Gender justice
Impact story
Meet Mama Din in Indonesia
Gender justice
Impact story
Location
Indonesia
Meet Mama Din
Mama Din is a talented weaver, but she never imagined that her craft could earn her money. Now, she is running a business, leading a women's group, and changing the role of women in her community.
Mama Din makes beautiful handwoven cloth (tenun), but she didn't realise that her skills and hard work could also earn her an income. She had never had a job and was completely dependent on her husband's income when Oxfam's Indonesian Women in Leadership (I-WIL) project came to her village.
"I realise now that men and women are equals," Mama Din said. "The difference is that women often get less opportunity to participate in meetings or other activities to increase their knowledge, and they have no confidence to speak in a forum, and I was one of them."
With support from the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program, the I-WIL project established a women's group in Mama Din's village, and she was selected as the group leader. The group met regularly to participate in training, workshops and discussions to help them start and build their own businesses.
Mama Din enjoyed the entrepreneurial training, and put her new skills straight to work. She built networks with cooperatives, women's micro- business associations and local banks to help her gain capital and marketing resources for her group. Mama Din's group is now developing a work plan with a management structure and shared workload among the members. They are also sharing their income so that each group member can support their family.
"After I joined I-WIL programs, my capacity and my confidence increased, and now as a woman group leader, I am confident to speak in public. I have opportunity to learn about business management and marketing, and it helps me and the group members to market our product and increase our income," Mama Din said.