By MARIA ELENA CATAJAN & SHERWIN DE VERA
TABUK CITY, Kalinga—Tetchi Ogsar was almost done with her usual weekend routine when she paused at 9 a.m. The 39-year-old mother of four had almost completed the household chores, including laundry for her family of six in Sitio Basao, Barangay Dilag in Tabuk City, Kalinga.
She set the dishes and cooking wares to dry on the table while waiting for the washbasin to fill with water. Then, she carried her youngest child and sat near the wash area, resting briefly.
Three years ago, village women’s burdens were much heavier.
With the men leaving early to work in the fields, tend to livestock, or seek employment outside the village, the limited water supply forces women to carry laundry and dishes nearly a kilometer to the nearest water source.
“There were only three manual pumps here, so we women would wake up at 2 a.m. to line up at the pump until 10 a.m. to fetch 30 liters of water—if we were lucky,” Ogsar recalled in Ilocano. “Often, children were late to school or could not bathe at all.”
Water shortages also affected health and sanitation. While rainwater collected from rooftops served as a source during the rainy season, this was often unreliable and contaminated. Occasionally, surface runoffs during the rainy season are mixed with water from deep wells, increasing the risk of illness.
Ogsar said the arrival of a solar-powered water pump improved daily tasks and ensured safer water. The system eliminated the need to line up early or walk to the irrigation canal and river for chores, providing consistent access to clean water.
The solar-powered potable water system was facilitated by the Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera (CDPC) at the request of the Basao-Dilag Community Association for Rural Empowerment (BDCARE). The Belgian government, through the Province of East Flanders and the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, funded the project.
The system, capable of pumping 50,000 liters per day, exceeds the World Health Organization’s minimum standard of at least 30,000 liters for the village’s population of about 600 individuals. WHO estimates that a person needs about 20 liters per day for basic hygiene and food needs, while intermediate access—such as for bathing, laundry, and household cleaning—requires at least 50 liters per person daily.
This project was one of several implemented by CDPC during the first half of 2022 as part of its effort to promote sustainable energy sources in rural communities.
While all energy sources generate some greenhouse gas emissions, renewables produce far fewer than fossil fuels. A study estimates that renewables emit about 50g of CO2 per kWh, compared to 1000g for coal and 475g for natural gas.
The solar pump operates for eight to ten hours during the summer and four to six hours on rainy days. This reduces electricity costs and offsets CO₂ emission, as the Kalinga Apayao Electric Cooperative (KAELCO) primarily depends on fossil fuels for power generation.
Solar energy in the Cordillera
Communities in the Cordillera were early adopters of renewable energy, harnessing the hydropower potential of the region’s vast drainage areas and long rainy seasons. With the support of religious institutions and non-government organizations, remote villages established micro hydropower plants as early as 1994. in Barangay Ngibat, Tinglayan, Kalinga. To date, the Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (SIBAT) has recorded 23 micro-hydropower facilities in the region, which it has installed, repaired, or upgraded. These plants generate about 320 kW, providing electricity to 1,250 households and community facilities, including rice mills.
Despite this early adoption of off-grid renewable energy, efforts to harness other sources, such as solar power, have been slower to develop, even among electric cooperatives. Government-led solar projects in the region remain scarce, primarily limited to solar lighting for public spaces, streets, roads, and a few irrigation systems. Meanwhile, proposed solar farms announced in 2022 in Tabuk City, Kalinga, and Tuba, Benguet, have yet to materialize.
This energy landscape aligns with the Cordillera Renewable Energy Master Plan (2024-2033) developed by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). The country’s primary socioeconomic planner acknowledged that “due to the long rainy season in most areas of the Cordillera, the viability of solar energy should be studied well.”
While recognizing that solar energy remains a feasible renewable source in the region, the plan notes unique challenges the terrain posed. “Factors such as cloud cover, dust, and pollution impact insolation, the amount of solar radiation received. In mountainous regions like the Cordillera, altitude, slope, and fog further affect solar energy availability.”
Moreover, the viability of solar power in mountainous areas is highly scale sensitive. Large-scale installations may be less effective due to uneven terrain and shading effects, making small, decentralized systems more practical.
The region’s solar power potential is estimated at 595MW, primarily concentrated in Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, and Kalinga.
