Category: Philippines

EXCHANGE VISIT: MICRO HYDRO PIONEERS IN MALAYSIA AND THE PHILIPPINES

10/6/2019

This week, the SIBAT and CREATech team, from Luzon, Philippines, took the initiative to complement their 25 years of micro hydro development in the northern Philippines with a learning visit to Tonibung and CREATE’s work in Sabah, Borneo Malaysia. Tonibung has been the pioneer of community-based micro hydro systems in Malaysia for 25+ years, focusing on indigenous communities and social enterprise. Tonibung closely collaborates with Green Empowerment. HPNET's collective knowledge has been greatly enriched by the active membership of all five organizations.

The SIBAT team took time to understand Tonibung’s local manufacturing developments and their approach to linking MHPs to social enterprise for scaling productive end use.

The team visited Longkogungan village and Kalanggaan village, along with Tonibung staff members Bill Baxter and Willery Larry, and Green Empowerment staff member Dan Frydman.

Here is what SIBAT engineer Ms. Benazir Bacala has to say about the recent visit:

“Visiting the sites of Tonibung made me appreciate more the work of NGOs. It was an adventure that we could never forget, risky hiking, lots of crossing rivers...Very inspiring how Tonibung and its staff were also able to reached those villages in remote areas to provide sustainable energy to the communities and their efforts and dedication to help the people.

We learned a lot about their mhp with pelton turbines, both direct couple and belt-driven systems, that were locally manufactured at CREATE.”

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"HIDDEN NO MORE" INTERVIEW SERIES: PHILIPPINES CHANGE-MAKER, MS. JADE ANGNGALAO

10/3/2019

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Earlier this year we launched the Hidden No More feature series to spotlight women change-makers who have transformed gender barriers, and made significant contributions to energy access for marginalized communities.

In this 3rd edition, in honor of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples earlier this Quarter, we’re excited to feature Ms. Jade Angngalao, an accomplished indigenous community leader who is a coordinator for community-based micro hydro in the Philippines. We had the opportunity to connect with Ms. Jade and gain insight into her inspiring journey and vision.

Coordinator at SIBAT, Jade Angngalao (left), and her mentee, Benazir Bacala (right). Credit: HPNET

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I have been involved in community development work for 9 years. For the past 2 years I have been Coordinator of the Renewable Energy Program at Sibol Ng Agham At Teknolohiya (SIBAT). I am a member of the Kalinga tribe, from a mountainous area in the North of the Philippines. I am also a mother of two daughters (which poses a challenge in terms of balancing and prioritizing my different responsibilities).

What motivated you to work in the field of energy access?

I first became aware of micro hydropower (MH) when SIBAT implemented an MHP in my hometown. Previously we didn’t have electricity access, since the electric co-op (the main grid provider) did not reach our town. My father was the one who led the community to participate in the construction of our village micro hydro system. As a young person, I was also involved in building the system, for example, by helping to transport sand.

When the MHP was being constructed, I was also studying Agricultural Engineering at Kalinga State University, and working part-time at the Affiliated RE Centre (a university research centre). When one of the engineers heard of my studies, he suggested that I apply to work with SIBAT after graduating.

For my thesis, I decided to evaluate and report on the sustainability of MHPs in the North. My findings were that most of the systems were no longer operational and there were no plans to repair them. After being implemented, most systems were handed over to the local communities; the communities used the systems for about 5 years before most became non-operational. In most cases, the local MH operator had damaged, or was unable to maintain the system as a result of inadequate training and a lack of proper capacity building. I created a report to give to the Department of Agriculture; however, repairing the MHPs was not a priority, as solar home system were the focus, at the time. I felt that it was a waste of money to build MH systems in very remote communities and then leave them without any support for maintenance and management.

This experience motivated me to work on building communities’ capacity to sustain their MH, rather than leaving them without support, post-construction. I was driven to implement capacity-building measures such as training on maintenance and management, in order for MH communities to become independent and for community-based projects to operate sustainably. Most of the existing systems in my region were based on old designs which required a lot of maintenance. I saw a need for these systems to be upgraded, to give the villages quality electricity, and to improve local management and system sustainability.

How did you start your career with SIBAT?

