Sun-Powered Electricity Lights up remote Philippine village

Solar battery provides renewable energy in a remote Palawan village.

 

(published in 22 July issue of Philippine Star and 8 July 2007 issue of Manila Bulletin) 

FOR TWO hours every night, a 10-watt light bulb makes it possible for 12-year old Ian Grace to do her homework and keep her place among the top 10 students of her class.

Ian’s household is one among many in Bunog village, in the Philippines, that benefits from a solar-powered battery system financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with resources provided by the Danish Cooperation Fund for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Rural Areas.

The Philippines’ Department of Energy is implementing the project, which rehabilitates old renewable energy systems in remote areas. In Bunog, a non-operating solar battery system installed years earlier has been rehabilitated. The village is 30 kilometers away from the nearest electric pole, and since it has a low power demand, connecting it to the grid is not economically viable.

“The solar energy helps us a lot,” said Ian Grace’s mother Stella. “Our children are able to study their lessons and we are able to do our household chores, even at night.”

“Without the electricity, the children were only using candles for light in the evening,” said Evelyn Kamias, officer-in-charge of the nearby elementary school. “The children often don’t do their homework because they find it too difficult to study under a dim-lit candle or kerosene wick lamp.”

The solar-powered white light is brighter than the yellowish light from kerosene lamps it replaced. A kerosene lamp consumes an average one liter of kerosene a week, using a large amount of the income of an average farming family in the village.

“We reap huge benefits from solar power. It adds to our profit margins because we are able to sell even at night,” said store owner Rosalia Dulig. With the solar-powered light, she is able to serve customers up to 8 pm.

“Before, when we were using a kerosene lamp, it blackened our walls and our children inhaled the smoke, which affects their health,” said Apolonia Cortaje, a 35-year-old manager of a solar battery charging station.

There are six solar battery charging stations in the village, each catering to 10 to 15 households. There are some 70 households, each with their own solar battery. Those who manage the solar battery charging stations are usually full-time housewives, who charge one battery a day or an average six batteries in a week, earning for them extra income.

It takes a full day and a small fee to charge a solar battery, which then lasts for 10 to 15 nights. Each beneficiary remits a small fee as monthly dues for two years for battery replacement, which has a two to three-year lifetime. The renewable energy system itself can last 20 years.

The Bunog solar project is one of two non-functioning renewable energy systems made operational again by the ADB-funded project. The other project is the rehabilitation of a twin micro hydropower system in the norther province of Kalinga.

The Philippines has been developing new and renewable energy systems for rural electrification with solar, mini-hydro and wind power. While most of the projects provide reliable and cost-effective electricity services to the communities they serve, about 20 to 25 percent fail due to sub-standard equipment and inadequate after-sales services.

The government requested ADB assistance to rehabilitate the failed projects. ADB responded by providing a $450,000 grant for a project implemented by India’s Energy and Resource Institute and IDP Consultants Inc. of the Philippines.

ADB Funds “Green” Recycling Center in Smokey Mountain

The ADB-funded MRF in Smokey Mountain, Tondo.

 

 

 

(published in the Business & Environment magazine, 2nd quarter 2007 issue) 

SMOKEY MOUNTAIN was once a 2 million-ton garbage heap that, for over 40 years, served as a waste disposal facility for the Philippines’ capital city of Manila. It drew a large community of informal settlers who scavenged the garbage for their livelihood.

Once Manila’s scourge, Smokey Mountain has been transformed by the government into a low-income housing community for more than 30,000 people. Though the housing situation has improved, the area remains home to individual waste pickers, junk shops, and a variety of people and cooperatives engaged in recycling municipal solid waste, often under very difficult working conditions.

“It became apparent that there was a need to improve the recycling facility and provide capacity building and skills training to the community,” says Anita Celdran, program director of Sustainable Project Management, which is working to address the problem.

In addition, new services were needed. The supply chain had to be organized, and the recycling process had to be streamlined to double the selling price of the recyclables. The work conditions of the waste sorters in the area can be quite precarious.

“It became evident that to improve the work environment, a new workspace has become imperative,” says Ms. Celdran.

To address this issue, ADB is working with the Philippine government’s National Solid Waste Management Commission to support Sustainable Project Management, a Geneva-based nongovernmental organization that is training the Smokey Mountain community in improving their waste recycling through better collection, sorting and exporting. Trash is transformed into primary materials that can fetch higher profits in international markets like China, a major importer of recycled plastics.

