Faizah lives in a remote community in Central Sulawesi. Faced with frequent flash floods and slow-onset droughts, farmers in her village are living on less than $20 AUD per week.

To help adapt to these climate challenges, Faizah and members of her village took part in a DREAM (Disaster Resilience through Enhanced Adaptive Measures) program. DREAM is run by Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) NGO Act for Peace in collaboration with their local partner, Church World Service.  

An effective approach involves teaching women to make their own organic fertiliser and pesticides. Faizah learnt the process at a training session and decided to try it at home. Using food scraps, she created a homemade organic fertiliser that she could use to feed and nurture the crops in her yard. And the vegetables loved it. With the help of the DREAM program, she created a self-sufficient organic system that didn’t cost her family anything.



So, what does a 48-year-old woman, wife, and mother of four do with her new-found skills? She shares them with her community; a community whose livelihoods continue to be affected by climate challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic.



Seeing her own plants flourish, Faizah is now passing on her skills to other women in her village. She shares tips on planting fruits and vegetables, so more families can decrease their expenses and save money like her family has.

“I aspire to share my spirit and to motivate other women in Bulubete Village also, to think creatively and innovatively in the midst of existing conditions, so they can help their husband or themselves to meet their family’s daily needs,” she says.

Over the last year, 176 women like Faizah across four villages joined the DREAM program. They will learn similar skills to adapt to climate challenges and help meet their families’ needs. This means the DREAM program is not only building climate resilience in these communities – it is also building the resilience of the women in these communities.