Our Vision In Kebumen With Women Earth Alliance: Preserving 153 Hectares Of Coastal Forest

When we first arrived in Karangduwur village back in 2021, the women there were doing what they'd always done—collecting tamanu nuts from the forest, cracking them by hand with rocks and makeshift hammers, earning barely enough to get by. The 153 hectares of coastal tamanu forest that stretches between their homes and the Java Sea was just there, part of the landscape they'd known all their lives.

But we saw something different. We saw potential.

Working alongside Women's Earth Alliance, we've spent years proving that this coastal forest isn't just beautiful—it's valuable in ways that go far beyond what anyone imagined. Today, 47 women in Karangduwur are living proof that you can protect an entire ecosystem while building real prosperity for the people who call it home.

The transformation didn't happen overnight. Those early days were tough. Women like Siti and Ratiyem were juggling three or four different jobs just to make ends meet—processing tamanu nuts, tending small farms, helping their husbands with fishing nets. Many were trapped in cycles of debt that stretched back years. The forest provided some income, sure, but it was barely enough to survive on.

What changed everything was recognizing that this coastal forest was sitting on untapped potential. The tamanu trees that had been quietly growing for decades weren't just producing nuts—they were creating an entire ecosystem that could support diverse crops underneath their canopy. Turmeric, ginger, coconut palm tree for sugar production. The women already had the knowledge; they just needed the tools and market connections to turn that knowledge into sustainable livelihoods.

The environmental benefits of preserving this coastal forest are remarkable. These 153 hectares act as a natural buffer against coastal erosion, something that's becoming increasingly important as climate change brings stronger storms and rising sea levels to Java's southern coast. The root systems help stabilize the sandy soil, while the forest canopy creates microclimates that support biodiversity you won't find anywhere else in the region.

We've documented over 15,000 individual tamanu trees in this forest, each one sequestering carbon while producing the high-quality nuts that are now sought after by natural cosmetics companies worldwide. But it's not just tamanu—the agroforestry system we've helped establish supports dozens of other species, creating habitat for birds, insects, and small mammals that rely on this coastal ecosystem.

The social transformation has been just as dramatic. Through the Sinergi Mekarsari Lestari Cooperative, these women have gone from being individual workers barely scraping by to being organized business owners with direct market access. They've developed three distinct product lines: Salaka cookies made from coconut sugar, Andamoi personal care products using tamanu oil, and Yaso herbal drinks from forest-grown spices.

The solar drying dome we built changed everything about post-harvest processing. Before, the women were at the mercy of weather—if it rained during harvest season, entire batches of tamanu nuts would spoil. Now they can process year-round, maintaining quality standards that command premium prices from buyers who value sustainably sourced materials.

But what really excites us about this model is its replicability. The coastal forests of Java face pressure from urban development, unsustainable tourism development, and short-term thinking that sees trees as obstacles to development rather than assets to be preserved.

Karangduwur proves there's another way.

When women can earn stable incomes from forest products—when they have the processing equipment, market access, and organizational support they need—they become the forest's most effective protectors. Every tree that gets cut down is income lost. Every hectare that gets converted to monoculture is an opportunity destroyed.

The ripple effects extend beyond just the 47 women directly involved. Their husbands, who used to view the forest as marginal land, now see it as valuable family property worth maintaining. Their children grow up understanding that environmental protection and economic opportunity aren't opposing forces—they're complementary strategies for building a better future.

Looking ahead, we're working on expanding this model to other coastal communities facing similar challenges. The techniques we've developed for sustainable tamanu harvesting, the market relationships we've built, the cooperative structures that ensure equitable benefit distribution—all of this can be adapted to different ecosystems and different communities.

This coastal forest in Kebumen represents more than just 153 hectares of preserved land. It's proof that when you invest in communities, when you help people see the value in what they already have, and when you provide the tools and connections they need to succeed, everyone wins—the environment, the economy, and the people who depend on both.

That's not just our vision for Kebumen. That's our vision for Indonesia.