The Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CARES) is a multidisciplinary team of engineers, architects and environmental specialists at the University of California, Berkeley. CARES was founded in 2007 with a grant from the NCIIA to address the disconnect between the creation of sustainability technological innovations by engineers and the needs of the end users.

The founding members of CARES include Dr. Alice Agogino, Ryan Shelby, and Yael Perez.

The mission of CARES is to enable end users to make informed decisions about sustainability and renewable energy technologies by giving them agency during the design, development, and implementation of sustainability best practices and renewable energy technologies.

Since March 2008, the Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CARES) has been partnering with the Pinoleville Pomo Nation (PPN) near Ukiah, CA to co-design culturally-inspired, sustainable housing and renewable energy power systems that utilize sustainability best practices, renewable energy technology, and reflect the long-standing culture of the Pinoleville Pomo Nation.

Since March 2008, the Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CARES) has been partnering with the Pinoleville Pomo Nation (PPN) near Ukiah, CA to co-design culturally-inspired, sustainable housing and renewable energy power systems that utilize sustainability best practices, renewable energy technology, and reflect the long-standing culture of the Pinoleville Pomo Nation.

CARES Receives Seed Funding to Establish Native American Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability (NAtiveCARES) Center

Since March 2008, the Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CARES) has been partnering with the Pinoleville Pomo Nation (PPN) near Ukiah, CA to co-design culturally-inspired, sustainable housing and renewable energy power systems that utilize sustainability best practices, renewable energy technology, and reflect the long-standing culture of the Pinoleville Pomo Nation.

The PPN has used the culturally-inspired housing design to apply for and receive federal funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in 2009 to build more sustainable homes that emphasis cultural values and improve energy and water conservation, and funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2010 to perform renewable energy feasibility studies of wind, solar, and biogas technologies. The homes co-designed by CARES and the Pinoleville Pomo Nation are scheduled to have their ground breaking ceremonies in Fall 2010.

This partnership has been honored with the 2010 Chancellor’s Award for Public Service in the Civic Engagement and has also been featured in UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering's Innovations (October 2008), College of Engineering's Engineering News (December 2008), College of Engineering's ForeFront (Spring 2009), and the University Relations’ Promise of Berkeley (Fall 2009).

Recently, CARES has received seed funding from the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and formed partnerships with the EPA, NREL, Sandia National Laboratories, and Native American nations in North California, Arizona, and Nevada to establish the Native American Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability (NAtiveCARES) Center at UC Berkeley.

The focus of NAtive CARES will be to co-design and implement information technology tools that can be used to (1) design culturally appropriate, sustainable buildings, (2) improve indoor air quality, (3) improve energy and water conservation, and (4) design renewable energy infrastructures for Native American nations and communities.

The NAtive CARES center will be located in the CITRIS headquarters at UC Berkeley and will be headed by Dr. Alice Agogino (UC Berkeley), Dr. Daniel Kammen (UC Berkeley), Dr. Katia Obraczka (UC Santa Cruz), and Dr. Teenie Matlock (UC Merced).

The CARES Team

Photos from the Chancellor's Service Award ceremony