Six Degrees of Separation: Lakeview to Tanzania

By Johnathan Van Roekel, Renewable Energy Coordinator, Lake County Resources Initiative

If you have ever promoted something before, whether it be a service, product, or an idea, one thing is certain:  You never know who you are going to get to bite!  This statement held especially true for me in my first few months serving in Lake County.

I am housed in Lakeview, Oregon at Lake County Resources Initiative (LCRI).  When I first arrived in town, my partner Natasha and I took a drive around town to get acquainted with the area.  I noticed a sign for a Saturday Farmers Market.  My placement is focused on providing Renewable Energy Development Assistance to rural communities across the state of Oregon but focuses especially on engaging farmers and ranchers with energy focused incentive programs.  What better way than to meet local producers than to head to the farmers market!

So that Saturday, Natasha and I went into town to the market.  Our initial reaction might have been something like, “is this it?”.  We were surprised to see such a small number of vendors and visitors for a town with only one good grocery store.  And although the vendors had quality goods, none of them seemed to be too interested in the service I was pitching.  I decided to head straight to the source.  I was directed to a woman named Karen with a stand in the corner of the market, who I had been told, organized the event.  She was very kind and told me she would help me identify different business and farming families that could benefit from my work.  We also talked about her church in town and if it could get money for a project.  Now I thought I had hit the jackpot!  After talking for over a half an hour, exchanging contact information, and handing out business cards to other vendors, I felt like the word had been spread.

Fast forward about two months.  Now I was beginning to think that I had reached no one.  Not one person had contacted me back.  As I started to search around for more local people to engage with my work, I got a call.  It was the organizer of the Saturday Market, Karen!  But to my surprise, she did not inquire about a local project.  In fact, the project she had in mind could not have been more distant.

She explained to me that her pastor at the St. Patrick Catholic Church had gone on vacation.  In the meantime, a traveling minister had come up from Klamath Falls.  His name was Father Richard, and he is originally from Tanzania.  In Tanzania, he serves the Hanga Abbey, a community of faith that is home to many families.  When Father Richard arrived in Lakeview, him and Karen met at the church and talked about his home.  During that conversation, he explained the energy challenges Hanga Abbey faces.  He said he was trying to find funding for a solar project there someday.  That is when Karen had a lightbulb moment.  Enter LCRI.

Father Richard, myself, and Nick Johnson my supervisor, met in the minister’s house on a cold afternoon.  As we spoke, it became clear that the prospect of aiding a project over seas was not so farfetched after all.  By the end, we had already made connections that could help Father Richard on his quest to bring sustainable energy to his community.

I never thought that promoting my work on a local scale could connect me with someone from the other side of the planet.  But like I said, you never know who you are going to reach.  Father Richard and LCRI are still in contact.  We have plans to continue helping him find ways to fund his ideas and hopefully, someday, visit him and his community in Tanzania.

About the author, Johnathan Van Roekel: Johnathan was born and raised in the rolling farm fields and hardwood forests of South Eastern Minnesota near Northfield. After spending a year abroad in Košice, Slovakia, in a cultural emersion program, Johnathan attended University of Wisconsin, River Falls. He graduated in the Spring of 2020 with a Conservation and Environmental Planning major and a Geographic Information Systems minor. During his time in River Falls, Johnathan worked on natural resource and recreation mapping projects with the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust and enjoyed spending time on the river fly fishing for trout. Here, Johnathan intends to spend his free time outdoors, exploring the Warner Mountains and the great state of Oregon. With no prior experience or training in the energy sector, Johnathan is excited to learn about renewable energy design and finance and how it can best be applied to serve rural communities.