Tamara made a radical career shift in 2008 from promoting democratic development in the former Soviet Union to working in the solar industry in Mexico. Landing on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, she quickly understood the need to live sustainably to not damage the fragile environment. She designed and built two off-grid homes (PV, rain water collection and storage, dry composting toilets, experimental natural building materials). This was her first contact with solar and she was hooked immediately. After taking every SEI class available at the time, she established an off-grid solar company in Tulum, Mexico in 2009. Tamara is actively involved in all aspects of the business including sales, system design, installation, operations and maintenance. She relocated the business to Xcalak in 2014, where Ecolocos serves nearly 100 off-grid residences and small businesses. When not on a roof or in a battery room, she can be found visiting neighbors in her solar-powered golf cart, swimming, making soap or working on some small sustainability project or another.
