The ground is ready

Note: This is part 1 of 8 field notes from a solar home system assessment my team conducted in remote communities in Palawan. Details that could identify the service provider and specific project have been redacted to protect the integrity of the work. The observations and reflections here are my own.

The four households I visited in a sitio in Palawan received me in Bisaya—my language, their language—and somehow that made everything easier. Not just the interview but the trust. I had come to assess a solar home system initiative that was already woven into their daily routines, and they spoke about it the way you speak about something you’d miss when it’s gone.

One household had maximized what their subscription allowed—three lights, a TV, and a speaker. They mentioned they could add an electric fan. They just don’t have one yet. Meanwhile, two other households used the same subscription tier for light and phone charging alone. Same service. Different lives.

At another sitio, I spoke with an operator who had been closely monitoring the unit servicing and replacement. Her assessment was precise: the only thing that would keep the solar home system sustainable, she said, is stock availability. Not the panels. Not the fees. The replacement parts. If someone’s light breaks or battery stops charging and nothing comes, the whole promise starts to unravel—and she’d already seen the waiting begin.

The focus group discussion in Teneguiban proper felt different from the individual interviews. The neighborhood was openly warm—visibly believers in the initiative. They weren’t just satisfied users. They were advocates. They talked about encouraging neighbors who hadn’t subscribed yet, pointing to affordability as the argument they’d already been making on the service’s behalf. Some even asked whether higher-capacity panels would become available. They weren’t waiting to be convinced. They were ready to grow.

Perhaps the most unexpected part of the assessment came from a barangay official who supports the initiative—and who told our colleague, carefully, that other local officials are losing faith. Not because the service is failing. But because the Barangay Captain has started voicing his non-support, and that withdrawal is enough to make colleagues hesitate.

What struck me was the gap. The community wants more. They want higher-capacity panels, broader coverage, and a service that grows with them. And yet the political layer above them is quietly pulling in the opposite direction.

This is what field assessments are for I suppose: to make visible what numbers alone can’t show. The ground is ready. The question is whether the structure above it will hold.