I was hired by SIBAT in 2010 as part of the technical staff working in potable water and irrigation systems, in remote sites in Mindanao. The sites were so remote that it took two days to reach most of them (and we had to carry our own food along the way). This is when I saw the vulnerable situation of the villages in these areas. There were very high rates of poverty, with many families eating just one meal per day. The villages were deprived of basic social services, with no formal education, health care, clean source of water, or electricity - no government support whatsoever.

This was when I promised myself to continue to work to help the communities there. I felt a kinship with the local people, because I also belong to an indigenous tribe, and had faced a similar reality growing up. These were ‘my people’ and I wanted them to experience the benefits of MH that were felt in my own community.

The irrigation project I was initially working on did not materialize because of the remoteness of the community - 15 hours were needed to walk there and it was very difficult to bring in materials, and also to mobilize the people. In any case, I think it would make more sense to give local training on agricultural techniques before focusing on irrigation projects. Subsequently, I was involved in a solar water project in the southern part of Luzon, before I took part in any MHP work. It was quite difficult starting out and, after three years, I almost quit my job. However, I stayed because I was passionate about the work and was encouraged by some individuals.

What sort of challenges did you face?

I nearly quit my job because some of my seniors expected too much of me. As the youngest team member, I was expected to be full of ideas, gutsy and energetic, but I have my limitations, of course. The program was also dominated by men. As the only woman in the group, I was often the centre of jokes, which were sometimes very offensive.

My senior, Chris Alfonso, encouraged me. He was a SIBAT engineer who had played a big role in the capacity-building of the SIBAT team. He mentored me in potable water and irrigation and I learned a lot from him. His life was short-lived, but we will always be grateful for his mentorship and his vision for SIBAT’s Center for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology (CREATech), where we now manufacture micro hydro turbines and electronic load controllers.

Tell us about your current work in the MH field.

Currently, I’m working as a coordinator, delegating the team, which is a challenge because the staff is still dominated by men. Lately, I have also been frustrated because we frequently hire an engineer, and invest time and money in training him, only to find that he resigns very soon after starting. They often complain about the small salary or they’re unable to adjust to the culture in the communities where they’re placed. Indigenous communities have a different culture from low-land culture, where these engineers come from. I’ve been encouraging management to hire local, indigenous engineers, who wouldn’t face the same problems around cultural adjustment.

For NGOs that don’t offer large salaries to their engineers, I recommend orienting new engineers to help them understand and adapt to the situation in the communities where they will be working. This can help improve retainment of young engineers.

Community work is very challenging and frustrating at times, but I always tell the staff that they should try to go deeper in developing their understanding of the community.

How do you involve women in your MH work?

When I work in indigenous communities, I have an advantage because I am indigenous myself. This allows me to assert myself in order to include women in decision-making and encourage them to voice their concerns, especially in meetings. Men listen to our opinions and our input is valued and respected.

I believe that women can be the role models to lead people’s organizations. Three of the MHPs I’ve worked on are led by chair-women, and the strong management of the female leaders is reflected in better reporting and book-keeping.

There are still many areas for improvement. For example, in my province, the division of labour is still such that women must do all the household chores and men must provide for the family. When I was starting out in my career, whenever we went to the field, my male seniors would tell me to do the household chores, like cooking. I was proactive in telling management when this happened, but it was difficult. Sometimes I ended up staying back with the community rather than going with my team members, when I couldn’t tolerate being the centre of their jokes.

Yet, I conquered. After years passed, I learned how to fight back and speak out. I resisted until I gained their respect (which took about 5 or 6 years).

What advice do you have for other organizations?

First, you should always include women in decision-making in MH projects. If I had my own organization, I would prefer for it to be dominated by women, primarily because women often have a more holistic approach to community projects.

Additionally, gender awareness and inclusion should start at the internal level, in the organization itself, before any attempt to facilitate it in the community. Gender orientation is included in SIBAT programs on paper, but not in practice. I tell my colleagues we should run gender workshops to teach men how to value and respect women. As an indigenous woman, It’s natural for me to promote this, but I want to see more engagement from others, so that real change will happen.

As for female engineers, my advice is that you should speak up and voice your opinion, don’t be shy!

What is the impact of MH that you have you seen since you started out?

