Urip Sehat Initiative promotes community health and ecological resilience by revitalizing local knowledge and everyday practices. Working with women and youth, it advances diverse food traditions, safe water and sanitation, community-led waste management, and locally rooted climate action through collective learning and action. Read more here

"Perempuan Saling Mendukung" is the tagline of our "Women Empowerment" program.  #Kitakartiniproject empowers women and girls to lead change in their communities. Grounded in gender justice and local knowledge, it creates safe learning spaces, strengthens leadership, and supports creative expression through mentorship, education, and collective action. Read our stories more here

Sunday Reading creates alternative learning spaces for children in rural communities to access knowledge and develop essential skills. Through a mobile public library and weekly learning sessions held in open community spaces such as beaches and hills, the program nurtures joyful, place-based education. Sunday Reading has been implemented in Central Java and Southeast Sulawesi, bringing books and learning closer to children. Read for more here.

What once began as a shared dream has now taken form in wood, light, and open air. The Akar Cahaya basecamp, our humble gazebo, now stands as a living space of gathering, learning, and collective imagination. More than a structure, it is a home for stories, a shelter for dialogue, and a ground where local knowledge can breathe and grow.

From the first post placed into the earth to the final beam lifted into the sky, this space was built not only with materials, but with trust. Each stage of construction carried the spirit of collaboration and hope. The process itself became a reminder that building a space is also about building relationships, between people, land, and shared purpose.

This gazebo was made possible through a grant from the Government of Pemalang Regency, alongside generous contributions from individual supporters and partner institutions. Their support did more than fund construction; it strengthened a collective commitment to community-rooted work and locally led transformation. Today, the basecamp stands as a modest yet powerful symbol: a place where locals gather to learn and lead, where food traditions and health practices are discussed and revitalized, where creative ideas take shape, and where the earth is honored as our shared home.

Like akar (roots) growing quietly beneath the soil, this space marks the beginning of deeper work to come.  And from this, we continue to grow.

On April 5th, 2025, we facilitated a focused group discussion (FGD) with a group of dedicated mothers, aiming to strengthen educational aspirations for girls. The discussion provided a safe and supportive space for mothers to share their hopes, concerns, and strategies to support their daughters' education, highlighting the crucial role women play in shaping the future of their communities. One of the participants, Casmunah (46) said, "I want my daughter to go to school, to follow her dream!"

The FGD is part of our broader commitment to rural development through a gender mainstreaming approach. By engaging mothers as key stakeholders, we work to dismantle barriers to girls’ education and promote gender equity from within the household and community. The insights gathered from this session will inform future programs designed to empower women and girls alike.

Centering Decolonisation and Intersectionality: where data meets action, and research becomes the backbone of social transformation.  Welcome to our new arm which focuses in researching and creating new narratives in rural communities. Find more here