Insan Bumi Mandiri Together with Paragon Corp Build Clean Water Access in West Manggarai

West Manggarai, NTT – Previously, people on Medang Island, West Manggarai, faced a great difficulty to get clean water. To meet their daily needs, residents must buy water from Labuan Bajo or clean water sellers who routinely come to the island. Actually access to clean water is available on the other island, but residents need to dig bore wells and pipelines so that supplies remain available. This condition makes access to clean water expensive and limited.

Answering these needs, the Insan Bumi Mandiri Foundation (IBM) together with Paragon Corp built well infrastructure and clean water facilities on Medang Island. The presence of this program is a real solution for residents who have only rely on two personal wells and supplies from outside the island, including from Labuan Bajo.

Before the project began, residents had to pay Rp. 15,000 for one gallon of water from private wells, or Rp. 25,000 to Rp. 40,000 per gallon if you buy from Labuan Bajo, with an additional ship and gasoline fee of Rp500,000 to Rp1,000,000 per trip.

The presence of new drill wells and MCK facilities (bathing, washing, latrine), makes residents no longer need to pay or go out of the island to get clean water. “Usually we are economical if there is water, because if you buy expensive, or have to go far first,” said Ms. Maria, one of the residents of Medang Island.

The clean water access development program began in April 2025, starting with a location survey and community socialization, followed by drilling up to a depth of 40 meters, water debit testing, supporting infrastructure development, until finally the tap and MCK monument could be used by the community in July 2025.

“Clean water is a basic right, and we want to make sure our brothers and sisters in remote areas also feel it,” said Zulfa Faizah Musyahidah, Director of the Insan Bumi Mandiri Foundation.

Insan Bumi Mandiri hopes that this program can be an inspiration for more collaboration to reach remote areas that still face a similar crisis.

About independent earth inserts

The Insan Bumi Mandiri Foundation (IBM) is a humanitarian institution that focuses on empowering rural communities and 3T regions (disadvantaged, foremost, outermost). Since 2016, IBM has initiated more than 1,000 programs and has reached 163,792 people through intervention in the fields of clean water, education, food security, to public health.

Complete information and collaboration opportunities: www.insanbumimandiri.org