Keeping the Waterwheel Turning

Adim, 54, does not have much technical knowledge about generating electricity. He never finished elementary school. Despite this, he has been able to electrify his entire village.

The sun was high in the sky on Thursday (8/8/2019) when Adim took powerful strides to cross the hills of Citengah village in South Sumedang, West Java.

Accompanied by his closest friend Alit, 35, he walked through green tea plantations to the Cisoka River, where he had installed a waterwheel that he had made 16 years ago.

"It’s as I thought. [The decline in power] is not because of damage to the wooden wheel or the dynamo, but because of a decline in water debit due to drought. This has caused a decline in the electricity supply to houses. Usually it is enough for four light bulbs, but now just one," said Adim.

Cisoka was uninhabited until 1985, when Adim and others settled in the plains at the foot of Mount Buligir. Hailing from the regencies of Bandung, Garut and Cianjur, the settlers carved out new tea plantations for their livelihood. Cisoka has expanded from only a handful of new settlers to today’s population of 74.

The pioneers faced frequent challenges, such as building their houses and having no access to clean water and electricity. Electricity was the most complicated issue. They could not get it from nature, and they relied on kerosene lamps for many years as their source of light.

Under such conditions, Adim offered a solution. Drawing on his experience in Cisewu, Garut, where he made a waterwheel to generate electricity, he tried the same thing in Cisoka. He built a waterwheel to supply electricity to his house using the water-resistant wood of the puspa (needlewood tree, Schima wallichii), a used dynamo cannibalized from a motorcycle and a telephone cable.

"There is guaranteed potential [for hydropower]. Three rivers cut across this hamlet, the Cisoka, the Ciburulung and the Marencak. The water sources are the Cipaku and Sabeulit springs," he said. The power generation system is simple: He made a waterwheel spanning 40 centimeters in diameter and placed the wheel in a wooden box to maximize its rotation speed.

He then installed a band made from a truck tire to connect the wheel to the motorcycle dynamo, which generates the electricity. He also installed 3- and 4-inch pipes to increase the water pressure.

Adim\'s innovation was successful. His house was finally electrified. The other Cisoka residents followed suit, and one by one, they built their own waterwheels until 12 of the 19 houses in the new village were equipped with waterwheels.

Adim said that not all residents could afford to build a waterwheel, which were quite expensive.

Making a power generation system using a waterwheel, used telephone cables and a used motorcycle dynamo cost between Rp 2.5 million and Rp 3 million. The most expensive material was the dynamo, which cost about Rp 1 million.

"Some of the residents draw electricity from their neighbors who already have waterwheels. They help each other," said Adim, who has also made waterwheels for several residents in neighboring hamlets. He never asks for money when others ask for his help in building a waterwheel.

Uri Suhri, 68, a resident who lives in the neighboring hamlet of Margawindu, has benefited from Adim\'s expertise since 2006.

Uri has six huts and one food stall that he built in 2002. In the past, tourists could only visit the tea plantations and local waterfalls during the day because of the lack of electricity. "With the waterwheel, my gate is lighted. If you come this way at night, it\'s not dark anymore," said Uri.

Cisoka resident Ida Suparman, 60, built a waterwheel in 2005, as she needed the electricity so her children could study.

Ida has three children, of whom the two eldest have graduated high school and the youngest is currently studying at the Baitul Arqom Islamic boarding school in Malajalaya, Bandung regency. "The benefits are enormous. With electricity, my children have no problems studying at night," she said.

However, waterwheels do not generate a stable supply of electricity. Of the 12 waterwheels in Cisoka, only the six belonging to Adim, Alit, Dedi, Rian, Ida and Asep are functioning at present. The six other waterwheels are not working well because of a decline in the water debit.

Legacy

When the waterwheels stop turning, the residents are forced to use the solar power cells that were donated in 2004. However, most of the batteries have degraded after nearly six years of use. The batteries each costs around Rp 800,000, which is relatively expensive for Cisoka’s residents.

Some residents resort to using motorcycle or car batteries. However, motorcycles do not generate a lot of power – only enough to power one to two light bulbs.

Adim has passed down all the knowledge he has on building, maintaining and repairing waterwheels to Alit. He does not want to keep the knowledge to himself. Alit eagerly accepted the inheritance and takes part in all things related to operating the waterwheel.

Still, Adim hopes that power lines from state electricity company PLN will reach his village someday to make the homemade waterwheels obsolete.

KOMPAS/ SAMUEL OKTORA

Adim, the maker of a waterwheel for a micro-hydro power generato in Cisoka hamlet of Citengah village in South Sumedang district, Sumedang regency, West Java, poses for a photograph on on Thursday (8/8/2019).

Adim

Born: Garut, 1 Jan. 1965

Education: Cisewu elementary school, Garut (withdrawn)