Decolonizing Power Podcast
Empower yourself! Listen to inspiring community energy stories from around the world on the theme of Decolonizing Power hosted by Mihskakwan James Harper and Freddie Huppé Campbell. Explore the unparalleled potential of renewable energy microgrids in Indigenous, Island and Coastal communities utilizing new technologies and applying circular economy principles to take on climate action. Connect to a global network of leaders, including young innovators sprinting towards a sustainable, just and impactful clean energy future.
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Energy sovereignty, sustainability and resilience are essential components to global climate action, the protection of mother earth and the safeguarding of generations to come.
– Freddie Huppé Campbell & Mihskakwan James Harper
Podcast Hosts
Season 3
From Zenadh Kes to Turtle Island
Ep. 5 - June 26, 2024
In this episode, the Global Hub team travels to Masig Island on Zenadh Kes, also known as Torres Strait, which lies between so-called Australia and the islands of Papua. Zenadh Kes is home to Indigenous Peoples who have lived with a deep connection to land and sea for thousands of years. The effects of climate change, including sea level rises, intense rainfall patterns, and ocean acidification, are severe on Zenadh Kes, threatening ancestral homelands and ways of life.
You’ll hear from two Indigenous Masig Islanders, Josiah Mosby and Yessie Mosby, who share stories about daily life on the island, their experiences with climate change, and their hopes for the future.
Repower Gaza
May 13, 2024
“Since October, Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza has destroyed over 70% of all infrastructure, including rooftop solar and power stations. Fuel supplies have been cut and residents lack consistent access to food, water and electricity.” (We Are Not Numbers)
This special episode of Decolonizing Power is dedicated to raising awareness for the Repower Gaza project. Daphne and Freddie speak to Walaa Sabah, project manager of We Are Not Numbers (WANN), a youth-led Palestinian nonprofit project in the Gaza Strip. We’re also joined by Lauren Mellor, from Original Power in so-called Australia.
Visualizando la energía comunitaria (Community Energy Visioning)
Ep. 4 - March 27, 2024
We’re back! After taking time for rest and reflection, Freddie, Daphne and Mihskakwan return with the final episode of their four-part Colombia series, featuring SENA instructor and electrical engineer Jose Maria Cotes Mengual. At SENA, the Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje, Jose trains his students in electricity fundamentals, residential electrical installations, and photovoltaic solar energy generation systems.
In this episode, Freddie and Daphne take you on a trip to Jose’s matriarchal Rancheria in the La Guajira region. On their way back to Riohacha, they interview Jose about his experience teaching Wayuu students, his connection to his home Rancheria in La Guajira, and his hopes for the region’s future.
Solstice Greetings
December 21, 203
Solstice Greetings dear listeners!
We’ll be taking some time off to rest and reflect over the Winter Solstice and we’ll be back with more stories in the New Year!
Community by Community
Ep. 3 - December 14, 2023
On this episode, we are joined by Johanna Koolemans-Beynen, Senior Program manager at USEA, the United States Energy Association. Johanna is also a Senior Program Coordinator for the USAID-funded Energy Utility Partnership Program.
Johanna joined us on our trip and facilitated the meaningful connections we created with our kin in Colombia. In a conversation with Mihskakwan, Freddie, and Daphne, Johanna shares her thoughts on sustainable development, the decolonial perspectives that have influenced her work, and the importance of peer-to-peer knowledge exchange.
In the middle of this episode, we hear a short excerpt of a poem one of the multi-talented SENA students, Samuel Prieto, performed for us. Thanks Samuel!
Somos Familia
Ep. 2 - November 22, 2023
This episode, we continue the Global Hub team’s journey in Colombia. Listeners will hear from two extraordinary Indigenous youths: Taylor Behn-Tsakoza, a Déne woman from Fort Nelson First Nation, and Vanessa Ramirez, a Wayùu woman from Colombia.
