'WHEN INDIANA GETS THERE, INDIANA GETS IT DONE'
Some heroes never want you to tell them the odds.
Among them, Han Solo is arguably the most well-known. But right this moment in a galaxy rather close by, you have Indiana electric cooperative linemen — including Tipmont’s own Matt Bassett.
Project Indiana is an international initiative in which Indiana electric cooperative linemen travel to help bring electricity to developing villages in Guatemala.
Initial plans for its January 2025 voyage to Palmira, Guatemala, called for the installation of about 70 poles to deliver power to roughly 109 homes and businesses.
Those plans also said the 22-person crew should expect to fall short, citing project scope and the challenges of bringing electric infrastructure to such remote, mountainous terrain.
But as Bassett says: “When Indiana gets there, Indiana gets it done.”
“I look at these people in Guatemala like I do our members here at Tipmont,” said Bassett, a lead lineman for Tipmont and three-time veteran of Project Indiana trips. “I’m there to do a job for them and make sure their needs are met. When we sign up and promise to do this job for you, the job will get done.”
And then some for this Project Indiana build. The team nearly doubled initial estimates to connect 197 homes and businesses between Jan. 29 and Feb. 15.
That makes 2025’s historic build effort the largest in Project Indiana’s history.
Oh, and that’s also without working on Sundays to respect villagers’ religious beliefs.
“The guys busted their butts from before sunup to sundown,” said Tipmont Operations Manager Joe Banfield, a veteran of three builds and two engineering trips who also visited this site earlier to stake out worksites. “I truly didn’t know how many people they connected until the end, and I was in awe.”
'IT'S EASY TO KEEP GOING BACK'
Tipmont linemen have joined each of Project Indiana’s six trips — which are facilitated by Indiana Electric Cooperatives and have connected a total of 739 locations since 2012.
“It’s easy to keep going back after you’ve had that taste of changing things for the better,” said Tipmont president and CEO Ron Holcomb, who provided administrative support onsite during the 2025 build and also helped capture the journey in photos. “The only downside is that you can only do so much in one trip, but the upside is that we’ll keep returning as much as we can.”
Each day began with a 4:30 a.m. wake-up call, followed by breakfast and a 40-minute drive up the sole, uneven mountain road leading to the villages. To avoid getting snarled by daily road construction, crews had to be past work barricades and at village sites by 6 a.m. There, they ran lines over the coffee fields from which many villagers make their living and across steep Guatemalan mountaintops. They also collaborated with local Guatemalan linemen, as well as Mexican linemen brought in to address work at metering points.
Another difference from past builds: The team connected homes and businesses each day rather than only at the end, which let people know hope was headed their way.
“Seeing the lights come on day by day gave them a tangible feeling they could hold on to,” Bassett said.
It also propelled the build’s historic reach.
“People don’t sign up for it because they don’t really think they’ll get electricity,” Banfield said. “But then they see the lights coming on, realize it’s happening and want in on it. That’s when adding a few more homes every day really began to add up.”
SEEING FACES CHANGE TO HAPPY, JOYFUL SMILES
Bassett and Banfield said the emotional response and gratitude keeps them going back.
“In staking the sites out, you really get to meet and know every homeowner,” Banfield said. “Seeing their faces change to happy, joyful smiles in that moment that you flip on electricity is the appeal for me. I’m really passionate about Project Indiana, and it gets better each time. I love it.”
“So many of these people have nothing but would give you the shirt off their back,” Bassett said. “They’ll help you drag a 120-foot span of wire across a valley from mountaintop to mountaintop. When you connect this many homes, you see a lot of families, and that really stamps the exclamation point on how Project Indiana makes a difference.”
CONSIDER SUPPORTING PROJECT INDIANA
Bassett said it’s awesome to bring electric to people in rural, remote Guatemala who have never had it. But he emphasizes that the real power of the program endures well after linemen return home.
“Indiana is the only state on project builds there that is actively trying to help them create a cooperative community like we have here,” Bassett said. “That means securing power supply, keeping lights on for generations to come and helping them develop a sustainable system.”
That’s where you can come in!
Consider a tax-deductible donation to Project Indiana, in which 100% of all gifts directly support missions to empower communities for a better tomorrow.
