After clean energy, OREEi brings clean water to Malalison island community

Phnom Penh, August 13, 2021 – Nexus for Development, as a Kiva field partner raised USD 50,000 for OREEi to build a solar-powered water desalination plant and provide clean water to the community of 200 households.

In the Philippines, there are still 1,700 islands without reliable access to clean energy and clean water solutions. OREEi’s pilot project on Malalison island is demonstrating how these challenges could be overcome step-by-step, from providing access to renewable energy to developing productive use of renewable energy.

On the remote island of Malalison, the community still relies on rainwater catchments during the rainy season and purely on plastic bottles imported from the mainland during the dry season. Through a small-scale solar-powered water desalination plant, the water will be three times cheaper than imported drinking water. This solution will directly improve health and sanitation in the community while avoiding plastic waste from bottles and alleviating social tensions that may arise from the management of a scarce freshwater resource on the island.

Over 3 years, the plant is expected to supply 6,000 m³ of drinking water and generate over USD 38,000 in income for the women entrepreneurs managing the distribution.

This solar-powered water desalination plant requires an investment of USD 63,000, of which OREEI is committing USD 13,000 with their own funds. Once OREEi has recovered their investment from the water distribution, the plant will be transferred to the local community. 

About Kiva

Kiva is the world’s most popular crowdfunding platform with a mission to alleviate poverty by connecting people through lending. Through crowd-funding, early-stage enterprises are able to tap a broader network of smaller, individual lenders that they otherwise would not have been able to access.

Nexus for Development is a Field Partner of Kiva, meaning that we are able to raise loans up to USD 50,000 for social enterprises that would have been ineligible for a listing due to restricted geography.

About Nexus for Development

Nexus for Development is an international not-for-profit organization founded on the principles of sustainable development. We drive access to finance in developing economies across Asia to increase sustainable energy and water resource development, advance low-carbon solutions, and scale local implementers.

For more information please contact: contact@nexusfordevelopment.org