JP/20/CLAUS
JP/20/CLAUS
German engineer remains loyal to Kupang locals
Yemris Fointuna
The Jakarta Post/Kupang
Modest in appearance, polite and open in his attitude as well as
fluent in Indonesian, Dr Claus Jurgen Dauselt was born in Munich,
Germany, on Jan. 13, 1955.
He also speaks a little Dawan, the language of West Timor. He
graduated in 1985 in engineering at Munich University,
specializing in development management.
He has dedicated 15 years of his life to Indonesia, especially
East Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Maluku, as well as
East Timor (formerly Indonesia's 27th province), and some other
southeast Asian countries.
Known as Claus o locals, he is well-known to rural people in
East Nusa Tenggara and several other areas. He is regarded in
these places as a hero, as the benefits of his work are enjoyed
by poor communities in over 90 remote villages in Indonesia.
He came to Indonesia in Sept. 1989 as an engineering
consultant for a clean water sanitation project, the fruit of
cooperation between the Indonesian and German governments. Once
here, he decided to leave behind the buzz of the metropolis in
his country, give up his European, bourgeois lifestyle and live
with the poor community in the places where he was assigned.
Thanks to his persistence and achievement, he was later named
head of the South-East Asia Representative Office of Wind Guard,
a German company with an international license dealing
specifically in the renewable energy technology.
Despite this elevated position, Claus, who is married to Susi
MD. Katipana, prefers to have his office in Kupang. "I can work
more peacefully here as it is far from noise sources. My working
territory covers the whole of southeast Asia, but I don't want to
have my office in Bali, Jakarta or Singapore.
"I prefer to live among villagers. I can joke with them, share
love with them and we can appreciate one another," he said at his
beautiful home in Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan, Kota Baru, Kupang.
There is nothing better in this life than doing good for those
who need care and love. It has come as no surprise, therefore,
that his work deals with topics such as solar energy, clean water
sanitation facilities, public latrines and aid for natural
disaster victims.
The fruits of his work have been enjoyed in many a village.
"Many people say that East Nusa Tenggara is poor, barren and dry.
God, however, has bestowed this region with a lot of solar heat
and wind. This potential cannot be found anywhere else. So, why
don't we tap this potential for the welfare of the locals?" he
asked.
Claus said Indonesia was once recorded as one of the world's
largest oil exporters. Today, however, it has become an oil-
importing country. This shows that there is a decrease in the
world's natural oil and gas reserves and that some day these
reserves will be depleted.
This great concern has prompted him to help people in East
Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan, Maluku and Sulawesi to be able to tap
the potential of solar heat and the wind as a source of
environmentally friendly alternative energy.
As a specialist in development management with an engineering
background, Claus has carried out wind surveys in Kupang, Rote
Ndao and Central South Timor regencies and also in several other
regencies in Maluku.
He then established a wind database for the construction of a
power-generating turbine -- the largest in Indonesia and the most
sophisticated in South-East Asia.
This wind power is utilized as a source of renewable energy, a
way of addressing the fuel crisis, and has also been used to
distil seawater into fresh water, a response to the shortage of
potable water in most parts of Indonesia.
"I visited many villages. Most complain about a lack of water
and electricity. I have told them they have great solar heat and
wind potential. Then there is technology to overcome the shortage
of water and electricity.
We can build a turbine. The government has said that it is
impossible to build a diesel-powered, electricity-generating
station in many villages due to high cost and difficult
topography. We helped the villages by providing them with solar
power," said Claus, whose son is Ulrich Benyamin Frederick
Dauselt.
In advanced countries, he said, electricity was essential
because it allowed people to work night and day. Thanks to
electricity, people can make use of technology to build their
businesses.
Electricity also allows children to study in a more peaceful
way. Besides, thanks to electricity and communications
technology, the community can keep up with the latest
information. East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, rural areas of
Kalimantan, Papua and several other regions are still considered
the least developed due to a lack of electricity.
"Take Oeledo village, Rote Ndao regency, East Nusa Tenggara,
for example. Before 2001, this village was really isolated. We
have helped this village with solar power. At first each family
earned less than Rp 60,000 but now their income has risen to over
Rp 500,000.
"These villagers make use of electricity for their home
industry. They can use electronic gadgets. They also have public
telephones and can communicate with the outside world," he noted.
Claus, who has also collected over 6,000 traditional ikat
(tie-dyed) woven fabrics from various regions, suggested that
Indonesia, which is a tropical country, most of whose territory
is dry, should move swiftly to alternative energy as a source of
electricity.
"Many advanced countries like Germany, Denmark, Britain, the
United States and many others in Europe, have, since the early
1980s, campaigned for the use of alternative energy. More than 10
percent of the energy requirements in these countries is supplied
by wind turbines and solar power. Their climate is different to
Indonesia's. You have only wet and dry seasons in this country,"
he said.
Perhaps, owing to his great love for Indonesia, and
particularly because of his partiality with the poor, smiling
Claus has repeatedly refused to be transferred to Europe and
Africa.
As the driving force of Wind Guard in southeast Asia, he
controls the operations of this famous company in Kupang, a
rocky, dry and barren city.