We are so grateful to Vanessa and Taylor, who have graciously shared their time, insights, experiences, and calls to action with us and our global energy community. Our Indigenous youth are leading meaningful climate action and demonstrating collaborative, innovative, and decolonial pathways that center community.
Kinship and Solidarity
Ep. 1 - November 1, 2023
Welcome back to season 3 of the Decolonizing Power Podcast. Freddie and Mihskakwan are joined by their new co-host, Daphne Kay!
This season, our stories revolve around the themes of kinship and solidarity. We are thrilled to share inspiring conversations and new adventures with you as we actualize our global programming in three regions in South America and Oceania.
Join us over the next 4 episodes covering our visit to Colombia, where we speak to clean energy leaders, meet with members of the Wayuú community, and visit a Rancheria in La Guajira.
Season 2
COP - Truths and Reflections
Ep. 7 - October 24, 2022
We’re back to wrap up season 2 of the Decolonizing Power Podcast! Thank you for joining us on a journey that took us around the globe, from what is known as Canada, to the Philippines, Malawi, the UK, and finally Egypt! Join Freddie, Mishkakwan James, and their guests as they reflect on their time at COP 27, the United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties, held last November in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Indigenous Clean Energy invited a delegation of young and inspiring Indigenous clean energy leaders to attend the conference and share their knowledge and experiences with friends and kin across the world.
Cooperative Clean Energy (Part 2)
Ep. 6 - November 3, 2022
Tune into Part 2 of the Cooperative Clean Energy story. In this episode, we hear more from Nelson Colón, president and CEO of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation (FCPR), and Feliciano Rodriguez Domínguez, Secretary of the Board of Directors of Pirucho Coop in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Our guests continue to share their experiences with community-led renewable energy and the immense impacts being realized in Puerto Rico. Nelson and Feliciano also delve into their visions for secure, accessible, and affordable clean energy for all communities in their region.
Cooperative Clean Energy (Part 1)
Ep. 5 - October 24, 2022
Please join us for the first part of our interview with Nelson Colón, president and CEO of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation (FCPR), and Feliciano Rodriguez Domínguez, a Catholic priest and Secretary of the Board of Directors of Pirucho Coop in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Pirucho Coop started out in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico’s energy system. With the help of FCPR, Pirucho Coop established the first solar energy community under a cooperative model on the island. Nelson and Feliciano share how they’ve overcome limited resources and structural challenges on their way to finding the right model for their community.
A Just Transition?
September 14, 2022
After a well-deserved summer break, Freddie and James return with a mid-season minisode. Reflecting on the notion of “a just transition”, our hosts discuss what meaningful community involvement and equity could look like in a clean energy future.
Listen to our interviews with Philline Donggay (S2E2) and Marvin Tumusiime (S1E6), and stay tuned for our next full episode coming out in October!
Decolonizing Clean Energy Financing
Ep. 4 - July 13, 2022
This episode of Decolonizing Power takes an introspective look at climate financing. We will hear from a climate impact and fund managing group known as Camco Clean Energy. Our guests Ieva Indriunaite and Geoff Sinclair share adaptable financing models, provide examples of clean energy projects done in a good way, and share the community benefits of deconstructing sustainable development models.
The Energy to Transform Communities
Ep. 3 - June 22, 2022
Welcome to the third episode of Decolonizing Power season 2!
“The Energy to Transform Communities” tells the story of RECAPO, a company that is creating clean and affordable clean energy solutions for rural communities in Malawi. We hear from Lawrence Matengula, founder of RECAPO, as he shares strategies and solutions for rural electrification that leave no one behind. Please join us for this inspiring episode filled with creative and community-first clean energy action.
Distributed, Decentralized, Democratized
Ep. 2 - May 26, 2022
Join us for the second episode of Decolonizing Power, Season 2!
