HISTORY IN THE MAKING: Sitio Cabuyao becomes the first solar-powered Mangyan community in Mansalay Uncategorized

HISTORY IN THE MAKING: Sitio Cabuyao becomes the first…

Sitio Cabuyao makes history as it has become the first off-grid Mangyan village in Mansalay to get access to electricity right in the heart of their village when Sikat started Liwanag sa Sitio 2020, a Pre-Pilot program wherein a solar powered nanogrid was installed during the last week of August.

 

A local electrician starts assembling the switches for the house lighting

A participating household in the Pre-Pilot connects to the lighting system for their house for the first time. 

“Naging mas masaya kami. Masarap pala kumain ng may ilaw, hindi na madilim. Kita na namin ang isa’t isa,” (We are happier now. It turns out that eating is enjoyable when there is lighting, it is no longer dark. We can now see each other), remarked by Balonbon David when asked about the effects of having lighting in his house.

In partnership with a local electrician and local stakeholders, the nanogrid installation started last August 25, 2020, and was completed last August 31, 2020 as a pre-pilot test stage of the program.

The 1.2kWh nanogrid system involves powering two lightbulbs each for 10 Mangyan households, and electrifying a charging station for devices (e.g. cellphone, flashlight, powerbank).

Charging Station in the Sitio with hand-written instructions managed by the Mangyans for its customers.

Sikat acknowledges that for this project to succeed, Sitio Cabuyao (situated in a Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Area and about 10 kilometers away from the nearest concrete road), must take ownership and accountability for it, which is what the Pre-Pilot aims to test for three months.

Sikat leads the discussion for the Pre-Pilot during a General Assembly with the Mangyans, together with partner organization Keep Hope Alive (KHA).

The minimal fees collected from the nanogrid program serve as the communal fund which can be used for their communal needs (e.g. repair of broken parts of the system) or expand the system for all the members of the indigenous community in Sitio Cabuyao. The sitio together agreed to acquire an additional solar panel to make their solar power supply stronger in the rainy days.

“Matagal na po namin itong pinangarap. Hindi po namin akalain na magkakatotoo na po ito. Maraming salamat po,”(We have dreamed of this for so long. We never expected that it would come true. Thank you very much,) Sitio Leader Rudy Imnay said while teary-eyed claiming that it has always been his dream to have their community electrified.

Keep Hope Alive volunteer, together with the local coordinator, measures the houses’ distance from each other for the map making needed for the PV system design.

Ultimately, if the result of the Pre-Pilot Test goes well with the community working together to manage the solar power system, the bigger goal of the program is to scale up to powering 20 houses for the Pilot for another three months, and eventually provide power for the entire sitio.

“Mapapangalagaan naman po namin ang sistema, basta po magtutulungan at magkaisa ang Cabuyao. Aalagaan po namin ang aming pangarap,” (We can take care of the system, we just need to work together and be united. We will take care of our dream,) Sitio Leader optimistically added when asked about what he thinks would be the outcome of the Pre-Pilot.

 

Participants of the Pre-Pilot together with the KHA volunteers.

“Sa Pre-Pilot pa lang, malaking tulong na agad para sa mga kapatid nating Mangyan. Paano pa kaya kapag tuluyan ng magka-ilaw ang bawat tahanan sa Sitio Cabuyao? Hindi na kailangang mangapa sa dilim o bumaba ng bundok upang bumili lang ng gas para sa gasera,” (To think that the Pre-Pilot already provides a huge help to our Mangyan brothers and sisters, what more if lighting is accessible to each household in Sitio Cabuyao? They no longer need to live in darkness nor to go down the mountain to buy gas for their oil lamps,) says KHA spokesperson Paulo Bukid.

“Nakakataba rin ng puso na marinig mula sa kanila at makitang determinado sila na makipagtulungan para sa katugampayan ng proyektong ito,” (It also fills our hearts to hear and see them determined to cooperate for the success of the project,) he added.

Liwanag sa Sitio 2020 is a program of Sikat Solar Challenge Foundation Inc in partnership with the community, local stakeholders headed by Mr. Elmer Ablaza, and youth organization Keep Hope Alive.

 

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Filipino social innovators push for more opportunities after COVID-19 Uncategorized

Filipino social innovators push for more opportunities after COVID-19

Filipino innovators are designing projects using renewable energy that could help ease the recession brought about by the international COVID-19 outbreak. The international non-profit New Energy Nexus, one of Sikat Solar Challenge Foundation Inc’s partners, hosted the webinar “Enabling Communities through Energy Innovations” where eight groups of Filipino engineers and innovators presented their projects.  

The eight projects were Solar Hope, Solar Sari, and Light of Hope Ph (to provide solar power access for communities to address basic needs, livelihood and connectivity); Energy Exchange (to finance clean energy access through crowdfunding); Straw Innovations Ltd, and Circular Solutions (to innovatively use rice straws and food wastes into clean fuels and fertilizer); and SmarterMeter, and A+ Buildings (to manage energy costs through energy modelling software and tracking devices). 

According to New Energy Nexus, approximately 150 start-up companies, entrepreneurs, investors, non-government organizations, government representatives, energy professionals, climate advocates, and the academe participated in the demo day on July 30, 2020, in Zoom and Facebook Live. 

Lack of energy access for basic services can limit the opportunities of far-flung communities. With these eight projects presented, remote communities can access to basic services, increase productivity in their livelihoods, and address other issues related to energy like communication. 

