In Kutai Kartanegara, Indonesia, the advent of solar power is bringing light to women entrepreneurs in villages like Muara Enggelam. Asniah, a resident of this over-the-water village located in the interior of Indonesian Borneo, remembers a time before reliable electricity. Her family moved to Muara Enggelam in the 1990s, a period marked by darkness after sunset, broken only by the sounds of nature and the distant hum of outboard motors. The village was, and in many ways remains, cut off from essential services.
Around the turn of the century, a limited number of households began to experience the benefits of electrification. This development marked a turning point for some, yet the broader issue of rural energy inequality in the region remains a significant challenge. The expansion of solar energy, while transformative for those it reaches, highlights the continued disparities in access to basic power infrastructure across the interior of Indonesian Borneo.
Source: Mongabay