Clean water flows at a school in Negros Occidental thanks to solar power
MANILA, Philippines – Almost a year has passed since a village school in Hinobaan, Negros Occidental, went solar and improved not only their water access, but the children’s learning experience.
Julibeth Pacurib, teacher-in-charge of Damutan Elementary School in Hinobaan, said water access has long been a problem for them due to their location. The nearest water source is a hundred meters away, said Pacurib, and the water pumps they have used were unreliable due to power shortages.
Solar panels installed with help from several organizations in 2025 have helped power the entire school, providing clean water and improving hygiene education.
Damutan Elementary School has seven teachers, including Pacurib, and 171 students from kindergarten to Grade 6. The two-hectare campus has a two-story building with eight classrooms.
“There are many positive effects that this brought our school, especially during summer. During this time, our activities are continuous,” Pacurib told Rappler in a call. “Our comfort rooms can be used since water [system] is functional.”
The government requires that schools have regular supply of clean water for drinking as well as handwashing, menstrual hygiene management, and toilet flushing.
Pacurib said the unreliable water supply at the school forced children to bring their own water for handwashing.
“Before, when we didn’t have a permanent water supply, our community, the children and, of course, the staff had difficulty getting water,” said Pacurib. “What we did before was have the children bring water from their homes in 1.5-liter bottles, which they used at school for handwashing.”
Pacurib had been in talks since 2024 with the non-governmental organization Negrosanon Young Leaders Institute (NYLI) about the project. NYLI was already familiar with the school’s water shortage, Pacurib said, after working with the school during the COVID-19 pandemic to donate hygiene kits and medical supplies.
For the project, NYLI worked with the regional office of the Department of Education to install a six-kilowatt solar photovoltaic hybrid system with a water pump in October 2025.
Almost a year since solar installation, life in the school is made better.
Work on the ground
The role of NGOs working on the ground is invaluable in identifying the needs of remote communities, said Coleen Awit of NYLI. She said the group provided the school with water filters when it first saw the school’s need for a reliable water supply.
A grant opportunity with the Honnold Foundation came up in 2024, and the group eventually “discovered the potential of solar energy to power a water pump and support the energy needs of the school.” Awit is the project manager of NYLI’s community solarization initiative, Project REConnect.
“Because apart from water scarcity, they are also facing frequent power interruption challenges and often receives delayed response due to their geographical area,” Awit told Rappler.
NYLI has other solar power projects in communities beyond Damutan. Grants from international funders have made community projects like this possible for groups such as NYLI.
“Given the climate situation, there are now many opportunities for renewable energy and just energy transition projects especially for underprivileged communities,” said Awit.
Other solar power projects of NYLI include “a youth facility in a fisherfolk community in San Enrique that is also equipped with post-harvest technologies” and another project that powers “37 households in an upland off-grid farming community in Don Salvador Benedicto.”
Their grantor, the Honnold Foundation, is led by professional rock climber Alex Honnold. The foundation seeks to expand access to solar energy and provides grants to NGOs supporting communities.
Another project it supported in the Philippines is a farm in the Cordillera, where solar arrays and solar-powered water pumps replaced a diesel-powered generator. – Rappler.com
Quotes translated to English for brevity.
