Support to 50 Village-Owned Enterprises empowers 12,440 Women and Youth in rural East Nusa Tenggara
ENVISION
Support to 50 Village-Owned Enterprises empowers 12,440 Women and Youth in rural East Nusa Tenggara
50 Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) thank the EU, Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI) and Yayasan Alfa Omega (YAO) for the support through the forty-two months project, “Enabling Civil Society for Inclusive Village Economic Development (ENVISION)”. The project started in March 2020 and implemented in Sumba Timur, Timor Tengah Selatan and Kupang. It aims to promote the involvement of women and youth in the management of BUMDes and thereby improve the welfare of village communities. Support from the project benefitted 61,075 people in total, with 12,440 women and youth as direct beneficiaries.
Despite major challenges on the project implementation caused by Covid-19 and Seroja Tropical Cyclone, ENVISION together with local civil society organisations (CSOs) - Bengkel Appek, Yayasan Sanggar Suara Perempuan, and Yayasan Injiwatu Sumba - delivered series of trainings to BUMDes committee, women and youth groups, and local CSOs. These forums, which were officially inaugurated through a Regent's Decree, act as a platform for CSOs, BUMDes, local government and other stakeholders to discuss local economic development challenges and solutions to BUMDes operation. CSOs and BUMDes also utilise these forums as a knowledge sharing platform.
ENVISION managed to assist 42 BUMDes to have at least 20% of women representation in the management level; 38 BUMDes obtained legal entity certificates to manage their business and assets; 30 BUMDes received at least 5% fund addition from village funds; and 67 out of 250 village facilitators appointed to be Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) champions. These champions are actively encouraging participation of women and youth groups in village meetings.
“We expect the local government and trained local CSOs will continue to support the CSOs and BUMDes forums when ENVISION ended. We also believe that trained GESI champions will continue to empower women and youth groups to be more active in forum meetings and other village activities. These BUMDes need continuous support such as trainings related to business development and integration into online platform from local government and relevant stakeholders, to expand their businesses and collaborate with external business corporates including financial institutions,” said Angelina Theodora, WVI National Director.
“We appreciate Wahana Visi Indonesia and the Alfa Omega Foundation for their contribution in assisting BUMDES to obtain legal entity. Apart from that, I also see that the capacity of cadres assisted by ENVISION have greatly increased. This can be seen from their courage to speak in village forums,” said Adityawarman Darudono, Director of Technical Planning for Economic Development and Investment of the Ministry of Village.
Viktorius Manek, Head of the NTT Province Village Community Empowerment Office, added, “We recommend four main points for BUMDes to develop their businesses in the village, including optimizing the village's potential, finding the right person to manage BUMDes, having a clear vision and action plan, and finding the right mechanism to operate their business. We hope that these key steps will lead BUMDes to have the role off taker and pioneer of community economic empowerment in the village.”
“Gender equality and social inclusion, also of disabled persons, are crucial for any community, in Indonesia as well as in Europe. That is why the EU works together with Indonesian local community for this goal. I am happy to see how the EU-funded ENVISION project has supported 50 BUMDes for the economic empowerment of rural women and youth. This is a breakthrough that will contribute to the prosperity of village communities in NTT," said EU Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, Vincent Piket.
ENVISION held a two-day event on 10-11 August 2023 to wrap up the project. It concluded with insightful talk shows showcasing project results, success stories and best practices, and provide policy recommendations to relevant Ministries based on feedback on the implementation of regulations at the village level.
It is hoped that the experiences and good practices collected from the ENVISION project can provide inspiration for other BUMDes, especially on the fulfillment of inclusive village development, ensuring that no one is left behind.
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About BUMDes
Village-Owned Enterprise (Badan Usaha Milik Desa), often shortened to BUMDes, is a business entity whose capital is entirely or mostly owned by the village through direct participation originating from village assets set aside to manage assets, services, and other businesses for the maximum welfare of the village community and to develop rural economic activities.