Empower Women with Sustainable Livelihood

In preparation for the upcoming Safe Migration and Financial Literacy Training for Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) and their families, INFEST Foundation Yogyakarta organized a coordination and evaluation meeting with the Indonesian Migrant Worker Community (KOPI) in Blitar Regency. The activity was held on Sunday, 1 October 2025, at the KOPI Lorejo Secretariat in Bakung Sub-district, Blitar Regency.

The meeting was attended by 32 participants representing KOPI management from five program villages—Pandanarum, Lorejo, Sumberagung, Jatinom, and Gogodeso—as well as representatives from the district-level KOPI, a cooperative manager, and INFEST’s Field Officer in Blitar. Most participants were women, reflecting the strong involvement of women, both as former migrant workers and family members of PMI, in community empowerment activities.

The purpose of the meeting was to jointly reflect on the implementation of previous Safe Migration and financial literacy trainings conducted in recent years and to formulate strategies to improve future training programs. The discussion was facilitated by INFEST using a participatory approach that encouraged participants to openly share their experiences, challenges, and lessons learned while supporting migrant workers and their families.

During the reflection session, participants acknowledged that previous Safe Migration trainings had contributed positively to improving the knowledge and preparedness of prospective migrant workers, particularly regarding their rights, responsibilities, and the risks associated with working abroad. However, participants also highlighted the need to strengthen the financial literacy component, particularly in household financial management, remittance planning, long-term financial goals, and debt prevention.

Participants emphasized that future trainings should apply methods that are simple, practical, and closely aligned with the daily realities of migrant families. The use of accessible language, real-life case studies, and interactive learning methods was considered essential to ensure participants’ understanding. In addition, there was a strong recommendation to introduce comprehension assessments, such as pre- and post-tests, along with feedback mechanisms to evaluate the effectiveness of training delivery.

As a concrete outcome of the meeting, participants agreed to establish a district-level Safe Migration and Financial Literacy Training Committee. This committee will be responsible for coordinating training preparation, managing logistics, supporting facilitators, and ensuring the smooth implementation of future training activities. The formation of this committee reflects a shared commitment among KOPI members and INFEST to strengthen local ownership and sustainability of the training program.

The meeting concluded with the formulation of a follow-up plan, including further coordination among committee members, refinement of the financial literacy module currently being developed by INFEST, and the strengthening of KOPI’s role as a community-based learning platform at the village level. Through this process, INFEST and KOPI Blitar aim to enhance the quality, relevance, and impact of Safe Migration and financial literacy trainings for migrant workers and their families.
This activity represents an important step toward ensuring that financial literacy interventions move beyond one-off training sessions and contribute meaningfully to the development of healthier financial practices among migrant families. By strengthening community-based facilitation and participatory learning approaches, INFEST seeks to support migrant workers in breaking cycles of economic vulnerability and achieving more sustainable livelihoods.

To strengthen the economic protection of women and their families, INFEST Yogyakarta, in collaboration with the Indonesian Migrant Worker Community (KOPI), organized a coordination and evaluation meeting focused on cooperative governance and business unit management. The activity was held in Ponorogo on 21 March 2025 and brought together cooperative managers, KOPI representatives, and INFEST staff involved in developing the Koperasi Konsumen Pusat Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (KPTKI).

This meeting was conducted as a follow-up to the establishment of KPTKI and the operation of the “Sobat TKI” grocery store business units in Ponorogo and Blitar, which had been running for approximately two months. During this initial operational phase, various challenges emerged related to business management, operational costs, reporting mechanisms, and cooperative governance. The meeting aimed to address these challenges through collective reflection, technical capacity-building, and the refinement of management systems.

The activity was attended by 20 participants, primarily KOPI representatives and cooperative business managers from Ponorogo and Blitar, along with INFEST staff. The meeting served as a space for shared learning, coordination, and strategic alignment among actors responsible for managing cooperative business units.

Main Sessions and Learning Process

In the first session, participants were introduced to the Point of Sale (PoS) application as a digital tool to support transparent and accountable store management. Facilitators guided participants through the basic features of the PoS system, including product data entry, cashier transaction recording, and centralized data synchronization. This session aimed to improve participants’ capacity to accurately document sales transactions and strengthen financial oversight within the cooperative's business units.

The second session focused on a business performance evaluation, delivered directly by the cooperative business managers from Blitar and Ponorogo. Participants jointly reflected on operational experiences over the past two months, examining sales performance, daily operations, human resource management, and basic marketing strategies. The discussion revealed that while managers were still working to reach sales targets, early innovations had already begun to emerge in response to local contexts.

Participants shared district-specific strategies, including initiatives in Blitar during the fasting month, where grocery packages were ordered by Indonesian migrant workers abroad for their families, and outreach-based marketing efforts in Ponorogo, carried out in collaboration with village-level communities. These experiences highlighted the importance of flexibility and local adaptation in cooperative business development.

The final part of the meeting was dedicated to collective reflection on cooperative governance, including the roles and responsibilities of store managers, reporting mechanisms between business units and the cooperative, and the need for clearer operational standards. Based on shared experiences, a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for grocery store management was reviewed and refined to better reflect field conditions.

Key Achievements and Outcomes

The meeting resulted in several important outcomes. A refined draft of the SOP for grocery store management was developed, incorporating lessons learned from 2 months of operational experience. Participants gained practical knowledge of using the PoS application to document transactions and enhance financial transparency. The activity also strengthened mutual understanding among cooperative managers regarding operational challenges and opportunities for innovation.

In addition, the meeting reinforced collective awareness of the importance of structured reporting, cost efficiency, and accountability in cooperative management. Participants agreed on follow-up steps to improve business performance, including deadlines for completing product data entry in the PoS system, monthly submission of business reports, and increased use of digital marketing to support sales growth.