“Communities like Smokey Mountain have been stepping up waste recycling programs and turning what used to be regarded as unwanted trash into precious, revenue-generating treasures,” says Celdran.

On May 11, the Smokey Mountain community inaugurated its first “green” material recovery facility, or waste collection center, with the health and safety of the community in mind.

Under the Philippines new National Solid Waste Management Law, communities are encouraged to set up “material recovery facilities” to help divert waste from active landfills. The facility is supported by a $229,500 grant under ADB’s Poverty and Environment Program through contributions from the governments of Norway and Sweden, and the ADB’s technical assistance funding program.

For more than two years, Sustainable Project Management has been training and assisting the community, led by its parish priest, Father Ben Beltran, and the Samahan ng Muling Pagkabuhay Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

The facility is designed for natural ventilation, protection from heavy rains, and will have a large kitchen area for an expanded food catering business, to feed the workers at the site. The company Holcim Cement provided a 10-day construction training course for 40 residents, who in turn donated some of their time to help build the facility.

“It has truly taken the effort and support of the whole community to make this new building a reality,” says Ms. Celdran.

Workers sort waste at the MRF.

In addition to the waste recycling facility, Sustainable Project Management is also working to educate the community on recycling. Households in Smokey Mountain will sort their trash and contribute to the supply chain as most of the organic waste comes directly from collection bins outside of each building in the community.

The cooperative in the area has also been recycling old newspapers and phone books into handbags and accessories, sold mostly to the Australian market. Over 100 housewives were trained to make the bags, giving them additional income. A fashion line of clothing is also being launched to create job opportunities in the community.

Despite the projects underway in Smokey Mountain, much work remains to be done, says Ms. Celdran. The remaining landfill continues to be a health and safety hazard for the community. Rainwater percolating through the mountain continues to carry traces of metals and toxins that pose health risks to the community even as the mountain now seems to be covered with grass. Unaware of the hazards, a number of community members are growing vegetable gardens on the mountain top while children play along the water run-off.

Children still scavenge at some areas of Smokey Mountain, near the MRF.

Mindanao LGUs earn from new facilities

 

The Panabo City Bus and Jeepney Terminal is earning good income for the city.

(published in the 20 May 2007 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

 

 

By Rita Festin, ADB National Officer

Panabo City – When Mayor Rey Gavina steps down after his serving out the maximum three terms as a local executive, he will leave behind a legacy of improved infrastructure and facilities that will put his city “on the map” of Mindanao.

Foremost among his legacies is the spankingly new integrated bus and jeepney terminal, built at a cost of P38 million from an Asian Development Bank (ADB) concessionary loan under its Mindanao Basic Urban Services Sector Project (MBUSSP) being implemented by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Land Bank of the Philippines.

“Iyong utang namin, kung magkanong mabayaran namin in one year, kikita pa kami ng mga not less than P2 million siguro.  Ngayong hindi pa nag-operate iyong mga stalls, kumita na almost double, (We could easily repay in one year the money that we borrowed and earn a profit of maybe not less than P2million.  The stalls of the market vendors are not even set-up and yet we are already earning double our expectations.)“ says Mayor Gavina.  “Kaya malaking tulong talaga (It really is a big help).”   

The buses pay P30 per visit, while jeepneys pay P20 per visit to pick up passengers.  Local town executives have ensured that all public transport should pass the terminal as enshrined in a local ordinance passed early this year.

In Mahayag, Zamboanga del Norte, it is a similar success story of improved revenues and modern infrastructure.  Its newly-built municipal hall was funded with a P14-million loan from the project. From being the dirtiest municipality in Mindanao in 1997, with a 1960s-built municipal town hall, Mahayag has turned around its image to become the second cleanest municipality in the province last year. The town mayor says the building has directly helped Mahayag raise more revenues, which in turn led to their being recently upgraded to a third class municipality.

The MBUSS-funded Mahayag Municipal Hall.

 

 

DILG Assistant Secretary Austere Panadero was so impressed by the building that he called it the “best municipal building in the whole Mindanao” during its inauguration in 2005. “We are proud of this building. Before, Mahayag looked like it was left behind,” declares Mayor Paulino Fanilag. “Now, no more. People pay their taxes because they can see where their taxes go.” Town revenues in 2005 increased by at least 12 percent as compared to 2004. 

And as a result of capacity building seminars under MBUSSP, the town will now construct on its own a potable water supply system to be sourced from its water falls. 

