Involving the user

Abstract Taking existing technologies simply off the shelf and handing them over to users might in the beginning satisfy stakeholders and users involved in a rural electrification project but the likelihood of failure and disappointment is very high. Pitfalls are well known and have led to a slow down of entrepreneurial initiatives and market development. In Indonesia with its long history of harnessing new and renewable energy technologies (NRE), participatory development is not common for decentralized rural electrification (RE) schemes. Although electrification by means of Solar Home Systems (SHS) has a long tradition throughout the archipelago, community-based management has long been neglected and hence projects have been prone to failure. Implementing SHS in a sustainable way is still far from routine business and requires competent resources, interdisciplinary know-how if the scheme should last long and public knowledge about the benefits of electricity utilization. In this article Claus Dauselt, describes the Indonesian SHS experience and aspects important for sustainable, decentralized rural electrification in particular the need for community involvement in the project right from the start.