The Persada (Perempuan Desa Berdaya) program — meaning Empowered Rural Women — is an initiative by Gemawan to strengthen women’s roles in natural resource management through environmentally friendly farming and social forestry schemes.
In collaboration with Sangga Utama Alam Raya, this program serves as a strategy to enhance women’s economic resilience amid the challenges of climate change and ecological crisis.
The journey began with the formation of Women’s Social Forestry Business Groups (KUPS) in each village. Each group consists of around 30 women members, trained in sustainable agriculture techniques, including zero-burning land cultivation, organic fertilizer production, and natural pest control.
Through field schools, they learned to cultivate black and red rice in communal plots and developed home gardens as household food sources.
Despite facing extreme weather, crop failures, and pest attacks, the groups persevered and learned from experience.
In Sungai Bakah, the Melati group successfully harvested around 200 kilograms of black rice. Meanwhile, in Manggala, yields increased significantly after the second planting cycle, thanks to improved crop management practices.
The home gardens have become tangible solutions for food security. Cucumbers, long beans, eggplants, and medicinal plants now thrive in their backyards. Beyond filling kitchen needs, these gardens have also become spaces for education and community bonding.
From Forest to Backyard: From Women, for Persada Melawi
This movement is not only about agricultural output. The women farmers of Melawi also lead ecological restoration efforts, planting 45,000 tree seedlings in the village forest areas.
Although 30–40% of the seedlings failed to survive due to drought, their determination to care for the Earth remains unwavering. Their movement shows that climate resilience can be built from the grassroots.
As a result of these efforts, four locations have been proposed by the Melawi Environmental Agency to become Climate Village Program (Kampung Proklim) sites — a recognition of the women’s tangible contributions to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
It is proof that small acts, when rooted in collective care, can have a lasting impact.
Guarding Persada Melawi is more than a project — it is a movement of women protecting their forests, their communities, and their future.