Creating a Thousand Wells: Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara

By Barrie | October 31st, 2007 | No Comments

It was only almost five in the afternoon but the cold air was already settling over Kanelu, 15 kilometers west of Waikabubak, the capital of West Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara. Temperatures in the village and around Sumba dip as low as 12 degrees Centigrade during July-October period, which is why many people bathe earlier in the day.

Bela Milla, 35, Koni Kaka, 37, and several teenage girls were already gathered at a nearby well at around 3 p.m. to wash clothes and take a bath, before carrying cans of clean water home.

Fortunately, their houses are just a stone’s throw away from the well, thanks to Karya Kolping, a German aid institute known here as Karya Kolping Indonesia (KKI), and its well development project.

Previously, Bela, Koni and others had to walk three to four kilometers to fetch 10 to 20 liters of potable water. Some even used two-wheeled carts. It used to be common to see villagers carrying water home as late as midnight.

Polce Parera, 32, KKI’s national bureau coordinator, said the well resource program was his office’s response to the needs of Sumba people.

“People on Sumba Island have had to cover long distances for small amounts of water. How much time and energy has been wasted? So we want to make the sources close to local communities,” said the theology graduate of Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta.

The program began in 1996 — four years after Kolping’s entry into Sumba — from the group’s base in Katikuloku, 30 kilometer east of Waikabubak, before spreading to East, Southwest and Central Sumba regencies.

In Germany, Kolping was originally a social organization set up by a Catholic priest, Adolf Kolping, in Cologne on May 6, 1849, as an “alliance of young craftsmen”.

Karya Kolping is now involved in activities in more than 60 countries.

However, Kolping did not arrive as some Santa Claus to distribute community needs for free. Instead, the KKI wanted to encourage community members to be full members in all projects.

The organization’s first task was to raise community members’ awareness of their potential by convincing them of their decisive role in achieving success.

So, the KKI recruited community figures to assist in the motivation work. The effort was not always smooth and took a fairly long time. Yet the process turned out to be quite effective, leading to the formation of small groups of residents ready for action. Only then did the KKI assign field officers to test or detect nearest locations with water resources. When these places were discovered, the groups started digging wells.

As the digging was underway or water reserves were found, Kolping would supply necessary materials local people could not produce themselves like cement, iron, nylon ropes, buckets and other equipment. For each well, the KKI’s contribution stood at around Rp 1.2 million while community participatory funds totaled Rp 3.5 million.

Kolping is thus present mainly as local communities’ working partner and motivator, with its field personnel continuing their monitoring job even after the wells are already operational.
Well deepening is also conducted during the dry season to increase water supply.

The numerous wells now found on the island have enhanced the quality of life of part of Sumba’s population. Apart from meeting their drinking water needs, Sumba people can now also grow vegetables and shade trees, as well as raising cattle and poultry.

Expressing her delight, resident Koni said: “The program has helped us indeed. Actually, the people here had long wished for such a well but they only started digging after the aid agency arrived here. Other wells financed by Karya Kolping have also been built near here.”

Bela said: “My ducklings hatched five days ago and there’s enough water nearby. My husband has made a small pond for them.”
Since the well development project was launched in 1996, KKI has helped Sumba people build and utilize 957 wells in the island’s four regencies.

“Another 43 wells will make the total 1,000. We want to celebrate the 1,000th well this year,” said Agus Wadja, chairman of Sumba’s Kolping Socio-Economic Commission.

However, the constraint being faced today is mechanical well drilling, which harms traditional well owners’ interests.

“The water flow rate of people’s wells has been reduced by government and private drilling activities,” said an assistant from Germany, Agustinus Mori. According to him, such well drilling should be banned because it is illegal.

Responding to the complaint, West Sumba Deputy Regent Kornelis Kodi Mete said causes of the falling well water flow should first be studied by examining locations of wells, previous rainfall, trees as underground water buffers and well water exploitation intensity.

“Underground resource conditions should be considered before making a conclusion,” added the medical graduate of Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta.

In addition, Kolping has undertaken various other projects in Sumba such as religious guidance, training for school dropouts, sewing courses for girls and housewives, seaweed cultivation instruction and others.

The presence of KKI has helped solve a number of problems faced by Sumba people, and particularly through its well project KKI is creating an oasis for the people of Sumba.

Emanuel Dapa Loka