The first Women Ranger Team in Aceh

With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people in Bali have lost their jobs and are not able to feed their families. Connect fo Cause is supporting local organisations, communities and animals in need through the creation of fundraising videos to make the urgent situation visible. Combined with a fundraising campaign for Crisis Kitchen Bali, Social Impakt, HAkA and BAWA, more than € 2,500 was raised in less than 4 weeks.

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Description

The village, bordering the Leuser Ecosystem, recently became the location of a pioneering women initiative. Damaran Baru has formed the first women’s ranger team in Aceh! The village is surrounded by forests and sits on the foothills of a mountain. In 2015, the village was hit by devastating flash floods. Post-recovery, the village realized forests must be protected. Protecting the forest is often associated as “a man’s job”. Not in Damaran Baru, where women are leading initiatives to protect and manage their forest, and even obtained a Village Forest (Hutan Desa) permit from the MoEF of Indonesia. HAkA assisted Damaran Baru in their efforts to obtain the permit and formation of the women’s ranger team. The ranger team will patrol the forest for 5 days every month to collect illegal forest activities as well as biodiversity data. Women often feel the biggest impact from environmental loss and climate change, especially those living in rural areas. Empowering women to take part in forest protection and creating a positive impact against climate change is a step forward.

Details Campaign and Impact

Media for Cause was on the ground to tell the story of the upcoming Women Ranger Team in Aceh who protect the forest. The video served as a big contribution in being able to obtain the Village Forest permit from the Indonesian government. The permit enabled a better way to manage and protect 251 hectares of Protected Forest near their village and inspire other women groups to do the same.

It is amazing to see how the project has been involved over the years and helping to protect the Leuser Ecosystem which is the last place where rhinos, tigers, elephants and orangutans exist in the wild.

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