MH has changed many lives in the Philippines. I’ve seen the changes directly in my own village. Before the MHP was installed, we spent a lot of time pounding rice and corn; normally women were the ones doing this work, including the younger generation who would help their mothers and aunties. My mother spent a lot of time doing manual pounding, and I used to help her after school.

It took 4 days of manual pounding for 10-15 kg of rice! In some villages, they had to do this every day. Corn would take 6 hours to pound per day, for just 8mkgs - which would take just 1 hour with a machine (and no labour except for transport). By providing power for rice and corn milling machines, the MHP made life a lot easier for us and saved a lot of time, particularly for women and girls.

River in Tubo, a Micro Hydro community in Abra Kili province. Credit: B. Bacala

I heard that your grandmother was an activist?

Yes, my grandmother was a fierce lady and a strong activist for Indienous rights. She was once featured on National Indigenous Women’s Day by the Cordillera Women’s Education and Research Centre (CWERC). She fought against big geothermal and mining companies in my village. Some of the engineers from a geothermal company installed a system near my grandmother’s rice field. She was very angry and led the community in pulling out the post. She told the engineer, “when you come back, we’re going to kill you; you’re invading out land”.

Is it common for Indigenous women in your tribe to be so strong?

It isn’t really that common now – that’s the problem. My grandmother is no longer there to fight for indigenous land rights and a geothermal company is trying to come again to hold a meeting in the village. Now, there are no women opposing it.

My grandmother got her strength through her genes. She was one of many of my ancestors to fight for our rights. If I go back to my village, I will be the one to lead the movement against the geothermal plant.

It looks like you are mentoring the next generation of MH and agriculture engineers, and they are women! What wish or message do you have for the next generation of MH women practitioners?

Yes, I’ve been supporting a younger engineer and friend, Ms. Bena, to learn how to adapt in indigenous communities. I have also brought my daughters with me to one of SIBAT’s sites to show them my work and to help them understand why I’m sometimes gone for two or three weeks. This also exposes them to the situation of the children there, who are less fortunate. My message to young women MH practitioners would be to appreciate and value their work.

Are there any key messages you have for our readers?

When you are doing community-based MH work, the women should be the first people you try to influence, before the men. This is because the women can lead the men in systemized implementation of the MHP. That is what I’ve learned through my 9 years at SIBAT.

I encourage all women to stay determined and to leave your mark, the way my grandmother did.

Finally, you should be happy with whatever work you are doing; if you’re happy in your job, that is more important than money.

For more journeys of women micro hydro practitioners in our Hidden No More series, please sign up below to receive our newsletter!

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EARTH VOICES: FROM TUBO, AN INDIGENOUS MICRO HYDRO COMMUNITY IN THE NORTHERN PHILIPPINES

9/27/2019

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We are excited to announce the launch of our new Earth Voices feature series!

UN logo for International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. Credit: UN

To commemorate International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples this quarter, marked annually on August 9 by the United Nations, we are introducing Earth Voices to spotlight indigenous micro hydropower (MH) communities across the region who are sustainably managing communal natural resources and successfully empowering themselves through energy access.

Indigenous communities of South and Southeast Asia are highly diverse, with unique traditions, languages, religious/spiritual beliefs and social structures. One commonality is the link between environmental conservation and indigenous heritage. Indigenous communities play a vital role in safeguarding the region’s rich biodiversity and forest ecosystems. They are often deeply reliant on ecosystem services, and carry an intricate understanding of local ecological relationships.

Due to traditional knowledge and customs around natural resource management, indigenous communities are uniquely positioned to effectively manage community-based energy systems, such as micro hydropower projects. In turn, MH has the potential to strengthen traditional environmental practices and social cohesion, thereby improving the resilience of indigenous communities.

TUBO VILLAGE

To kickstart the series, we are featuring the indigenous community of Tubo, located in Barangai Kili of the Abra Province in the Philippines. We had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Jade Angngalao of SIBAT, who works closely with the community of Tubo. Jade shed light on the community’s unique governance structures and environmental customs, which have been strengthened with the implementation of a community-based MH system -- which in turn has supported Tubo in building climate resilience.

COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE IN TUBO

Tubo is a municipality located in the mountainous Barangai Kili region of Abra, a Northern province of the Philippines. Residents belong to the Maeng tribe and speak the Maeng dialect. The local population is Catholic, but also uphold traditional indigenous rituals and beliefs; spirituality is an important part of everyday life in the community.