The online gathering was graced by Danny Kennedy (CEO of California-based New Energy Nexus), Dr. Bjoern Surborg (GIZ Philippines climate change projects coordinator) Dr. Johannes Kadura (FES Philippines Resident Representative), Hon. Loren Legarda (House Deputy Speaker), and Dr. Enrico Paringit (Executive Director of the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development)

Watch the eight Filipino energy innovators share their projects here! #

TAO- Pilipinas and Sikat Supports Resiliency with Renewable Energy Uncategorized

TAO- Pilipinas and Sikat Supports Resiliency with Renewable Energy

The MASAGANA Community is a story of Filipino resiliency through Bayanihan in its best form. The people of MASAGANA lived in the midst of a fishpond in Brgy. Tanza, Navotas. Because of this, they were continuously burdened with flooding and other hazards that arose from it, especially during the typhoon season. This led them to search and resettle for a 1.4-hectare lot in Brgy. Pulong Yantok, Angat, Bulacan back in 2012 with the aid of the Technical Assistance Organization (TAO-Pilipinas). Since then, both the MASAGANA residents and TAO-Pilipinas have concentrated their efforts on creating a sustainable community with the same necessities they experienced before.

TAO-Pilipinas became a partner of Sikat when it was recognized as one of the Sikat Impact Challenge winners back in 2018. Its renewable energy initiative was focused in the MASAGANA Community Development. Initially, only 22 of the 66 household members have resettled. Because of the community’s small population, basic necessities such as water and electricity supplies are difficult to access since there is the absence of economies of scale. This issue also adds to the reluctance of the other household members to resettle in their area.

To address this, TAO-Pilipinas has pursued an initiative with Sikat Foundation to provide affordable potable water access and improve security in the community using renewable energy. Thus, Project Recharge is born utilizing solar energy to address some of the needs that were identified by MASAGANA—water, electricity, lighting, and livelihood. It is two-pronged, providing not just the infrastructure but also the capability to sustain and scale up the project. Not only did the initiative has given the community a solar-powered water purification facility and solar-powered street lights, but the community has also been given sufficient training on Renewable Energy and Business to self-manage the system.

MASAGANA Residents being given a Sustainable Development workshop on Renewable Energy.

Through TAO-Pilipinas’ facilitation, the community is able to direct its bayanihan spirit to the installation of the system. From directly partaking in the procurement process up until the setting up of the actual infrastructure, every able-bodied member of the community is putting up his time and effort to bring their idea into reality. This method also strengthened their ownership of the project and their desire to sustain it.

The Solar-Powered Water Purification System in the MASAGANA Community.The official opening of the Water Purification System together with the key partners.

Currently, Project Recharge is still operational and is gaining popularity in the community. All of the current households have purchased from the community. Around 10-12 households have already become regular customers of the water purification system. Because of their business training, the community has also been successful in allocating financial savings for their Project Sustainability Fund which will cover the repairs and replacements of the system. Although TAO-Pilipinas has acknowledged that its progress is slow here, it assured Sikat Foundation that the progress is steady and will continue to bring in positive results in the future.

Aside from Project Recharge, both TAO-Pilipinas and the residents of MASAGANA are continuously seeking ways of improving the living conditions of their lot in Angat, Bulacan. Their commitment to this has brought them support from the Australian Embassy to pursue other initiatives in their community. At the same time, the community is also working on their organizational development – updating policies, reviewing their organizational structure, and ironing out their procedures. 

With this, the MASAGANA Community has proven that bayanihan can really be a critical driver in resiliency as long as it is honed and guided properly.

TAO-Pilipinas and the residents of the MASAGANA Community

Mangyan village remains electrified despite typhoon devastation Uncategorized

Mangyan village remains electrified despite typhoon devastation

Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro – Project Bantay Kalusugan’s (BK) solar-powered Health Center became one of the remaining sources of electricity in Sitio Cabuyao, Brgy Panaytayan after the island was struck by Typhoon Tisoy on December 3, 201,9 putting the province under a state of calamity.

The typhoon destroyed about 3000 houses in its wake according to Provincial Disaster Office Head Vincent Gahol and left the province of Oriental Mindoro partially unelectrified for one-two weeks. Originally having to walk down from the mountains to their municipal proper for roughly two hours to access electricity and have their devices charged, the Mangyan Indigenous People of Sitio Cabuyao have turned to be resilient as they remain to have a source of electricity up in the mountains through Project BK’s solar-powered Health Center.

Equipped with a 1.9 kWh solar power system, the Health Center was able to provide a continuous supply of energy for about two weeks while the municipality experienced blackouts. Some citizens from the municipal proper even braved the two-hour trek to Sitio Cabuyao just to get their devices charged.

“Pagkatapos ng bagyo, two days na walang kuryente sa buong bayan hanggang ngayon, pero sa bundok walang brown out,” a netizen posted on Facebook on December 5, 2020 after hiking to the sitio and getting her devices charged.

[Translation: After the typhoon, it has been two days that the entire municipality remains unelectrified till now, but in the mountains, there is no blackout.]

A Facebook post made by one netizen from Mansalay who went up to the Cabuyao Health Center during the province-wide blackout.

Project BK of local youth organization Keep Hope Alive (KHA) is one of the projects chosen through the Sikat Impact Challenge funded by the Sikat Solar Challenge Foundation since 2018. Projects BK aims to provide basic health care education and services to the Mangyans of Sitio Cabuyao, and just last October 18, 2019, KHA finished the installation of the solar power system in partnership with Captured Energy Green Solution, enabling the electrification of the health center.

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