POWER OF COMMUNITY:
Women of Nehas Liah Bing Village in Indonesia Script a New Story
Last year, a funding announcement from the federal government in Indonesia made history. It was less about what it was for than who it went to. The funding for two local government programmes went to PKK Nehas Liah Bing, a women’s community-based organization in the East Kalimantan province.
In an area where women often lack access to resources and recognition for their work, the announcement marked a turning point for the 47 women who comprise the group and the entire village. Solidaridad supported the women of PKK Nehas Liah Bing with training on gender topics, sustainable agricultural practices, and business planning.
In a community that first gained access to electricity just a decade ago, the transformation has been immense. Participants in the Palm Oil & Women’s Equity through Resources, Rights, and Representations in Indonesia (PoweRRR) programme are now founding new agricultural businesses
What the lack of access to resources means for Indonesian women
In Indonesia, women working in agriculture continue to struggle with a lack of access to resources — most critically, land. Only 24.2 percent of Indonesian land is registered under female ownership. This is in alignment with the global trend where women are often restricted from owning land.
The situation is no different in the Indonesian palm oil sector. An estimated 7.6 million women work in Indonesia’s palm oil sector, comprising nearly half of the industry’s workforce. However, a lack of formal recognition as ‘farmers’ means that they have limited access to and control over land resources. Furthermore, due to its labor-intensive nature, oil palm cultivation is still largely considered a ‘male’ profession, resulting in lower female participation rates in oil palm cooperatives where membership is primarily granted to male heads of households.
When the existing context fails to provide adequate support for women to thrive, a different approach is needed—one that focuses on creating enabling conditions rather than relying on the status quo. Financial independence is crucial for many women who aspire to contribute economically to their households, build savings for uncertain times, or simply have the freedom to spend on themselves. They are also the custodians of nutritional security for households. To achieve and sustain this, ensuring women's access to financial resources is essential.
This is where the programme, Palm Oil & Women’s Equity through Resources, Rights, and Representations in Indonesia (PoweRRR), strives to make a difference.
What is the PoweRRR All About?
In East Kalimantan, awareness is growing about the need to address the structural imbalances that women face. The PoweRRR project, backed by GIZ, supports women farmers and workers in Kutai Timur and Paser districts of East Kalimantan.
The project is implemented through women-led community-based organizations (known locally as PKKs), female farmers’ groups (FFGs), and cooperatives, which serve as anchors for activities within the palm supply chain. Business transactions, including the sale of palm kernels and labor participation, take place through these cooperatives.
The Project Model
To create an enabling environment for women’s participation, Solidaridad promotes the formation and reactivation of FFGs and PKKs that foster family welfare and community participation. With support and mentorship from Solidaridad, women in these groups have begun adopting sustainable agricultural practices, growing medicinal and essential food plants in their home gardens, and engaging in small business ventures.
Through these targeted interventions, Solidaridad collaborates closely with local communities to foster supportive environments that enhance basic food supply and facilitate the initiation of small businesses. Providing training on foundational gender knowledge and sustainable agricultural practices to 1,030 members of 5 PKK groups and 27 FFGs in Paser and Kutai Timur districts of East Kalimantan has proved to be crucial.
EMBRACING SUSTAINABILITY, ENSURING PROFITS:
The Story of Nehas Liah Bing
Since 2024, Solidaridad has been providing mentorship to PKK Nehas Liah Bing in Nehas Liah Bing village, which spans roughly 275 square kilometers and has 2,763 residents (1,314 women). The association began with socialization and needs assessment sessions with female farmers. After identifying business potential and opportunities, Solidaridad supported the group, building women’s skills on aspects such as hydroponic agriculture and preparing a business plan.
The objectives included:
- Imparting enhanced knowledge of hydroponic cultivation,
- Creation of alternative income streams for women,
- Dissemination of knowledge to other women through classes at the neighborhood level.
“The hydroponic cultivation method represents a novel approach, particularly for utilizing home gardens. It has broadened our understanding of planting, demonstrating that cultivation is not limited to soil but can effectively utilize alternative media, such as water.”
Four out of 47 members of PKK Nehas Liah Bing also participated in the Training of Trainers on Gender Inclusivity, and Decent Work facilitated by Solidaridad and Perempuan Mahardhika (a women’s organization). This training not only deepened their understanding of rights, but also highlighted the critical need for resource accessibility and the importance of representation, leading them to advocate for immediate financial support from the village government. As a result, the women of the group were able to present a business plan for the first time for the Budget Year 2024 to the village administration—a significant achievement, given the usual lack of women’s presence and voices in financial planning.
The village administration, in turn, entrusted the group to manage and drive two key programmes:
- Food and Animal Food Security
- Micro Small and Medium Enterprises’ (MSME) Empowerment
For the Food and Animal Food Security programme, the PKK chose to grow crops using a hydroponic system integrated with pond-fish harvesting. Initially, they secured funding of IDR 15,000,000 (838.79 euros) for a 0.027-hectare hydroponic garden, eventually acquiring a total of IDR 61,000,000 (3,411.07 euros) to scale-up production and conduct family income enhancement training.
“We hope that this hydroponic garden will inspire community members to adopt similar practices, utilizing their yards or vacant land surrounding their homes. This hydroponic method offers an environmentally friendly and space-efficient approach to cultivation.”
The inaugural crop-planting ceremony was held in late September last year. The event was attended by local government officials and representatives from the Village Development Officer's Wives group. The crops initially planted were pak choy, oil palm seedlings, and lettuce. The first harvest took place in late October last year, with a total harvest of 22 kg of pak choy and 7 kg of lettuce. The group has successfully harvested crops three times, helping the farmers earn an average accumulated profit of IDR 4,525,000 (253.03 euros). Of this amount, 70 percent is disbursed to its members, while 30 percent is retained as petty cash.
For the next batch, the group plans to add celery so that they will have more variety. A cycle usually takes 30 to 35 days to complete, and the group prepares the seed bed on a bi-weekly basis. To enhance sales, the group utilizes social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp groups.
Ensuring women’s rights and enhancing their capacity to identify resources has yielded a valuable lesson. When women are empowered to recognize and leverage their resources, they can generate and enjoy tangible economic benefits. This, in turn, fosters increased self-confidence, enabling them to actively participate in community affairs and effectively advocate for their rights and accessibility.
“This hydroponic garden has the potential to provide opportunities to housewives like me for supplemental income, besides securing food sources for our families.”
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