Program Area

Heifer Indonesia has nine main program areas, Building Capacity (BiC) of Local Organizations, Sustainable, Mixed crop Agriculture-Livestock Livelihoods (Small), Community Animal Health Volunteers in Indonesia (CAHVI),  Sustainable Livelihood for Indigenous People (SUSLIV) through Integration of Livestock and Organic Farming in Nothern Sumatra, Rebuilding Livelihood of Tsunami Affected Communities in Aceh & Nias-Indonesia, and four newly started program, namely; Livelihood Empowerment through Agro-forestry (LEAF) in Southern Sumatra, Sustainable Agro-Livestock Livelihood and Gender Empowerment (STAGE) in North Sumatra, Community Livelihood Empowerment through Agro-ecology for Holistic Development (Co-LEAD) in West Sumatra and Capacity Building for Holistic Development in Indonesia.

The past and current projects of Heifer Indonesia focused on group development, trainings, health and income improvement. Livestock supports include goats, cattle, water buffalo, bees, sheep, swine, fish, chickens, ducks, and quail. All current projects are integrating gender concern -since Heifer Indonesia has embarked its gender mainstreaming since 2003- and as umbrella projects; that will be implemented through local NGOs, which act as sub-project holders. The NGOs will implement the project in the communities through CBOs.

The BiC program focuses on strengthening local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs). The BiC program will strengthen the capacity of Sumatran NGOs and Heifer Indonesia to develop empowered, sustainable rural CBOs. Major BiC program efforts include: forming and coordinating the LC (Learning Community) and five Annual Learning Community Consultations (ALCC); trainings in the values-based planning and management (known as the Cornerstones Model (CM)), gender awareness and analysis, and training of trainers in learner-centered education; and various other organizational and technical  training modules for CBOs; conducting organizational self-assessments for NGOs and CBOs; and holding various follow-up activities related to the trainings.

The Small program is implemented in partnership with the NGOs and CBOs and focuses on initiating specific livestock-related farm-level activities that benefit CBO members and their families. Heifer Indonesia funds its livestock-based projects under the Small program, which are held by local NGOs.

 The CAHVI project trains selected community animal health volunteers in each village. Components of each of these three program areas (BiC, SMALL & CAHVI) strengthen NGOs, CBOs, and farm families through training, and providing livestock and other resources. Together, the interrelated programs will promote sustainable and productive mixed crop agriculture-livestock livelihoods of Sumatran families. However, since most of the capacities are cross-cutting, the organizations are expected to carry the impact to all aspects of their programs and to broader areas of development in Sumatran society.

Indigenous people in remote areas have little access to education, health care and other public services. The growth of large plantations and illegal logging in Sumatra has decreased their access to land and forest resources. The SUSLIV project will improve the livelihood of indigenous people in northern Sumatra. The families will raise livestock and plant organic kitchen gardens. Some 350 families will receive poultry, fish, pigs, goats, vegetable seeds and participate in field-based training on improved animal management, kitchen gardening, food processing and marketing agricultural products.

The tsunami that followed the 2004 undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean northwest of the Indonesian island of Sumatra devastated most parts of Aceh and Nias. The disaster also killed more than 200,000 people and caused displacement and food security problems of the survivors. The Rebuilding Livelihood of Tsunami Affected Communities in Aceh & Nias-Indonesia project will help rebuild livelihoods for fishermen and small-scale farmers. The project will also promote community-based natural resources management and provide training for 1,500 families in sustainable farming and animal husbandry management.

The LEAF project will improve the livelihood of marginalized community adjacent to forests areas in Southern Sumatra. A total of 450 original families in Southern Sumatra will be supported with goats, hair sheep, fingerlings, packages of honey bees, and horticulture seeds. An additional 900 needy families will be assisted through passing on the gift scheme. Trainings will be provided both technical and non-technical trainings. Farmers community will be empowered through activation and effective function of farmers self-help group (SHG). Heifer International Indonesia will collaborate with local NGOs and local governments and others services providers will provide technical support for this project.

The STAGE project will empower disadvantaged and poor women involve in small farming in rural areas in North Sumatra Province. The project will enable the participants to be self-reliance by providing productive resources such as livestock, and horticulture. The project will also empower not only to increase their income to meet their basic needs but also educate them to practice environment friendly farming.

This three years project will assist 240 original and 480 pass on families who are poor since the most vulnerable poor in rural areas are women, most of participants will be women. The project will provide livestock of goat, pig and fish integrated with horticulture and medicinal plants.

Social capital of project participants will be empowered by facilitating effective existence function of community self-help groups. Both technical and non-technical trainings will be supported by this project. The project will be implemented in collaboration with local NGOs as project partners. The NGO will provide day-to-day project activities, including group development and mobilization.

The CO-LEAD project will improve livelihood of poor farmers in West Sumatra of Indonesia that lead to sustainable holistic development. Improvement of livelihood will be implemented through diversified income generation and agro-ecology practice.  The project will support 525 farmers’ families who are vulnerable and trapped in economic deprivation in two districts of Solok Selatan and Pesisir Selatan. They will be trained, tp access and controlled the livelihood resources and will be strengthened to achieve self-reliance and to meet their food and other basic needs.

There will be 175 original project participants and 350 pass on participants. For 175 original farmers will be supported with goats, fingerlings and horticulture seeds and herbal plant. They will also participate in empowerment trainings both technical and non-technical.

The Capacitiy Building for Holistic Development developed as part of the Heifer Indonesia expansion plan, this three-year project will strengthen the capacity of 55 potential and 57 existing project partners and Heifer Indonesia staff to implement values-based community development projects. Project partners and all Heifer staff will be trained in: values-based holistic community development (VBHCD); Cornerstones, leadership; management and saving/credit programs for self help groups; and monitoring and evaluation.

back to top