Rotary Club - Yogyakarta

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.
-???

This seems to be the mentality of the Rotary Club of Yogyakarta which we visited this afternoon. Their micro credit and training program to educate students at Yogya Agriculture University is based on an empowerment principle that basically focuses on working with people rather than just changing their situation. This program promotes organic farming and is a model for local farmers looking for more sustainable agricultural practices (rather than relying on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which are currently overused). The Gaia Foundation that we visited Monday and Tuesday seems to operate in a similar fashion. The Gaia Foundation provides scholarships for street children to attend school and educate themselves rather than just feeding them and giving them a place to stay. Both of these organizations - the Gaia Foundation and the Rotary Club of Yogyakarta - are working to educate the street children and farmers, respectively, in Indonesia rather than just changing the situations in which they are currently living.

This micro credit and training program for farmers is just one of the Rotary Club's many projects; others address poverty, health care, literacy, etc. This project, however, is especially important because over 40% of Indonesians work in the agriculture field, and 60% of the poorest of Indonesians are farmers. Therefore, it is important that there is a program that introduces farmers to organic farming and teaches them sustainable farming practices. This micro credit and training program provides seed, fish, rabbits, goats, etc for the farmers. We walked around this afternoon (right before the mini flash flood) and saw some of the goats, rabbits, and rice fields that were part of the program. Joglo Tani (an Association of Organic Farmers) and Yayasan Kaula Karya (an NGO) also support this micro credit and training program.

In summary, this program is one way that Indonesian farmers in Yogyakarta, who provide vital products for the island of Java, can receive revolving loans to begin organic farms and become educated about farming, which is central to Indonesian culture.

Also, I just lost the game. :)

~Sarah