Central to Tubo’s governance structure is a Council of Elders, whose opinions are highly respected in the community. The Council is made up of both men and women elders, who play an equal role in decision-making and drafting policies. Municipal elections are held in Tubo, but for mostly perfunctory purposes, as the Council of Elders appoint leaders prior to official elections. The Council also has leverage over the local government, and has successfully influenced local representatives to implement social services, such as government-funded health care, in Tubo.

Tadok, gong celebration of the Maeng tribe, conducted after the burial of a family member so that "the spirit can leave her/his family happily". Credit: B. Bacala

THE ROLE OF NATURE

Nature is deeply embedded in the Maeng’s traditional beliefs, and plays a significant role in everyday life. Agriculture is the community’s main source of livelihood, and is linked to many local customs, beliefs and festivities; for instance, harvest rituals are important within Maeng culture.

Barangai Kili region of Abra. Credit: Google Maps

Spiritual beliefs about the natural world have been passed down through generations, and the Maeng’s interactions with the local ecosystem are informed by deep-rooted conservationist ontologies. The community upholds strong customary laws around watershed management; locally referred to as the ‘Lapat System’, these customary laws have, in fact, been institutionalized as government policy in Barangai Kili.

MICRO HYDRO AND RAM PUMP SUCCESS STORY

Tubo’s microhydro system was installed 12 years ago, jointly funded by a missionary group and and the municipal government. The system has a capacity of 15 kW and provides power to 78 households. SIBAT's Center for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology (CREATech) also supported the installation of a hydrualic ram pump to irrigate 10 hectares of rice fields, manufactured at CREATech.

SIBAT considers Tubo to be an “advanced” MH community because local actors have developed successful methods for sustainably operating and managing the system. A key factor in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the MHP has been the efforts of the Council of Elders to mobilize local youth to participate in the implementation and maintenance of the system.

Credit: B. Bacala

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE & SELF-EMPOWERMENT

Five years ago, a hot spring resort was established in Tubo by a local people’s organisation, with the approval of the community, Council of Elders and the Barangay Local Government Unit. Led by the Kili Hydro Electric Power Association (KHEPA), the community wants to build new cottages for the resort to meet increasing demand, as well as extend the power from the MHP to two un-electrified sitios.

Tubo hot springs vicinity. Credit. B. Bacala

Eco-tourism facility in Tubo. Credit: B. Bacala

Tourist vicinity of Tubo village. Credit: B. Bacala

Together with profits from the resort, the MH has generated enough revenue through tariffs to support the expansion of the system. Thus, with the collected tariffs and some minor support from the municipal government, the community is currently expanding their MHP into a cascading system. A second powerhouse will be implemented upstream (such that the tailwater from the turbine goes to the old forebay), adding an additional 15 kW of capacity. This expansion has the potential to support other productive end use activities, in addition to the resort; sugar cane processing is being considered as potential MHP-powered enterprise.

PRESERVING CULTURE & STRENGTHENING CLIMATE RESILIENCE

The people of Tubo have maximized the positive social and economic impact of their energy system; moreover, they have developed a sustainable management model which has ensured its long-term viability. The community’s strong governance structures and environmental stewardship practices have played a critical role in supporting the success and sustainability of the system.

A member of the Council of Elders aptly stated that “the true heart of the energy system lies in the watershed”.

Typical start to a SIBAT field visit for micro hydro implementation: Meeting community leaders and local officials to discuss the purpose of the visit. Credit: B. Bacala

Indeed, watershed management plays a highly important role in MHP sustainability. Tubo’s strong customary laws around watershed management have therefore proven very valuable for the management of their system. Moreover, by incentivizing watershed protection and management, the MHP has, in turn, strengthened traditional customary laws and environmental stewardship practices.

Customary laws for watershed protection (the 'Lapat System') exist all across the Philippines, but are not always practiced. By strengthening customary laws, community-based MH is helping to build climate resilience in rural, indigenous communities across the region.

J. Angngalao and Tubo youth show off their catch. Credit. B. Bacala

Customary laws for watershed protection (the 'Lapat System') exist all across the Philippines, but are not always practiced. By strengthening customary laws, community-based MH is helping to build climate resilience in rural, indigenous communities across the region.

