Improving indigenous women’s access to land and participation in natural resource management

LOCATION: Mount Halimun- Salak National Park, Lebak District, Banten Province, West Java, Indonesia

TIMELINE: 2001-present

In Halimun Salak, West Java, Indonesia, Kasepuhan women were landless, and were excluded from land-related decision-making and natural resource management. The society is traditional, and is governed by strict customary law (adat) and practices. As a result of gender roles, women were confined to the house, and could not participate in community meetings. RMI worked with the Kasepuhan community to raise awareness about gender disparities and their effect on women, and to strengthen women's access to land and natural resources. As a result, Kasepuhan women are now part of women's organisations where they learn about their rights. They are participating in forest resource management and are cultivating previously underutilised land.