From coffee to clean energy: Felisbela’s vision for Timor-Leste
As part of our Women in Power series, we are celebrating the remarkable leaders driving the Pacific and Timor-Leste’s clean energy transition.
In Timor-Leste’s remote highlands and coffee-growing communities, where power shortages often stall progress, Felisbela Pires is working to ensure that energy access becomes a catalyst for resilience, sustainability, and community development.
Born and raised in Timor-Leste, Felisbela is proudly 100% Timorese. Her deep connection to the land and people drives her commitment to engineering solutions that directly improve the lives of rural communities. “Working directly with the community is a privilege,” she says. “It allows me to truly see their challenges and the impact we can make together.”
Now Country Manager for Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB) in Timor-Leste, Felisbela leads projects that bring renewable energy, clean water and opportunity to the heart of the country’s development. With a Bachelors degree in Applied Geographical Information Systems and a Masters in Environmental Management, she bridges technical expertise with community-centred thinking.
After nearly a decade in the oil and gas sector managing environmental compliance, Felisbela shifted to the non-profit sector with a clear intention: to work more closely with communities. “I wanted to be closer to the people, not just in policy or compliance. EWB gave me that chance.”
One standout project that Felisbela has recently been working on at EWB is a 100% solar-powered coffee processing hubs, part of the BPP partnership between EWB, Raw Material, Mara Mresa and the Australian Government.
In rural Timor-Leste, most coffee producers rely on diesel generators, which are costly, polluting and unreliable. “Coffee is the largest non-oil export for our country,” Felisbela explains. “Through this project, we’re replacing diesel with clean, solar energy reducing emissions and helping strengthen the rural economy.” More importantly, the project also ensures energy is available beyond the coffee season. “Outside of the coffee season, the factory is idle. Now, the excess solar power can be used by the community for refrigeration of fresh produce, local fabrication or even charging mobile phones and providing satellite internet connection. It opens doors to new livelihoods and improves everyday life.”
In addition to leading technical projects, Felisbela is deeply committed to building local capacity. She currently supports a capacity building programme for 12 young Timorese women engineers, providing hands-on training and real-world project experience. “They’re eager, committed and capable,” she says. “This shows what’s possible when opportunities are made available, and so women can and do thrive in engineering.”
Still, the road has not been without challenges. In Timor-Leste, as in many parts of the world, engineering and energy sectors remain male-dominated.
“There’s still a perception that this kind of technical work is not suitable for women,” she says. “In some communities, women are discouraged from participating in engineering projects or are relegated to support roles like cooking. And of course, many women still carry the primary responsibilities at home, which makes balancing career and family even harder.”
Despite this, Felisbela’s message to young women is clear:
“Be brave. Lean in. Put yourself on the table. You can achieve your dreams even in spaces that may not seem open to you yet.”
She also sees the role of institutions – government, the private sector and donors – as critical to creating an enabling environment. “We need stronger policies and national regulations to support renewable energy. And we need private companies to adopt greener, more sustainable practices in their business models.”
Felisbela particularly values the approach of the Australian Government, as shown by the BPP. “They’ve made gender equality and inclusion a key consideration that applies across all our works. That’s powerful because it pushes us to think deeply, act intentionally and include those who are often left behind.”
As Timor-Leste navigates the path toward sustainability and climate resilience, Felisbela is not only building infrastructure, she’s also building local leadership, shifting mindsets and making space for women to lead. “Even small steps can make a big impact,” she says.
With her heart in the highlands and her vision on a more equitable future, Felisbela Pires is helping shape a Timor-Leste where women and communities alike have the power to thrive.
Felisbela’s story is part of the broader partnership that is catalysing coffee through renewable energy for off-grid communities in Timor-Leste.
Across the region, women are stepping into roles that are reshaping how energy is generated, managed and shared. Their leadership is not only powering homes, schools and businesses with clean energy, it is building stronger, more resilient communities and showing what an inclusive energy future looks like.
We’re proud to showcase some of these remarkable leaders through our Women in Power series, which highlights women powering change through the Off-Grid Renewable Energy Partnerships program, delivered by the Business Partnerships Platform and supported by the Pacific Climate Infrastructure Financing Partnership (PCIFP), a $350 million Australian Government initiative delivered by the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP). These partnerships are pilots for REnew Pacific, the Australian Government’s $75 million investment in off-grid renewable energy for remote communities across the Pacific and Timor-Leste.
