Lombok, January 26–30, 2026 — PWYP Indonesia, together with Gema Alam, collaborated on the production of a documentary video titled Women’s Leadership in the Use of Renewable Energy for Social Business. This documentary is not merely an audiovisual work but part of an advocacy strategy to promote a narrative of a fair, inclusive, and community-based energy transition, while positioning women as key agents of change.
The documentary was produced in three main villages: Rarang (East Lombok), Lantan (Central Lombok), and Taman Ayu (West Lombok). All three serve as portraits of how renewable energy practices emerge from the community’s real needs, rather than from large-scale, elitist projects.
Biogas: An Energy Transition Starting from the Kitchen
In six villages in Lombok, namely Rarang Village, Lantan, Taman Ayu, Dasan Geria, Pandan Indah, and Tete Batu Selatan, biogas practices and bioslurry utilization are beginning to develop. This initiative arose from experiences of LPG crises, especially during major holidays when supplies become scarce, and prices skyrocket.
Rather than starting with jargon about decarbonization or net-zero emission targets, these practices stem from the most concrete issues: how to ensure the kitchen stove keeps running without burdening the family’s economy.
In Rarang Village, biogas practices are still at the household level. A small digester with a capacity of 4–6 m³ requires manure from at least two cows to meet daily cooking needs for 2–3 hours. Technically, one adult cow produces about 10–15 kg of manure per day, which, when anaerobically fermented, can produce 0.3–0.5 m³ of biogas. This volume is equivalent to replacing about 0.2–0.3 kg of LPG per day. This means one family could save Rp80,000–150,000 per month, depending on usage intensity. For rural families, this figure is significant.
However, more important than mere savings are the accompanying changes in social relationships.
Women as Drivers, Men as Partners
The approach to developing biogas in these villages consciously starts with women. They are the ones closest to household energy matters, such as cooking, providing water, managing family needs, and running small home-based businesses.
Women’s group discussions become the entry point for introducing biogas. From these discussion spaces, self-confidence, solidarity, and collective leadership emerge.
However, the process is not always easy. The initial challenges arise not from the technical installation of the digester but from household-level negotiations, such as seeking husbands’ permission to participate in group activities.
In practice, the processing of cow manure, from dilution, insertion into the digester, to maintenance of the installation, is done together. This is where social transformation emerges: men who previously were not involved in domestic affairs begin to share roles. The energy transition goes hand in hand with a transition in gender relations.
The fermentation residue, in the form of bioslurry, is used as a nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer. Waste is no longer a problem but becomes a new resource that supports local agriculture.
In Taman Ayu Village, biogas practices have expanded more widely. Its use is not limited to household cooking; it also supports communal consumption and the production of light food at a village MSME scale.
This model shows that community-based renewable energy is not just a household solution but also the foundation of the village’s social economy.
However, irony arises when we look at the landscape surrounding this village.
Under the Shadow of Coal and Type C Mining
Taman Ayu Village is not far from the Jeranjang PLTU, a coal-fired steam power plant with a capacity of about 3 x 25 MW, which remains the backbone of Lombok’s electricity system.
While residents are striving to reduce dependence on fossil fuels through biogas, the regional energy system is still dominated by fossil-fuel plants, with a renewable energy mix that is not yet significant.
This contrast becomes even sharper with the presence of type C mining operations around the village area. Mining activities pose risks of landslides, landscape damage, and long-term ecological pressures.
Decarbonization efforts at the community level appear to be proceeding in isolation amid the encroachment of an extractive development model.
PSN and Conflicts on the Ground: Meninting Dam
In West Lombok, residents are also grappling with the impacts of the Meninting Dam, which was completed in 2025 at a cost of approximately Rp1.4 trillion. This dam is part of the National Strategic Projects (PSN) and is claimed to support agricultural irrigation and food self-sufficiency.
However, on the ground, the project’s construction has led to horizontal conflicts between residents and authorities. Some residents near the dam report murky water quality in their homes. This phenomenon highlights the classic challenges of large-scale infrastructure projects: limited meaningful participation by affected communities and weak environmental accountability.
Energy Transition: From Below or From Above?
For PWYP Indonesia and Gema Alam, the biogas practices in these six villages demonstrate that energy transition can truly start from the household kitchen, from real needs, from LPG crises, from family economic burdens, and from collective community awareness.
The energy transition does not have to be synonymous with mega-projects, infrastructure debt, or inauguration ceremonies. It can grow from the smallest scale, closest to everyday life.
However, these villages are situated in a development landscape that still relies on extraction: coal-fired PLTUs, type C mining, and PSN projects.
This is where the paradox of energy transition ambitions becomes clear. The state sets net-zero emissions targets for 2060 and promotes decarbonization, but at the grassroots level, residents still face pollution, spatial conflicts, and ecological pressures.
This documentary is an effort to bring voices from the grassroots, that a just energy transition must be grounded in women’s leadership, community participation, transparent resource governance, and the courage to abandon exploitative development models.
Energy transition is not merely about replacing energy sources. It concerns justice, power dynamics, and the future of people’s living spaces.
Writer: Aulia Sabrini Saragih
Editor: Mouna Wasef