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Heifer Project International/Indonesia's (HPI/IA) purpose is to assist in transforming rural communities to be just, self-reliant, and sustainable, thereby reducing hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation. This is done by building trusting partnerships that strengthen local groups, while sharing knowledge, livestock, and related resources, Passing on the Gifts, with people in genuine need.

HPI/IA uses human values as essential resources to improve people's lives. We help community groups clarify their own values and vision of the future. Values energize, motivate, and bond people together to achieve common goals. A shared and clear vision states the desired, tangible results of expressing local values in local action. It gives hope and direction for the future. HPI/IA's values include those italicized in its purpose statement above as well as Education, Gender Sensitivity & Family Focus, Accountability, Spirituality, Sharing & Caring, Full Participation, and Improved Animal Management.

Program Areas

One of HPI/IA's greatest sustainable impacts is, and will continue to be, strengthening partner organizations to improve their capacity to transform rural farming communities.

The Sustainable, Mixed Agriculture-Livestock Livelihoods (Small) Program is carried out together with NGOs and CBOs and focuses on livestock-related farm-level activities that benefit CBO members and their families. HPI/IA has established several new projects under the Small program that are held by local NGOs. HPI/IA also manages several in-house projects including Community Animal Health Volunteers in Indonesia (CAHVI) that trains carefully selected male and female farmers to provide basic animal health services in their village; community water monitoring to create community awareness and initiate environmental improvement activities; a Master Farmer Training Program that trains selected farmers to train other farmers in technical agricultural topics; compost training involving trainers from seven local NGOs and 50 farmer groups; and support for local NGOs to use values-based planning and management with their CBOs.

We currently work with local organizations in Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, West Sumatra, South Sumatra, and Lampung provinces. Livestock species that we have distributed to families include water buffalo, cattle, goat, sheep, pig, fish, chicken, and duck.

The Building Capacity (BiC) of Local Organizations Program focuses on strengthening local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based farmer organizations (CBOs). The BiC program is carried out through the activities of the Learning Community (LC) of 20 local, Sumatran-based NGOs, whose mission statement is "To strengthen LC member NGOs to carry out effective and sustainable grassroots community development."

Major BiC program efforts include: forming and coordinating the LC and Annual Learning Community Consultations (ALCC); implementing values-based planning and management (also known as the Cornerstones Model or CM) in NGOs and CBOs, gender awareness and analysis in NGOs and CBOs, training of trainers in learner-centered education; developing gender and CM training modules for CBOs; coordinating an organizational self-assessment process for NGOs; and holding various follow-up learning activities related to the training.

Together, our interrelated Small and BiC programs promote sustainable and productive mixed crop agriculture-livestock livelihoods of Sumatran families. Because most of the capacities are crosscutting, the local organizations are expected to carry the impact to all aspects of their programs and to broader areas of development in Sumatran society.

Passing on the Gift

HPI depends on the generous contributions of individuals, schools, religious, and other community groups for most of its funds.

Donors are encouraged to write a message to a family that will receive an animal from HPI. In Indonesia, we make it a special point to read and give a donor message card to each beneficiary in simple ceremonies. This card helps promote the feeling of sharing and caring that lies behind the gift of the animal.

Eventually, these families repay the "in-kind loan" by also "Passing on the Gift" of animal offspring, knowledge and other resources to another family in need. They will also get their chance to fill out a donor card to the next family. In this way, the Recipient becomes a Giver; raising their esteem in the community and their self-worth in knowing that they can also help someone in need.

To learn more about our work or how you can contribute, please contact us:

Heifer Indonesia
Main Office:
Jl. Mengkara No. 57
Medan Petisah, North Sumatra, Indonesia, 20112
T.: +62 61 4157121 (hunting)
F.: +62 61 4157161
heifer@heiferindonesia.org

Field Office:
Taman Putri Indah No. 12
Sei Selayur Palembang 30118
South Sumatra - Indonesia
T.: +62 711 710655; 62-711-7062602
F.: +62 711 710655
Email info@heiferindonesia.org
Heifer International website www.heifer.org
Heifer Indonesia website www.heiferindonesia.org

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