In collaboration with Fairventures Worldwide, the University of Konstanz, and the German Embassy in Jakarta, the Eco Hapakat Foundation developed a solar-powered tourist boat aimed at promoting emission-free micro-tourism on Kalimantan’s rivers. Built with local materials and powered by solar-charged batteries, the boat represented a model for sustainable tourism. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and fundamental challenges in project implementation, the global objectives—such as fostering local economic growth and sustainable practices—were not fully achieved. While the foundation values the experience and now operates the boat for local tours, it questions the project’s overall effectiveness in meeting its intended impact.
In close collaboration with the German NGO Fairventures Worldwide, the University of Konstanz, and the German Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, we developed and built a tourist boat for day trips on the river.
The main goal of the project was to give an impulse to the local small-scale tourism scene by offering emission-free tourism on the slow-flowing rivers of Kalimantan.
The boat was to be constructed using local, lightweight, and fast-growing wood, as well as other regionally available materials. Its propulsion system was designed to run on an electric motor powered by batteries, which could be recharged at a solar charging station.
The project was approved and launched by the German Embassy in Jakarta in March 2019. Materials were procured and technology ordered in May and June 2019, with the physical construction of the boat’s body beginning in August 2019.
The first test runs took place in November 2019, and the official inauguration followed in December 2019.
Needless to say, tourism came to a standstill worldwide in early 2020 due to COVID-19, and our boat was dry-docked before it ever had the chance to be properly put to use.
Encourage the local micro-tourism scene to offer emission-free tourism on the slow-flowing rivers of Kalimantan
The global objective for the project could not be achieved not only because of Covid-19, but also because of fundamental disregard for some principles of development cooperation.
A boat built using traditional methods and with locally available materials and equipment would cost no more than approximately EUR 2,000. Such a boat could be constructed and maintained locally without any special technical requirements and would have an estimated lifespan of around 5 years.
Operating a traditionally built boat, which generates noise and exhaust emissions, would incur additional operating and maintenance costs of around EUR 3,000 over its entire lifespan. This means the total cost of the boat over its lifetime would be approximately EUR 5,000.
This simple calculation is contrasted by production costs of approximately €26,000. While these come with no significant operating costs, they must still be supplemented with some maintenance expenses over the same five-year period. It must also be expected that the performance of the batteries will drop significantly after about 4–5 years, as their lifespan will be reached after roughly 1,000 charging cycles.
This means we are looking at a cost ratio of approximately 1:6 between traditionally built boats and the modern, sustainable solar-powered boat presented here.
For this reason, we at the Eco Hapakat Foundation question whether the implementation of this project was truly successful in terms of its global objective.
The specific project goals are also difficult to assess today, as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically distorted the circumstances.
The Eco Hapakat Foundation is grateful and pleased to have been part of this exciting project. We now have a solar-powered boat and can offer beautiful and impressive tours on the Kahayan River in Palangka Raya. However, we fundamentally doubt that the goals, as advertised, have actually been achieved.
As an officially recognized foundation, we have the opportunity to offer internships to interested individuals.
The Eco Hapakat Foundation can provide young people with an introduction to the world of development cooperation with the Global South or offer senior experts a platform where they can make their broad knowledge and decades of professional experience available to marginalized groups.
Here are the fields of activity:
Jln. Batu Suli 5D,
Gang Bersama no. 2,
Palangka Raya 73112,
Central Kalimantan,
Indonesia
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