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NEWS Powering up Bario
By GAVIN GOMEZ FAILED and “insincere attempts to help” the Kelabit community of Bario, Sarawak, have left the simple folk of this remote village sceptical whenever individuals come forward to lend a hand. “We let them say or do what they want but we don’t keep our hopes up or expect anything,” said resident John Tarawe, adding that the main cause for this scepticism is a failed hydroelectric project that powered homes for a mere 45 minutes six years ago before it broke down. Till today, this sleepy hollow near the Kalimantan border does not have regular electricity supply and with diesel in short supply, the few generators, which used to light up some homes at night, are also being left idle. The electric poles, transformer and occasional visits by consultants to the village seeking to revive the project, are constant reminders of the failed hydroelectric project. So, when a group of young engineers and university students said they wanted to help power the town's only telecentre or cybercafe as it is more commonly known, the villagers were unconvinced. However, Cambridge University's Mike Khaw and his team of engineers showed the people of Bario, which has a population of about 1,000, they meant business when their award-winning project not only earned them worldwide recognition but also a special place among the people there. “It feels good to add value to the lives of others who are less privileged than us. We wanted to show that you don't necessarily have to be a Datuk or Tan Sri to contribute to society,” said Khaw, the leader of the international team of 15. More than 1,700 young engineers and students from 79 countries took part in the inaugural event this year forming 412 international teams. As a Kuala Lumpur boy who recently graduated from Cambridge University, Khaw seized the opportunity to work with his Malaysian peers in coming up with a project. “We saw that there was a great need for sustainable energy in Bario because it was far from the national grid. “So we e-mailed Dr Alvin Yeo at Unimas (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak) and after discussing our plans, decided to enter our proposal for the Mondialogo competition,” Khaw said. As part of the Government's e-community initiative, e-Bario was launched five years ago in an attempt to get rural settlements connected. Housed in the Gatuman-Bario telecentre, the effort was a huge success but was continually plagued by power problems. Thanks to the effort by the Mondialogo team, the centre which was only able to operate for a few hours a week is now able to remain open between six and eight hours a day, with the diesel-powered generators used only as a back-up source of energy. Located about 400km from Miri, this highland community lacks the basic facilities those of us living in urban centres and even rural areas take for granted. Daily flights on the tiny twin-otter aircraft was only introduced a few years ago, before which residents had to endure a two to three-week hike through the thick Borneo jungle to get to Miri. Most homes in the community rely on kerosene lamps for light and two public telephones for communication with the outside world (only one was working at the time of visit). It is no wonder that the telecentre has brought much excitement to this otherwise laid-back community of farmers, as with it comes the hope of using solar energy to power their homes as well. “Business has increased tremendously since I starting publicising my lodge and jungle-trekking trips online. Visitors from around the world are now making bookings online,” said Jaman Riboh, whose 15-year-old agency is now seeing renewed growth. During StarEducation's recent visit to Bario, two British volunteers, Tom Taylor and Richard Bridle, were seen busy teaching the locals the basics of e-mailing and other useful applications. “Some of them who have never even seen a computer before are now sending e-mails,” said Taylor who is from the non-profit group, Engineers Without Borders, which worked with Khaw on the project. The other supporters and sponsors include the Harvard Club, Oxbridge Society and Shell Malaysia which contributed USD13,000 (RM48,750), Microsoft which contributed basic training material for the community and of course, DaimlerChrysler and Unesco through the Mondialogo World Engineering Award. “The Kelabit community has always been receptive to technology which made this project well worth it for Osean,” said Khaw of the Organisation of Sustainable Engineering of South-East Asian Nations (Osean) – a non-profit organisation founded by an international group of young engineers and students whose impetus came from the Mondialogo project. Finally, installing and launching the solar-power system in June not only made Osean and Mondialogo truly international but also earned it a special place in the hearts of the Bario people. “These guys poured their heart and soul into this project and we are benefiting from it. I must thank them,” said Tarawe. Khaw's team member from Cambridge, Nam Tran Nguyen, said Osean now planned to work on similar projects in the region. “The success of the Bario solar project has given the team the momentum and confidence to push forward. We learned a great deal from the Bario experience and are happy with the outcome. “Over the next year, we will strengthen our organisation, continue to recruit volunteers and members and implement another project,” she said. Khaw added that the plans were also under way to see how Osean could help the Bario people to identify ways of sustaining the operations of the telecentre. This does not only mean charging locals RM2 and foreigners RM5 per half-hour of usage but also training people on the maintenance of the solar panels and batteries. “When we are not teaching them how to use computers, we teach them basic problem-solving techniques,” said Bridle. On the measure of the project’s success, the team said only time would tell as that was what is meant by sustainable development
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