Amount matched by UK aid: $10,000 

We're very pleased to say that $10,000 for this campaign was match funded by the UK Government. 

Thank you to everyone that jumped in and supported us to make this happen! 

New target:: $39,500

We've been blown away by the support you've created - but realise that $28,000 was the very minimum we needed to light up the first 100 homes in Quelicai. With your support, we can do more. 

With $39,500, we can: 

• light up an additional 30 homes in Quelicai;
• benefit an additional 200 people;
• train an extra 2 solar technicians to service 2 villages; and 
• provide more ongoing monitoring and support for village committees over the next 2 years.

About Alternative Technology Association 

The Alternative Technology Association (ATA) is an Australian, not-for-profit organisation that enables, represents, and inspires people to live sustainably in their homes and communities. Since 2003, the ATA, our volunteers and partners have been working with East Timorese communities to provide clean, renewable lighting and electricity. 

Light Up Quelicai will address energy poverty for 100 households (about 700 people) in Quelicai, a remote and under-developed area of East Timor. We will provide solar-powered lighting and mobile phone charging to these 100 homes that will not be connected to the electricity grid. Local technicians will be trained to install and repair the solar systems and a village committee will be supported to manage the scheme, including a maintenance fund.

You have a unique opportunity to support our campaign and increase your impact through the commitment by UK Aid to match the funding we raise from our supporters. With your support, we can unlock $10,000 of match funding from the UK Government and light up the first 100 homes in Quelicai. 

East Timor is a least developed country.  Many rural communities live in remote and inaccessible areas with poor access to essential services. Today about 35% of households do not have access to electricity. Energy poverty causes ill-health and environmental degradation, limits economic growth and contributes to poor education. Rural households often depend on kerosene and candles for lighting, the price of which is a burden on families’ limited income, meaning many have no light source after dark.

The ATA has overseen the installation of more than 1700 household solar systems in East Timor and 180 village-based technicians have been trained to install and maintain them. We have worked closely with the Government of East Timor to identify which houses are in need of our assistance. We work with local partners and are committed to local ownership and skills development.

The project will provide environmental, health, educational and economic benefits to the people of Quelicai. With 4 extra hours of light in the evenings, children can study, adults can work and do jobs normally left for the next day, while everyone feels safer in their home.......and nobody has to breathe in the fumes from kerosene.  

“The solar light is clean, it doesn’t stain my clothes. We can see what comes into our house now… our food is safe.”

"Life is better with the solar light… my family is safer. The children can study at night and their eyes don’t hurt anymore while they study.”

“The solar light is good for us. It is less expensive than the kerosene. We used to pay $10 and we also had to get to the shop.”

With your help, Light up Quelicai will achieve the following outcomes: 

• Improved environment - Provision of clean energy with no fumes or ongoing waste..
• Improved health - Household members, especially children, experience fewer health problems by
reducing the use of kerosene and indoor wood burning for lighting.
• Improved learning outcomes - School children have increased opportunity to engage in study after dark.
• Improved security - family members, especially women and children, feel more secure in their homes
due to improved lighting at night and increased phone connectivity.
• Improved economic wellbeing - Households generate new income and save money previously spent on
fuels for lighting.

You have a unique opportunity to increase your impact through the commitment by UK Aid to match the funding we raise from our supporters. With your support, we can unlock $10,000 of match funding from the UK Government. 

In 2017, with your help, we can Light up Quelicai!

Supported By:

Update on stretch target: 

It will cost $51,500 to light up the first 130 homes in Quelicai. 

With $29,500 from our supporters, matched with $10,000 from UK Aid, and with $12,000 of our own funds, we can light up an additional 30 homes (benefitting an additional 200 people), train 2 more solar technicians and provide more ongoing support for village committees to manage the scheme into the future. 

Light up Quelicai budget:

It will cost $40,000 to light up the first 100 homes in Quelicai. This will cover the cost of the solar systems which have been designed specifically for the context in East Timor, plus the cost of freight, grants to our local partners for technical training and community engagement, project management, travel, admin and contingency. 

With $18,000 from our supporters, matched with $10,000 from UK Aid ,and with $12,000 of our own funds, we can Light up Quelicai!

With $40K, we can:

• provide solar-powered lighting and mobile phone charging to 100 off-grid homes, benefiting up to 700 people
• train 4 local solar technicians to maintain and repair those solar systems
• support the community to manage the scheme through a village committee
• continue to monitor the project and evaluate the outcomes into the future

If we are successful, any additional funding raised by the ATA will simply increase the number of households benefitting from the scheme in Quelicai. If we raise more than our target, we will light up more homes!

East Timor is a mountainous country with poor roads and many villages are hard to access, particularly in the wet season. Getting equipment to East Timor is slow and expensive and there are frequent delays. To manage these risks, the ATA works with local organisations that are well tuned to the context and have a strong sense of thinking on their feet. We always plan to do installations in the dry season, and check local conditions before we embark on any journey.

An inherent risk associated with this project lies with the community ownership and management model. People could lose confidence in the committee and stop paying into the fund if the committee is slow to organise repairs or mismanages the money. Having an experienced local organisation, Natiles, working with the community is crucial to provide ongoing mentoring to and monitoring of committees and ensure household satisfaction with the project. 

A further challenge is long term retention of locally trained technicians. It is common for young people with new skills to leave their communities in search of paid work in Dili the capital city. We intend to mitigate this risk through ensuring the technicians have sufficient work (regular, paid maintenance visits) to keep them engaged and financially compensated, and also encouraging communities to consider more diverse selection criteria for the technicians, for example women and older people who are more likely to stay in their community.