They Are No Longer Without Light

For decades, the nights in three hamlets of Cikawung Village—Grabyak, Pasir Toroh, and Cagak Dua—were filled with silence and darkness. Residents lived without electricity, relying solely on traditional oil lamps called cempor or damar for light. The village’s remote location, accessible only via long, dusty stone roads that become treacherous when it rains, underscored their isolation. Most residents are sharecroppers on state forestry company land, growing rice and mangoes and depending entirely on the harvest season. During the dry months, women could only hope their husbands would find work outside the home and return with wages. The vast distances between houses made it difficult for the electricity grid to reach the scattered settlements. Now, light has entered their lives, bringing new hope and rekindled dreams. Thanks to the ‘Rumah Terang’ (Bright Home) programme initiated by the National Amil Zakat Agency (Baznas), 102 families in the three hamlets have finally received lighting through solar panel installations. For 45-year-old Onoh, the light illuminating her home is a luxury she never stops being grateful for, having lived in darkness for 25 years. ‘We usually relied on cempor at night. The light was dim, it produced a lot of smoke, and we had to buy the oil,’ she said, gazing at the lamp now brightening her living room. For years, her family’s activities were dictated by the sun. As dusk fell, housework had to be finished quickly, children studied with inadequate lighting, and family time was cut short as darkness enveloped the home. Now, the solar-powered lamps provide not only light but also a sense of safety and comfort. Children can study at night, parents can be active longer, and homes once lost in darkness now radiate life. Another resident, 52-year-old Emik, sees the solar panel lamps as the beginning of the change they have long awaited. For her, light is not just illumination but a symbol of a better future. The Rumah Terang programme, a collaboration between Baznas and the Limar (Listrik Mandiri Rakyat) movement, provides environmentally friendly and sustainable energy to families in remote areas. For the people of Cikawung, night is no longer synonymous with limitation. Homes once lit only by oil lamps now shine with light from solar panels installed on their roofs. The collaboration utilises Limar’s innovation, initiated by Bandung resident Ujang Koswara, to provide proper lighting access to communities lacking electricity. The programme is one of Baznas’s 13 priority initiatives to distribute the benefits of zakat, infak, and sedekah funds for the welfare of the poor. Limar lamps were developed to address ‘light poverty’, a condition where communities lack adequate lighting due to the absence of an electricity grid, particularly in remote areas. Each household receives one lighting installation package consisting of a solar panel, five lamps, a battery, and cabling. Although the lamps have a capacity of only 1 watt, they produce illumination equivalent to a 10-watt lamp and have a lifespan of over 10 years. The LED lamps, developed since 2008, have been used in various regions across Indonesia. Maintenance is simple, requiring only that the solar panels be cleaned every three months. In addition to providing lighting, the production of Limar lamps involves students from several Islamic boarding schools, local youth, and former convicts who have completed skills training programmes. Baznas Chairman Sodik Mujahid stated that the Rumah Terang programme is part of the agency’s efforts to improve the quality of life in remote areas. He noted that access to energy is a basic need that can open more opportunities for community development. ‘Electricity is not just about lighting; it also opens access to education, increases family economic productivity, and improves the quality of life,’ he said. He expressed hope that the arrival of electricity in Cikawung Village would ignite the community’s spirit to continue building a more prosperous and independent life. The programme, which has a national target of reaching 452 families, is initially focusing on 102 families in Indramayu, with the possibility of expanding to thousands of other homes still living without light.