The implementation of MH has also increased social cohesion and strengthened traditional tribal boundaries in Barangai Kili. This is significant, considering the increasing regularity of resource-based conflicts, caused by food insecurity. By reinforcing customary boundaries and laws, MH has helped to mitigate the threat of invasion from neighboring communities into the watershed area. Of course, by supporting watershed strengthening, MH also plays an important role in safeguarding increasingly scarce water resources, thereby building climate resilience and food security.

Jade explains of the photo (right), "The fish that I hold are the fresh catch from that river. The river is rich of fish since Tubo is following the Lapat system."

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MICRO HYDRO AND LARGE HYDRO

By enhancing social cohesion and incentivizing watershed strengthening, the impact of small-scale hydro is quite the opposite of large hydro. The community of Tubo is working to preserve their MHP, and its many social and environmental benefits, resisting external plans to implement a large hydro dam. Large hydropower and other large energy infrastructure often displaces indigenous communities. In Tubo, policies around customary watershed protection laws have so far mitigated the threat of resource development - from both large hydro and geothermal.

In addition to SIBAT's work on renewable energy, support is also expected to come from a newly established organization called RESILIENCE. founded by Ms. Victoria Lopez, retired executive director of SIBAT. The main goal of RESILIENCE is to build climate resilience in indigenous communities by strengthening the Lapat.

Written by Lara Powell, HPNET Communications Coordinator

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JOIN US - LAUNCH OF HPNET'S 2019 WEBINAR SERIES!

3/24/2019

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In partnership with the WISIONS of Sustainability Initiative and Energypedia, we are conducting a 4-part, quarterly webinar series on hydro mini-grids -- starting this month. Join us! Details below.

Renewable energy mini-grids are a cost-effective and reliable solution for energy access. Within the technologies available for mini-grids, micro/mini hydropower (MHP) has added advantages. It's techno-economic characteristics, such lower levelized cost of electricity, per kilowatt cost, and no need for battery storage, make it economically viable for grid interconnection and productive end use applications.

Because MHP hardware can be manufactured locally and maintained by local actors, MHP development imparts local skills and jobs, which can evolve into local MHP enterprises. In addition, MHP strengthens catchment area and watershed protection, in turn increasing the climate resilience of vulnerable communities in hilly regions.

The number of hydro mini-grids in rural areas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America far exceed other types of mini-grids. As a proven technology with an extensive track record, micro and mini hydropower is the focus in this mini-grid webinar series. The objective of the series is to facilitate exchange among diverse actors advancing small-scale hydro, and promote approaches that lead to long-term success and optimal local benefits. Each of the four webinars will respectively provide insight on MHP reliability, sustainability, financing, and planning for scalability.

WEBINAR 1, MARCH 28, 2019
MINI-GRID RELIABILITY: THE ROLE OF TRAINING CENTERS FOR MICRO/MINI HYDROPOWER
Watch here:

Stay tuned for the upcoming webinars here at this link!

WEBINAR 2, LATE JUNE
MINI-GRID FINANCING: ENABLING THE ROLE OF LOCAL BANKS

WEBINAR 3, LATE SEPTEMBER
MINI-GRID SUSTAINABILITY: TRANSITIONING TO ENTERPRISE-BASED MICRO HYDROPOWER

WEBINAR 4, EARLY DECEMBER
MINI-GRID PLANNING: DATA MAPPING TOOLS FOR MULTI-ACTORS

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Member Profile: Yamog's holistic approach to Micro Hydropower in Mindanao, Philippines

11/8/2015

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The 10 poorest provinces of the Philippines are located on the island of Mindanao. As with other marginalized places in our world -- where rural, indigenous populations face social exclusion, frustration, and hopelessness in the face of extractive and inequitable economic and political systems -- portions of the island are controlled by separatist movements, with innocent indigenous communities caught in the crossfire between the government and the rebels. The situation exacerbates efforts to bring infrastructure for basic needs (e.g. potable water and electricity) and magnifies the innate challenges of rural development work in developing contexts.

In March 1993, a small, young, and local group of alternative development professionals came together with the mission to improve the socio-cultural, economic, and environmental well-being in rural Mindanao, by promoting the sustainable utilization and management of appropriate renewable energy sources and other natural resources. Versed in technical, ecological, and social aspects of sustainable rural development, the group was called Yamog, translating as dew drops in the Cebuano language.

