Why is Direct Funding Important for Indigenous Communities, Farmers, Fishermen, Women, Young People, and People with Disabilities?
The world is currently facing a multidimensional crisis encompassing economic, political, ecological, and geopolitical crises. This situation has impacted conditions in various Asian countries, including narrowing democratic space and increasing threats to Indigenous Peoples, Farmers, Fishermen, Women, the Youth, and People with Disabilities. These impacts are evident in increased land grabbing, evictions from community-managed areas, environmental damage, and the dominance of capital over natural resources, further worsening people's living conditions.
In the learning space which is carried out jointly between Dana Nusantara and IPAS Fund, Rukka Sombolinggi, Secretary General AMAN explained that although Asian countries are home to two-thirds of the world's Indigenous Peoples, their existence is almost always overlooked. Yet, Indigenous Peoples, including farmers, fishermen, women, young people, and people with disabilities, play a significant role in managing most of the livelihoods within their regions, including the biodiversity that sustains the world's life.
The Forest Tenure Funders Group (FTFG) report shows that the distribution of funding for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities remains unequal across regions. In the 2023 report, the majority of regional funding was concentrated in Latin America (58%) and Africa (33%), while Asia Pacific received only around 9%. However, the 2024 report shows a significant increase, with the share of funding for Asia Pacific increasing to 18%, while Latin America remains the largest recipient at 58% and Africa at 23%.
Jennifer Lasimbang, Director of IPAS Fund The report echoes the findings of the IPAS Fund's 2024 baseline report, which highlighted the underfunding of Indigenous Peoples' organizations in Asia. The situation is even more severe for women and youth, who are often overlooked in funding priorities.
Dewi Kartika, Secretary General KPA He stated that experience shows that global funding for climate change, forest protection, and Indigenous Peoples' rights remains difficult for communities to access directly. Long bureaucratic chains, the dominance of certain institutions, limited capacity, and language barriers often prevent funding support from reaching communities at the grassroots level.
The Birth of Direct Funding Mechanisms in Indonesia and Asia
Starting from this situation, in 2020 AMAN, KPAand WALHI start building Dana Nusantara as a funding mechanism that aims to strengthen people's movements through a simpler, more flexible, and trust-based funding system.
Dana Nusantara and the IPAS Fund is here to encourage changes in funding governance to be more pro-community, strengthening the struggle for land rights, environmental protection, and the safety of land rights activists.
In 2023 Dana Nusantara launched and direct funding operations began later that year. Dana Nusantara applying the principle of funding which is carried out with two main approaches, namely rights-based (rights-based) and trust-based (trust-based). Dana Nusantara also believes that the community is capable of managing funding responsibly.
"Outline Dana Nusantara carry out two things which are the main principles, right based and trust-based (rights-based and trust-based). We believe the initiatives we support are connected to the fight for rights and improving the quality of life. We demonstrate that our key partners can manage funding independently, fairly, inclusively, and transparently. We believe these practices can be implemented by our key partners." Ode Rakhman, Director Dana Nusantara.
At the regional level, the idea for the IPAS Fund arose from the need of Indigenous Peoples in Asia to have a funding mechanism led directly by Indigenous Peoples themselves, based on the vision and needs of communities at the grassroots level.
In 2022, Indigenous Peoples' leaders in Asia began building a collaborative effort to ensure Indigenous Peoples in the region have more equitable access to funding. The IPAS Fund develops various funding schemes, ranging from grassroots, sectoral, subnational, national, emergency, and capacity-building funding.
The IPAS Fund not only functions as a fund channeling institution, but also funding movement as a support system that helps strengthen the capacity of Indigenous communities in Asia. The approach emphasizes that the funding provided goes beyond project support, but also strengthens Indigenous movements in a sustainable manner.
"The smallest money that we give, they go up when we have interlearning from the community. We learn from our mistakes, share our mistakes and vision together. That's why spiral and keep building. Because the need is great from the ground, but the funds are not reaching us effectively." Jennifer Lasimbang, Executive Director of IPAS Fund.
From both funding mechanism models, it is emphasized that funding is not the main objective of the movement, but rather as a support system to strengthen the strengths that the community actually has, namely solidarity, self-reliance, social strength, and the community's ability to survive and organize itself.
Stories of Change from the Community
Until April 2026, Dana Nusantara has distributed funding of 3,3 million USD to support 545 initiatives across 35 provinces in Indonesia. Dana Nusantara The value of direct funding lies in its function as a support system designed to strengthen the movements of Indigenous Peoples, Farmers, Fishermen, Women, and the Youth Generation. Therefore, the success of direct funding is measured not only by the amount of funds disbursed, but also by the extent to which it contributes to strengthening people's movements.
