Reports Database:
Light Up Oecusse Phase 3 Impact Assessment

“Kopernik, in partnership with Fundasaun Esperanza Enclave Oecusse (FEEO) made 2,339 more solar lights available in Oecusse in the third phase of the Light Up Oecusse project, 1,316 d.light S250 and 1,023 d.light S10 solar lanterns. Kopernik also teamed up with d.light to design and conduct a training workshop for all FEEO staff members to master maintenance and repair skills for d.light products.

Kopernik Fellow Fita Arief went to Oecusse in early 2012 to monitor the project’s progress and conduct impact surveys.

Oecusse is an isolated enclave on the north coast of Timor, bordered by the Indonesian territory of West Timor. Approximately 45 percent of Oecusse’s population of 64,000 live below the poverty line. Almost every household in the enclave reports that there is at least one month each year when they do not have enough food to eat.

Lighting in Oecusse is a pressing problem. Very few people have access to electricity. At the time Kopernik launched the Light Up Oecusse project, 92 percent of households relied on fuel-powered kerosene or gas lamps for light because there was no other option. Aside from the negative health effects of kerosene smoke, the cost of kerosene in Timor-Leste’s rural areas is almost double the cost in urban areas, further marginalizing the most vulnerable communities.”