About this project

Projectdescription

The main staple food for the local communities in Pulau Banyak is rice and fish. Although vegetables are available and the climate is apt to grow crops, these products aren’t used enough to ensure a healthy diet with variation. Lack of ideas, recipes and intercommunion interaction are reasons why local women offer similar dishes with similar ingredients day by day. This affects children, elderly and pregnant women by not able to receive enough vitamins to either grow or stay healthy. Elderly lose teeth, or babies are born with low birth weight. By healthier diets community members are also better equipped to stay healthy and better protected for tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue. The cooking workshop will bond the women of the different islands in the archipelago to talk about their cooking, exchange ideas and provide help to each other. Local chefs from the mainland will be present to teach how to cook healthier meals with local ingredients and advise on which crops to grow to ensure a more varied diet.

Local women have approached Yayasan Pulau Banyak themselves with this idea as they are aware there is a need of capacity building on this particular subject.

Growing crops is part of this training. Especially on how to crow them and how to keep them. The women identified for this project are approximately 50 women from the different islands who have submitted this idea to Yayasan Pulau Banyak. These are all originated from the 7 different villages. This ensures bonding and interaction between individuals from the different communities. After this group is trained the women themselves will teach other women in their community about the cooking and distribute their recipe books for others to use/read. The general public will find out about these cooking courses without any marketing as the island communities are small and gossip is a favourite activity. Cost is not a factor that affects the diet, it’s skills, capacity and tradition.

The project will take place in a community building in either village that is large enough to facilitate the sessions. The local school in Pulua Balai is a place where workshops for larger amounts of people have been held before. Directions and maps are included in the section “project location”.

Some opening activities will initiate the programme such as speeches by government officials and other prominent members of the community and an opening ceremony with local imam as well as the purchase of the cooking equipment, seeds and lesson materials The food that is cooked will be tasted and shared amongst the participants. The activity relates to the organisation mission to promote local participation in conservation efforts through community capacity building and socio-economic activities in order to sustainable manage and monitor the natural resources of Pulau Banyak. The women will be trained by an Indonesian woman, Anita Siregar, who has been teaching cooking courses before with local foods catering for locals and tourists alike.

The suggested project has a direct link with poverty alleviation as it directly benefits health and opportunities to develop micro businesses.
No current plan to partner with other organisations working in Indonesia on this proeject however we are happy to share outcome and materials when requested.

Project objectives

In the short term we would aim to achieve better bonding and communication between the women groups living on the different isolated islands through the offered cooking workshop as well as building their capacity in the use of local produce for varied healthy meals.

In the long term we hope to achieve an overall healthier community where the main staple rice and fish is supported by a variety of vegetables and other sources of vitamins/proteins.

Target group(s) of the project

In a traditional society such as the one in Pulau Banyak, are the men that collect the food (go out fishing) and the women make sure meals are prepared and offered to the family. The project will therefore directly be a benefit for the women groups as they will receive the training course; however as they are the ones to cook the meals for the family members, all other levels of the community indirectly benefit from the course.

In what way does this project contribute to reducing poverty?

More efficient use of local produce in varied meals and improving health in the community by offering a wider spectrum of vitamins will assist in poverty alleviation. Women are also able to sell their signature dishes within the community and earn a little extra on the side.

Sustainability

This is a one off project that provides capacity which can be passed on to other generations without any other costs involved. A cooking skill is a capacity that mothers will teach their daughters etc.

Training will focus on the younger women who are still willing to change their current way of cooking and improve their dishes.
The only risks that may occur is that the foundation may need to help with the seeds for growing new/more crops to offer this variety of healthy foods, however we are confident that we are able to realise this.

We will motivate the women to grow crops for local consumption but also for local sale. Recipe books will be for common use within the communities and will not be sold. Local newspapers will be notified about the cooking course and how the money was raised to complete it. If the course is successful it certainly is an idea to charge a small fee for future cooking courses.

As we are currently focussing on Pulau Banyak and do not want to spread thin, including women outside Pulau Banyak will be an activity that will be postponed for the near future. The programme manager will certainly promote this activity in her network with collegues and other organisations working in Indonesia and is happy to share the materials and set up.

Starting date of the project

01 May 2010

End date of the project

01 May 2011

Project activities and time planning

Allocate location and date for the training
Buy equipment and food needed for the training
Prepare location for islandwide workshop
Hire mainland chefs who will facilitate the workshop
Hold workshop
Print recipe books and guidelines on growing home vegetable gardens

Expected project results

Bonding between the women of the different villages in the archipelago and improved and healthier meals for their direct family members. Women will have improved their cooking skills and able to carry this capacity forward to other generations. As there is a matriarchal society in Pulau Banyak, the women are already self reliant.

Project budget

Total costs project

EUR 2.100

Additional explanation of your budget

Costs for transportation are high due to the large distances between the islands.

Expected funding (in Euros) through other resources

0

The government is aware of our community projects and are very supportive of them. They are involved in terms of support and this activity will help them with our ties within the government for our conservation activities. The government has no funding itself to assist in these activities.

Amount requested (in Euros) through the 1% CLUB

EUR 2.100