Ngada Water Association title for Solar-powered water pump system with map of Flores, Indonesia, highlighting Ngada region.

NGADA WATER ASSOCIATION with GLOBAL WATER 501(c)3
Solar-Powered Water Pump System
Kampung Watu, Maghilewa, & Jere, Flores, NTT, Indonesia

Project Manager and report author: Malcolm Wyer

Click for report: full PDF (12.2 MB)

© 2025 Malcolm Wyer. All rights reserved.

Abstract

The Ngada Water Association is a local organization established to oversee the installation and long-term management of a solar-powered water-pump system that supplies drinking water to the villages of Watu, Maghilewa, and Jere in the Ngada–Bajawa region of Flores, NTT, Indonesia.

With financial management provided by Global Water (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit) and project management by Malcolm Wyer, this report outlines the process, design, installation, and stewardship of a sustainable infrastructure project across three traditional Ngada villages. It also reflects on areas of conflict— including a proposed tax system and an inter-village land dispute—highlighting the importance of participatory design and bottom-up decision-making, particularly when collaboration occurs across distinct cultural contexts.

Geospatial map of the Ngada people in Flores Indonesia, highlighting kampung watu maghilewa and jere and gunung inerie.

Fig 2.
Map of the Ngada Bajawa region of Flores, Indonesia, home to a distinctive culture marked by ancestral clans, matrilineal traditions, and iconic thatched ceremonial houses.

Satellite Map of proposed water system in Watu, Maghilewa, and Jere in Ngada Bajawa region of Flores Indonesia.

Fig 3.
Satellite map of three traditional Ngada villages—Watu, Maghilewa, and Jere—layered with the design of a new solar-powered system that will pump drinking water directly to each village.

Collage image and title card that outlines Watu, Maghilewa, and Jere villages having difficult access to drinking water in Flores, Indonesia.

Fig 4.
Watu, Maghilewa, and Jere sit on the southern slope of Inerie Volcano. They have a combined population of 600 residents, who carry water two kilometers from the spring to their homes.

Two young boys carry drinking water back to the houses in Maghilewa village in Flores, Indonesia.

Fig 5.
Two young boys arrive in Maghilewa village after carrying jugs of water two kilometers from a natural spring.

Design and budget for Lorentz water pumps and solar panels for Ngada Water Association in Flores, Indonesia, 2009..

Fig 6.
A diagram of the water system design and budget, including Kyocera solar panels and Lorentz water pumps. The design includes building five new cement water tanks.

Collection of photos from Maghilewa village Welcome Party in 2009 for Ngada Water Association and Malcolm Wyer water project.

Fig 7.
An elaborate welcome party featuring dancing, animal sacrifices, and eating celebrates the arrival of the American crew to the remote villages, kicking off the five-week project in 2009.

Malcolm Wyer notes 2009, reflecting on the cultural conditions of Maghilewa village welcome party in Ngada Bajawa region of Flores, Indonesia.

Fig 8.
Project notes by Malcolm Wyer emphasize the importance of speaking Indonesian, the local spirit of reciprocity, the special status of elder women, and the importance of tourguides to serve as cultural intermediaries.

Photo collage by Malcolm Wyer of PVC piping installation for solar-powered water pump system in Watu and Maghilewa villages in Flores, Indonesia.

Fig 9.
A photo collage of the Ngada Water Association’s cross-cultural team installing over five kilometers of PVC piping.

Photos of the buffalo and chicken sacrifices resolving a land dispute in Watu village during water system installation in Ngada region of Flores, Indonesia.

Fig 10.
A dispute brought by the clan that owns the land where the spring originates grinds work to a halt. Ultimately the sacrifice of chickens and a buffalo gets everyone onto the same team.

Malcolm Wyer's notes on the resolution of a land dispute in Watu Village in the Ngada Bajawa region of Flores, Indonesia.

