Solar power comes to remote Davao del Sur village

DIGOS CITY, Philippines—Dark nights—as well as long hikes to charge cell phones— ended for one of Digos’ remotest villages Friday night as lanterns powered by solar energy started to illuminate its houses.

For 36 years since electricity came first to this city, the people of the mountain village of Sitio Sabwag had not felt what it was like to have electric bulbs at night. They were used to the old-fashioned “gasera,” kerosene or oil lamps, or in the case of more affluent residents, the “petromax,” a lamp that burns on kerosene and air pressure.

The village, with less than 50 households, is only a few kilometers from the peak of Mt. Apo.

On Friday, all 48 households in the village switched their light bulbs on, courtesy of the Solar Energy Foundation. The lamps were personally delivered by the foundation’s chairman, Jaime Ayala, who led 38 climbers from the Kaya ng Pinoy Foundation to Sitio Sabwag to distribut the solar lanterns.

He was also accompanied by Digos Mayor Joseph Peñas, Vice Mayor Reynaldo Hermosisima, Kapatagan barangay chief Juanito Morales and other local officials.

Ayala said they decided on the solar-powered lanterns because they were “much superior to conventional battery-operated flashlights.”

“When fully charged, the solar lantern will drain after 100 hours using the normal selector and nine hours for its maximum illumination,” he said.

Ayala said another thing the solar lanterns can do is serve as chargers for cellular phones.

Morales said some residents of Sitio Sabwag, despite the lack of electricity, own cell phones, which they use to communicate with their relatives living elsewhere.

He said they had to walk kilometers away to the nearest village with electricity to charge their batteries.

“That ends now, too. The lanterns can well do that job for them,” he said.

Morales said another important thing the lanterns will do is provide students with brighter light when they study at night.

“Previously, they gathered around the family’s gasera to do that,” he said.

Ayala said since 2011, the Solar Energy Foundation has been trying to improve the lives of people in the country’s remotest areas by providing them with solar lanterns.

He said so far, solar powered lanterns have been distributed to off-grid communities living on Mt. Apo; Mt. Dulang-Dulang; Mt. Canlaon; Mt. Pulag; and Mt. Guiting-Guiting.

Art Valdez of the Kaya ng Pinoy Foundation said they harnessed their enthusiasm for trekking to help those who on the six highest mountains across the Philippines.

“The climbers are helping spread the foundation’s mission of providing sustainable access to energy in the most remote nooks in the country to enhance social development while assisting others to move out of poverty by harnessing renewable energy for communication, health and improved quality of life which is a strong form of empowerment for the beneficiaries,” Ayala said.