change by Luna Bec
“We work on energy access because energy has the ability to impact people’s lives in such a fundamental way.”
If you feel inspired by this episode, please consider donating a gift of support of any amount today!
This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast and multimedia journal illuminating our paths towards ecological balance, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance and wellness for all. This preview has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or any podcast app to stay informed and updated on our latest episodes.
On raising funds in a way that reflects the urgency of the issues the Honnold Foundation is working to solve:
“My goal is to get as much money in and as much money out as fast as I can. We don’t have an endowment because we’re trying to solve an urgent problem. It doesn’t matter if we have $2 million in an endowment 30 years from now if the world is on fire.
It behooves us much more to move the money quicker to the frontline organizations doing the solar energy access work that’s reducing environmental impact and making people’s lives better.
It doesn’t really matter if we continue to exist. Our lack of ego for our organizational longevity makes it really easy, and in some ways, really fun.”
On supporting meaningful work in marginalized communities:
“I love supporting work that gives meaningful skills to people from marginalized communities and lets them do the work themselves.
It's work that they want to do, work that they’re perfectly capable of doing, work that they’re psyched about, and work that benefits the community."
On the importance of energy accessibility:
“Energy connects us to the world. It’s what makes other things possible; it’s a baseline need.
We work on energy access because of that—because it has the ability to impact people’s lives in such a fundamental way.”
Final words of wisdom:
“It doesn’t have to be perfect; you just have to do something. Impact matters more than intent, but having good intentions is a really good place to start."