Fig 11.
Project notes by Malcolm Wyer reflect on the importance of scheduling extra time to assure an inclusive dialogue for all stakeholders. Negotiating issues of consent is time-consuming but critical.

Photo collage of the installation of Solar Panels and Lorentz Water Pumps in Watu and Maghilewa villages in the Ngada Bajawa region of Flores, Indonesia.

Fig 12.
A photo collage depicts the members of the Ngada Water Association installing an array of Kyocera solar panels and two Lorentz water pumps into the newly constructed community water tank.

Photos from the Third Tax Meeting discussing water system maintenance in Watu Maghilewa villages in the Ngada Bajawa region of Flores, Indonesia, with Malcolm Wyer.

Fig 13.
In order to pay for the longterm maintenance of the system, the implementation of a tax system was debated over many weeks. Ultimately the organization decided that an equal monthly fee be collected from each ancestor house.

Notes from third tax meeting held on August 15, 2009, discussing water system maintenance, community trust, taxation, infrastructure, and decision-making.

Fig 14.
Project notes by Malcolm Wyer reflect on the process of collective decision-making surrounding the water system’s stewardship. Longterm maintenance is the most difficult and neglected step of community infrastructure projects.

Thanks to the local community connectors--Philipus Neri, Maximilianus Wago, Bapak Anton, Nikolaus Lagho--who were leaders in the installation of a 2009 solar powered water pump project in Watu and Maghilewa villages in Flores, Indonesia.

Fig 15.
The American crew is especially indebted to four community connectors who galvanized the project’s celebratory collective spirit: Philipus Neri, Maximilianus Wago, Bapak Anton, and Nikolaus Lagho.

People celebrating outside, engaged in a joyful water fight or splash, with some on a raised platform and others reaching up from below.

Fig 16.
Malcolm Wyer drenches Nikolaus Lagho on the first day that drinking water flows directly into Watu village.

A young girl in Maghilewa village fills water jugs after the completion of the solar-powered water pump system in the Ngada region of Flores, Indonesia.

Fig 17.
A young girl fills jugs of water at the new community water tank in Maghilewa village.

A list of the supporters and crew members for the Ngada Water Association 2009 project in Watu and Maghilewa villages in Flores, Indonesia.

Fig 18.
A special thanks to the financial contributions of the project’s supporters and the enthusiastic work of the project’s crew.

Photo of crew with Malcolm Wyer, Morgen Peck, Maximilanus Wago, Philipus Neri, Nikolaus Lagho, Tessa Karel, David Sutcliffe, Brett Van Deusen, Sigmund Lerner, Tim Brown, Taichi Nakatani, Alexandra Shaw-Doran, and Bapak Anton, Flores, Indonesia, 2009.

Fig 19.
A group photo of members of the Ngada Water Association on the porch of an ancestor house in Jere village.

Project crew:

Luke Julius
David Felix Sutcliffe
Alec Styborski
Brett Van Deusen
Kelapa Kepala
Ryan Metke
Sigmund Lerner
Tim Brown
Alexandra Shaw-Doran
John Putnam
Orian Welling
Remigius Penga
Anton Gale
Nikolaus Lagho
Teresa Archer
Taichi Nakatani
Philipus Neri
Maximilianus Wago
Mama Anas
Bapak Anton
Festus Nyadimo
Al Itchan
Dewa Newa
Mami Inoue
Philip Neto
Tessa Karel
Morgen Peck
Willem Doi
Tjeerd Wits

Project supporters:

Global Water 501(c)3
Carnegie Mellon University
Phyllis Blair
Sam McGraw
Ted Keupper
Stacey Battat
Nate Slevin
Shira Milikowsky
Laurie Harie
Stewart & Blair Anderson
Katrina Cary
Rufus Wyer
Douglass Trumbull
Mary Dunn
Chris Lindstrom
Cynthia Putnam
Dike Blair
Joan Dix Blair
Mildred Putnam
Sam Pontrelli
Thomas Piper