Rungan Community Development

In developing sustainable livelihoods, BNF uses a permaculture approach that rests on three pillars: caring for the earth, caring for people, sharing the future. Permaculture is a process of ecological design and sustainable living, integration / symbiosis of mutuality between humans and communities, with the infrastructure of buildings, landscapes, plants and animals. This helps us to optimally utilize resources and create a productive system for meeting the needs of the environment and controlling the use of natural resources.

The Rungan Landscape is not a protected area, instead, the remaining forested areas are managed by various parties, including the Kahayan Tengah Production Forest Management Unit (KPHP), private companies (Industrial Plantation Forests and Oil Palm Companies), the City Government of Palangka Raya (KHDTK) and villages and sub-districts within the Rungan Landscape. Consequently, building multi-stakeholder cooperation is vital when carrying out community empowerment activities.

Our community empowerment initiatives include facilitating the creation of vegetable gardens, fishponds, and cultivating kelulut bees, in order to reduce community dependence on food imports, and to reduce carbon footprints. In addition, BNF also conducts training to increase the capacity of human resources, mentor communities to strengthen their groups, encourage the Recognition of Indigenous Communities (MHA), facilitate social forestry permit applications, and provide assistance after the issuance of Social Forestry Permits.

In an effort to support the sustainable livelihoods carried out by the beneficiaries, BNF provides assistance to help develop community produce, in accordance with the local potential of the sub-district or village, either from vegetable gardens, or non-timber forest products (water, carbon stock and beauty) from Social Forestry areas, and environmental services.