Solar desalination and ice project reshapes water access on Papagarang

Labuan Bajo — A solar-powered desalination and ice-making initiative on Papagarang Island aims to supply freshwater and ice to local fishing communities and tourism operators using brackish seawater, building on technology and business support provided by Tinamitra Mandiri and its partners since 2018.

The project operates under the Komodo Water brand and is described by the Swiss Re Foundation as a social enterprise whose value proposition is to be the exclusive provider of freshwater and ice blocks for fishing communities in the Komodo National Park area, including Papagarang and surrounding small islands, using solar-powered systems.

The initiative received coaching and grant support from the Swiss Re Foundation to develop its business model, organisational set-up and install core machinery, with the foundation reporting that these objectives were achieved during the project period.

An earlier pilot phase focusing on solar-powered ice production for fishing communities was designed under a public–private partnership involving GIZ’s EnDev Indonesia programme, equipment manufacturer AIREF Indonesia and PT Tinamitra Mandiri. The 2017 EnDev report identifies Papagarang Island as the pilot site and states that the partners expected to begin installing and operating a solar-powered ice block machine using environmentally friendly cooling technology by mid to late 2018.

The same document notes that Papagarang is a fisher village on a small island with potential landings of at least two tonnes of fish per day and limited existing large-scale block ice production.

Solar desalination for Papagarang

Komodo Water’s freshwater component relies on solar-powered reverse osmosis technology. A site visit report on Komodo Water’s operations describes the use of an Osmosun brackish water desalination system powered by solar panels, producing clean drinking water directly from local brackish sources.

According to a technical reference circulated by Akuo and Mascara and hosted by Nazava, the first solar desalination installation on Papagarang produces around 5 cubic metres of drinking water per day using 100 percent solar energy and is operated locally by the community.

The same reference highlights that this installation is designed to provide more affordable drinking water access for island residents.

Additional detail on the technology is provided by Osmosun, which lists a turnkey OSMOSUN TAPS brackish water desalination solution on Papagarang using a 5 kW solar generator to treat brackish water with a salinity of around 10 grams per litre. These descriptions, together with accounts from Komodo Water and its partners, indicate that the system is intended to reduce reliance on imported freshwater delivered by boat from the mainland.

Water, ice and fishing livelihoods

Several sources link Komodo Water’s activities to broader efforts to support fishing livelihoods and tourism while reducing environmental impacts. The World Bank’s Ideas for Action competition materials state that Komodo Water focuses on providing fresh water and ice blocks for fishers using efficient reverse-osmosis and ice-block machines powered by solar energy, and that in 2019 the enterprise switched its reverse-osmosis equipment from diesel to a fully solar-powered system.

A sustainability awards publication from the B20 process describes Komodo Water’s program on Papagarang as combining brackish water desalination with an ice flakes machine, delivering more than 106,000 gallons of water up to July 2022 and about 140 kilograms of ice packs per day, while creating local jobs and reducing single-use plastic waste.

The same B20 document reports that Komodo Water’s solar-powered ice machine produces around 200 kilograms of plastic-free ice blocks per day and processes HDPE plastic waste into recycled products for sale. These accounts, together with descriptions from Komodo Water’s partners, frame the Papagarang initiative as part of a strategy to support sustainable fisheries and tourism by improving access to clean water, refrigeration and waste management in a remote island setting.

Community role and reach

Academic research on Papagarang Island notes that Komodo Water supplies desalinated water to the village-owned enterprise BUMDes Berkah Tangguh, which then markets the water locally, and that partnerships include plastic waste recycling and plans for ice production. The same study states that collaboration on solar-powered desalination with Akuo Energi Indonesia has been underway since 2018, and estimates that around 1,500 people could gain access to clean drinking water from the system, with about 5 cubic metres of water sold per day through the BUMDes and profits distributed to the community.

These descriptions indicate an evolving community-linked ownership and distribution model, with local organisations involved in retailing desalinated water and managing recycled plastic products. While figures on total households served and the full scale of ice distribution vary between sources, the available material consistently presents the Papagarang initiative as a solar-powered, community-integrated approach to freshwater and ice provision for fishing communities and tourism operators in and around Komodo National Park.

Sources

• Swiss Re Foundation – Tinamitra Mandiri: Fresh water supply for Indonesian fishing communities
• GIZ EnDev Indonesia Annual Report 2017 (PDF)
• Nazava – First solar desalination project in Indonesia, Papagarang project reference (PDF)
• Solar PV Study Site Visit Report – Komodo Water (PDF on Scribd)
• Osmosun – Papagarang Island OSMOSUN TAPS project page
• Journal of Indonesian Tourism and Policy Studies Vol. 7 No. 1 2022 – article on Papagarang Island development
• World Bank – Ideas for Action 2019: Financing Sustainable Development (Komodo Water entry)
• B20 Sustainability 4.0 Awards Book (PDF) – Komodo Water case
• LinkedIn – Fakhri Guniar profile and project description for Komodo Water
• Atmosfair – Indonesia: Solar powered water desalination plant on Papagarang
• Komodo Water – Fresh Water Supply for Indonesian Fishing Communities