LIMAR Lights Up Three Villages

11 December 2017

VILLAGE-BASED development is being revived in a number of regions in a move to reinforce national economic foundations, towards accelerating poverty eradication and development disparity reduction, as well as providing solutions to bring about social changes in villages. In the realization, village development allows for sources of economic growth to be directed at rural areas, rendering them attractive places in which to reside and seek livelihoods.

From the time the Community Empowerment Program in the areas of Manasari and Otakwa was conceived in 2013, PTFI has put in place a village power supply program supplying electricity to 311 homes in the villages of Omawita,  Fanamo and  Otakwa. The village power supply program goes under the name LIMAR, an acronym for People’s Independent Electricity. Initially Limar was a battery-based power supply program to provide lighting for 8 - 10 days at a time before the batteries needed to be recharged.

Subsequent to program evaluation conducted jointly with residents, it was agreed the village power supply program needed to be improved, taking into consideration villagers’ needs and potential collaboration with village programs operating through Village Fund allocations. Collaboration would take the form of the community by way of the Village Authority proposing to PTFI to step up LIMAR power supply to villages from battery-based to genset-based. The collaboration agreement was set out in a Joint Statement. PTFI would support this village power supply program through a grant for procurement of power supply materials, generators and their installation.

Subsequently, under the Village Empowerment Program for Manasari and Otakwa, generator based power supply was installed in a migration move from the  battery-based LIMAR program. Installation work was carried out on 10 November 2017, with PTFI working together with  PT. Alfi Tekhnik Mandiri to set up an electricity grid connecting to 365 homes and public facilities in three villages (Omawita-Fanamo and Otakwa). The grid was installed simultaneously with a training session for youths from the three villages. 60 youths received training and participated in the installation activity. This was aimed at ensuring maintenance of the power supply grid is carried out independently in the villages.

Following up on the collaboration agreement, in early 2017, program implementation began with consultations among various entities, primarily the government and community leaders. The purpose of such consultation was to determine the communities’ needs and to ensure these needs are met through long-term self-management of the program. Consultation yielded consensus to distribute village power supply to 3 locations/hamlets in each village, keeping in mind ease of operation and achieving low-cost generator fuel consumption with the priority of providing lighting for the community. 

Following installation and inspection by a technical team, on 7 December 2017, village power supply program operation was formally inaugurated by the Mimika Timur Jauh District Chief and PTFI Management. The inauguration was preceded by a traditional ritual in implementation of local village wisdom. (Hendrikus Purnomo)

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