Kamanggih and the Lesson of Grassroots Self-Reliance

In the remote hills of East Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, lies a village called Kamanggih. In the past, nights there were wrapped in deep darkness. Electricity from the state grid (PLN) rarely reached them; families relied only on kerosene lamps. Darkness was not merely the absence of light—it also meant the absence of opportunity: children struggled to study, mothers could not weave at night, and the village economy stood still.

But the people of Kamanggih refused to surrender. They gathered, deliberated, and agreed: the small river behind the village must become their light. With support from IBEKA and Hivos, they built a micro-hydro power plant (PLTMH). Since 2011, more than 300 households have enjoyed electricity. Shops stay open late, children can study at night, and young people have the courage to start small businesses.

An Energy-Self-Reliant Village, a Symbol of Change from Below

Kamanggih proves that energy self-reliance is born from the people themselves. Electricity is no longer a gift from the center, but the fruit of collective effort. This is the real face of change from below: people taking initiative, people empowered, people setting their own direction.

Such movements align with a deeper conviction: Indonesia is too vast to be standardized. In Sumba, energy may come from micro-hydro; elsewhere it may be solar or biogas. Each region knows best how to grow—and that diversity is the true strength of the nation.

From Instruction to Initiative, from Dependence to Self-Reliance

The story of Kamanggih’s micro-hydro project offers vital lessons:

• Development does not have to wait for instructions from above.

• Local initiative responds faster and more accurately to real needs.

• Community solidarity is stronger than mere subsidies.

This is the spirit we must nurture together: building from below, by the people, for the people.

Substantial Democracy, Not Just Symbolic

Village self-reliance is part of a more substantial democracy. Politics should not appear only during campaigns and then vanish once promises are broken. True democracy grows when people are given space to take initiative, to collaborate, and to decide their own future.

Kamanggih shows us: democracy can emerge from a small river, from a remote village, from the courage of citizens who refuse to wait.

A Call for Indonesia

The question now is:
Will we continue waiting for light from the center?
Or will we dare to kindle our own light, as the people of Kamanggih have done?

Because in truth, Indonesia cannot be built by one alone. But it can be built together—if we dare to begin from below.