EPICS in IEEE: Clean Energy Brings New Opportunities to an Indonesian Farming Community

An interdisciplinary student team in Indonesia is using solar-powered water pumping and smart monitoring technology to improve irrigation and water access for a rural farming community.

For many rural farming communities, access to clean water is crucial for sustaining agriculture and supporting local livelihoods. Cokrokembang Village, a rural village in Pacitan, Indonesia, that’s affected by pollution, has faced an ongoing challenge in securing reliable access to water for local farmers. Recognizing the challenges facing the community, a multidisciplinary team of students and faculty members from Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) and Telkom University partnered with the local community through EPICS in IEEE to develop a sustainable engineering solution that would improve water access while promoting renewable energy and more sustainable agricultural irrigation.

The team’s project, “Clean Energy Solution for Water Supply and Farming in Pollution-Affected Village – Indonesia,” combined renewable energy with smart monitoring technology through a solar-powered water-pumping system integrated with an Internet of Things (IoT)-based water-quality monitoring platform. Solar photovoltaic panels generate electricity to power a submersible pump that draws groundwater from a bore well and distributes it through a pipeline network for agricultural irrigation. Simultaneously, water-quality sensors measure factors such as Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and water temperature, transmitting the information to a cloud-based platform that allows users to monitor the system remotely using a computer or smartphone. 

Community engagement shaped the project throughout its planning, implementation, and evaluation. The team worked with farmers and local leaders in Cokrokembang Village, as well as SMKN 1 Ngadirojo, a vocational high school that partnered with the universities to support project implementation and student mentoring. Community members shared their experiences, provided feedback during system development, and helped the team adapt the design to local environmental conditions. “Working closely with the community was one of the most valuable aspects of this project,” the team shared. “Their feedback helped us better understand local conditions and allowed us to adapt the system to meet their actual needs.” According to the team, working directly with residents helped ensure that the finished system reflected both local priorities and conditions. 

 

The team’s close collaboration with residents of Cokrokembang Village also strengthened the engineering solution itself. As implementation progressed, the students refined several system components to address changing field conditions. By continuously evaluating the environment and incorporating community feedback, they improved the system’s reliability, efficiency, and practicality. 

 

 

 

The project also provided an educational experience that went well beyond the university classroom. Team members from the Electrical Engineering department at ITS and Telkom University, and from the Information Systems department at ITS, collaborated across disciplines to design hardware and software, implement the system in the field, train community members, and evaluate project outcomes. “Unlike traditional engineering courses, this project required us to work directly with community members rather than only conducting laboratory experiments or classroom assignments,” the team explained. “We needed to understand the community’s actual needs, collaborate with local stakeholders, and develop solutions that were technically feasible, affordable, and sustainable.” Throughout the experience, the students strengthened their technical knowledge while also developing leadership, communication, teamwork, and project management skills.

Preparing the community to operate the system independently was another important part of the project. The team created an instructional poster, user manuals, and technical modules explaining how to operate and maintain both the solar power system and the IoT devices. Local farmers and residents received training in collectively overseeing the system, while vocational high school students from SMKN 1 Ngadirojo, Pacitan, were mentored in solar and IoT technologies to support the surrounding community after the project’s completion.

The completed system has already improved access to clean water for agricultural irrigation while reducing the community’s dependence on conventional electricity. By using solar energy to power the irrigation system, the project supports more sustainable farming practices while increasing awareness of renewable-energy technology. 

On March 30, 2026, the team formally transferred the project to local stakeholders during a handover ceremony attended by approximately 260 participants, including farmers, community leaders, vocational students and teachers, and university representatives. During the event, attendees shared feedback and future goals for the system. The sub-district leader publicly recognized the team’s work and expressed a commitment to helping sustain the program, reflecting the strong response the project received from the wider community.

Looking ahead, the team plans to enhance the IoT monitoring platform, integrate additional water-quality measurements, and improve the system’s overall energy efficiency, while also hoping to replicate the project in other rural communities facing similar water and irrigation challenges. A possible second phase would extend the system to nearby higher-elevation farming areas and add remote monitoring, enabling team members in Surabaya to help the community address issues early on. Continued monitoring and community training will remain important to the project’s long-term sustainability.

Reflecting on the experience, the team believes the project demonstrated that successful engineering goes far beyond creating new technology. The solar-powered irrigation and monitoring system demonstrates how combining field experience, academic knowledge, and collaboration with local stakeholders can address a practical community need. “Participating in EPICS in IEEE has been one of the most meaningful experiences for our team,” the team shared. “This project demonstrated how collaboration between faculty members, students, community partners, government agencies, and IEEE can transform engineering knowledge into practical solutions that improve people’s quality of life.” The team hopes the project will inspire other universities and engineering students to develop technologies that deliver lasting, positive benefits to communities around the world.

This project was supported by the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS), an EPICS in IEEE Partner.