Micro hydro assembly, testing and commissioning training at TONIBUNG CREATE

Conducted micro hydro assembly trainig for out team at CREATE. 

installing  Digital Load controller

installing ballast load

Nousi installing cables on the generator

James putting finishing touches on the DLC

Stanis and Louis installing the Ballast load

the turbine and Generator

the Digital load controller

making sure the cables are correct connection

James referring to the schematic diagram

Lights is ON for Christmas in Long Lamai

Our Team have been working very hard with the community through "Gotong Royong" braving the hot Sun and  sometime drench in the rain for the last 3 days. TONIBUNG team consist of Patrick and James assisted by Moujus from kg Tiku to complete the 3 Phase transmission line from the power house to the village. Meanwhile, my self is doing training of operators and conducting last inspection of the civil structures and electro-mechanical equipment at the power house.

The system have since running for 48 hrs non stop, since i asked Gary Loh from Unimas opened the valve of the turbine to commemorate a simple official commissioning of the micro hydro system. So far so good, bearings of the turbine is not heating, no funny sound from the turbine, no major leaks on the penstock and tail race and the Digital load controller is working well. The heat from the Ballast loads have been turning the power house into a Sauna!. What do you expect when 10kw of power have been continuously for 48 hrs was dumped to the ballast load!

Everyone is getting excited and anxious to complete the transmission line. Our work was disrupted for a while when our main local champion for this project, William had a very bad cut on his right arm after a small piece of the porcelain insulator broke and fell on his arm. There was a very small cut, but it penetrated his artery causing a very bad bleeding. We had to rush him to Long Banga to get emergency treatment. Work resumed after William came back and everybody was relieved to know that the injury is not serious.

After working hard till 6.30 pm on this day 6th December 2013 the transmission line team completed the work. Now its time to connect the supply to the village. We are stationed in several locations along the transmission cable, everyone posed to listen to a short prayer from the village SIB Pastor through a walkie talkie broadcast from the power house. After the prayer, the main switch is flipped ON at the power house and hooray "let there be Light". At the community church the lights shined and the PA system roared filling the church with praise of Hallelujah!

I can see the jubilation in the community, smiles that you don't normally see every day. Some, especially my team got a sigh of relive."We did it" said William and Billy to me, i even see some tears of joy from them, especially those who worked very hard the last 12 months on this project. Against all odds, we did it!

this is just first few steps for this project there still more work that needs to be done. house wiring, Management issues, monthly collection, Operations etc. We will be back Long Lamai...in the mean time enjoy Christmas powered by Micro Hydro. May the light of christmas shines on your lives.. best of all no more noisy sound of those generators!

The rate of Forest loss in Borneo..

Found this interesting online mapping tool to show the rate of deforestation in past decade. Sabah and Sarawak has such alarming rate in Borneo.

TONIBUNG launched Micro Hydro training course at CREATE - Centre for Renewable Energy and Appropriate TEchnologies

TONIBUNG have launched micro hydro training course catered for community technicians since June 2013. The training course involves theory and workshop sessions at CREATE in Kg. Nampasan Penampang, Sabah. All the trainees also undertake on the job training working on actual Micro Hydro projects in Kg. Tiku, Penampang and Long Lamai, Baram. The training course is divided to 5 modules namely Feasibility studies and design, Civil Works, Electrical, Mechanical and Operations and maintenance.

TONIBUNG's training program at CREATE is supported by our long term partner, Green Empowerment based in Portland, Oregon and funded by National Geographic Society The Great Energy Challenge program. This ongoing training training course will continue to 2014 and will cover other renewable energy technologies such as Solar PV, Wind and Biomass.

TONIBUNG welcomes any interested parties to partner with us or to fund our initiative to provide training for indigenous communities in Borneo through the training program at CREATE. we also able to set a special sessions for interested groups and individuals on Renewable energy. TONIBUNG have also embarked in Micro Hydro turbine assembly with Penampang Renewable Energy Sdn. Bhd. and Era-Wira Sdn. Bhd. to manufacture and assemble turbines to cater for growing demands at CREATE. 

Two of CREATE's trainees on the job training 

Trainees work with community during Gotong royong at Long Lamai

Trainees install butterfly valve on the Long Lamai penstock pipe

working with community to pour the concrete trust block

Patrick (2nd right) our Project Manager posing with villagers at Long Lamai 

TONIBUNG Centre for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technologies CREATE exhibition at HoB

TONIBUNG CREATE conducted exhibition on Renewable Energy during the Heart of Borneo (HoB) conference on 11-12 November 2013. TONIBUNG exhibited Hydro-Solar Hybrid system and Solar-Wind Hybrid system apart from posters and pictures of community based micro hydro project that was implemented by TONIBUNG in Sabah and Sarawak.

we also presented the community based micro hydro project as one of the Forever Sabah Solutions to protect Sabah's natural resources. the HoB conference was attended by over 750 participants from different sectors. the conference is hosted by the Sabah Forestry Department and was officiated by Sabah Chief Minister DS Musa Aman.

Giving briefing to Sabah CM and SFD director on the Micro Hydro Solutions

SEAREPA..Moving green, local energy forward in Southeast Asia

Bario Asal Micro Hydro.. 4 years on and still going strong

It have been 4 years now when we first revived the Failed 17 million Ringgit Bario micro hydro project that was abandoned for more than a dacade when it met its premature demise in 1997. In 2007 the community of Bario Asal and Arul Layun came together and decided to do something and they did it. With our technical support and grants from UNDP SGP, Seacology Foundation and much later Sarawak Development Office, this abandoned micro hydro system came back into life in 2009. The system have been providing electricity 24/7 to Bario Asal and Arul Layun long house ever since with minor disruption during dry season.

The community Operators (engineer kampung) have been doing a great job to maintain and operate this system and hopefully for many more years to come. This project have shown that:

1) community can do it if given the chance and proper guidance 

2) The project cannot be that expansive - 17 million??, cost to revive system this is only RM 400,000 

3) Trust the local knowledge - we used buffaloes to transport most of the equipment to the Dam. who said we need to build 5 star roads??

For me i owed and learned a lot from the Kelabit community of Bario Asal and Arul Layun. i have seen pure determination and innovativeness of the community to overcome challenges that encountered in their lives. This lessons that I learnt have been used in many other Micro Hydro project after Bario. I just hope our government learn for thier mistakes and not repeating the costly mistake they made in 1997 and learn from Bario Asal- Arul Layun how to do community driven project.

My initial discussion with the Project Committee in 2007 explaining about the proposed plan to revive the abandoned micro hydro system

Re-enginnering the distribution system. we did not use the high voltage transformers because of maintenance issues.  high voltage is very dangerous and needs full time special trained  technician to handle which we don't have in Bario.

Our proud operators (Engineer Kampung) that we trained to operate and maintain the system

Peter Paran Mattu showing the pressure gage indicating the kinetic power contained in those pipes

we also integrate a hammer mill that can be connected directly to the turbine. this mill can produce high quality Bario Rice Flour to make my favorite Bario bread..yummy!

I am posing with my Team from Sabah, Toumin Sipail from Kg Terian (left) one of my first kampung engineer Kg Terian operating thier Micro Hydro since 2005 and Vyner Biujin (centre) a young Mechanical Engineer from Penampang.

My favorite moments.. Jugah dancing to the music after we first turned the system on. 

I tribute this project to the my adopted Father, the late Ketua Kampung Balang Radu. he is our driving force behind this project. His first words to me when we started this project "i want to see the lights on before i die..". iam glad that his wish came true. he passed on few months after we commisioned the micro hydro system. Tama, may you rest in peace.