Tsinga village gets water reservoir

Markus Mardius, Contributor, Tembagapura, Titmice, Irian Jaya

A mountain water reservoir constructed by the residents of Tsinga village has become a source of pride, and water, for the inhabitants.

Located some 100 kilometers, or a 15-minute helicopter flight, from Tembagapura, the reservoir took six months to complete.

Titus Oktavianus Potereyauw, the regent of Timika, expressed his admiration for the work of the villagers when he officiated over a dedication ceremony for the reservoir recently.

"I ask that other villages undertake the same type of project. Hopefully, the expert from Yayasan Karya Mandiri (YKMI) of East Java can share his knowledge and skills with other villages," the regent said.

Potereyauw, accompanied by Andreas Anggaibak of the local parliament, also advised the residents of Tsinga to make good use of the water reservoir.

"The mountain water reservoir that has been built should be well maintained. And maintaining it will not be as easy as you think," stressed Potereyauw, who also donated some clothes to the locals.

Bambang Wibisono, a representative of PT Freeport Indonesia, said the water reservoir project demonstrated the close cooperation between the Public Development Institute (LPMI) and Freeport Indonesia.

"PT Freeport is really concerned about the development of the locals surrounding the company," he said.

Water from the reservoir is currently being distributed to 52 houses. Other houses which are now being built will also receive water.

Yopie Kilangin, the head of LPMI, said villages adjacent to Freeport Indonesia would receive priority in development projects.

He said he expected those locals who were sent to YKMI in East Java for training would be able to improve their skills in the future.

Six residents of Tsinga spent three months in East Java learning about reservoirs and taps.

A source close to the project said the cost of the reservoir was Rp 180 million. This money was used to purchase materials and pay the labor costs.

"The water reservoir was constructed by locals. In the future there will be other development projects to be completed. For this reason, the inhabitants of Tsinga are asked to manage and maintain (the reservoir)," said Yopie.

The original idea for the reservoir came from the inhabitants of Tsinga, who previously had to travel long distances to obtain clean water.

"It was quite a long way to get water. Every day, people here had to go up into the mountains to get water," said Philipus Kum, who headed the project.

However, the construction of the reservoir had its own problems as well. Not all residents approved of the project, mainly because they did not think they had sufficient funding to complete the work.

But when LPMI took over the project, some of these concerns began to disappear. Still, it took another year to convince all of the residents of the viability of the reservoir.

The expert from YKMI used an approach that encouraged the locals to formulate the problems with the project and learn how to solve the problems by applying local solutions, thus enabling them to develop the project themselves.

This approach will also help residents maintain the water reservoir on their own.

Work on the reservoir began in March 2000. The first steps included informing all the residents of the project, forming committees and completing a comparative study in Pacitan, East Java.

After this preliminary work was completed, the actual construction began. And six months later the reservoir was finished.

Of course, now the residents of Tsinga are obliged to pay monthly water bills, beginning in January 2002.

"If they are late in paying their bills, the tap will be turned off and they won't receive any water. So it depends on them paying the bills," said Philipus Kum.

He went on to say: "Those who are receiving water must pay Rp 5,000 a month. This figure was reached by consensus, and everyone agreed to comply with it."