Electrification and Oyster Update

ELECTRICITY

The official quotation to extend the electricity grid to our village arrived in my mailbox this week!

This is how it breaks down:

Total cost:                                                             $696,295.00
The government will cover 95% of the cost:       $661,480.00
The community contribution will be 5%:            $  34,815.00
Divide by 129 households:                                   $      266.00/house

This includes overhead power lines and internal wiring in 129 households.

The fundraising will be discussed in the February village meeting. It will be a major committment by community members to raise the money. The quotation expires at the end of the year. The quicker we can raise the money, the quicker the project can happen. (Especially crucial since there are elections for the first time in ages this year).


PEARL OYSTERS

We went out to check the pearl oyster lines this week. They are suspended about 5 meters below the surface. The lines were in good shape with no buoys missing. There was an awful lot of algae though, so we're waiting for feedback from Department of Fisheries as to whether or not we need to clean the line. Cleaning will either require the use of SCUBA or a lot of strong lunged free-divers.

Electrification of the Village

One major project we are working on is to bring electricity to the village. Last year the Department of Energy gave us a quotation for how much we would have to contribute to extend the grid from Nabouwalu to reach us. They only surveyed the main village and didn't include any of our seven settlements. Over half the people in our community live in the surrounding settlements.

We recently submitted a request for a new survey to be done that would include all the settlements as well, arguing for inclusive development. We will only have to raise 5% for the total project and the government will donate the rest. We raised a motion in the District meeting yesterday to get the local government's support for electrification. They said they would support us and ask someone to come to our next village meeting to talk about it.

One the way back from the meeting, a man was stopped on the road and already surveying the village! He was drawing a scheme plan with all the houses and connecting lines.

Hopefully by this time next year all 117-ish houses in our community will have electricity! While it takes some of the romance away from living in a rural coastal village, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one there who looks at it that way. Everyone is looking forward to it as an improvement to the standard of living. It will also hopefully  help bring the settlements and the village together, as often the settlements are left out of big projects.

I guess I wouldn't complain if I could have a small refrigerator! Dreams of yogurt, cheese, and cold beer are filling my head!