Insan Bumi Mandiri Shows the Journey of the Glorious Golo Mori Program at the Closing of eYAA 2025

Bandung, 10 December 2025 – The eMpowering Youth Across ASEAN (eYAA) program officially closed a series of activities which were attended by 100 youth and 10 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from ASEAN countries in Malaysia. On this golden opportunity, Insan Bumi Mandiri as a CSO from Indonesia was given a stage to explain the development and impact of the Glorious Golo Mori activities, a coastal community empowerment program carried out over a 3 month implementation period.

This presentation was enthusiastically welcomed by the participants present, including organizing partners such as the Maybank Foundation and the ASEAN Foundation. The Glorious Golo Mori program shows the socio-economic impact achieved by the fishing community and female MSMEs on the coastal island of Golo Mori, East Nusa Tenggara. The economic impact was directly felt by 50 fishermen who received training in use and maintenance cold storage solar powered to maintain the quality of the fish and have a longer shelf life so that the selling price increases. 20 new female MSMEs were also formed to process fish products after receiving training in product development, packaging, business management and halal certification.

“It’s great to see this program running. The changes are not only in increasing the capacity and self-confidence of MSME mothers and fishermen fathers, but also 10 young volunteers from 10 ASEAN countries. This program is truly a space for mutual sharing, and inspiration can even come from the beneficiaries youth volunteers,” said Zulfa Faizah, as Project Leader and Director of Insan Bumi Mandiri

The eYAA program is a collaboration between the ASEAN Foundation and the Maybank Foundation which focuses on strengthening the capacity of local communities in the ASEAN region. Through the Glorious Golo Mori initiative, Insan Bumi Mandiri was selected as the implementing partner. The initiative proposed by Insan Bumi Mandiri itself aims to develop an initial approach to support the improvement of the fisheries value chain on Golo Mori Island, with a focus on capacity building activities, business assistance, and gradual expansion of market access.

During the implementation phase, this program involved 34 female MSME members, 161 members of fishermen groups who were involved in a series of training. This process reached around 2,000 Golo Mori residents and involved around 900 MSME groups in the West Manggarai area as part of a learning and capacity strengthening ecosystem.

During two weeks of assistance in the field, 10 Youth Volunteers from 10 countries are working with Golo Mori female fishermen and MSMEs to test, develop and strengthen solutions. They carry out business assessments, map challenges in the field, prepare training curricula that will be used by MSMEs on the coast. We also collaborate with the West Manggarai Department of Manpower, Transmigration, Cooperatives and SMEs (Disnaker Transpokum) so that the MSME group can continue the process of strengthening capacity through official supervision.

“We use an intention sheet (intention sheet) to understand their goals for the future, their lifestyle, the challenges they are facing, and the things they want to improve,” said Lily Nguyen, Youth Volunteers from Vietnam.

Use intention sheet This is a moment when female MSME actors feel that their voices are important. So they see that their opinions are the basis of the program. This approach ensures that each training is designed according to the needs of the community and becomes the door to a deeper transformation regarding the skills and confidence that they are able to develop.

In the closing event of eYAA 2025, Insan Bumi Mandiri hopes that the momentum created through the success of Glorious Golo Mori and cross-country collaboration can pave the way for strengthening empowerment programs in other remote areas. Insan Bumi Mandiri will continue to build partnerships and provide innovation to fight for a stronger local socio-economic ecosystem. Let’s bring wider change to families in rural areas by visiting insanbumimandiri.org

About Independent Earth Inserts

Insan Bumi Mandiri (IBM) is a philanthropic institution engaged in empowering communities to develop rural Indonesia. Founded in 2016, IBM has successfully held 1,004 programs and helped more than 163,792 people in rural Indonesia. We always believe that small steps with you #InlandFriends, will create a trail of goodness for our brothers and sisters in the interior. We can solve various problems, such as access to transportation, infrastructure, health and education together. Complete information can be seen at insanbumimandiri.org.