Similarly, the IPAS Fund conducted a pilot funding program for 20 initiatives in six countries in 2024. By 2025, it had successfully supported 105 initiatives with total funding of US$747. Overall, the IPAS Fund distributed approximately US$847 to 125 community initiatives during 2024–2025.
During the learning space process, participants shared their experiences on how funding mechanisms can support the strengthening of their movements at the community level. Various experiences from participants Dana Nusantara and the IPAS Fund demonstrates that direct funding not only helps program implementation, but also strengthens the movement's capacity and solidarity.
As conveyed by the representative of the Se'seng Toraya Indigenous Community, through their initiative to restore customary areas using local plants, this also serves as a means of transferring knowledge between generations.
"As is Dana Nusantara We are very grateful, we held several meetings which were also accompanied by AMAN areas to access funding Dana NusantaraWe rehabilitated indigenous areas by replanting food crops and local trees. The impact was profound. The community's enthusiasm from the meetings made us realize that despite our suffering, many wonderful people outside are also helping us.. " Tridianus Kala, Se'seng Toraya Indigenous Community, South Sulawesi.
A similar sentiment was expressed by female farmers from the Pasundan Farmers Union (SPP) in West Java who established a community education center for women, ARAS Siti Halimah. The women's-led initiative has successfully created a space for women to strengthen their capacities.
"SPP is the largest farmer organization in Indonesia that fights for land rights. SPP and KPA I believe that the struggle for genuine agrarian reform, constitutionally and theologically correct, has been going on for 30 years. Currently, SPP has built nine formal schools. Elementary, middle, and vocational schools are built to raise awareness among farmers' children so that they will love their parents' struggle. I was one of those who attended SPP schools and am currently a teacher at the school built by SPP. Today, SPP and KPA The SPP is also building the ARAS Institute, an educational center for women advocates for agrarian reform. The SPP has also established a cooperative aimed at addressing economic issues and improving the welfare of its farmer members.. " Lela Sari, Pasundan Farmers Union.
Voices from women farmers in West Sumatra, representatives from the Melayan Kapa Group of women farmers said that the initiative led by the women's group amidst the seizure of their territory by large-scale oil palm plantations succeeded in leading an economic initiative through hydroponic melon cultivation which was able to strengthen the movement.
"Thank you for helping us. Since the eviction, we have been cultivating hydroponic melons (melon gardens). The garden we have been working on every day has become very difficult since the eviction. We are struggling to even feed our children. When we have the funds, we can build and start this hydroponic melon garden. We can only grow melons now because we don't have any land. We are currently planting melons and they are already 10 days old. Perhaps you can help with the next process.. " Syahmiarti, a Female Farmer in Kapa Fights Back.
People with disabilities in Myanmar and Nepal are more organized in their fight for their rights, as Joshua, a Chin Indigenous person from Myanmar, noted.
"I am from the Chin community from Myanmar. I became a person when I was one year old. There are 71 million Indigenous People with disabilities globally and 45 million Indigenous People with disabilities are in Asia specific regions. We've been suffering. Many people see us based on how we look, not on what we can. But the IPAS Fund is open, the platform and opportunity for the Indigenous People with disabilities. In the IPAS Fund we have a disability sectoral community to support getting an Indigenous People with disabilities to get funds easily from the IPAS funds.
Where the funds are hand managed, reach the grassroots level. Last year we could successfully advocate for one of the provinces in Nepal to accept the word of intersectionality. Recognizing Indigenous persons with disabilities, women and girls with disabilities as worthy of action. What does happen, because of the support of the IPAS Fund. In the IPAS fund we have been strengthening movement building at the country's level. We are also now planning to set up a network of Indigenous People with Disabilities in Asia. I wish you were able to come up with plenty of voices, through empowerment of Indigenous People with disabilities. It will help us to fight for our rights and social justice.” Joshua, Disability Development Initiative (DDI) Myanmar – IPAS Fund.
Reflections on Challenges that Strengthen Direct Funding Going Forward
The implementation of direct funding at the community level is not without its various challenges, ranging from governance and access to implementation. In a collaborative learning space between Dana Nusantara and the IPAS Fund, participants reflected on their experiences at the community level. This is crucial for improving direct funding mechanisms going forward.
One important reflection is the need to ensure that direct funding mechanisms truly strengthen the movement, rather than creating dependency on financial assistance. Participants expressed concern about the potential for dependency on direct funding, despite the strong social capital inherent in organizations such as indigenous peoples, farmers, fishermen, women, youth, and people with disabilities.
