Solar-powered potable water system launched in Sulu

Barangay Kahikukuk, Banguingui, Sulu – Residents of the remote coastal village of Kahikukuk in Banguingi, Sulu are rejoicing over the recent completion of a potable water system in their barangay that will provide clean drinking water to close to 250 households in Kahikukuk and nearby barangays and is expected to reduce the incidence of diarrhea and other waterborne diseases in these communities.  

The system, which will pump underground water into an overhead tank to 6 tapstands using solar photovoltaic energy or energy from sunlight, was funded by the Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) and constructed by th1e Alliance for Mindanao Off-grid Renewable Energy (AMORE) Program of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Energy, Mirant Philippines Foundation, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and the non-profit organization, Winrock International.  

Before the system’s completion, the village residents—mostly women and young girls—fetched water from unsafe makeshift wells a kilometer and a half away from their residences. The potable water system is thus also expected to increase the villagers’ productive time, which would more than cover the 25-peso monthly fee they agreed to pay their community association—the Kahikukuk Barangay Renewable Energy and Community Development Association or KBRECDA—for their use of the system. KBRECDA, organized and trained by AMORE, will use the funds to operate and maintain the system. It will also spearhead the protection and development of the Kahikukuk watershed to ensure the integrity of the system’s water supply.

“Our community will treasure and sustain this project,” said KBRECDA Chairperson Asaali Muhalli during the recent turnover by AMORE and PEF of the potable water system to KBRECDA and the Banguingui municipal government.

Prior to the construction of the potable water system, AMORE electrified Kahikukuk with photovoltaic battery charging stations. Its sister program, Solar Energy for Rural Electrification and Development (SERED) of USAID, SunPower Corporation and Winrock, will soon introduce solar-powered, TV-based distance education facilities in the village in partnership with the Knowledge Channel Foundation.