Women-Led Agriculture & Soil Recovery Initiative in Lubok Pusaka

Lubok Pusaka is one of thousands of villages affected by the devastating Sumatra floods that struck three provinces Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra in November 2025. Located in a remote area of North Aceh, the village is difficult to access. The route remains largely unpaved, passes through extensive oil palm plantations owned by large companies, and leads to the last settlement in the area.

Our initial engagement with Lubok Pusaka focused on documenting the impacts of natural disasters and their links to deforestation, through a project supported by the Global Youth Mobilization (GYM) and the EU Youth Empowerment Fund (YEF). In April 2026, we returned to the village to implement a post-disaster economic recovery programme that included horticultural vegetable gardens, laying duck farming, and electrical skills training. The programme targeted women’s groups, men, and young people respectively. However, due to limited resources, the recovery initiative was only able to support three hamlets, despite Lubok Pusaka consisting of eight hamlets in total. One of the most remote hamlets, Sah Raja, can only be reached by motorboat.

Through this proposed scale-up initiative, we aim to expand agricultural and livelihood support to the communities of Pear, Selemak, and Sah Raja Hamlets, the three furthest hamlets in the village. Together, these communities comprise approximately 100–120 households, although the number fluctuates as some families continue to face uncertainty following the loss of livelihoods caused by the floods.

The project will establish community-based horticultural gardens in all three hamlets, engaging women’s groups of approximately 30 members in each location. In addition, areca nut seedlings will be distributed to poor and extremely poor households, based on data provided by the village administration. Prior to the floods, areca nut cultivation was one of the community’s primary sources of income. However, much of the crop was destroyed and lost during the disaster, significantly affecting household livelihoods.