Pearls of the Caribbean Carine Crowell & Samantha Crowell

By Aurora Elisa Deiri

Christopher Columbus called Haiti the Pearl of the Caribbean, and at that time, it definitely was, with unspoiled, amazing views from every side of the sea and all of the bounty nature has to offer. Carine & Samantha Crowell are a mother/daughter partnership team hoping to restore at least some of the natural beauty to this world by encouraging everyone to Go Green with solar from Total Solutions S.A., LLC.

“Growing up in Haiti,” Carine recalled, “I always felt that it was beautiful. We had a nice coastal home with a view of the sea, and yet, in my mind’s eye it wasn’t good enough. The peer pressure to have something better got to me, and we had international TV, so we watched all of the American TV shows. I wanted to be in America. We all did! There was some political unrest close by in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and it seemed like everyone wanted to leave. Still, we had it much better than we realized,” she added, “with fresh fruit outside, a rich culture, two housemaids for my mother and tailor made clothing for all of us. Now I wish I could go full circle, back to those days and that lifestyle. I would appreciate all of it so much more.”

By the time Carine turned 18, her mother and older sisters were already in the United States, living in California. She was the youngest of 6 children and when she was finally able to come, it would be without her brothers, who had to stay behind for a while. “I waited in Florida for 2 months in order to get my permanent residency status,” Carine explained, “but I wasn’t afraid. It was so exciting to finally be here, in the United States, where the possibilities seemed endless.”

Back in Haiti, Carine’s Preparatory Secondary School was combined with a University, so she had already earned several college credits. “We graduate from college earlier,” she said. “I didn’t realize the opportunity I had to transfer my credits, so I started over at the College of the Dessert in California, earning 88 units before switching to general studies.” It was there that Carine learned the value of sustainability, recalling, “One of my professors in architecture focused on sustainability and that peaked my interest. He made me start thinking differently about everything. My passion for saving the earth’s resources quickly grew and blossomed.” Her inspiration comes from nature itself. Coming from such a beautiful island, she wants to preserve it and keep the environment clean for the future.

After joining her mother and sisters in California, Carine’s family landed in Palm Dessert, just southwest of Coachella. It was dry and hot, not at all like the paradise she left behind, but beautiful in its own way. The only thing missing was having the beach right outside the door. Carine’s daughter Samantha was born in Rancho Mirage, California, and the young family moved to San Antonio, Texas in 2005.

Eighteen years later, Carine’s daughter Samantha moved to Palm Dessert, right after high school. She is a talented artist, an athlete, and has a very methodical mind. She is also a groomer and loves to care for Carine’s one year old schnoodle, Lola. Samantha is currently looking into fulfilling her aspirations as a part-time model. Although Samantha loves the California culture and lifestyle, she has returned to live and work with her mother in San Antonio, Texas.

Carine had always been a stay at home mom with her kids in San Antonio, while her ex-husband worked, but after 9-11, she wanted to do something to make a better world for their children. A new journey began in 2001, beginning what she feels is her life’s purpose.

“I consulted for multiple businesses as a growth specialist and took over their operations entirely, with duties to include but not limited to hiring and training of all staff, developing marketing and sales strategies, company image development, supplier and customer acquisition, along with structuring and streamlining their operations in all aspects, to improve and meet a set and agreed upon goal. Work and life problems can be improved. Environmental problems can be fixed,” Carine insists. “You just have to find the solutions.”

Carine’s son visited Haiti, and the family was planning to go back together, but they have yet to return. Life got very busy as Carine began conducting business operations for a green energy company and handling all of their HR. In 2016, her life took a new turn, with work, family and personal challenges, then the pandemic interrupted everything and work plans changed again. She and Samantha took control and started their own solar company in 2022, Total Solutions S.A. - and now business is really taking off. They have 2 new locations in San Antonio.

“We tell our kids to clean their rooms, and we need to tell each other to clean this world,” Crowell remarked. Having been in the business of sustainability for years, working for others, Crowell now feels like it was the best decision to branch off on her own. With so much experience in the field, it was the obvious choice. “There’s unlimited potential in solar power! It’s enough to solve most of our energy problems,” commented Crowell.

“My mother is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of hard work and determination. She has shown that with a clear vision and a commitment to making a positive impact, anything is possible,” Samantha added. Texas has the 2nd fastest growing solar market in the nation after California. There are still plenty of government incentives and tax rebates. With savings this good, and so many other benefits, it just makes sense to go solar. Homes and businesses can have enough power to go off the grid during prolonged power outages, like we saw during the recent heavy ice and snow storms.

“To stay with conventional power is not really smart right now,” says Crowell. “The initial financial benefits of bundling solar with all other energy efficient upgrades are incredible. We can help with all of that. We provide a customized energy audit, just by analyzing your electric bills in the first stage. Then we can look at your insulation, air ducts, windows, lighting, radiant barriers and A/C units to give a full picture of what’s possible. These can all be what we call energy vampires, sucking energy and money from your structure. We can even do customer service on existing plans, since other companies often fail to follow up. We do have in-house rebates running until June, to match / replace CPS ‘s cancelled incentives for self funded residential customers. Our total solutions will create a green envelope around your home or business. We even pay for referrals that result in a new solar system. Go solar. It’s the right thing to do. Make your money work for you!”