Cottage industries help women in Aceh to recover

Cottage industries help women in Aceh to recover

Chisato Hara, The Jakarta Post, Bireuen/Jakarta

The din of hundreds of quacking ducks can be heard over the
telephone, as well as the cooing of several women, all but
drowned out by their flock.

It is Saturday, Aug. 20, and 38 women villagers of Lancang,
Bireuen, in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, have just received their
initial flock of two male and eight female ducks each -- a total
of 380 fowl -- from the International Organization for Migration
under its countertrafficking and empowerment (CT) program.

The IOM's CT livelihood project in Lancang, which is funded by
the Japanese government, aims to assist women widowed during the
tsunami, or otherwise left without a means of living, in
developing cottage industries.

In thus empowering the women, the project intends to reduce
their susceptibility to seemingly lucrative offers that may be
connected to trafficking. Lancang was identified for the pilot
project, as it had the largest population of target women among
all barracks in Bireuen district.

The livelihood project, as with all IOM programs, is a
participatory one, and decisions are made by the target group --
the IOM is strictly a facilitator, providing counsel, guidance
and other logistical support. As a result, the women, and their
community as a whole, are imbued with a sense of ownership and
control over their future businesses.

Accordingly, the 145 women of Lancang proposed duck farming,
salt farming, fish drying, sewing and embroidery, baking and
vending as their business ventures. Each of these groups were
further divided into subgroups for better management, and members
of the group elected their own leader.

From May through July, the IOM assessed and stocked a supply
of start-up as well as construction material. For the ducks, the
CT team consulted the local agriculture and husbandry office for
a potential supplier, and procured them from Sulhan Ali, a duck
farmer in Jangkar subdistrict, Bireuen, who had participated in
the government's capacity-building program.

"We decided on Sulhan Ali because he had the largest farm --
about 1,000 ducks -- and had the most modern facility. He was the
only one with an incubator," said a CT project coordinator, Ana,
by telephone, while the delivered ducks were being herded to
their new homes in the background. Sulhan Ali and two other
farmers have also agreed to provide an outlet for the Lancang
women's products -- fresh eggs, salted eggs and duck meat.

In June, further discussions with the duck-farming group
became necessary when the reconstruction of Lancang village
started -- a separate aid project funded by the Italian
government.

'Everyone is heard'

With the possibility of returning to the village, several
women began to change their minds, opting for an individual
instead of a group farm: From 25 individual farms and 13 group
farms, the group now consists of 34 individual farms located in
the village proper and 4 group farms at the barracks.

"There has been excitement to be involved in this program,
because everything that (the IOM provides) is done in
consultation with the community," said Bireuen project
coordinator Vera, who is Acehnese.

"Disagreements, different opinions are resolved in a community
discussion, so everyone is heard."

In addition to technical skills, the IOM arranged basic
business management training courses, which was provided last
month by LP2EU, a private training agency in Bireuen that was
recruited for the task by the local office of trade and industry.

And this month, men from the Lancang community built 32 salt
huts, three fish-drying factories and 38 duck coops -- all on a
volunteer basis.

"It was a little difficult to get the men to volunteer,
because of the abundance of cash-for-work programs in Aceh," said
Ana.

The structures were constructed according to local design and
using entirely local materials, with thatched rumbia roofs of
bamboo and tepas walls of woven palm leaves, and the coops at the
barracks are mobile, so they can be dismantled and moved when
their owners relocate.

The IOM's CT program does not offer this, because the intent
is to develop community empowerment and ownership, not
dependency. The CT team thus referred to Mukim, an informal
Acehnese community body, which convinced about 150 men to
volunteer in a spirit of solidarity.

All groups have now finished their training and are ready to
start their businesses, and discussions are under way with the
sewing and baking groups on the materials they require in their
start-up kits. Several women in the vending group have already
reopened their warung, and the fish-drying and salt-farming
groups are being monitored as they initiate production.

On Sunday, the day after the ducks were delivered, the salt-
farming group leaders led a peusijeuk, a traditional ceremony to
bless the new structures and for prosperity.

As for the ducks, the entire flock was vaccinated prior to
delivery, and the women have been given an extra supply of
syringes and vaccines, along with water containers, feed,
supplements, hatchery lamps and other equipment. Their trainers
will continue to monitor their progress and the ducks' health
while their business gets off the ground.

"It has been fun but tiring (managing the group)," said
Nursiah, most of my group want everything fast. I am tired from
telling them that they should be patient, that everyone will get
their turn, but I managed and it's fine, as long as everyone is
happy."

It seems this also applies to the ducks, and within the past
week, several have already begun laying.