Green Power from Merauke

Green Power from Merauke
Innovative and Sustainable Farming

In Merauke, the southernmost city of Papua, women are showing that change is possible — through courage, collaboration, and innovation. The members of the Creative Papuan Women’s Group are working toward a sustainable future using an eye-catching technique: hydroponics. This method grows vegetables in water instead of soil. It’s ideal for their situation: it saves water, needs little space, and produces faster and bigger harvests than traditional farming.

In the past, the women sold their homegrown vegetables at the local market. But over time, they faced growing competition from transmigrants. On top of that, many customers now prefer processed, packaged food, which is seen as cleaner, more attractive, and higher in quality. Most of the women don’t own land — they garden with permission on plots that don’t belong to them. All of this puts their livelihood at risk.

That’s why the women chose a new path. With support from the local university, they built their first hydroponic greenhouse on the grounds of a local NGO. Now they want to take the next step: their dream is to build a second greenhouse and receive sales training, so their vegetables can truly find a market.

Will you help make their dream come true? They need €2,000 for the greenhouse and the training.
You can donate by transferring your gift to NL66 TRIO 0321 0888 32 (reference: kas Merauke), by visiting our website, or by scanning the QR code with your phone’s camera.

Your support helps invest in resilient women and sustainable farming in Papua.