Indigenous elder of Tablo village. Photo Credit: D. Vaghela

Distinct from the conventional community development approaches at the time, the pioneers of the Yamog Renewable Energy Development Group, Inc., pursued a path that was anchored on renewable energy as a springboard towards positive, meaningful and enduring change at the grassroots level, to end decades of deprivation. It pioneered utilizing renewable energy, not only to lessen the dependence of poor communities on fossil fuels, but also to offer it as a vehicle for marginalized communities to become sustainable.

When Yamog was established 20-years ago, nearly half of Mindanao was un-electrified. Even now Mindinao's largest city faces daily blackouts lasting 12 hours. Yet, the nearly 2500 households that have electrified their villages with Yamog's help do not have to rely on the central grid and can access 24/7 electricity. Yamog continues to facilitate other communities in rural Mindanao and Visayas in generating their own electricity from micro hydro or solar power.

The effectiveness of Yamog's work is rooted its integrated approach to community-based micro hydropower. In each project, Yamog's long-experienced staff of 7 are committed to instilling the environmental, institutional, social, and technical aspects that are critical to the project's life.

Watershed protection and strengthening

Because the output of any micro hydropower unit is dependent on the stream flow, Yamog's implementation process starts with a focus on rehabilitating the source of the stream -- the watershed. Yamog works closely with the community to evaluate, protect, and strengthen the watershed of the proposed micro hydro site. After signs of a robust watershed and the community's will to preserve it emerge, Yamog moves onto installing the micro hydro hardware.

The process can add an extra year to the project implementation, often with additional communities to facilitate (e.g. where the upstream community managing the watershed is km's away from the micro hydro community downstream). Yet, with increasing climate change impacting not only micro hydro but also the community's access to drinking and irrigation water, prioritizing resilient watersheds is well worth the added effort and time.

Meeting with Yamog, the Mayor, and HPNET Coordinator. Photo Credit: Yamog

Involvement of local government

A key aspect to Yamog's work is facilitating communities to generate support from the leaders of their barangay (the most local administrative unit) for watershed strengthening and micro hydropower implementation. Although challenging, this process has resulted in community hydropower units that have greater vested stake from the local government, and a paved path for the community to reach out to local officials regarding other village development needs. Support from local government can also help establish productive use for community income generation from micro hydropower, e.g. financing of agro processing units such oil mills and rice hullers.

Community governance of the technology

In parallel to watershed strengthening and micro hydro installation, Yamog facilitates the community to identify its governing strengths and build upon them, in order to develop a unified governance of the new micro hydropower unit. Yamog staff build the capacity of community leaders to manage and lead project implementation from its start. At various stages Yamog holds in-depth technical and institutional training for community members. This has ensured that by the time of commissioning electricity generation, the community's governance structure can independently manage the electricity tariff collection, community fund, technical operation, maintenance, and productive use of the micro hydro system.

Local network of technical experts

Since Yamog does not fabricate its own turbines and load controllers, it ensures that the hardware developers commit to delivering high quality systems and local training to community-level technicians. Having implement nearly 30 projects, Yamog has developed a village-to-village network of technical experts for civil works installation and trouble shooting of electro-mechanical components. For example, the village masons from completed projects mentor the masons of new projects, carrying forward technical lessons of earlier projects. This in-turn has led to a local knowledge sharing network that can sustain itself without the involvement of Yamog. In addition, it has helped to diversify the skillsets in indigenous communities, where traditional livelihoods are at risk due to extractive activities of mainstream development.

With a small team, instead of quantity of projects Yamog's work has focused on process and quality to ensure long-term sustainability. Every year the team typically commits to 1-2 projects and implements them with utmost care, focusing on the elements explained above.

While larger organizations, with greater number of staff and funding, can easily implement many projects in parallel, they can be prone to frequent staff turnover and prioritizing targets over processes. In some cases this has led to micro hydropower units that are not long-sustained and soon need rehabilitation. In this context, HPNET takes inspiration from Yamog's steady and process-focused momentum to establish community micro hydropower.

To give you a glimpse of the Yamog's work in action, below is a brief case study of Lubo village's micro hydropower project.