The start up of the Project has been slow, but currently the MBUSSP sees that a large number of subprojects are under construction, in an attempt to complete these before the end of 2007. 

No less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated the Kapatagan municipal hall in Lanao del Norte in 2006.  Jabonga, Agusan del Sur also has a new municipal hall. 

There are also the R. T. Lim public market in  Zamboanga Sibugay; Dumalinao and Alicia public markets in Zamboanga del Sur; Datu Odin Sinsuat and Buluan public markets in Maguindanao; and the Cabadbaran public market in Agusan del Sur.  Besides Panabo City, another transport terminal was also built in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat.  The Naawan Water Supply was constructed in Misamis Oriental. 

When it was inaugurated in late 2005, the P46.1 million Buluan public market was the first MBUSSP urban infrastructure project in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.  Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu made sure that widows were given priority in the assignment of stalls.  The town’s effective local governance was evident in the transformation of capacity building program into infrastructure investment support with the completion of the public market, says Madonna Medenilla, ADB national officer.  Buluan public market serves as the model for replication in other LGUS in ARMM.

Other projects are scheduled for inauguration and/or completion in the coming months in the provinces of Maguindanao, Agusan del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, North Cotabato, Zamboanga del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Zamboanga del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, and Surigao del Norte.  There is also the new P67.16 million transport terminal In Kidapawan City.   

In Ozamiz City, a new and modern two-storey public market will soon be built to replace the existing public market which is so dilapidated that during the rainy season, its women market vendors often joke it rains both inside and outside the building.   The project has also built municipal gymnasiums in three towns and provided heavy equipment in two other towns. To date, DILG has 20 completed subprojects worth more than P580 million. 

“The MBUSSP is among the initiatives being undertaken by the government to improve the quality of life in Mindanao by institutionalizing the capacity of LGUs to provide its constituencies with infrastructure and other essential services,” according to DILG Asec. Brian Yamsuan when he inaugurated the Panabo City transport terminal.   

MBUSSP covers the construction and rehabilitation of public markets, gymnasiums, transport terminals, cultural centers, water supply and municipal buildings to benefit 11 provinces, covering 30 to 40 LGUs.  Aside from the infrastructure and investments component, it also has an institutional capacity building component to help LGUs better manage and sustain the infrastructure projects. 

“Project beneficiaries are mostly poor communities in Mindanao who would gain better access to basic services in their respective localities,” says Florian Steinberg, ADB Urban Development Specialist.   

Before the realization of the transport terminal in Panabo City, Mayor Gavina would be awed by the transport terminals of other towns and he realized his town should have its own terminal, being next door to Davao City. 

“We had no terminal here in Panabo.  We just used the old gym for the terminal.  We could not accommodate the terminal jeepney bound for farflung barangays,” he said.  Besides the terminal, Mayor Gavina’s legacy includes a new City Hall and a new gym to replace the old gym that served as his town’s transport terminal for 8 long years. 

But the transport terminal will stand out as the crown jewel of his legacies as he builds islands along the national highway for the    plants and lights leading to the terminal, practically THE gateway to and from Davao City and to the whole Mindanao itself.      

The MBUSS-funded bus and jeepney terminal in Kidapawan City.

Sisterhood of Mindanao Market Vendors Learn and Earn More

Mery Alforque, a 52-year old vegetable vendor in Ozamiz City, want to learn more livelihood courses in the WRC.

(Published in the 3 September 2006 issue of Philippine Daily Inquirer)

 

 

Sisterhood of Mindanao Market Vendors Helps Them to Learn and Earn More
By Rita Festin  

AT THE market in Panabo, in the southern Philippine province of Davao del Norte, times have been hard for 68-year-old vendor Remedios Homesillo.

“It’s so difficult nowadays to sell – we need a new livelihood,” says this mother of nine and grandmother of 20, who with her husband has been selling meat at market for the best part of six decades.

Balancing parenthood with eking out a meager living has not been easy for any of the vendors. And with business now on the downturn, there is often little for them to do but sit and gossip.

But a new project has been trying to bring new hope and incomes to the vendors to help break them out of the cycle of poverty and debt, by teaching them new skills, improving working conditions, and in the process helping them become better parents.

Backed by a US$1 million grant from ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the Government of Japan, the project is targeting about 1,600 poor women vendors in public markets in eight areas of Mindanao. Aside from Panabo, these include Mahayag, Zamboanga del Sur; Ozamiz, Misamis Occidental; Kidapawan City, Cotabato; Surigao City, Surigao del Norte; Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte; and in the towns of Buluan and Parang in Maguindanao.

