It’s a long way from Springwood to the Arctic Circle but that is just where St Columba’s alumnus Keegan Taccori found himself a couple of months ago.
It was at the start of a very big adventure. Taccori and his friend, Joel Hayes, are travelling from the northern tip of Alaska to the southernmost part of South America in a van powered completely by the sun.
Route Del Sol is the name of their trip, which they’re doing to tackle the climate crisis in the most socially innovative way they could think of – travelling the world’s longest road in a solar-powered camper using only renewable energy.
Mr Taccori grew up in Springwood/Yellow Rock. After leaving school he studied journalism at the University of Wollongong and has spent the past five years of his life travelling between India, Europe and North America.
When he heard about Mr Hayes’ venture, he was quick to sign on.
“I joined up because of the type of impact I knew we would be able to have on our journey,” he said via email from Canada.
“I see the power of media as one of the greatest influences in generating change, and I want to use it to help motivate others to spend their lives fighting for issues much greater than themselves, such as climate change, social disparity, access to energy etc.
“Also, I knew this would be one wild adventure.”
And so far, it has been. Starting from the Arctic Circle in August, they have travelled from the northern tip of Alaska through Yukon Territory and into British Columbia. Mr Taccori emailed the Gazette from Vancouver near the border with the US.
They did run into one problem when they crossed into British Columbia. About 100 kilometres west of a town called Fort Nelson, they ran out of energy from their batteries so settled down for the night.
“Once we woke up we were covered in snow and had to get the snow off the [solar] panels. Next thing you know, I had to hitchhike into town because we ran out of food.
“A week later we finally had enough charge and good weather that we kept pushing forward.
“It was preeeetty far north and the winter hits a full six weeks earlier than southern Canada where most Canadians live.”
The reaction has been incredible, Mr Taccori said.
“A lot of ‘what the hell is this thing?’ and ‘how did you even get this here?’ before we point out the solar panels. People are stoked with what we're doing, and it's gained traction really really quickly.”
Along the way, they are speaking and running public events, as well as connecting with NGOs, politicians, environmentalists, media and communities leading the way in social and environmental innovation.
“As social entrepreneurs, we’re building a community of networks to bring with us to Central and South America so we can tell the stories of communities and people living with or without access to clean energy.
“We want to have the capacity not only to genuinely experience these cultures, but have the ability to connect these communities with the right people in our own, to then further share ideas and potential solutions.”
The pair is also filming a documentary covering topics such as energy, climate, culture, people, social disparity and global consciousness.
The trip is expected to take two years.
They are looking for support from the public. To donate – even a few dollars can make a difference – go to the Kickstarter website, http://kck.st/2TpgiDH.
There is also an opportunity for sponsors, considering the van is “a very large, roaming billboard” that will get maximum exposure through the American continent.
Mr Taccori and Mr Hayes can be contacted via routedelsol@gmail.com. The website is www.routedelsol.com.
