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Gamal is a member of the Ababda bedouin tribe of Marsa Alam: a people whose work culture centers on being entrepreneurial and self-sufficient. In 2016, he witnessed our solar station for The Oasis Resort being developed and was intrigued. “I saw people bringing light to the desert and wanted to be part of that” he says.

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The coastline of the town of Marsa Alam is home to a beautiful array of coral life and diving destinations, making it a hotspot for tourism. However, local hotels and resorts had long depended on unreliable sources of energy, in the form of diesel powered generators. In the absence of a national electricity grid, the city itself had long relied on energy generated by diesel supplied by the Canal Company. In 2015, we started constructing a solar station with the intent of supplying electricity to two resorts in the Marsa Shagra area of  Marsa Alam: Marsa Shagra Eco Lodge and Oasis. This relatively small station had a capacity of 75 kilowatts, and supplied the resorts with a clean, reliable source of energy at a competitive price that does not fluctuate based on the price of diesel.

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From his time volunteering as a manual laborer, Gamal displayed a striking curiosity about KarmSolar, its work culture, and its mission. The company quickly recognized the reciprocity of ideals and hired him to be part of its operations in the area.

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“What I really like about KarmSolar is its essence. It’s a place where everyone works together for a common goal. The environment of knowledge dissemination keeps me curious and excited about the prospects of what is possible for my people, and my hometown.”

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Overtime, Gamal learned how to operate and monitor the performance of a solar grid, becoming aware of all the nuances and technical aspects involved. Today, he oversees the day-to-day performance of 3 of our projects in Marsa Alam.

”I instill the same level of self-motivation and enthusiasm for our projects in the team I manage. And while it may sound like an exaggeration, we all prefer to be at work contributing to an organization we see as developing our region than taking days off.”

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There is a high degree of synergy between the values of energy independence KarmSolar promotes and the aspirations of the people of Marsa Alam. And Gamal is a testament to how homegrown expertise can be empowered to lead the way towards a brighter future for this region.  

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