The effort to assist young people in the Multiplication of Stube HEMAT in Raja Ampat has resulted in interesting entrepreneurial ideas. Some young people try to think, identify local needs, and determine what they can do with their efforts to be independent through entrepreneurship.

Some of the ideas emerged, and the business covers of making traditional Papua crown crafts, the production of salted fish, flower handicrafts from bath soap, and earrings from shells. This is the idea of Yuliana Mambrasar who comes from Yenanas, South Batanta, Raja Ampat. She chose this business because of her hobby of making traditional crowns, arranging flowers, and carving shells. Even fishing is a daily activity in Yenanas and Teminabuan, South Sorong. She has sold several handicraft products in person and online. She markets the crafts directly to tourist consumers, homestays, and fishery cooperatives in both Sorong and Waisai, the capital of Raja Ampat regency.

Another idea is selling diesel fuel, premium, and kerosene proposed by Alfons Sawoy from Yenanas, South Batanta, Raja Ampat. His idea emerged as an implementation from his study at Management of Nanibili Nusantara University, Sorong. Alfons chooses the business of selling fuel to provide people's needs in the local area, especially farmers and fishermen who use boats to work so that community mobility is availability guaranteed and also family income generating. He designed his start-up business with 600 liters consisting of 200 liters of premium, 200 liters of diesel, and 200 liters of kerosene. He buys fuel in Sorong and then sells it back in his village on Yenanas island.

Business on Papuan traditional bags become Eklefina’s dream. She comes from Aimas, Sorong. She chooses Papuan bags because she had the skill since high school. These bags are souvenirs for tourists who visit Sorong and Raja Ampat. She will run the business by making her yarn bags and selling them directly and leaving them in kiosks or online promotions via Whatsapp and Facebook. To make one bag, she needs one bundle of yarn for Rp 20 thousand, then it can be sold for at least Rp 100 thousand or according to its size. If a bag has a color combination, the price will be different.

The culinary-based business idea was promoted by Esau Sawoy, a theology student at the STFT Izaak Samuel Kijne campus in Jayapura. He is originally from Yenanas, South Batanta, Raja Ampat but currently lives in Jayapura. He chose a catfish-growing business near where he lives in Jayapura because there is an unused pond near his place and he wants to optimize it. In addition, he found the demand in the community for catfish, especially for the food stalls and households.

Another idea is the sale of fuel oil by Adel Mambrasar, a student at Unimuda, Sorong, who comes from Yenanas, South Batanta, Raja Ampat. She chooses the business because almost all the people who live on the island of Doom where she lives have motorized boats. They use boats to cross to the city of Sorong and to the field. So, the fuel sales business is a prospective business opportunity because it answers the needs of the community.

The courage of young people in Raja Ampat to express their entrepreneurial ideas deserves appreciation and support so that they will feel confident to be able to be independent in the future. Give young people a chance and support, and they will prove it. ***

Multiplication of Stube HEMAT in Raja Ampat.          

Regional development of an area is closely related to regional economic development which requires the involvement of students and young people with all creativity to boost regional potencies. As an archipelago regency, Raja Ampat has challenges in management, both natural resources and human resources. It must be admitted that the government has limitations to implement equitable development and provide jobs opportunity, while Raja Ampat has various hidden potencies. Here, the spirit of entrepreneurship becomes an urgent need to grow among society, especially youth and students with their energy.

Stube HEMAT through the Multiplication program interacted directly with youth and students dealing with the topic of entrepreneurship and existing potencies mapping. The assistance was carried out online because they live far apart between islands and the personal assistance helped them map the local potencies and increase capacity related to creativity which was done specifically.

