Susila Dharma Britain

stephanie August 31st, 2010

YUM Yayasan Usaha Mulia

YUM works in 4 geographic locations to improve quality of life for Indonesia’s poor, engaging with communities to provide holistic and sustainable support in the areas of Community Development, Education and Health.

In Aceh on Sumatra, – Aceh Centre for Child and Family Welfare, Microcredit for Women and Community Library.

In Bukit Batu District, Central Kalimantan – Agricultural Project, Microcredit for Women, Teacher Training, Government Schools Support, Library Resource Centre, Child Sponsorship Program, Talent Development Scholarships, Clean Water Project, Malaria Control Project, and Community-Led Total Sanitation Project. 

In Jakarta, Java – Child Sponsorship Project and Talent Development Scholarships

In Cipanas, West Java – Children’s Village (Desa Anak-Anak – DAA), Child Sponsorship Project, Talent Development Scholarships, a Community Library and Vocational Training Centre.

Last year Susila Dharma Britain supported the development of the children village in Cipanas, enabling the children and community to acquire vegetable growing and marketing skills. This year we are supporting the ongoing development of the organic farm as it expands as a training centre to be a key community institution, providing families and youths with new programmes to improve skills and strengthen livelihoods.

Livelihoods and Governance in Bukit Batu

Susila Dharma Britain is funding a project in Central Kalimantan province that is focused on the subdistrict of Bukit Batu. The project is implemented by YTS, Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta, a development foundation that has been working in the province since 1998.

 The foundation focuses on strengthening governance through participatory planning, and in Bukit Batu that means helping all seven communities in the subdistrict to make and implement an annual plan, involving the widest level of participation from everyone in the village.

 Through this process, villagers are empowered, village institutions are strengthened, the link with local government is brought alive, and the village has a clear set of development priorities. In implementing the plan, government will provide support for infrastructure and social services, while YTS will provide support for improving economic livelihood activities. Villagers will provide their labour and local materials.

Livelihood group formation is nearing completion in all seven communities. Each community will receive two sets of training programs: all seven elected to learn about raising fish in fishponds, and with the exception of one community, they also will receive trainings on raising chickens. One community will focus on developing its rubber plantations.

Fishponds Project

This project relates to the livelihood and governance project above. The main objective of the project is to stimulate fish-farming as a major livelihood activity and improve yields of fish harvested from village fishponds. The project aims to provide technical support to these seven groups, in the form of both training and material inputs. The project will help meet the subsistence needs of these communities, as fish is often the only source of protein for many poor households in these villages. Stabilising and improving cash incomes through a group approach will also strengthen community solidarity and will help to ensure the economic viability of these communities. Thus, the project will contribute to poverty alleviation in these communities by improving income-levels and improving nutrition. Local knowledge of fish-rearing is fairly limited. In addition to the general lack of technical skills the main barrier to productivity is poverty, as villagers often cannot afford to restock the ponds once they have been depopulated. The project intends to purchase fingerlings here at regular intervals and then distribute the stocks directly to village fishponds within hours of purchase. Providing new stock, gives the opportunity for villagers to revitalise their fishponds, improve their local aquaculture skills, and learn to maintain their fishponds on a sustainable basis by rearing fingerlings in rearing ponds, to ensure future harvests. In addition to the training costs, funding will also cover the cost of personnel to oversee and facilitate the smooth running of the process; monitor and evaluate progress and results; and will document the process and results using a variety of media – photos, video, booklet and newsletters.

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