Mosa was the brightest student in her school, but one day she stopped attending. When asked why, her mother simply said that the family owned only one pair of shoes, and it was given to her brother instead. “That decision was not her mother’s fault,” said Andi Rosita Dewi, Founder and CEO of GAWIREA (Girls and Women in Renewable Energy Academy), during the final pitch at the [RE]Spark: Clean Energy & Climate Startup Festival 2025 on 15 November 2025 in Jakarta. “It was a decision born out of structural poverty that shapes systemic inequality,” Rosita continued. This simple story has become a symbol of a much larger, often invisible problem in villages across Papua.
Mosa’s story opens our eyes to the structural inequalities limiting the future of Papuan women.
For Rosita, Mosa is not just a girl who lost access to education. She represents how poverty, gender inequality, and limited access to energy are deeply interconnected, closing off future opportunities for Papuan women. From this concern emerged Wani Yiniyo Sago House, a place that processes not only sago, but also hope for Papuan women.
“I realized that the solution for Mosa was not simply giving her shoes,” Rosita explained. She identified three root causes behind Mosa’s absence from school: the lack of control Papuan women have over land and food, the absence of knowledge that sago can be processed using machines, and fuel and energy pricing policies that do not favor communities in Papua. Together, these factors create a cycle of disempowerment that can only be broken through systemic change.
Wani Yiniyo: Built on the strength of Papuan women
In the Awyu language, Wani Yiniyo means “women on fire.” The name was inspired by the resilient women Rosita met in South Papua, women who spend hours each day under the sun processing sago by hand. From them, Rosita discovered a different kind of strength.
As Rosita emphasized during her final pitch, “We cannot talk about Papua without involving Papuans themselves.” Leadership at Wani Yiniyo is held directly by local women, including Fermensia Magdalena Aga, who serves as the project leader of the sago processing house.
In its early stages, Wani Yiniyo relied on lithium batteries to process sago. This dependence conflicted with local sago-processing traditions that are rooted in zero-emission principles. This challenge pushed GAWIREA to conduct years of research, ultimately leading to a solution aligned with local ecology and culture: sand batteries, an energy storage technology made from sand that is more durable, safer, and better aligned with Indigenous values.
Olahan Sagu Wani Yiniyo
Through Wani Yiniyo Sago House, GAWIREA has patented the use of sand battery technology for sago processing. However, the innovation goes beyond technology. From the beginning, GAWIREA designed an ownership model that ensures Papuan women are not merely beneficiaries, but full owners. Within a cooperative of 25 women, each member is a co-owner holding 100 percent ownership of the assets.
Currently, production capacity reaches 100 kilograms of sago per week. With the implementation of sand batteries, this capacity is expected to increase to 500 kilograms. The surplus 400 kilograms can be sold to nearby villages, generating direct income for the women driving Wani Yiniyo. Each cooperative member also receives one kilogram of sago per week for free and access to subsidies of up to 75 percent, not as aid, but as returns from collective ownership.
Strengthening the model through KINETIK NEX
Rosita dan Feremensia dari GAWIREA menerima hibah KINETIK NEX yang diwakilkan oleh Natalie Mandelsohn dari Counsellor, Infrastructure and Climate Change,Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
Through the KINETIK NEX Entrepreneurship Program, organized by New Energy Nexus with support from KINETIK, the Australia–Indonesia Partnership for Climate, Renewable Energy, and Infrastructure, GAWIREA refined its business model and sustainable technology innovation for Wani Yiniyo. Their commitment to women’s leadership, local wisdom, and rigorous technological research convinced the judges that GAWIREA deserved grant funding of up to IDR 1.6 billion.
With this funding, GAWIREA is committed to further developing sand battery technology as Indonesia’s first renewable energy innovation truly born from the needs of Papuan communities. They plan to deepen research and refine the battery design as an alternative to lithium-based systems, which are considered less aligned with zero-emission principles in sago processing. This innovation is projected to reduce emissions equivalent to the use of up to 300 liters of gasoline or diesel.
The Wani Yiniyo cooperative now provides a stable monthly income of IDR 1,000,000 for women who previously had no regular earnings. This shift creates a ripple effect: household security improves, and children like Mosa can remain in school.
With sand battery technology, Papuan women are not only processing sago, they are shaping their own future. “For those who want to pursue climate entrepreneurship, do not give up. Stay resilient so you can achieve what you hope for,” Magdalena shared.
Congratulations to GAWIREA on the success of Wani Yiniyo Sago House in securing grant support from the KINETIK NEX Entrepreneurship Program. This achievement is not just recognition of a technology, but a beacon of hope for the future of Papuan women, local food systems, and a more just clean energy transition.
Follow GAWIREA’s journey in delivering renewable innovation from Papua through their official website at www.GAWIREA.com or Instagram @GAWIREA.
Written by: Shilfina Putri Widatama
Photos by: Impresif