About Balwana

Balwana Bumi Lestari partners with rural communities across Indonesia to prove that environmental conservation and economic prosperity are inseparable, helping communities become environmental stewards while building sustainable livelihoods that demonstrate forests are more valuable standing than cut down.
 

If we strengthen forest and agroforestry management, equip communities with skills and infrastructure, incubate market-ready products, build robust cooperatives with strong governance, and establish sustainable buyer relationships, then community income, resilience, and decision-making power increase—making large-scale forest conservation economically attractive and socially sustainable.
 

Rooted in Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) principles, we work primarily with women-led cooperatives to create replicable models where traditional knowledge meets market innovation, transforming local resources into competitive products while generating lasting incentives for community-led environmental stewardship that benefits both people and planet.