Gender equality is a fundamental right and an essential facet of sustained economic growth. Acknowledging its importance for a sustainable future, we work together with the Martha Tilaar Group and Global Compact Indonesia to empower women in Indonesia.
In line with our commitment to support the UN’s SDG number 1 (no poverty) and number 5 (gender equality), this collaboration is done through our Desa Makmur Peduli Api (Integrated Forestry and Farming System) program. DMPA, for short, is our sustainability initiative which encourages the community to protect the environment and adopt sustainable forest management. You can learn more about our sustainability efforts here.
Since its implementation in 2019, we have conducted entrepreneurship workshops across Indonesia, aiming to train 1,000 women by this year. Through the program, the participants learn how to utilize available resources, like spices or plants, and turn them into more marketable products such as drinks and snacks. Additionally, we also provide kitchen equipment and financial support to help them develop their own business.
Soleha is one of our participants from Siak regency, Riau, who has benefitted from this program by making guava-based snacks. “The program inspired us to create some innovation from guava,” she said.
Guava has always been popular in Soleha’s village, but the people usually only consume it as it is. For a change, she turns the fruits into glutinous fudge (known as dodol in Asia) which is now one of Riau’s best selling snacks.
Consumers love her guava dodol. So, she employs 20 other homemakers to meet the increasing demand. Now their small business makes around USD 210 on a monthly basis.
Suryani has another story to tell. Instead of guava, her product innovation is made of red ginger (Alpinia purpurata). Red ginger is famous as a spice with many health benefits, so Suryani was inspired to make herbal drink products out of it.
“The program helps us with cooking equipment and packaging devices. And they also teach us to design our packaging to attract the consumers,” Suryani explained. She now runs the business with other women in Tualang, Riau, and earns around USD 420 a month. This is another of Riau’s best souvenirs.
Soleha, Suryani, and other participants lead their way to entrepreneurship, from regular homemakers with no income to economically independent women. With this program, they manage to help increase their family income. We hope this collaboration will ensure a brighter future for many women across Indonesia and allow us to enable a sustainable tomorrow. Learn more about our commitment to improving lives here.
