Impact In Numbers
- 100,000+ people received direct benefits from programs
- 548 trainings and consultancy projects delivered
- 248 locations reached out by programs, mostly remote villages
- 5,085 youth participated in public education activities
- 14,175 educational media downloaded online
Key Insights
- The importance of holistic programs - when IDEP engage in emergency disaster response, they make sure to do an assessment to understand what the area needs, as well as develop rehabilitation strategy for long-term support
- Show don’t tell - IDEP foundation also implements the concept of permaculture in their office, which they can easily show the public the potential of the permaculture that they are introducing
Berdaya Talk is an initiative that explores the stories of change makers and the initiatives they have developed to support sustainable development in Indonesia. This time, we are joined by Muchamad Awal (Pak Awal), Executive Director at IDEP Foundation.
Hi Pak Awal, can you give us a brief introduction about IDEP Foundation?
IDEP foundation or Yayasan IDEP Selaras Alam was first established with the aim of introducing the concept of permaculture.
Permaculture is a combination of the agricultural concepts and permanent culture – how we live in harmony with nature and maintain the mutual relationship between humans and nature.
One of the permaculture methods or concepts is observation and adaptation, where permaculture itself consists of 12 principles and 3 ethics.
The three main ethics of permaculture include: caring for the earth, caring for people, and fair sharing of results.
In permaculture, we prioritize adaptation by respecting local culture and local wisdom that supports food security and disaster preparedness.
What are actual examples of these local wisdoms and culture and how IDEP tries to revive this?
For example, ancestral stories and local legends that may no longer be popular. In the past, my mother often told me these stories, but now they are rarely heard.
For example, in the archipelago there used to be many “rumah panggung” – why? Actually there is a story behind it, such as to avoid floods or wild animals. This is an example of local wisdom that we can adapt today.
In Aceh, there is a legend carried in the form of songs in the local language which states that when the water recedes, you have to run to the mountains. This legend could be an important warning for future generations.
We try to reinforce this wisdom through educational media, such as YouTube, with cartoons or songs that teach disaster preparedness.
Apart from permaculture, IDEP also operates in the field of disaster risk management. What is the relationship between these two initiatives?
Initially, IDEP was first involved in humanitarian action during the Bali bombing disaster – that was our first experience in dealing with disasters.
IDEP itself was actually founded in 1999, as a response to the 1998 economic crisis. This crisis triggered our founders to develop the concept of permaculture, with the aim of overcoming the economic and agricultural crisis that occurred at that time.
The main reason we are actively involved in disaster management is because we believe that by protecting and improving the environment, we can prevent or reduce the impact of disasters.
At IDEP, we are primarily involved in the agriculture and food sector, and are currently developing the concept of earthquake-resistant houses. We also focus on disaster mitigation and public education, both before and after a disaster occurs.
The common thread in these two initiatives is that permaculture is part of an ecosystem that helps solve disaster related problems.
What are some examples of disaster-related problems we face in Indonesia?
Indonesia, as we know, is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, we even have saying that it is a “disaster training ground”. We are exposed to various types of disasters from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, liquefaction, flash floods, landslides, tsunamis, and others. Our country is very disaster-prone, and our main concern is especially towards small communities with limited access.
Our experience shows that these communities often lack access and information. Roads are cut off because they live in remote areas, and there is no network signal or electricity.
When disasters occur, data and information about these areas, for example from the government, is often minimal.
Many NGOs also tend to focus on large shelters, so that small shelters that are scattered around the area and have limited access are often overlooked. For this reason, we seek access to these isolated areas and make it our priority.
What forms of assistance does IDEP offer, and how is the aid disbursed to these beneficiaries?
This depends on several factors. If we are unfamiliar with an area or have never been there, the first step in our emergency response is to bring aid in the form of basic necessities or the most important food.
While conducting on-site assessments, we collect information to find out what basic needs are most urgent.
In emergency response, we also think about how to implement recovery and rehabilitation programs. Apart from that, we provide education about disasters and food independence, so that people can survive when isolated due to disasters.
We try to guide them so that when a disaster occurs again, they are ready with food supplies and knowledge about disaster preparedness, and can think of ways to improve the regional economy even though their access is limited.
During disaster response, we also try to meet basic needs by sourcing locally or near the affected area as a way to support the local economy. For example, when access to Palu was cut off, we sourced materials for emergency aid from Poso which was closer, and did not bring in aid from Bali. This is to strengthen the economy around the disaster area.
Currently we are at the IDEP facility. Can you describe what we are seeing here and is this an application of the permaculture concept?
At this office, we strive to be a place where the public or other people can see the applications of permaculture.
For example, our office is octagonal, designed to be earthquake resistant.
In addition, we have a rainwater harvesting system, which is not only for internal use but also to return rainwater to the ground. This initiative is part of our Bali Water Protection program which aims to maintain the availability of groundwater on the island of Bali.
We also have a wastewater treatment system, for example the pond here, which processes gray water and black water through various stages so that the water is odorless and can be reused for watering gardens.
We have two types of gardens here, namely herbal gardens for medicines and food gardens to meet food needs. We also have a cow pen that is integrated with the garden to utilize cow dung as biogas, which we use as an energy source for our kitchen. The remaining cow dung is used to make compost which is then reused in the garden.
We also have a seed room or lab to preserve local Indonesian seeds which are increasingly rare. From the results of our previous research, we found out that almost 60% of local Indonesian seeds had been lost, so this is our initiative to try to preserve these seeds.
We also have a seed room or lab to preserve local Indonesian seeds which are increasingly rare.
