Note: This is part 3 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 households farthest from the sitio proper are mostly farmers. They live where connecting to the grid becomes technically complicated and, more honestly, economically inconvenient. Solar power isn’t offered to them out of some deliberate inclusion agenda. Rather, it’s simply the most viable option when the alternative costs too much to justify.
What struck me was how modest the need is. Most of these households barely have appliances. What they need, at the end of the day, is light—and enough battery to keep a phone alive.
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