Sweet and sustainable: Energizing a forest community with renewables
by Ilang-Ilang Quijano
A community-run micro-hydro plant in the forest village of Bunikasih in Subang, West Java, Indonesia. (Kathleen Lei Limayo/ 350.org)
Forests are not only a valuable global carbon sink. For centuries, they have also played a crucial role in its dwellers’ food security, nutrition and livelihoods. However, the remoteness of forest villages often make energy access a challenge–one that a community in Indonesia’s West Java overcame by harnessing the power of renewables.
The picturesque village of Bunikasih is dotted with gently swaying palm trees. Their distinctive fan-like leaves blend into a diverse foliage that forms the backbone of villagers’ agroforestry practices. Prized for its sweet, nutritious nectar called “nira,” these palm trees have elevated livelihoods beyond mere subsistence.
Amid the quiet of the forest, a palm sugar processing plant hums with power generated not by fossil fuels but by water. A community micro-hydro, which harnesses the waters cascading gently through the mountain slopes, provides most of the electricity to the sugar plant.
Through processing, villagers turn nira–a sweet, translucent liquid obtained from the flower stalks of palm trees–into palm sugar, a type of organic sugar prized for its health benefits and caramel taste. Fetching a price of USD 1.2 for a 250-gram packet, it is a high-value product that the community sells domestically and abroad.
Local leader Okky Muhammad shows participants of 350 Asia’s Solidarity Lab the workings of the sugar processing plant. (Ririn Risqiana Rossi/ IBEKA)
Agroforestry has always been the Bunikasih villagers’ way of life. But the lack of electricity made household and economic activities difficult. In 2011, the non-profit group IBEKA and the University of Subang started helping the community plan the establishment of a 15 KW micro-hydro plant.
“We had to transfer the knowledge, simplify technical terms so that the locals could understand. But through the spirit of “gotong royong,” which means “working together with the same vision,” the plant finally became operational after two years.
According to Dita Anggun Lestari, IBEKA senior project officer, this social preparation phase was the most challenging. “We had to transfer the knowledge, simplify technical terms so that the locals could understand. It was a remote area, so we also had difficulties transporting materials from outside, especially the turbine and generator.” But through the spirit of “gotong royong,” which means “working together with the same vision,” the plant finally became operational after two years.
Organic nira palm sugar is sold by villagers domestically and abroad. (Ririn Risqiana Rossi/ IBEKA)
The micro-hydro plant brought electricity to the village for the first time. It also made innovators and leaders out of villagers who previously knew nothing about operating or managing a power plant. Villager Bandar Aswandar volunteered to become the plant’s operator. “Not many people understood the technology or were willing to learn,” he said. Aside from rice and vegetable farming, Aswandar is now also in charge of the micro-hydro plant’s operation and maintenance, ensuring the ballast system doesn’t overheat or the canals don’t get clogged.
Rice and vegetable farmer Bandar Aswandar is the micro-hydro plant’s operator. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano/ 350.org)
With the establishment of the sugar plant a few years ago with the help of the provincial forestry department, even more people are now involved with management and technical roles. “Young people used to be more interested in working in the cities. But now I think some of them have become more interested in working here,” said Okky Muhammad, founder of the local group Bunikasih Jaya.
Household incomes grew up to five times because of the income from palm sugar processing. While villagers previously earned IDR 500,000 to one million per month (USD 30 to 60), they now earn IDR three to five million (USD 182 to 303). “Relying on renewable energy helps keep production costs low,” Muhammad said.
While households became connected to the national grid in 2018, the micro-hydro plant still plays a major role in powering the local economy. Aside from the sugar plant, it also powers street lighting, coffee processing, and other agroforestry activities.
Unlike environmentally destructive big dams, Bunikasih’s micro-hydro plant has minimal ecological impact. The plant diverts only around half of the stream’s water volume, which is also designed to flow back into the river through unobtrusive canals that mimic the natural flow of water. Villagers are also motivated to keep the watershed area healthy and intact.
Unlike big dams, micro-hydro systems have minimal ecological impact and are perfectly suited for forests. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano/ 350.org)
This International Day of Forests, the story of Bunikasih is a testament of how community renewables can improve lives while conserving forests. It reminds us of how forests and its guardians hold so much power to transform the planet–one self-sufficient, fossil-free community at a time.