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GAWIREA: Indigenous Women Leading a Solar Powered Just Energy Transition in Indonesia

GAWIREA

Honoree

Year: 2025

Country:

Indonesia

Topics:

Capacity-BuildingEnergy Transition

Region:

Asia-Pacific

About

In South Papua’s Samurukie village, Indigenous women have traditionally processed sago, spending over 30 hours weekly in unsafe and exhausting conditions. However, the Wani Yinio Sago House, an initiative of the Girls and Women in Renewable Energy Academy, is changing this reality. By introducing solar-powered processing systems, the project reduces women’s workload, improves health and safety, and replaces diesel with clean energy. Beyond technology, this solution offers training in renewable energy, advancing Indonesia’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Energy Policy.

Climate Impact

  • Replacing diesel-based processing with solar-powered systems reduces around 300 litres of fuel use and avoids 720 kg of CO2 emissions per unit every month.
  • By tripling sago production, the initiative strengthens food security for over 2,000 families, while supporting the conservation of 800,000 hectares of forest that regulate water cycles and preserve biodiversity.
  • The use of renewable energy and sustainable forest management reduces vulnerability to droughts and floods in one of Indonesia’s most climate-exposed regions.

Gender Impact

  • Indigenous women gain economic independence and safer working
    conditions through access to solar energy.
  • Women lead 80% of cooperative activities and participate equally in decision making and resource management.
  • Over 200 young people have been trained in solar energy installation and
    maintenance, fostering shared responsibility and a feminist approach to climate technology.

Scalability/replicability

  • The Wani Yinio Sago House has created green jobs and improved household incomes and strengthened local technical capacity.
  • Combining Indigenous knowledge with renewable energy solutions, the model can be adapted in other contexts across the Asia-Pacific region.

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