Food security through organic farming in Indonesia

Dear friends,

Some of you might have heard the news that last November, an earthquake hit our working area of Cipanas, West Java. Many people suffered huge losses and many have lost their homes. Based on data from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), there are more than 62,000 people in shelters due to the earthquake that occurred.

Though the farm was not badly hit, some of our farmers’ homes were damaged. Since then, humanitarian assistance has been urgently needed, from emergency tents, supplies for babies and children, medicine, clothes, food, to trauma healing.

From the onset of the disaster, the farm and all our staff have been doing our best to provide assistance, one of which is by distributing donations in the form of organic vegetables, rice and groceries, with priority to those who are most vulnerable like pregnant women, the elderly, the homeless, orphans, widows and daily informal workers.

Up till today, our farmers are still hard at work to ensure the farm is operating normally while also distributing donations to the people affected by the earthquake.

Thank you for your generous support to the farm! 

NB: If you can, we would appreciate it if you could set up a monthly donation through GlobalGiving as this provides us with a sustainable source of funds. New monthly donations (up to $200 per unique donor) will have their first donation matched at 100% after four (4) total payments.

Based on data from the Central Bureau of National Statistics, Indonesia is in a state of emergency for the farming profession. Of the total 32 million farmers, only 15% of farmers are young people aged 18 to 33 years old. Most of the farmers, more specifically 62%, are aged 45-65 years and over. This condition is an irony for Indonesia which has huge agricultural potential. That is why our organic farm is committed to being the center of community development and developing the potential of young farmers.

Thanks to your support, our farm continues to be the home for many aspiring young farmers to learn all about organic farming. 

At the farm, we continue to receive students who are doing their on-the-ground training, mostly young adults who are in agricultural high school or university students majoring in agriculture. On average, we can receive up to 20 students every month who stay at the farm for several weeks. Recently, a few university students majoring in agriculture just finished their time with us. One of them, Tika, was generous enough to share her story.

“I loved my Internship here at YUM Organic Farm. I gained valuable knowledge and experience that I didn't get from lectures (I mostly learn theory at my university) such as utilizing vegetable waste into compost, pest management using a combination of plants with a strong odor, as well as practicing good and effective organic vegetable cultivation practices.

I'm grateful to be here, where I feel welcome in an environment that supports me to grow. I hope YUM Organic Farm will continue to provide space for students to study here in the future so that more young farmers like myself can get the essential knowledge and experience in sustainable organic farming practices!”

Although we spend a great deal of effort to maximize selling organic vegetables to our customers in Jakarta, the profits are far from being sustainable. Every donation you make ensures the running of the farm and supports us to continue to provide a learning space for many more students to come.

In other news: YUM’s 2021 Annual Report has been published! Find out more about all our activities by going to YUM 2021 Annual Report