Fundraising Update

I am sure many of you will be interested to hear about the progress of the fundraising campaign that we started a couple of months ago.  The response to the e-mail, and the letters posted by our energetic UK campaign manager (aka Dom’s Mother), have yielded very pleasing results, and the total raised (through this site, payal, cheques etc.) is now in the region of fifteen thousand dollars (US).  This is a very substantial sum of money in any currency, but looks particularly impressive in Rupiah (140,000,000)!

Donors should have receive an e-mail giving them an update on what we have done with the cash, but as some may have slipped through the net, I thought it best to publish it here on the blog as well. Incidentally, if you have not yet had a chance to donate, please do not assume that we no longer need contributions.  All sums are gratefully received and put to good use.

We now have a small office in a great position opposite Maumere cathedral, and a steady stream of visitors, most of whom are curious about this new organisation, and many of whom are looking for a job.  We have, thanks to your donations, purchased a computer and a water dispenser, and paid a local carpenter to build some basic wooden furniture (we prefer to support local craftsmen rather than import poor quality plywood furniture from Java).  We have a number of cheap plastic chairs that we are planning to replace with some wooden ones, when we can find a carpenter who can fulfill the order.  The office does not have enough electricity to run a computer (we are limited to 300w), so we have run a cable from the larger premises next door.  This is fairly common practice here, as it will take months before the local electricity company turns up to upgrade our meter.  We do not yet have a telephone line (again, this will take many months to install, if at all) so we just use our cell phones.    We have running water for about 30 minutes per day, and some curious goats that loiter in the yard.  All the staff are very happy in their new environment.

So, what is JPA-flores actually going to do, I here you ask. Our objective is to improve the economy of Flores by releasing the inherent potential and ingenuity of the people.  We will be doing this in three ways:

1. Strengthening community groups and co-operatives
2. Empowering individuals and potential entrepreneurs
3. Stimulating new enterprises

Detailed information about the various projects we are starting can be found on the JPA website, but here is a very brief summary of our 'clients':

1. Kelompok STILL - a group of traditional 'Ikat' weavers who need help with marketing, quality control and management
2. Kelompok Maju Bersama - a group of coconut farmers that want to improve their income by setting up a small-scale industry making virgin coconut oil
3. Persatuan Sopir - a number of freelance drivers (that do not own cars) want to set up a kind of taxi service in Maumere, and help to improve the service delivery to tourists and other visitors, while also making their own livelihood more secure
4. Fairtrade Rice Scheme - we are researching the possibility of setting up a fairtrade rice marketing scheme for local consumption.  This may be the start of a 'buy Flores' campaign to stimulate demand for local produce in preference to imported goods.
5. Kringga Farmer's co-operative - this village is situated in a remote area in the hills, where they grow cashew nut, cocoa and vanilla. the co-operative is trying to organise the farmers to market their product more successfully, but they need help understanding how the market beyond their village actually works.

Thanks to your contribution, and the support of Oxfam New Zealand, we have been able to get off to a much quicker start than we thought was possible.  It also enables us to take a long term view of the problems here and formulate a response that is hopefully more sustainable than the various other interventions that have taken place in Indonesia.

Your donation will directly help people gain command over their own livelihoods. This will build self-respect, reduce vulnerability to natural disasters and improve the health and education status of the people of Flores. 

Many thanks from all of us at JPA,

Bapak Dominic, Bapak Sirilus, Ibu Epik, Ibu Conita, Nona Ani, Mas Abdullah, Bapak Gero, Bapak Densi, Pater Simeon, Ibu Hilda