Micro hydro powerhouse. Photo Credit: D. Vaghela

Case Study: Sustainability of Lubo Micro Hydro Project -- Two Years Later

The residents of Sitio Lubo continue to enjoy the benefits of having a 35-kilowatt micro-hydropower system. Since the renewable energy project was handed-over by Yamog to the Lubo Renewable Energy Community Association (LURECDA) in June 2013, the lives of the people in this isolated and marginalized community have steadily changed for the better.

Situated deep in the highlands of Barangay Ned, Lake Sebu in the province of South Cotabato, Sitio Lubo is an off-grid community inhabited by mostly Christian peasant settlers. It is about 65 kilometers from Koronadal City, South Cotabato. It is populated by 150 households who, for many decades, have been resigned to their dismal fate of being deprived of opportunities that would improve their socio-economic situation. No one among them could have imagined that their vast water resource would someday lift them up from their collective sense of hopelessness and helplessness.

Yamog team with micro hydro community leaders. Photo Credit: D. Vaghela

At present, 127 households and selected strategic locations of the community are now brightly illuminated at night by energy-saving bulbs. In effect, the 35-kilowatt water-driven renewable energy system has freed the residents of Lubo from decades of heavy dependence on kerosene as the main form of household lighting at night, and as a major source of energy for other community and household activities.

Moreover, about 20 households have engaged in small income generating activities after having procured refrigerators to store locally-made food products (which are kept fresh because of the presence of 24-hour electricity) for sale. Taking advantage of the presence of electricity, both men and women can also engage in income generating activities even at night. Schoolchildren are inspired to work on their nightly home works because of the presence of good lighting within their households. Gone were the days when they had to contend with the unsteady illumination from kerosene lamps which spewed a lot of carbon dioxide that endangered their health.

As a result, the Lubo micro-hydropower system is estimated to prevent the release of some 136 tons of carbon dioxide annually into the atmosphere as the community veers away from fossil fuel (i.e. kerosene and diesel generators). The modest contribution of this community to address global warming is manifested in its commitment to protect its watershed. Around 10 percent of monthly operation and maintenance funds collected from LURECDA member-households are allocated for reforestation activities. A healthy watershed also ensures steady supply of water that drives their micro-hydropower system.

Two public schools with a total of 560 students are also now enjoying the comfort of having unhampered electricity during classes. For the first time, these students are now able to use computers for learning, while teachers can now also use computers to prepare lesson plans, learning aids, aptitude tests, and reports. Places for important social gatherings that utilize electricity for lighting and sound systems, like the Sitio Hall and local churches, are abuzz with activities.

Yamog micro hydro training. Photo Credit: Yamog

Early in the course of project implementation three years ago, Yamog invested a lot of effort in addressing the software component – that is social infrastructure building – a very crucial element for project sustainability. Capacity building activities in the field of technical operation and maintenance, financial management, organizational building and strengthening, and watershed management, have been conducted in order for the project beneficiaries to acquire the required knowledge, attitudes and skills that would improve their chances of effectively managing their micro-hydro system over the long term. Now it appears that all those efforts have generated very encouraging results as evidenced by the following:

99% collection rate of monthly operation and maintenance contributions from member-households. LURECDA now has sufficient funds to meet operation and maintenance requirements.
Financial recording is excellent, with internally audited monthly and annual financial reports produced and readily made available to LURECDA members.
The trained power house operators, and weir/intake caretakers are still very active and committed to ensure efficient operation of vital electro-mechanical equipment that make possible the distribution of electricity to the households in the community.
LURECDA leaders (from the Board of Directors to the Operations and Maintenance Personnel) are in very high morale and functioning according to their assigned roles and responsibilities.
Regular recording on the logbook to monitor the daily performance and problems encountered at the power house is being done by the trained operators.
Regular cleaning of the forebay tank and the weir/intake is done every Saturday (at least for 2-hours).
Especially after a heavy rain, the operators are always quick to clean the weir/intake & forebay tank and rid them of any sedimentation and debris, and inspect the whole transmission and distribution lines as part of standard operation and maintenance procedures.

