In the remote, over-the-water village of Muara Enggelam in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, the introduction of reliable solar energy has become a catalyst for female entrepreneurship and economic stability.
Historically cut off from basic services and reliant on expensive, noisy diesel generators that ran only from dusk to dawn, the village underwent a transformation starting in 2015 following a solar power allocation from Indonesia’s energy ministry, reports Mongabay Indonesia contributor Yuda Almerio.
For women like Asniah, a mother of three, 24-hour electricity thanks to a solar array meant the ability to scale a home business. She began using electric blenders to produce amplang (fish crackers), a task that was previously difficult due to the high cost and unreliability of diesel fuel. “Using a blender was a bit of a worry, because the fuel would run out quickly,” Asniah told Mongabay Indonesia. “A liter [of diesel] wouldn’t last an hour — now it’s much more convenient.”
Asniah has since expanded her ventures to include a food stall and a digital boutique, utilizing social media for marketing.
Muara Enggelam’s solar infrastructure is managed by a village-owned enterprise, BUMDes, led by Jam’ah, a mother of one. This makes it a rare example of female leadership in the energy sector; the United Nations Development Program estimates that women make up less than 5% of energy managers in Indonesia. “Using a generator was expensive, that’s why so few people started businesses,” Jam’ah said. “The solar energy has been a relief for people.”
While Muara Enggelam serves as a successful pilot, rural energy inequality remains a significant hurdle across Indonesia. A 2026 report by NGOs Celios and Greenpeace revealed that the energy transition in rural areas has largely stalled, with the number of villages and subdistricts using at least some household solar power declining by 26.4% between 2021 and 2024. This decline is attributed to structural challenges, including a lack of local technicians, limited power capacity, and government fossil fuel subsidies that favor traditional energy sources.
Despite national electrification rates reaching 99%, at least hundreds of thousands of households in remote Indonesian islands remain without electricity. While Muara Enggelam has successfully expanded its capacity to 80 Kilowatt Peak through community fees and government support, many other rural and eastern regions continue to lag significantly behind urban centers.
Read the full story in Indonesian by Yuda Almerio here.
Read the full story in English by Yuda Almerio here.
Banner image: Rows of solar panels installed in Muara Enggelam. The energy from this has now become the primary source sustaining the residents’ lives and economic activities. Image by Yuda Almerio/Mongabay Indonesia.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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