In the online mentoring activities that took place between October and November, Trustha Rembaka, the coordinator of Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta presented creative entrepreneurial ideas, including (1) culinary businesses related to regional specialties, for example, papeda, sago, and brown sugar food, dried fish or smoked fish, banana chips, sweet potato chips, and regional specialty drinks. (2) souvenir business, for example: making necklaces, bracelets, key chains, noken bags, clothes, t-shirts, hats, shawls, and shell earrings. (3) service businesses, such as tour guides for the Raja Ampat island area, storytellers, motorcycle taxis, photography, and local language translators. (4) the business of goods needed by students, families, fishermen, or farmers, for example, selling staples such as rice, cooking oil, eggs, flour, fuel, soap, fertilizer, fruit, cellphone credit, stationery, and other consumer goods. (5) agricultural business, for example, cultivating plants, selling vegetable crops, selling fertilizers, selling seeds, and planting seeds.

The next step is identifying what kind of business they can work on, what they like best, why do they choose that business, who will run the business whether is done by themselves or involve others in the production, where will the business operate, when will start the business and how do they run the business, from work and promoting their products, for example selling directly to consumers or online.

The assistance was hard because the communication network in the area is not well distributed, especially if they are on an island, besides that there are limited insights and courage to ask questions. However, from the mentoring several ideas emerged, including processing salted fish because they catch fish using boats every day, and making traditional crowns. There is also an idea to sell fuel because boat fuel is needed for inter-island transportation, and the last one is producing thread bags or noken as local souvenirs.

A mentoring and empowerment process requires time and patience to get results. Young people need time to process knowing and developing themselves, especially entrepreneurship for self-independence. If there is a will there is a way. Young students of Raja Ampat, it's time to prove it! ***

Raja Ampat is one of the regencies of West Papua which is unique as an archipelago covering an area of ​​67.379.61 km2 with a location of 0.45 – 2.15° South Latitude and 129.15 – 132° East Longitude. This regency has a northern boundary with the Pacific Ocean, South with North Seram Regency, West with Seram Sea, and East with Sorong City and Sorong Regency. Its existence as an archipelagic region has its consequences. On one hand, the marine has abundant content from fisheries and coastal and marine tourism attractions, but on the other hand, connectivity between regions is very dependent on the availability of sea transportation modes, weather, and telecommunication networks.

Tourism in Raja Ampat is a magnet for other business breakthroughs, such as culinary, souvenirs, homestays, attractions, and tourist trips bringing income for tourism actors and the local community. As part of the Raja Ampat community, youth should grab the advantage of tourism potency. In this case, they need to increase their capacity to take this business opportunity. The multiplication program of Stube HEMAT in Raja Ampat took the initiative through online entrepreneurship training for youth dan students in Raja Ampat in collaboration with Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta (23/9/2022).

Eight youths and students from Raja Ampat and several Stube students from other provinces joined the discussion, thereby strengthening relations between Stube students in Indonesia. Trustha Rembaka provoked the participants' opinions with what came to mind when they heard about Raja Ampat. Some said it has famous tourist spots, some said the sea and its potential, and others said transportation problems. This is the reality in Raja Ampat that must be accepted and responded properly.

Regarding youth initiatives in entrepreneurship, one of the discussion participants, Jimy, revealed the potencies of the sea, namely Gropa fish. He caught and processed it into salted fish, then sell to collectors for resale in Waisai. Another marine potency was explained by Eklefina, a young student from Warwarbomi, where young people in her village were fishing tuna. Meanwhile, Yuli Mambrasar revealed activities in her village that traditionally process sago from trees into sago flour. She also told about the culinary delights of sago and brown sugar that are favored in Sorong. Another participant told about coconuts that grow in their village and are processed into VCO. Various other ideas also emerged, such as Ariani Narwastujati telling a unique tour in Bali, namely the Fireflies Garden, where tourists are invited to enjoy a rice field tour at night to watch the fireflies. Thomas revealed the business of accessories and t-shirt souvenirs with local images.

The participants were motivated to express entrepreneurial ideas that they would work on. By 5W + 1H in doing business, they observed: What: what business will be chosen? Why: Why do we choose this business? Who: Who will run the business? Where: Where does the business operate? When: When will the business start? And How: How do we run the business?

