Clean Water Access for Wae Tulu Village

Have you heard of Wae Tulu Village? Nestled in the Lembor sub-district of West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Wae Tulu is a remote village located about 2–3 hours inland from Labuan Bajo. Surrounded by mountains, hills, and rivers, the journey to reach the village is both scenic and challenging. Home to approximately 120 families of 465++ residents, the community primarily relies on small livestock and dryland farming, with some fields only cultivable during the rainy season. However, in recent years, prolonged droughts have severely impacted agricultural productivity, making farming increasingly unreliable. Today, the village faces an even more urgent issue: a worsening clean water crisis that threatens the health and well-being of its people.

Water: A Source of Life That is Hard to Obtain

Every day, Wae Tulu residents walk between 1 and 2 kilometres to get water from the only source of spring water, a small river still flowing, even with a minimal discharge, they get water using jerry cans that are easy to carry and do not spill easily. In addition to being far, access is also quite challenging because vehicles cannot access it due to its geographical conditions in the mountainous area.

The water must be used for various needs such as cooking, drinking, bathing, and washing. Residents must leave before sunrise to get water before starting their daily activities.

“Sometimes the water is murky, but what can we do? That’s all there is,” said one resident who fetches water daily with her child. Some families rely on rainwater by collecting it using used tanks, buckets, or drums. Unfortunately, increasingly erratic rainfall due to climate change makes this method unreliable throughout the year.

Candlenut Economy

Wae Tulu has quite promising agricultural potential, especially from candlenut plantations and rice fields, which are the main source of livelihood for most of its residents, especially during the rainy season. These agricultural lands are generally located far from community organisations and are located in hilly areas, so they require extra energy and time in their management. In addition, a small part of the community also develops cashew farming businesses and becomes labourers in red brick production during the dry season, maximising the potential of natural resources available throughout the year. Candlenut commodities have quite high economic value, with the price of candlenut kernels ranging from IDR 30,000 to IDR 50,000 per kilogram, while the shells themselves can be sold for IDR 15,000 to IDR 20,000 per kilogram. This shows that the optimal management of candlenuts can be a potential economic opportunity for improving the welfare of the Wae Tulu community.

Social Impact: From Education to Health

The water crisis not only impacts public health, especially for children vulnerable to diarrhoea, stunting, and skin infections, but it also significantly impacts education and social life. Children, especially girls, often must help their parents fetch water from far away. Before and after school, they help their parents fetch water for household needs, while they do it for bathing and washing clothes in the small river where they draw water. Time and energy used for studying, playing, working or resting are used for water matters.

The community is not demanding anything extravagant; they just want clean water flowing into their homes. While this might be considered commonplace for most people, it is a luxury for the residents of Wae Tulu, while other areas are busy with digitalisation and smart cities, Wae Tulu is still waiting for the most basic thing in life, namely water.