Tesso Nilo National Park on the Indonesian island of Sumatra is notorious for human-wildlife conflicts, but women farmers living in its buffer zone are working to protect the park.Members of the Batang Nilo Women’s Forest Farmer Group, known as Perbani, plant citrus trees, which elephants avoid, around their farms, while also growing fruits that the animals can feed on.Perbani also empowers its more than 30 members through monthly gender equality classes, covering skills such as leadership and public speaking, as well as a savings-and-loans scheme.In 2024, the forestry ministry granted the women’s group Wanawiyata Widyakarya status, awarded to community organizations that successfully run conservation and forestry-related enterprises and provide training to residents.
LUBUK KEMBANG BUNGA, Indonesia — Tesso Nilo National Park, located on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, often makes headlines due to human-wildlife conflict — a byproduct of illegal encroachment and deforestation by oil palm plantations. However, there is a ray of hope, thanks to female farmers who live in a buffer zone of the national park.
In the village of Lubuk Kembang Bunga, in the buffer zone next to the park, women are leading an initiative to plant fruit trees that both serve a conservation purpose and provide extra income.