From the results of our previous research, we found out that almost 60% of local Indonesian seeds had been lost, so this is our initiative to try to preserve these seeds.
Apart from that, we also have other technology, such as a rainwater harvesting system mockup, which we show to the public as an example of the programs we implement in this office.
What indicators does IDEP consider important for evaluating the effectiveness of your programs?
For us, the number of beneficiaries of course.
As of last year, we managed to reach 101,000 beneficiaries throughout Indonesia, including men, women, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, including children, even though the IDEP office is in Bali.
Now let's move on and discuss one of your flagship program, Bali Water Protection. What is the BWP program?
Bali Water Protection was born as a result of collaboration between IDEP and Bali State Polytechnic (Politeknik Negeri Bali). Initially, we were worried because agricultural land around Bali was starting to decrease due to the conversion of land to villas and tourist accommodation for the tourism industry.
Although not entirely caused by tourism, we are concerned about the decline in groundwater levels in Bali due to over-extraction.
From this issue, we created this program as a campaign effort to preserve Bali’s groundwater sources. Bali is a small island with many water pockets, such as the Batur, Beratan, Buyan and Tamblingan lakes, however, these may not necessarily be enough to meet the water needs of the Balinese people in the future.
There are still many areas in Bali experiencing drought and lack of clean water, which is what we are increasingly wary about.
Apart from conservation efforts, we also campaign for the importance of using rainwater. We target school children, the general public, and entrepreneurs, including the tourism industry.
Waterbom, for example, has supported the Bali Water Protection program by donating sumur imbuhan (recharge well) technology developed by the Bali State Polytechnic.
This well is designed to increase the absorption of rainwater and return it to the ground more efficiently. To date, almost 100 of these sumur imbuhan (recharge wells) have been created through the Bali Water Protection program.
Is the issue of drought caused by water distribution problems or geographical factors? How can programs like Bali Water Protection assist areas experiencing drought?
There are two factors that influence drought.
First, it could be caused by poor water distribution.
For example, in Bali there is a traditional water system known as subak, which is a system that is recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage.
However, the current development has hampered water sources, resulting in a decrease in water distribution and causing some rice fields to become unproductive.
Another factor is the geographical conditions of the area. For example, in Karangasem, Buleleng and North Buleleng, droughts often occur because these areas rely on rainwater, and when the dry season arrives, the water sources dry up.
In relation to the Bali Water Protection (BWP) program, our aim is not only to carry out campaigns, but also to educate the public about rainwater harvesting. When it rains heavily, this technology can capture rainwater which can then be used to overcome drought.
What are some of your personally most memorable achievements at IDEP?
First, in the field of disaster management, (as far as we know), we led the first initiative in creating a guidebook for community groups which has now been adopted by BNPB.
We also released the first permaculture book in Indonesia, which was compiled based on experiences working with our support community.
Additionally, we have seen the growth of permaculture communities in Java, Kalimantan and Sumatra. Although the term “permaculture” may not always be used, the practice and concepts have become widespread among society.
For example, the existence of community gardens that have appeared in home yards, even promoted through social media such as TikTok, has been proof of our success in making this concept more accepted and practiced by the general public.
What were the initial challenges in introducing the permaculture concept?
Initially, Indonesian people generally felt that the concept of permaculture is too complicated.
For example, in gardening, they need to make their own compost and select the good seeds properly, different from the current method which is easier by just buying fertilizer and planting the seeds straight away.
This process, which takes a long time, can be an obstacle.
However, over time, many people have begun to understand the concept, so even though it seems complicated at first, people are open to adapting it eventually.
In addition, it is important to remember that permaculture is always sustainable, it does not stop at one point, but continues to develop.
So yes, I think the key obstacle is that it is difficult to accept initially because it is considered complicated and time consuming.
There is a lot of discussion going on around global warming and climate change. Can permaculture be a form of solution in overcoming this global issue?
Yes, the concept of permaculture basically aims to restore the ecosystem, namely by repairing it.
When the ecosystem is well, the environment will also be well. However, when there is serious damage on one side, then on the other side efforts must be made to repair or compensate for the damage.
One example of the impact of climate change is longer summers and shorter rainy seasons, which has greatly affected agriculture.
Another example is the changes to the traditional planting calendar, such as in Bali, where agricultural practices that were once well-scheduled now becomes less predictable.
Our mission at IDEP is to create a resilient society.
One simple model to achieve this is through the 5 zone concept in permaculture. The first zone is ourselves and our family. At a minimum, families in this zone must be resilient, meaning they have food independence, food sovereignty and readiness to face disasters.
They can obtain food and create an economy from their own gardens, and have adequate knowledge about the challenges they may face in the future.
For those who want to support IDEP Foundation, what kind of support can they offer?
If you want to support IDEP, we have several schemes available. For assistance in emergency response, information is available on the IDEP website.
However, if you want to help in other ways, you can do so through our volunteer program. We welcome volunteers who want to be directly involved with the community, especially in assisting them.
If you have knowledge or skills that can be shared directly with the community, we are ready to try it.
We believe that sharing knowledge or skills that are easy to apply directly in society can provide real benefits.
We accept support through donations, either in the form of materials or knowledge.
Apart from that, IDEP also has a kiosk to sell seeds. These seeds are collected from the communities we have assisted, and are one way to strengthen their economy. So, if you want to help, you can buy these seeds too.
If people want to learn more about IDEP Foundation and support the organization, where can they find you?
Learn more about IDEP Foundation by clicking their social links below
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