Weaving Together Stronger Communities in Bali

• Ten-year old program gives block grants to communities
  
• Grants helped reestablish one of Bali’s main handicrafts hubs after 2002 bombings
  
• New  national program aims to reach all 70,000 Indonesian villages by the end of 2009

Bali, December 11, 2007 - Wayan Putriani is no longer toiling in rice paddies in the blistering Bali heat, barely earning enough to make ends meet. These days, she is back to weaving handicrafts in the comfort of her own home, in the company of friends. Although her income level dropped after the 2002 Bali bombings which caused tourists to disappear and handicraft orders to dry up, Wayan is proud of her chosen profession, and thankful for the support provided by her local government.

Wayan is among a group of women in the village of Desa Bona, in the Balinese District of Gianyar, who have benefited from an innovative US$1.6 billion community-driven development initiative, the Government of Indonesia’s Kecamatan Development Program (KDP). “Kecamatan” – pronounced kuh-cha-mah-tahn – is the Indonesian word for sub-district. Communities at this level are given block grants to invest in infrastructure, education, health and micro-credit schemes. Grants range from US$55,000 to US$165,000 per sub-district and are paid out through local governments.

The KDP runs on the premise that no one knows what’s best for a community other than the community itself. What better way for people to claim ownership of development than to do everything themselves? “Everything” in this context means discussing and voting on what the community needs, taking charge of its execution, and demonstrating its economic viability.

Bolstering a hub for handicrafts

Wayan and her friends received a small portion of the grant awarded to Bona to help reestablish the village as one of Bali’s major handicraft hubs. The fund was used to buy materials for their signature handicrafts – tightly woven bamboo leaves shaped into placemats, chopstick holders and other dining accessories – which make their way mostly to European export markets.

The Bona village chief who acts as a conduit between the makers and the market, remembers a time before the bombs when he had to turn down certain hotels and exporters because his village was already inundated with orders. Since business has just begun to pick up again, the workload remains modest but heavy enough to keep Wayan out of the rice fields for good. “I don’t really have set hours for my handicraft work,” says Wayan. “I start weaving after I cook breakfast, and don’t really take any breaks. Once I sit in front of the TV, I can easily keep weaving until nighttime.”

Five years after the bombings, with help from the PNPM-KDP program, Bona has a busy village market, a modern primary school, a network of paved lanes, and a thriving private sector with many new women entrepreneurs.

An ambitious expansion

The KDP began life as a World Bank–supported pilot program in 1998, which has helped fund some 200,000 infrastructure, economic, and social activities – all planned, implemented, and monitored by the communities themselves. The Indonesian government has since adopted the program, making it part of the National Community Empowerment Program, or PNPM Mandiri as it is referred to locally.

Today, the President of Indonesia , Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick  participated in launching a massive scale-up of the PNPM, which aims to bring community-driven development projects to all 70,000 Indonesian villages by the end of 2009. The Dutch, Australian and Danish governments have pooled US$33 million in grants for the mega-project, which will be channeled through a Multi-donor Support Facility administered by the World Bank.