Du'Anyam is a social enterprise with a focus on improving the lives of mothers and families in Flores, east Nusa Tenggara, through the art of weaving. The seven young founders have a myriad of educational backgrounds ranging from the Harvard Business School, MIT and Wharton University of Pennsylvania.
With high inflation (15%), unemployment (30%) and interest rates (22-24%), Nusa Tenggara Timur is one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia, with about 65 percent living below the poverty line. One of its main challenges is the dependence of the population on local agriculture in a difficult and arid environment. Due to low household income and purchasing power, food insecurity is high and the level of education is low. Most people have insufficient access to basic health care.
For these reasons and more, the group of school friends behind Du'Anyam decided to choose NTT as the area to start their social enterprise, considering that the government is focusing its efforts on enough west of Indonesia. Group COO, Yohanna Keraf, is also from the region.
Before the establishment Du'Anyam, the team did a site survey in 2013, visiting the villages of Flores precisely how they could help. Locals in the region still have many children, for future planning little or no. During their visit, listening to the stories of mothers and women together, a particular story shook the group of founders of their core.
A mother told her story during her third pregnancy, now in its fourth, where it referred to the local witch doctor, dukun for help; use an event here. When this does not work, the midwives came to her home to take her to the hospital but it was too late and the mother ended up giving birth on the side of the road to a stillborn baby. Since hearing this story, Du'Anyam have worked hard to achieve their dream of helping mothers and women in this region.
Today Du'Anyam works with 40 women from three villages in East Flores Regency.
Traditionally, and quite shocking for most, it is women who plow the fields, harvesting crops, and do the same in case of pregnancy of seven to eight months. Men often stay at home or work at sea
"We are not here to replace their core business; we just give them alternative employment opportunities." Said Melia Winata, CMO and marketing director. "We found in our survey that there was a technique of weaving existing in the community using palmera ( Lontar ) leaves, with older generations still remember how to weave baskets, they use for ceremonies and rituals. We decided to focus on this weaving as a way to help these women "
Du'Anyam teaches women to create more functional products through weaving -. As pretty as the baskets are, not everyone needs in their modern life - and came up with the idea of sandals, mainly inside for private villas and hotels in Bali. Women are taught colors and styles weaving, and women are paid per finished product they produce.
What Du'Anyam soon discovered is a sharing system between mothers in the region. If a woman is unable to work in her field, she will pay her friend to cover for her in a rotating manner. Since Du'Anyam have infiltrated the area, if there are no pregnant women in the village, the women cultivate the morning and weave in the afternoon. If a pregnant woman in the group, his friends are going to work the land while the pregnant woman weaving for her and her friends at home, reducing the difficulties and the risk of complications for pregnant women.
future plans include the development of a nutrition program in collaboration with other NGOs in the region. Du'Anyam would also create more modern products, for example if a laptop and covers telephone and hopes to enter the retail market in Jakarta.
sustainability is extremely important to this group of young entrepreneurs, having learned a lot of social events they participated and won in, including the social Business competition Harvard, the MIT idea of global challenge, they won in 2013, and the top 23 of the Enterprise Community competition British Council, which helped to expand their network. the latest victory of the competition was the Du'Anyam Global Social Venture Competition.
Supported by business incubator, UnLtd Indonesia, Executive Director, Romy Chahyadi, approached the group to support with grants and become a mentor. Clearly he saw the vision and determined group of young people in Du'Anyam.
Currently Du'Anyam a field facilitator of the village of Flores, who looks after admin and remains in contact with the team to Jakarta via a mobile phone. There is also a project officer based in Flores who is in charge of quality control and new approaches women to join the women's weaving group.
In 2016 Du'Anyam plans to have 150 weaving women in their social enterprise, helping more mothers and newborns through willow weaving. Products come with a card of thanks and a postcard, to reassure customers that their money went to make a big thing and help the hardest hit in one of the poorest areas of Indonesia.
Sightseeing www.duanyam.com for more information and to see the range of products. Articles can be made to order.