I accompanied videographer Adrian Muys to East Flores, to assist with the filming and facilitate interviews with our Tech Agents
Kak Bolen introduced the technologies to women at the Tech Fair
Women were keen to learn about clean energy technologies at the Tech Fair
As the women loosened up in front of the camera, I started to see their personalities: some were shy, some were cheeky, some were curious
Island-hopping to interview our Tech Agents in East Flores, Indonesia
Kids in East Flores were fascinated by Adrian's video drone
The views from Adonara Island were amazing
Lobster for lunch!
Lunch on the beach - it felt like a big family picnic!
Catch of the day, served on a coconut shell plate
Kak Radiah, a true woman of the sea
The perks of working for Kopernik: a job that makes me jump for joy!
It was late by the time we finally reached Larantuka. Very late. We had started filming early in the morning at Kopernik’s head office in Ubud, then left for the airport, arriving just in time for our 2pm flight. From Denpasar we flew to East Flores - laden with bulky, heavy luggage filled with cameras, tripods, and a drone. After landing in Maumere, we continued our trip with a gruelling four-and-a-half hour drive to Larantuka, arriving there at 9 pm. I longed for a hot shower, a decent dinner, and a good night’s sleep.
I was in East Flores with Adrian Muys, a videographer from Washington DC, to film our Ibu Inspirasi (or Wonder Women) initiative. Adrian had been sent by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to make a short film about our award-winning Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activity, to be shown at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP20) in Lima, Peru. Since it is not wise to send an American with minimal Indonesian language skills to remote East Flores all alone, I went with him to assist with the filming and facilitate interviews with our Tech Agents.
CROSSING THE ABYSS
The fun began early the next day with a 7.30am departure to nearby Adonara Island. The boat trip only takes five minutes, but it crosses over one of the world’s deepest oceanic trenches. Although I am used to boat rides, the thought of the deep abyss below did scare me a little. But thank goodness it was just a five minute ride. After safely reaching Adonara, a pick-up truck was waiting to take us to meet our Tech Agents. After a bit over an hour bouncing around in the back of the pick-up truck – repurposing life jackets to serve as cushions - we finally arrived at the centre of our local partner, PEKKA.
It was wonderful to finally meet the women behind the names I have heard so often back at the Kopernik office. I was especially excited to meet Kak Bolen, one of our top-performing Tech Agents, who was invited to travel to Peru to accept Kopernik’s Momentum for Change award at COP20. Kak Bolen, and almost every other woman at the PEKKA centre, radiated with cheerful, positive energy. They warmly welcomed us and offered us delicious home-cooked food before we left for Kak Bolen’s village to meet a local women’s group and to conduct a Tech Fair.
SHY, CHEEKY & CURIOUS
I was wary about intruding into their lives with big cameras and lenses, but all of the women treated us with genuine kindness and warmth. As they loosened up in front of the camera, I started to see their personalities. Some were shy, some were cheeky, some were curious. I heard stories about how the electricity in their village is out so often that it is almost non-existent. I heard stories about how the solar lights and solar home systems we are making available in this village truly help their lives. I heard stories about how these women work together, hand in hand, to survive hardships. I heard stories about how the women’s group members have become a second family to each other. Nobody is fighting alone. They are fighting together.
We then continued on to Honiara, a village located a little higher up the hill, to meet Mardiah, a Tech Agent who has mobility issues. Although she has trouble walking, that has not stopped her from selling technologies to her neighbours. She told me how much money she has saved by using her BrightBox solar home system in her house, which is filled with sacks of recently-harvested crops like cashews and cocoa. Inspired to help others to save money too, she is constantly promoting the technologies to her neighbours.
A LIGHT IN THE DARK
It was almost dark when we returned to the PEKKA centre. As expected there was no electricity, and before long it was pitch black outside. Even the main road of the village was completely dark. As we walked toward Kak Bolen’s village to film in her house, I was so relieved to have a solar lamp in my hand! It illuminated the road ahead of us, and made us feel safe. We passed by a home where a family were outside, fixing a motorbike by torchlight. Aha, a product demo opportunity! We asked them to turn off their torchlight and used our solar lamps to provide light as they fixed their motorbike. They admitted that our solar light provided better lighting, and I told them to contact Kak Bolen if they wanted to buy one. I really hope they end up buying one from her!
A WOMAN OF THE SEA
The next morning we went to the seaside village of Waiwuring to meet Radiah, a new Tech Agent. She is a cheerful woman who earns a living from fishing, together with her husband. The village they live in has no electricity at all, making the solar technologies she sells very popular. In her first month as a Tech Agent she has already sold 10 technologies! She told me about the joy of seeing her customers’ houses lit up at night using the technologies she has sold. She is very happy to be making these technologies available in her village.
After filming the interview, we travelled by boat to a nearby island to catch up with the rest of the PEKKA members, who were having a picnic. I was so impressed to see Radiah on her boat as we sailed away. Confidently steering the boat, she was a true woman of the sea! As the boat sailed toward the island we saw breathtaking scenery, including a sand island crammed with flocks of seagulls.
OUR ADOPTED FAMILY
When we reached the island the women were already busy preparing lunch, while the children played on the beach. Another boat soon arrived with freshly-caught fish, which were immediately grilled on the fire. They quickly fixed us our lunch – freshly grilled fish with lime and some rice cakes, cooked the night before – using dry coconut shells as plates. All of us sat together and ate. They checked to see if everyone had enough food – the women, the men, and the children. It felt like a big family picnic at the beach. I couldn’t be thankful enough that they ‘adopted’ us into their family, as we were so far away from our own.
We headed back to Larantuka that afternoon, as we needed to catch our flight the next day. We still had a long journey ahead of us before we would be back in the warmth of our own homes. However, for the past few days, these women had given us the privilege of becoming a part of their family – a place where they not only share their burdens, but also their warmth and happiness.
Thanks to this, our journey might have been long, but it was always filled with light.
