Micro-Hydro System Powers Sarawak Village
By Wick Pancoast, The Borneo Project
After three years of training, volunteer coordination, fundraising, community organizing and hard work, the first community-owned and operated micro-hydro system in Sarawak, Malaysia is now up and running in Long Lawen. The 9.6-kilowatt generator, which derives power from a small near-by river, is designed to provide the community with clean, quiet, and renewable electricity for lights, small appliances and agricultural processing. The project, funded in part by Seacology, is the result of a dynamic partnership between the Borneo Project, Green Empowerment, the village of Long Lawen and several local organizations, including PACOS and Sahabat Alam Malaysia.
The hydro-powered lights of Long Lawen came on for the first time in early January. The project is expected to save the community approximately $4,000 a year on fuel costs, and will also open up new business opportunities for village collectives and individual entrepreneurs.
While villagers were overjoyed to see the fruits of their labors, they are quick to admit that much of the hard work is still to come. Turning on the lights was an accomplishment. But managing and maintaining the system will remain an enduring challenge.
Villagers plan to work out a handful of technical issues before a formal commissioning ceremony in April or May. "This micro-hydro is new to our people," said Ali Siting, a leader of the Community Management Team. "We want to feel confident with our system before we invite many people to see it. When they come, we want to explain exactly how we manage this and that. We still have much work to do."
In late January, Long Lawen residents turned their focus to the environment around the hydro system to develop a watershed management plan. Through a community mapping workshop, villagers agreed that the watershed above the hydro system must be protected at all costs. Teams from the village surveyed and marked the extent of the watershed boundary with the intention of showing the maps to local timber companies and government agencies.
The Borneo Project and Green Empowerment are committed to ensure the long-term success of the micro-hydro program in Borneo. A vital step is the transference of skills to local leaders. One local technician, Adrian Lasimbang from PACOS, has emerged as a key leader. Already Adrian has identified several future hydro sites in Sabah. As part of its Community Energy Network, Green Empowerment will also conduct a regional training on site selection and civil design in Sabah later this year.
What started as a dream three years ago now provides 400 people with clean, renewable electricity. Everyone involved along the way provided some unique and vital contribution to the projectıs success. The Borneo Project and Green Empowerment look forward to building on this success in the coming years.
