Masjid Al-Kahf NTT: An Eco-Friendly Mosque in West Manggarai

Morning in Kampung Lempe, Poco Dedeng Village, West Manggarai, begins with light streaming through the wide windows of Masjid Al-Kahf. The prayer hall is designed to stay bright without lamps and cool through natural airflow, while rainwater is collected for daily needs.

Masjid Al-Kahf NTT was inaugurated on 7 June 2023 in Kampung Lempe, Poco Dedeng Village, Lembor District, West Manggarai, through the #PerjalananBerKahf campaign, a collaboration between Kahf and Yayasan Masjid Nusantara. Formerly known as Al-Munawarah, the mosque was rebuilt and given a new name, Al-Kahf.

It Started With Water

Kampung Lempe sits in the highlands, where access to clean water is limited. Before the mosque was built, residents had to walk 60 to 90 minutes to the river to fetch water. That need is where the design of Masjid Al-Kahf began: not just a place of worship, but a real solution for the community's daily needs.

A Smart Masjid That Saves Resources

Masjid Al-Kahf was built on the Smart Masjid and sustainability concept. Each element answers a simple but important need in an area with limited infrastructure:

• Glass panels and roster vents let in sunlight, so the prayer hall stays bright without lamps during the day
• A high roof keeps air circulating so the room stays cool
• A wide, sloped roof channels rainwater into collection gutters, then into a storage tank and through filtration, for ablution water and the community's needs
• Prayer dividers and Qur'an stands are made from recycled materials

The technology here was not installed to look advanced. It was installed so the mosque keeps working well, with low upkeep costs for its caretakers and the community. For Kahf, progress means science-based innovation that becomes a real solution, not something that merely looks modern.

Welcomed by Two Communities

What people remember most about the opening of Masjid Al-Kahf is not the building, but who came to welcome it. Muslim residents were there, and so were Christian residents who have long lived side by side in Poco Dedeng.

Fransiskus Xaverius, a representative of the local Christian community, expressed his joy that a mosque now stands in their village. He stressed that tolerance has long been part of everyday life in Poco Dedeng.

A house of worship can be a place to get to know and respect one another, not a line that divides. In Poco Dedeng, residents have lived this way for a long time. The mosque is one more place to care for that brotherhood.

An Opening Celebrated Together

The opening on 7 June 2023 began with a traditional Manggarai ceremony, including the draping of a traditional scarf as a welcome. It continued with the cutting of a tumpeng, a symbolic handover of the keys, the signing of a commemorative plaque, and a shared prayer. Local tradition and worship came together on the same day.

After the Mosque Opened

A mosque's journey does not end when the building is finished. It carries on through filled prayer rows, children who come by, and community gatherings day after day.

A small but meaningful real action, with benefits that keep growing day by day.

#LangkahBerdampak #JalanYangKuPilih

Kahf with Yayasan Masjid Nusantara | Kampung Lempe, Poco Dedeng Village, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara | 2023