Nic Satur Jr., chief advocacy officer for Partners for Affordable and Reliable Energy (PARE), stated, “Solar energy is promising here in the Cordillera, but unfortunately, one hectare is equivalent to one megawatt, and it is now a challenge because we do not have that land area that is required for a solar farm.”
He explained that while solar power is viable for individual or private use, utilizing it for business or large-scale generation presents challenges, limiting large-scale investments. Land availability is a key issue, given the region’s limited agricultural lands and difficult terrain. Satur emphasized, “We cannot trade our farmlands for solar farms.”
Satur sees the potential of solar energy in the Cordillera for small community projects, primarily for lighting and other localized needs, similar to the system installed to address Dilag’s water shortage.
Unity and resilience
Sixty-year-old Elena Ortiz said their community successfully petitioned for its first manual water pump in 1998. By 2004, their lobbying efforts had brought in seven pumps. However, population growth outpaced the water supply.
“After eating dinner, we would go to the water pump to line up. Those who arrived earlier in the day would finish fetching water around midnight. Those of us who came later would have to wait until early morning,” Ortiz shared.
She said it became more difficult during the summer when water levels dropped. Those waiting in line had to endure 30 minutes to an hour before their turn.
Rust eventually plagued the pipes, rendering them unfit for drinking. With only seven pumps servicing over a hundred households, these quickly succumbed to wear and tear. The cost of repairs reached almost P500,000, so the barangay decided to install an electric pump to fill a common tank.
However, the P20,000 average monthly bill and frequent repairs proved too much for the community to bear. KAELCO eventually disconnected the power line due to arrears. These were the same problems the residents encountered when they turned to smaller motors, popularly called dynamos.
Residents who used dynamos recalled that their monthly bill, initially P150-P200, rose to P1400-P1800. Since five or more households used one motor almost without rest, this also entailed high maintenance costs.
Seeking for solutions, BDCARE sought the assistance of Timpuyog ti Mannalon ti Kalinga (Federation of Farmers in Kalinga), CDPC’s implementing partner for its socio-economic projects in the province.
CDPC already had a contractor for the installation of all its solar projects. As a counterpart, the community offered their public hall on 1,700 square meters of land to serve as the powerhouse, storage, and pumping station.
The building was awarded to the group for their successful implementation of the National Greening Program, using only native trees. The land was part of the original area the first settlers occupied, which they successfully negotiated and registered under the name of the organization.
The community also provided secure housing and food for workers and helped lay the main water lines. Each household was responsible for installing pipes and faucets. The residents also cleaned and repaired three old concrete water tanks to increase water storage.
CDPC provided training on facility maintenance and water management, while BDCARE developed policies for sustainable water use. This outlined three committees: one to collect the P30 maintenance fee, another to check the lines for leaks and household faucets, and a third to maintain the pump, solar panels, and power house.
Challenges and solutions
The facility was designed to include a water pump and a solar-powered system for a 115-square-meter building housing a library and multipurpose hall. However, due to funding constraints, CDPC and BDCARE prioritized the community’s most urgent need—water access.
Juan Dammay, president of BDCARE, explained that financial constraints were not the only challenge during the planning process. Personal interests and wrong assumptions created significant initial hurdles for the community and the project implementers. Every household was pushing for the tank to be placed near their homes, creating misunderstandings.
“We assumed, based on what we had heard about other projects, that only four to five households would be supplied. We understood things better when BDCARE and CDPC staff finally held a community meeting,” Ogsar shared.
Dammay said that enforcing the policy remains their greatest challenge. Three years after the first gush of water flowed from the pipes to their homes, many households have still not installed faucets, leading to water wastage. With a meager income, residents prioritize their basic needs and just improvised measures to temporarily plug the pipes. Additionally, collecting the P30 maintenance fee regularly has proven difficult.
During their last community meeting, suggestions were made to install more centralized tanks, encourage the use of personal containers, and implement water meters to track consumption. They also proposed introducing a minimal fee based on usage.
Despite these management and sustainability challenges, Dammay remains optimistic: “Through unity, we secured our land rights, which the government recognized. With BDCARE’s help, we have implemented various projects, and progressively, we will effectively enforce policies and past recommendations for better project management.”###
*English translations of the Ilocano and Filipino quotes have been provided, with certain parts shortened for clarity and conciseness.
Reporting for this story was supported by the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities under the Jaime Espina Klima Correspondents Fellowship., edited by Frank Cimatu.
