Growing Partnerships Work Toward Sustainable Economic Growth in Papua

The Mimika Regency population has increased rapidly over the past decade, with government statistics indicating a population rise from 67,000 in 1998 to more than 150,000 in 2007. Most of the population growth has been around the urban center of Timika, which is located near the PT Freeport Indonesia project area. In discussions with local community leaders over the years, PT Freeport Indonesia and these leaders observed that many community members living in rural and remote villages were drawn to the urban centers for economic opportunities. As the urban centers grew, younger persons had fewer reasons to remain in and support their home villages.

In response to this concern, PT Freeport Indonesia launched a two-year partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development called the Papua Agribusiness Development Alliance (PADA). With a budget of $2 million, the objectives of the PADA program are to increase revenues and jobs within remote Papuan communities through the development of agriculture and agribusiness, thus promoting improvements in farming and fishing livelihoods. One successful pilot project, among several launched so far, has been implemented in the remote Kamoro coastal village of Kokonao, approximately 21 miles southeast of Timika. One of the greatest challenges to local fishermen has been the inability to adequately preserve catch during transport to market. In cooperation with a local sponsor, PADA provided assistance to build an ice factory in the village where fishermen can purchase ice for an affordable price. In addition, PADA provided a local church organization with a seven-ton boat to facilitate transportation. As a result of this program, fishermen in Kokonao have seen their profits improve by as much as 400 percent, thus making village livelihoods more viable for current and future generations.

Participants celebrate the first ice blocks produced as part of the PADA program in Kokonao, Papua.

Women’s Empowerment Programs Take Root in Congo Mining Concession

Lilianne Mujinga speaks with confidence before a group of 30 women in the Mpala resettlement village in the Tenke Fungurume Mining concession. With a language workbook in her hands, she pauses in mid-session of a literacy class to announce that it’s time for a break. Instead of relaxing, however, “Mama Lili” leads her neighbors in a spirited song and dance, extolling the virtues of a program called WORTH. “Before Pact and Tenke Fungurume Mining arrived,” says Mujinga between verses, “most of the women did not know how to read or write. Now, not only can they read, but we are saving money to start our own business.”

WORTH is a women’s capacity-building program managed by the non-governmental organization Pact. Pact is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, that works with local communities, governments and private institutions in more than 50 countries around the world to give people an opportunity for a better life. The WORTH program mission is to provide women in developing regions around the globe the opportunity to discover their inherent power to change their lives by using new tools and training to develop successful micro-enterprise ventures. Pact receives funding from both Tenke Fungurume Mining and the United States Agency for International Development to implement the programs in the concession area. Unlike other development programs that provide participants with capital in the form of grants and loans, WORTH offers no direct handouts of money. It instead encourages women to discover that they already possess the strength and resources to change their lives.

Key among the tools developed are reading, writing and basic financial literacy. Mujinga suggests that the participants have become stronger through their collective thinking and by channeling energy toward a common goal. “At first we thought about opening a restaurant, but our research showed that opening a sewing school had better potential,” Mujinga explains. “Together, we are using our funds to make the bricks to build the school.” In addition, the WORTH participants at Mpala and the other villages are pooling resources to buy seeds and fertilizers to expand their crop yields.

As of the end of 2008, more than 300 women participate in the WORTH program in various villages in the Tenke Fungurume Mining work area, including those created as part of the Resettlement Action Plan. In only six months of the program, the women were able to save more than $3,500 of their own funds, creating new capital for investment and self-empowerment.

Our Cerro Verde mine in Peru works in partnership with communities and non-governmental organizations to implement health, education and economic development in the Arequipa province. Photo: A couple in the village of Sogay, where Cerro Verde supports a tourism development initiative, which included painting all historic homes and buildings such as this one.