Ice in a Box
Clean ice. Clean water. Clean power. A solar-powered pilot program built for San Evaristo, a remote fishing village in Baja California Sur, Mexico — designed to be replicated wherever coastal communities need it most.
A 100-Mile Round Trip Just for Ice
San Evaristo’s economy runs on small-scale fishing — but the village has no reliable way to keep the catch cold, or to drink clean water. With no local ice production, fishermen haul ice more than 100 miles from La Paz, burning fuel, raising costs, and cutting into already thin margins. Delays and inconsistent supply reduce seafood quality and limit the markets San Evaristo’s fishermen can reach. Meanwhile, despite local facilities, good-quality drinking water is scarce in this isolated desert community — contributing to health problems, especially among children.
One Solar-Powered Unit, Two Essential Resources
Ice in a Box pairs solar power with desalination and ice-making equipment inside a single modular unit — producing both safe drinking water and affordable ice, with zero fossil fuel required to run it.
Solar Array
Panels generate clean electricity on-site, eliminating the diesel generators typical of remote coastal facilities.
Desalination
Seawater is converted into safe, good-quality drinking water for the whole community.
Ice Production
A portion of the fresh water is turned into ice on-site, keeping the local catch cold without the 100-mile drive.
A Modular “Box”
Fabricated by GivePower in Austin, Texas, and built to be shipped, deployed, and replicated anywhere.
It Started With a Request at a Sustainable Ocean Conference
Luis Bourillón of Comepesca approached Steve Bender of the 7 Seas Initiative with a simple but urgent ask: could the man behind Doc in a Box design something similar for ice and water — for a village most maps barely show? Steve agreed, on one condition: the project had to deliver safe drinking water to San Evaristo’s residents too. What followed was a prototype, a partnership with GivePower, and the start of a pilot program now drawing interest from Latin America and Asia.
- The Ask — Comepesca requests help for San Evaristo
- The Commitment — Steve makes it a 2026–2027 Rotary Year priority
- The Build — GivePower fabricates the unit in Austin, TX
- The Pilot — a replicable model for coastal villages worldwide
Built With a Partnership of Ocean, Energy, and Community Organizations
Comepesca
Mexico’s leading council for sustainable seafood, and the organization whose call for help started it all.
GivePower
Solar water-farm pioneers, fabricating the Ice in a Box unit at their facility in Austin, Texas.
Rotary
A 2026–2027 Rotary Year priority initiative, backed by the global reach of Rotary clubs — including the Rotary Club of Newport Beach.
Help Bring Ice in a Box to the Next Village
San Evaristo is the first of what Comepesca, GivePower, and Rotary hope will be hundreds of coastal communities served by this model — with new requests already arriving from Latin America and Asia.