The RePowerUa Foundation now has an international ambassador! Camille Dressler is vice-chair of the European Federation of Small Islands.
Camille Dressler lives on the small Scottish island of Eigg (30 km2, 105 inhabitants), but Ukrainians were among her ancestors. Therefore, the woman took the events in Ukraine very close to her heart. She immediately started volunteering.
“Before I got to the island, I lived in France. I came to the Isle of Eigg one winter 40 years ago to study, write and paint, but I stayed here forever”, – says Camille.
Moreover, Camille is one of the most enterprising inhabitants of the island. In 1997, the inhabitants of the island bought their island, and Camille served as a director for the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust, the new community owner.
“Before the Eigg community – buyout, we simply existed. After buying the island, we could look forward and build the future. Ten years later, we created the first renewable energy system that combined solar, wind and water, and our youth began to return. It just shows what can be done if you give power to the community,” – says Camille.
Camille is dedicated to island community empowerment, helping to promote energy transition and island heritage. She also studies energy arts such as qigong, is passionate about the use of traditional knowedge, and also dabbles in art. While learning Gaelic, she created a small craft museum modelled after the Spinster’s House she visited on the island of Huksara during one of ESIN’s inter-island trips to Finland. She also created a bilingual trail for the islands micro-farms. Her first project was a presentation of the island’s history, geology and wildlife in the former island shop, engaging island children to create artwork as part of Eigg Primary School’s Green Flags. After spending a lot of time recording the memories of the old inhabitants of Eigg, she became the historian of the island, and published her work: “Eigg, the story of one island”.
As director, she helped build the organization that manages the Isle of Eigg. She saw the role that creative thinking and learning could play in improving the lives of the community.
She is currently Chair of the Scottish Isles Federation, and represents the Small Isles Community Council (Islands of Eigg, Rum, Muck and Canna) on its board. After serving as Chair of the European Federation of Small Islands until 2017, she now continues as vice-chair and chair of its Energy Group, which we are very happy about.
You have to be brave to live on such a small remote island like Eige, you have to be brave to go all the way to Brussels with your proposals, and you have to be witty to convince people who disregard such proposals, constantly repeating “it cannot be done.”
It can be done. We can do it. Camille and her fellow islanders proved it.
