‘Fireflies’ Light Up Waengapan Village

The light bulbs they held in the main field of the Waengapan village, Buru regency, Maluku, were like flying giant fireflies.

Kompas/Aris Prasetyo

A Waengapan villager sits on his front porch in Lolong Guba district, Buru regency, Maluku, enjoying the bright light produced through the government’s solar power electricity aid. The residents used to rely on damar resin to light their homes before the electricity aid reached their remote village.

Carlos Nurlatu, 5, smiled broadly, showing off his white teeth in the glow of a light bulb he held in his small hand. That night, dozens of people lined the village holding a lighted bulb.

The light bulbs they held in the main field of the Waengapan village, Lolong Guba district, Buru regency, Maluku, were like giant fireflies. They held the celebration to mark the the first time electricity entered the village.

The villagers smiled while admiring the white light shining from the bulb in their hands. The excitement was evident on the faces of the Waengapan villager on the night before Christmas. It appeared that the decades of burning resin to light their homes had ended.

"Since this village has existed, we used damar resin to light homes. It was difficult to find oil lamps, and they were too expensive to use just for light," said Waengapan villager Peter Latubual, 52.

In the village, a liter of kerosene could cost between Rp 15,000 and Rp 20,000, much higher than the government price of Rp 2,500 per liter. Similarly, the subsidized Premium gasoline sells for an average Rp 15,000 per liter, much higher than the official price of Rp 6,450 per liter.

Most of these villages are located on small islands or on the border with neighboring countries.

Fendy Nurlatu, 32, another Waengapan villager, said people had to walk all night in the forest to look for damar resin. The people of Waengapan usually go to the forest once a week to look for damar resin. If any of the dried and hard resin is left over, it is sold at market for Rp 500 per kilogram. "Burning damar resin for light can blacken the face from soot," said Fendy.

Waengapan is one of 2,519 villages in Indonesia that is not electrified. These villages cannot access PLN\'s electricity network. Most of these villages are located on small islands or on the border with neighboring countries. They are the parts of the country that have not benefited much from the fruits of development.

Waengapan village is reached by a three-hour car ride from Namrole Airport in South Buru district. It takes about 30 minutes by plane to reach Namrole from Ambon, or 8-9 hours by boat. Several kilometers of the road that leads to the village is rocky, and crosses a plain of small hills. In addition to having no electricity, the villagers rely on a small nearby river for clean water.

"It is a blessing for us. Since the village has existed, this is the first time we can enjoy electricity. Thanks be to God," said Waengapan village head Antonius Nurlatu. For decades, ever since the Unitary Republic of Indonesia had been established, Antonius added, the village had been forgotten.

Kompas/Aris Prasetyo

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The rapid pace of development, which is heavily concentrated in Java, has yet to be felt in Waengapan.

For Antonius, providing the village with solar panels was a sign that Waengapan was still considered part of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia. For Artus Salasiwa, 50, a teacher at the only elementary school in Waengapan, the solar-powered lights are also very meaningful. He hoped that his students could use the lights to study at night. When damar resin was used to provide light, the students could not be expected to study at night.

"The light from the damar resin is not bright, causing the eyes to ache. It doesn’t last long, only about an hour,” Artus said.

Solar

The government, through the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, has provided energy-efficient solar power (LTSHE) packages in isolated areas in the country. Each house in Waengapan received a package containing a 30-watt solar panel, four light bulbs and cables. In addition to lighting, the electricity from the solar panels can also be used to recharge cell phones.

The rechargeable lamp can also be used as a flashlight. Typically, of the four light bulbs the residents receive, one bulb is installed on front porch and the rest are installed in the house, or used as a flashlight outside the house.

The LTSHE aid package was part of the electrification program for remote villages. So far, about 2,500 villages are still not electrified.

In 2017, the government allocated Rp 332.8 billion of the state budget to procure 95,729 LTSHE packages in the six provinces of West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua and West Papua. As for this year, the government has allocated Rp 1 trillion of the state budget to provide LTSHE packages in 15 provinces.

The electricity assistance is regulated under Presidential Regulation No. 47/2017 on the provision of energy-saving solar lamps for communities that are not electrified. The assistance is implemented through Energy and Mineral Resources Ministerial Regulation No. 33/2017.

The ministry’s head of accelerated infrastructure development supervision, Simon Laksmono Himawan, said the LTSHE aid package was part of the electrification program for remote villages. So far, about 2,500 villages are still not electrified.

"For now, we can only provide solar lights. According to the plan, the village will receive electricity from PLN [state-owned electricity company] in the next three years or so," said Simon.

The electric lights are very meaningful for residents who live far from the center of development, far from the glittering big cities bathed in light.