We’re in conversation with Philline Donggay (@philline_marie), co-founder of family-owned Greenergy Solar, the first commercial solar rooftop installer in the Philippines. Together, we talk about shifts and challenges in the Philippino clean energy sector, and Philline shares her dreams of distributed, decentralized, and democratized energy solutions for her home community in Mindanao and globally.
Land, Connection and Action
Ep. 1 - April 27, 2022
Welcome back to Decolonizing Power! Join our hosts Freddie and Mihskakwan James as we kick off season 2 with two amazing guests: Danielle Kehler and Jordyn Burnouf.
This episode is grounded in Mother Earth and all that she has to offer us as individuals and communities. You will hear journey’s from homelands to the Arctic and how Indigenous ways of knowing and being have been a part of every step. @kehlervisions and @jordynburnouf each wear many hats as they bring power, voice and perspective to the clean energy sector and everything else that they do. Tune in to hear how these incredible people root action in land, connection and community for the betterment of the whole.
Season 2 Announcement
April 13, 2022
Welcome back to season 2 of Decolonizing Power! Join your hosts Mihskakwan James Harper and Freddie Huppé Campbell as they look back at our first season and the incredible clean energy leaders we met along the way. Subscribe now and stay tuned for another season full of community clean energy stories from around the world!
Season 1
Power to the Last Mile
Ep. 6 - August 19, 2021
This episode takes our listeners to Uganda, where we hear dynamic and effective solutions for access to clean technologies that leave no one behind.
Marvin Tumusiime from the ENVenture program at New Energy Nexus and Masika Janet, a member of the community-based organization Rural Family Care, share some of their experiences and the incredible impacts of their work.
Energizing the Amazon
Ep. 5 - August 4, 2021
This special episode takes us to the Amazon Region of Brazil, specifically to the state of Mato Grosso and the Xingu People at the Parque Indígena do Xingu. Our colleague Layane, originally from Brazil herself, talks to Marcelo Martins at the Instituto Socioambiental in Brazil. Marcelo tells us about his experiences with renewable energy resources in the Amazon and about working alongside the Xingu People as part of the Programa Xingu.
We Are All One Island
Ep. 4 - July 14, 2021
Continuing our tour of Scotland, we find ourselves on the Isle of Eigg, a remote island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides! We speak with Lucy Conway, an Eigg resident and active member of the community, who has been involved in the island’s clean energy project. We invite you to hear Lucy’s captivating, grounded, and enlightening words and stories.
The Power of Knoydart
Ep. 3 - June 30, 2021
Welcome to episode 3 of the Decolonizing Power Podcast series! In this episode, we travel to the ‘Highlands and Islands’ of Scotland and connect with the remote community of Knoydart. The peninsula is reachable only by boat or two-day hike and relies exclusively on locally generated power. We hear from compelling orator and Knoydart Foundation Director Frank Atherley, and Kyle Smith, an engineer with the knowledge to drive forward Knoydart’s energy security project.
Anangokaa - There Are (many) Stars
Ep. 2 - June 16, 2021
We continue AJ’s story of Canada’s first fully integrated renewable energy microgrid project in the community of Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (KZA) – Gull Bay First Nation. AJ walks us through some critical points in the project, how he was able to overcome challenges that arose, how the communities values were reflected in the project.
Waasamoo- Electric
Ep. 1 - June 7, 2021
Welcome to the first episode of Decolonizing Power, which takes us into the community of Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (KZA)– Gull Bay First Nation, an Ojibwe Nation located on the western shores of Lake Nipigon and the surrounding territory in Canada. Anthony (AJ) Esquega, KZA’s Mashkawiziiwin Energy Project Coordinator, takes us on a journey of decolonizing power in Gull Bay. Listen to his stories and experiences during the project, find out what the microgrid means for his community and learn more about his views on sustainability.
Kakinaw Ayawin - It's all around us
Intro
Get to know the team behind Decolonizing Power. Our hosts, Mihskakwan James Harper and Freddie Huppé Campbell share their personal insights and interest in the podcast series and why it was created.