Women Groups, Home Gardens and Financial Management: Female Business Power in Indonesia
“We want to learn new skills and knowledge to make our business more profitable”. This is how Sriyanti, the wife of the village chief at Mekar Jaya in southern Sumatra and leader of the women farmer group Mitra-Jaya-Utama, sums up the goal of the group.
What began as modest oyster mushroom cultivation in a tiny hut in March 2025 has turned into a thriving business in just seven months.
500 backlogs of mushrooms have already generated an additional income of IRP 1.5 million (USD 92) on top of the average monthly income of USD 240 available to a smallholder coffee farming family in southern Sumatra. A great success and very promising development considering the early phase of this business. And there is more to come.
The 20 members of the Mitra-Jaya-Utama group have recently started to produce mushroom crisps and violet sweet potato chips, which they sell by order for IRP 10,000 (USD 0,60) per 100 grams. The product is in place, and the next steps will include packaging and marketing, something Yuliani will focus on.
The 52-year-old mother of three has a bachelor’s degree in education and is the group’s marketing manager. “My hope is to successfully sell a great product using our collective creativity and energy”, says Yuliani. The brand name has already been decided: “Mitra-Jaya-Utama”, like the women group.
To date, 1,393 women farmers are organized in 56 women farmer groups as part of ICP projects in Indonesia. These groups are not only advancing women’s leadership but are also drivers of entrepreneurship. They focus on community savings, food processing and home gardening.
Home Gardens: Women’s Plots for Food and Cash
ICPs sustainable livelihoods’ approach promotes home gardening and food-based enterprises to diversify income and strengthen food security— particularly among women farmer groups. The idea is modest but powerful: convert household yards and idle plots into productive gardens that generate food, cash, and savings under women’s management.
Despite the availability of land around their homes, many women farmers in Indonesia had not traditionally viewed home gardens as a viable source of food or income. For generations, the habit of purchasing vegetables from local markets or mobile vendors had been the norm. This routine, while convenient, represents a continuous household expense and carries food safety concerns, as many women are unaware of the level of pesticide residues in the produce they buy.
ICP projects introduced a fresh perspective to women farmers: that a portion of their household vegetable and fruit needs could be met directly through their own home gardens. With support from HRNS Indonesia as implementing partner, organic vegetable cultivation techniques were introduced.
"Practical demonstrations and one-on-one mentoring by our field staff have contributed to improving household nutrition with safe, home-grown food and reducing dependence on market-bought produce."
At present, all women farmer groups are running five home gardens in context of ICP projects, collectively cultivating 13 types of vegetables and fruits in their backyards. These include eggplant, cabbage, green beans, and spring onions.
The members of the women group also cook with these vegetables together at their meetings. Recipes are exchanged and improved, and there is also cause for celebration. Networking, in other words.
Snack and Candy Production
In addition to home gardening, some women groups have identified potential micro-enterprise models by exploring value-added food products.
The Matahari group in Kisam Ilir creatively repurposes overripe papayas and produces sweet papaya candies.
Matahari is a very diverse group of women whose members are between 25 and 75 years old.
56-year-old Tati Maryati is the leader of the group. The mother of four has already four grandchildren, whom she sometimes spoils with papaya candy. Customers, on the other hand, have to pay IRP 1,000 for 3 pieces of candy.
Financial Management: Women Farmer Savings & Loan Cooperatives
Rural communities in Indonesia face systemic barriers to accessing financial services. This is especially true for women.
Building on the strong momentum of women groups within ICP projects, women farmer savings & loan cooperatives are now actively operating. These cooperatives provide access to small-scale loans supporting a broad range of needs, including small processing equipment and farming-related investments.
Financial literacy training provides the women farmers with tools to manage group savings and household budgets, increasing their confidence as economic actors.
“Accessible loans with an affordable interest rate have made a huge difference for our group”, says 40-year-old Rosdiana, who is the leader of the savings & loan group Delima Indah in Buay Rawan village. “We also support our members in case of emergencies like hospital treatments”.
The Delima Indah savings & loan group was established in March 2025 and has already recorded a circulating fund of IDR 13 million (USD 790), a huge step considering the early phase and community-led nature of the effort.
Beyond the financial function, this group also serves as platform for financial literacy, where members can strengthen their understanding of savings, borrowing, and collective accountability. Plans are underway to support peer learning between women’s groups and gradually scale this model to other villages.
These early successes demonstrate the potential of women-led financial systems in rural settings in Indonesia, not just as tools for economic support, but as vehicles for agency, trust-building, and better livelihoods.