Building on this, participants reflected on the importance of maintaining the sustainability of the movement without destroying its self-sufficiency. As expressed by Yustina, a coffee farmer from the Obor Hidup Lestari Foundation in East Nusa Tenggara, she emphasized the importance of building the independence of her movement. Amidst the struggle for indigenous territories threatened by forest claims, Yustina emphasized that direct funding is a means of supporting the struggle, not the primary objective. She emphasized the importance of relying on existing social strengths while continuously improving the capacity of members through various forms of education and training.
Furthermore, reflections have emerged on the importance of building accountable and transparent governance without burdening communities with complex administrative processes. A simple and flexible approach has been implemented. Dana Nusantara and the IPAS Fund can help communities focus more on implementing activities and strengthening the movement. However, it's also important to reflect on the importance of continually evaluating the definition of "simple" because each community's experience and capacity vary.
The application of flexible mechanisms in program implementation is also a key strength of direct funding. By implementing simple administrative mechanisms, communities can adjust activity implementation to suit field conditions. This avoids the risk of failure that would be inevitable if governance were inflexible. By optimizing the effective role of supporting organizations at the regional level in ensuring the effectiveness of direct funding, from proposal development to reporting, the principle of flexibility can be applied without compromising accountability.
In their role at the community level, they still need support in strengthening their capacity in program management, starting from strengthening members in terms of leadership and cadre development, post-harvest management of agricultural products and gardens, to technical capacity in preparing proposals.
Similarly, at the regional level, the IPAS Fund shared lessons learned on the importance of building broader accessibility for Indigenous communities in Asia, including the need to develop multilingual platforms and strengthen regional coordination between countries. Challenges discussed included linguistic diversity, limited administrative capacity, and sponsorship fiscal mechanisms, as well as the need to build cross-border support to facilitate fund disbursement.
These various challenges were met with strong solidarity, built through trust-based access to funding. Furthermore, challenges remain, as learned in post-rights recognition areas, namely that the struggle for rights must be complemented by assurance of basic needs, such as economic security. (livelihood) and its sustainability, and guaranteed access to energy. Such challenges as the ones he encountered during a visit to Kampung Damara, the Banten Farmers' Movement.
Dana Nusantara and the IPAS Fund demonstrate that direct funding mechanisms can be built on simple, flexible, and trust-based principles, making it easier for communities to access support without the burden of complex bureaucracy. rights-based and trust-based become an important foundation in direct funding governance.
A Message for the Future of Philanthropy
In order to promote equitable distribution of resources and funding, it is important to strengthen direct funding as a strategy to ensure resources actually reach communities. Dana Nusantara and the IPAS Fund demonstrate that solidarity and trust are key foundations in building a direct funding mechanism. Dewi Kartika explained that Dana Nusantara born from a long process of consolidation and consensus building between AMAN, KPAand WALHI, which is then translated into a funding mechanism rooted in community needs. In addition to supporting the movement's long-term vision, Dana Nusantara also serves as an instrument to respond to emergency needs and various crises faced by the community.
In addition, it is important to strengthen the visibility of women's and youth groups who ensure intergenerational equity is a priority for the movement. Boy Jerry Even Sembiring, National Executive Director WALHI, conveyed the importance of strengthening the capacity of youth groups by increasing support for initiatives to the younger generation (through direct funding practices). Dana Nusantara has reached 100 groups from the assistance WALHI) to directly lead initiatives to fight for ecological justice in their respective regions. This is crucial to ensuring the regeneration of leadership in the ecological justice movement at the community level.
At the regional level, Jennifer Lasimbang highlighted the low visibility of Indigenous Peoples in Asia within the global funding architecture. Although Asia is home to the majority of the world's Indigenous Peoples, the funding received remains very small compared to the needs. Therefore, the IPAS Fund seeks not only to increase access to funding but also to strengthen the recognition, representation, and capacity of Indigenous Peoples at the national and regional levels. Jennifer emphasized that the fundamental strength of the Indigenous Peoples movement in Asia lies in the solidarity that enables organizations and communities to continue working together even with limited resources. Furthermore, she emphasized the importance of direct funding, not only in supporting the struggle for rights security, but also in supporting their economic sustainability. (livelihood) and also energy access.
Rukka Sombolinggi explained that the emergence of various community-led funding mechanisms is a response to the long experience where most global funding never reaches communities at the grassroots level. According to her, the existence of Dana Nusantara and the IPAS Fund demonstrate that communities are capable of building funding mechanisms that are accountable, effective, and aligned with community needs. However, the growing focus on direct funding also raises the need to ensure that emerging mechanisms remain rooted in community leadership and do not repeat old patterns that exclude communities from decision-making.
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