Next generation of Sitio Lubo. Photo Credit: Yamog

Brimming with enthusiasm, the residents of Sitio Lubo are looking forward to the coming years with a list of more things to do. After two years of operating and maintaining their micro-hydropower system, plans of utilizing the almost unlimited supply of energy at daytime are afoot. Next in the drawing board are the construction of a corn mill, hammer mill (to produce feed stocks using organic raw materials for hog-raising), coffee huller, and other productive end uses of their MHP electricity. All these are aimed at raising family incomes. Fundraising for these spin-off projects would be a big challenge, but they are optimistic that they would achieve these additional facilities that they are aspiring for in the next two years.

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Member profile: SIBAT, A filipino People's network for Sustainable energy and Livelihoods

9/9/2015

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In the realm of integrated approaches to community-based micro hydro, we take inspiration from SIBAT, a country-wide Filipino network and people's organization advancing community-based renewable energy applications, sustainable agriculture techniques, and water access solutions.

Organization Evolution

SIBAT's Filipino name, Sibol Ng Agham At Teknolohiya, translates as a wellspring of science and technology. In 1984, several non-government organizations, including science and technology leaders of the country, synergized to help alleviate the struggles of rural communities with the use of appropriate technology The endeavor established SIBAT as a network to coordinate capacity building for organizations that develop technology for rural areas. Over the next decade SIBAT led the country's movement for sustainable agriculture, in empowering communities to return to organic farming with improved techniques. In 1994, SIBAT began capacity building work on rural energy and water solutions.

Achievements

With a relatively small staff (~25 persons), SIBAT's achievements have been impressive:

Its progress in sustainable agriculture is rooted in its participatory guarantee system (PGS), assisting farmers to transition to organic farming; the Sibol People's Place, helping farmers to sell organic produce; and the Mangarita Organic Farm, serving as a regional center for hands-on learning.

Sibol People's Place in Manila.

It achievements in community-based renewable energy systems (CBRES) in micro hydropower include the installation of 30 projects in 5 regions of the Philippines, ranging from 2 - 30kW of output. A total of ~450 kW of micro hydropower is being generated for ~2400 households. SIBAT also implements community-based solar PV and wind projects. In addition, SIBAT facilitates access-to-water projects involving hydraulic ram pumps, gravity flow, and solar PV.

Building upon its CBRES experience, SIBAT has established CREATech, a center to support CBRES initiatives on the ground through training, research, and local fabrication. The research and innovation helps to develop optimal technical processes and services for CBRES. Fabrication is aimed at building local capacities to develop renewable energy technology products. These integrated components have the overarching goal to ensure reliability and sustainability of CBRES.

At the core of its technology work, SIBAT has nurtured a local network of exceptional community-level change agents, passionately skilled in collaborating on sustainable solutions within their communities.

SIBAT Executive Director Victoria Lopez and Project Manager Shen Maglinte with CREATech member.

Members of SIBAT's networks of community-based change agents.

Challenges

With 30 years of commitment to rural communities, SIBAT's work faces the following challenges and opportunities:

Practice-to-policy

In the late 90’s and onward, SIBAT joined efforts for policy development on sustainable agriculture. It participated in the crafting of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Organic Agriculture Law which took effect in 2012. While the law is in place, it lacks mechanisms to strengthen the small-scale, organic farmer. SIBAT faces a similar uphill in reforming the country's renewable energy law, so that small and community-based power producers are part of the national strategy. To scale community-based energy projects, SIBAT seeks to change the current Renewable Energy policy. Towards this goal, it has taken the lead in facilitating partnerships and exchange events among practice, policy, advocacy, and academic stakeholders.

SIBAT's 2015 CBRES strategy event held with GreenPeace and the Climate Action Network.

SIBAT's workshop venue at the Mangarita Organic Farm.

Rehabilitating from typhoon-damage

With increasing climate change, devastating typhoons frequent the Philippines, particularly SIBAT's focus regions. While funding for new projects comes easily, support for rehabilitating already commissioned projects is a challenge. SIBAT is working to better document the need for and approach to rehabilitating CBRES projects, by reaching out to appropriate donors and finding ways to work within each community's financial strengths.

Want to be Involved?

Over the years, SIBAT has nurtured many visiting volunteers to firsthand learn from rural communities and make meaningful contributions. SIBAT continues to accept volunteers. Details can be found here.

By HPNET members Victoria Lopez, Shen Maglinte, and Dipti Vaghela

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the flow

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Member profile: SIBAT, A filipino People's network for Sustainable energy and Livelihoods

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