Empowering local women and enabling greater access to clean energy and water in Kiribati

A partnership to empower local women and enable greater access to clean energy and water in Kiribati.

Context

The remote island of Aranuka, with a population of 1,057, is one of the hottest and most drought-prone of the islands of Kiribati. On the island, there is very limited access to potable water. Women are impacted most by this, because they are primarily responsible for collecting and treating water, and undertaking the tasks that use most of the available water. On Aranuka, women spend between 4 – 6 hours a day collecting water using buckets and hand pumps.

Aranuka does not have grid electricity and current sources of power generation, when available, are non-renewable, carbon-emitting, and expensive. Lack of access to electricity and water impacts health and livelihoods, challenges this partnership seeks to address.

About the initiative

The 22-month partnership sets out to empower local women to enable greater access to electricity and water on Kiribati’s remote outer island, Aranuka.

It will deliver an off-grid energy solution on Aranuka using a model that is locally appropriate, sustainable over the long term, builds the capacity of women, and provides solar- powered energy to communities that do not currently have access to electricity.

It aims to improve access to fresh water, as well as safe and renewable energy, helping children better engage in education and allowing greater productivity, economic activity, and practice of culture, among community members. It will achieve this by supplying and installing low-maintenance solar-powered portable batteries, as well as solar powered water pumps and water storage tanks, and establishing women-led infrastructure management committees who are trained in maintaining the equipment. It will also establish a household levy scheme to provide funding for the initiative over the long term.

Key contributions from partners

• Action on Poverty project manages this partnership, providing a range of capacity-building supports to partners to ensure strong systems, processes, and compliance, and to ensure gender equality and social inclusion are paramount
• Foundation for the Peoples of the South Pacific brings knowledge of the context, extensive experience in community development and connection with target communities to ensure a locally-relevant approach. It liaises with key stakeholders, such as the Aranuka Island Council, management committees, and communities to ensure the partnership delivers impact to those who need it most.
• The Australian Government will contribute catalytic funding. It will also connect partners to networks, provide support through the BPP in gender and disability inclusion, business models, safeguards and impact measurement, as well as support with communications to enable national and global recognition.

Hear from our partners

Ruiti Aretaake | Program Coordinator, Foundation for the Peoples of South Pacific Kiribati

“It is excellent that we can promote women’s leadership through supporting essential access to electricity and water in the community. By working with women-led management committees, we can ensure the long-term sustainability of the solar-powered systems.” Ruiti Aretaake | Program Coordinator, Foundation for the Peoples of South Pacific Kiribati

Brayden Howie | Chief Executive Officer, Action on Poverty

“This exciting project enables us to develop an inclusive and sustainable business development model led by local communities, and able to be replicated on the outer islands of Kiribati and beyond. The initiative will also help build climate resilience by ensuring clean energy and water for communities living at the forefront of the climate crisis.”  Brayden Howie | Chief Executive Officer, Action on Poverty

This partnership was selected through the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) Call for Partnerships to Support Off-Grid Renewable Energy in the Pacific and Timor-Leste.