This initial sharing became the starting point for Stube HEMAT to enrich the horizons of young people in Raja Ampat and collect creative entrepreneurial ideas that students in Raja Ampat will pioneer. Many opportunities to develop with the existing potencies. Young people of Raja Ampat, you can! ***

My name is Adel Mambrasar, a Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP) student of Muhammadiyah Education University (UNIMUDA), Sorong, majoring in Elementary School Teacher Education (PGSD). I am from Yenanas village, South Batanta district, Raja Ampat regency, West Papua Province. Yenanas village is located on Batanta Island, one of the four major islands in Raja Ampat. Most people in Yenanas work as farmers, fishermen, laborers, private employees, and state civil servants but some are still unemployed. The women in Yenanas village have a natural talent for making handicrafts, namely making ‘noken’ or bags from knitting yarn and coconut leaf sticks, making plates and flower pots from coconut leaf sticks, making flowers from used bottles and dried betel nut shells, and making tablecloths from wool and straws. The people of Yenanas village are known to be very friendly to anyone who visits. Its tourism spots are Yat Island and Ayem Island. These two tourist attractions are often visited by people around the village of Yenanas and even from Sorong.

My first experience with Stube HEMAT was when Rev. Grace Nanuru held an event in Yenanas to introduce Stube HEMAT activities. She invited several students and youth in Yenanas, including me, to discuss and to talk more about what Stube HEMAT is. We welcomed her effort and initiative which made us so excited to look forward to the event. The event came to a reality when Rev. Grace came to Yenanas and explained what Stube HEMAT is and how it cares for young people and students. She also shared her experience while studying in Yogyakarta and what she did in Raja Ampat. Hearing this, my friends and I were so motivated to get to know Stube HEMAT more, and finally, we joined because Stube HEMAT offers new things and experiences that are not found on campus.

Even recently, my friends and I took a chance for managing a gender discussion held on the Unimuda campus. Besides I got new material and understanding about gender and equality between men and women, I also learned how to manage Stube HEMAT activities, and how to invite students to come for discussions and I found that it was not easy to invite people.

In the exposure to Pam, I learned about women and their support for the family economy, especially women who make VCO (Virgin Coconut Oil), bath soap from VCO, and other products. They are trained by tourism managers by bringing trainers from Bali and Germany and advised to use environmentally friendly materials. Before the pandemic, the sales of VCO, soap, and hand-body were quite good because tourists came to this tourist area, but during the pandemic, no one came, so sales decreased even though there were still buyers from residents and tourist spots. Hopefully, the pandemic coming to an end, and tourism in Pam can be bustling again.

For me, women can help their families, especially to improve the economy with their skills in processing something as long as there is training and assistance like the women in Pam. I can share this experience with the women in my village, the handicrafts can develop and be widely known. It is just a matter of how young people and students do not wait until they are old to learn skills, but from now on, they have to explore skills and the products can be sold so that youth and students can be independent. Thank you, Stube HEMAT.***

By: Yuliana Mambrasar.         

It is nice to meet you, I am Yuliana Mambrasar from Yenanas, an island in South Batanta, Raja Ampat Regency, West Papua. I got to know Stube HEMAT from Rev. Grace Nanuru, the Multiplicator of Stube HEMAT in Raja Ampat when she had a Stube HEMAT activity in Yenanas village. Actually, at that time, my friend, Adel Mambrasar, had invited me to join it, but at that time I was still focusing on the Young Member Fellowship (PAM) of Elim church in Yenanas. I’m worried if I involve in Stube HEMAT, what will happen to the PAM fellowship in the future, because I was an active member of it, whether it is disrupted or not, growing or not. Such worries come from my friends’ opinion if I am no longer involved in or focus, it will interfere with organizational performance and it may setbacks. But I try to convince them that I stay active and continue to help.

Stube HEMAT activities in Raja Ampat help young people and students to develop and it has creative activities that attract young people. There are visits to different villages, promoting arts and helping the community with health issues. I chose Stube HEMAT activity because it accommodates Christian students and youth. I am grateful that Stube HEMAT also involves students and youth in its activities and helps the community, for example with the program of health education and the implementation of health vaccines. It proves that when students and youth have the opportunity to work, they can act well and positively for many people.

