Pandan Women Empowerment Program
On November 2006 Pekerti asked by Save the Children to hold a survey about potential and problems mapping for pandan business development in Pidie Jaya and compared with other regent that were Yogyakarta and Central Java. The result of this survey became the source to arrange the proposal of “Pidie’s Pandan Women’s empowerment program”. This program started on June 2007 and ended on March 2008, with total beneficiaries 325 women distributed on 13 groups. Most of the beneficiaries are widows of political conflict and tsunami 2004.
The activities that run in this program during 9 months, as follows:
1. Staff Training; Pre Project
2. Project Socialisation at Village Level
3. Production Training in Java
4. Skill Training for Field Worker and Selected Beneficiaries Phase 1
5. Baseline Data Collection
6. TOT Project Coordinator
7. Raw Materials Cultivation and Harvesting Training
8. Trial Production
9. Project Socialisation through Traveling Road Show
10. Skill Training for Field Worker and Selected Beneficiaries Phase 2
11. Dye Training
12. Project Shop Opening
13. Skill Training for Field worker and selected beneficiaries Phase 3
14. New Production Equipment Supplying
15. Dekranas Exhibition in Banda Aceh and Jakarta
16. Sending Export Sample
17. Sales Campaign
18. Entrepreneurial and Trial Production Mentoring and Implementation of a Purchase Order System
19. Visiting and Sharing with TASA coop (Ex-Oxfam project)
20. Secondary Coop Formation
21. Skill Training for Field worker and Selected beneficiaries For Coop Strategic Planning
22. Product Design Training
The “Pidie Pandan Women’s Empowerment Program” has been an extremely rewarding and satisfying program for Yayasan Pekerti to be involved with. Program outputs have been one of the best results that we have achieved in the last few years from our many programs.
- After nine months implementation, the “Pidie Pandan Women’s Empowerment Program”, has recorded project impact and positive outcomes. The positive outcome that have achieved on the project stage 1 as follows :
- Production cost reductions of 73%
- Increase in local wholesale price of standard product of 20%
- Value adding and new product development is seeing producers gain a daily income increases
- Increase product sales and market access not only in project area but also to other places like to Banda Aceh.
- By March 25th the shop turn over was 29,499,000 Rupiah with and average sale of 159,454 per customer or US $ 17.70. This is a very high retail customer price even in terms of a Western consumer standard.
- The Project also was able to increase staff and beneficiaries skill on business reaching in total 239 women on a constant basis by the end of the project from the original 323 beneficiaries who distribute into 13 groups
- Formation of a women’s cooperative “Seuke Aceh that was born into a legal entity on the 28th of February 2008
Beside the success that the project has had, several crucial problems also arose in the project. For that reason, Yayasan Pekerti continue this project with Save the Children to a second stage. The program is to continue the stage 1 project, those are to strengthen Seukeu Aceh Coops, expand value chain, value adding, retail outlets, government support and assistance, industry quality standards and branding as well as more membership to a single industry cooperative. This will provide an institution or organization that as a center of information, collective marketing, training and activities done collectively to strengthen the position of small pandan women producer in doing their activities.
The duration project stage 2 is 6 month, that started on May until October 2008. The project stage two has a goal to Strengthen and enhance the capacity of the Seukeu Aceh Cooperative to be stand alone, independent and sustain as an umbrella and a center for women pandan business activities. To achieve this goal, it will use program as follows :
1. Cooperative Strengthening
a. Giving board motivation to be active on cooperative
b. Board reshuffle
c. Skill training for cooperatives management
d. Cooperative Business Plan Arrangement
e. Cooperative regular meeting
f. Group Regular Meeting
2. Widen Project Services
a. Preliminary Survey and Planning for PRA.
b. Group Formation
c. Baseline data Survey
d. Group Management Training
e. Raw Materials Cultivation and Harvesting Training
f. Dying Training
g. Trial Order for Collective Production
h. Saving Program (Resource person will be from Afdhal or Save person)
i. Production Management training
j. Costing and pricing
k. Economic household
3. Product and Production
a. Designer (Suhaimi) and The 2 selected beneficiaries, Learn New Design of Pandan Product to Java
b. Product Development Training for New Beneficiaries
c. TOT of New Product Design for selected beneficiaries.
d. Product Development Training of New Design
e. Product Development for Existing Beneficiaries.
f. Trial Order of New Product Design
g. Natural dyes Experiment
h. New Production Tool and Machine
i. Product Classification and Coding
j. Purchase Order System Formulation
k. Showroom, Warehouse and Design Lab Management
l. Inventory Computerized program
4. Developing Standard Marketing System
a. Marketing Administration Training for Marketing Officer and 2 board member
b. Marketing Consultation
c. Marketing session plan for coop
d. Implementation of marketing plan
e. Exhibition and Promotion Preparation
f. Promotion to National and International focused exposition (PPE and PKA)
g. Coops Web Site Development
5. Project Staff and Management
1. Staff Recruitment
2. Project Preparation for Stage 2
3. Financial Reporting System
4. Regularly staff meeting
5. Study on livelihood
6. Mentoring Program
7. Final report.