An important feature of the project is the establishment in each town of a women’s resource center (WRC) to provide space for training, a drop-in clinic, daycare for pre-schoolers, and cold storage, lockers, and wash rooms, all available at a minimal fee.

The WRCs have become in effect the nerve center for all the women’s activities where they can meet and interact like a sisterhood, says Myrna Lim, Executive Director of the Notre Dame Foundation for Charitable Activities, Inc. Women Enterprise Development (NDFCAI-WED), the project’s implementing agency.

“The project … hopes to provide sustainable gender-sensitive social safety nets for women market vendors [and] improve the quality of their working environment,” she says.

Vendors have hailed the centers as a place where they can socialize and group together, rather than simply face problems on their own.

“It’s a place where we can get closer to each other, see each other often. Not like before where we did not know each other and we were on our own,” says 31-year old Geraldine Aguia, a vendor in Panabo City and mother of three. “We now have someone to turn to and we just do not go direct to City Hall. If we go individually, there is no action. As a group, we have their ear because we are more powerful.”

Change didn’t come easy, though. In Panabo City, attendance at training sessions was at first poor because vendors were reluctant to leave their stalls and sacrifice sales. Since most of them start their day at the market at 4:30 a.m., they found it a burden to attend a full-day of training from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. But once they realized the benefits, attendance picked up drastically.

For example, Gabriela Ocaña, a 49-year old mother of two who sells fruits for a living, attended customer service seminars and soap-making training. “I have sold some soap, and my family uses my own soap so we have also reduced our expenses,” she says.

Popular with the vendors is training on preparing and handling food. For example, Jean Sotto, 50, who has been running an eatery for the past 20 years, has used the training to extend her culinary knowledge so she can diversify into new food items, such as desserts. Her sister, Elvira Senuino, 55, who assists her, attended training in Christmas decoration making and was able to sell P2,000 worth last year. By mid-year she will begin making decorations again to meet the expected demand for orders.

Vendors are also taking up herbal medicine, hair styling, dressmaking, and nail care, among others.

A requirement before market vendors can benefit from the project is for them to be formally organized, including electing a board. Their association gives them an independent voice separate from the larger federation that includes male members.

Recognizing the potent political force that the women wield, the vendors’ associations have attracted strong backing from local politicians. In Panabo City, the Mayor has agreed to provide a P200,000 microfinance revolving fund. In Ozamiz City, the mayor’s office provides health services through the Women’s Resource Center. And in Mahayag, the mayor immediately provided temporary stalls for the vendors when stalls were damaged in a market fire earlier this year.

The eight project areas are also benefiting under the ADB-funded Mindanao Basic Urban Services Sector Project (MBUSSP), which is upgrading and rehabilitating much-needed infrastructure through a $30 million loan.

In Mahayag, the newly-built municipal hall is funded with P14-million from the project, with the JFPR-funded Women’s Resource Center for the vendors standing by its side. From being the dirtiest municipality in Mindanao in 1997, with a 1960s municipal town hall, Mahayag has turned around its image to become the second cleanest municipality in the province this year.

The town mayor says the building has directly helped Mahayag raise more revenues, which in turn led to their being upgraded into a third class municipality in 2005. Department of Interior and Local Government Assistant Secretary Austere Panadero was so impressed by the building that he called it the “best municipal building in the whole Mindanao” during its inauguration in March 2005.

“We are proud of this building. Before, Mahayag looked like it was left behind,” declares Mayor Paulino Fanilag. “Now, no more. People pay their taxes because they can see where their taxes go.”

The WRCs and the infrastructure projects under MBUSSP are being completed one after another. In Panabo City, a new bus and jeepney terminal that will put the city on the map will rise by the end of this year, and women market vendors will have stalls there as well. In Ozamiz City, a new and modern two-storey public market will soon be built to replace the completely dilapidated existing building where, as women market vendors often joke about, it rains both inside and outside during the wet season.

“I am very happy that this project came to Mindanao,” says Loli Aginones, a 50-year-old mother of three who learned to bake and sell peanut butter, tarts, and macaroons through the project. “It’s a big help to the women of Panabo. At the same time, I enjoy what I’m doing.”

In Mahayag, a word that means “to illuminate” in the local dialect, poor women market vendors can indeed look forward to a brighter future.

The women vendors of Panabo City learn how to make "kropeck".