The exposure activity on Pam Island (11-13/3/2022) became a fun activity and I was grateful to be able to visit brothers and sisters in Pam. I discovered new things that I did not find in Yenanas, actually, Pam's village is not yet developed and the condition of the population has not fully improved. PAM Island has many potencies that can be optimized and managed as a source of income to improve family's economy.

During our activities on Pam Island, my friends and I met face to face with women who work to make natural bath soap, hand body lotion, Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO), and massage oil. I did not know about the products before but they were happy to share their stories and explain how to make them. It turned out that the product is made from ingredients that come from the island of Pam itself, such as coconut and they produce it. On Pam Island I found something I could learn and do, I could share stories and opinions or experiences. Women in Pam work not only in the kitchen and household, but they play an important role in the family economy by making handicrafts and other products for sale.

For friends in Stube HEMAT Raja Ampat, especially women, do not just watch, listen and be silent. However,  what you have learned or learned together, you must do and share it with other people in Raja Ampat and its surroundings so that women can work, be independent and play an important role to support the family economy. We are women, we can do it! ***

By Trustha Rembaka         

Entering 2022 provides new hope for the youth empowerment movement carried out by Stube HEMAT through the Multiplication of Stube HEMAT in Raja Ampat. Young people and student activists took part not only as participants but also managing activities. The first activity in 2022 is the Socialization of Stube HEMAT and Gender discussion (28/2/2022) involving its students and activists with Raja Ampat students studying at the Muhammadiyah Education University, Sorong-West Papua district.

The women's empowerment in Raja Ampat, West Papua has the objectives: 1) students learn and have discussion to understand the meaning of gender. 2) students and young people can treat men and women equally, and 3) students learn from female figures who give inspiration to the surroundings.

Regarding women's empowerment, there is a Gender Inequality Index as a compositional measure that reflects inequality in achievement between women and men as shown in several indicators, including reproductive health, empowerment, and the labor market, women's involvement in parliament, and opportunities to get education. The Indonesian Gender Inequality Index released by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and published by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2021 shows that Singapore is the lowest and Indonesia gets the highest points, meaning that gender inequality in Indonesia is the highest in ASEAN, whereas gender equality is an important measure of global and national human development. It needs serious efforts from various parties to pursue the improvement.

The introduction of Stube HEMAT in Raja Ampat and discussions on Gender was attended by dozens of young people and students. This number is small than the number of students in Raja Ampat and its surroundings but it did not dampen their enthusiasm and willingness to learn new things and reveal the reality of the inequality between men and women in West Papua. Rev. Eirene Grace Nanuru, S.Th, the Multiplicator of Stube HEMAT in Raja Ampat said, “This activity is the opening for 2022 program, and we start with a prayer that every program of Stube HEMAT in Indonesia and Raja Ampat bring benefits for the Raja Ampat region.” Next, she introduced Stube HEMAT and its services to the newly joined students. In the next session, Rev. Grace asked them how much they understand gender and what it means. It turned out that most of them were unfamiliar with the term, and some have never even heard of it. It is the starting point for the Multiplicator to explain the term among them. Then, each participant told how women played a role in their respective villages.

One experience revealed that women have not played an important role, for example as leaders or decision-makers, as revealed by Adel, one of the participants. She told that no woman has played role as village head so far, usually, women are only secretaries or implementers. Women who become leaders are those who are priests in Tenanan village. Women activists in the village are usually those who are active in the Family Welfare Development organization (PKK) and they make handicrafts such as flowers, ‘senat’ or mats from ‘gabah’ or pandan leaves.

In this discussion, the Multiplicator also promoted follow-up activities to explore the role and development of Human Resources (HR), especially women in Raja Ampat, through exposures or study visits to Raja Ampat. It is a good time to start for the young generation of Raja Ampat to be a generation that plays an equal role between men and women for the development of Raja Ampat and Indonesia. You can do it! ***