Help us empower underdeveloped island communities in Indonesia!

Small island communities

Indonesia -- the biggest archipelago country in the world -- is a country that has more than 17,000 islands, scattered across 1.9 million sq km of its territory (of which 65% is water). Most of these islands are small island with an area of less than 200 sq km. Despite most of the Indonesian people are living in the big islands, there are millions (Indonesia has more than 260 million citizens) of people living in about 3,000 of those small islands.

Small islands have their own charm. They offer natural beauty, good amount of natural resources (when preserved), and to some, a peaceful life. However, small island communities are now lagging behind the mainland counterparts. Poverty, health, education, waste (especially from the mainlands), fresh water, transport, electricity, are some of the problems they now face.

Rapid development of Indonesia has left some victims. Industrialization and consumerism destroy nature with their footprints, making natural resources severely disrupted. Rapid economic growth in the mainlands also makes small island communities don't have sufficient purchasing power to keep up with the country's development anymore.

If the situation persists, island communities will suffer even more and, in the end, they will exist no more. More and more people have been leaving small islands and go to the big cities in hope for a better life. Well, we all know what urbanization do to the people and to the nature: It often brings problems more than good things they enticed.

What we have been doing

We consist of multidisciplinary team. Our team members are entrepreneurs, engineers, and academia/scientists of various age (20s to 50s). Our core members are people that have been working in this matter in the past 7 years through a non-profit organization we established, Sustainable Island Development Initiatives (SIDI) (links to the organization’s media are provided below). The organization is a collaboration involving local people, governments, academia, and business from Indonesia and Germany (they have been providing a great support since the beginning).

However, we realized that with non-profit organization, our course of actions is limited. A revenue-making company is necessary in order to make the economy rolls and to make much greater impact and on bigger scale too. Yes, the company will generate revenue, but we are not profit oriented. Our vision is to empower small island communities in Indonesia in sustainable ways!

Through a revenue-making company, there are so many things that can be done. We have studied the possibilities and there are great economic opportunities. However, as a non-profit oriented company, we can't gather capital from investors. Therefore, we launch this crowdfunding campaign to ask for help from you who share the same vision with us. Every little help counts and for those who donate great amount, we prepare special rewards for you. If you want to help but can't give any donation, you can also share this campaign to your friends and families!

Thank you!

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Follow our instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/nusamandaya/

You can also check what SIDI organization has been doing in the links below:

Main website: http://sidi.its.ac.id/index.php/en/

Student research website: http://srdt.its.ac.id/index.php/en/

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCejYawkYJ_spQl68l_LQ_qQ

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Sustainable-Island-Development-Initiatives-SIDI-1600394300192847

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The person in charge of this fundraising is an Indonesian that currently live in the Netherlands (who has been involved with the organization since the beginning (you can see me in "SIDI Week 2014" photo)) . We are a global team with local focus. All the money we gathered will be 100% used for the project in Indonesia and its all supporting activities.