YKAN Trains Community Groups in the Bird's Head Seascape on Financial Management and Marketing

Sorong, Southwest Papua, February 24, 2025 - Environmental sustainability must go hand in hand with improving the community's economy. Therefore, Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN) held a workshop on strengthening financial management and production marketing strategies for community economic groups in some areas in the Bird's Head Seascape, Southwest Papua. The activity, which was held in Sorong from February 14-20, 2025, focused on improving group and family financial management skills, group fund reporting, and increasing knowledge related to marketing strategies.

The workshop was held in response to the need for guidance and training for village community groups in the Misool Islands region, Sorong Regency, and Tambrauw Regency. "With this training, all participants hope to gain enough knowledge and skills to run their businesses better. So far, the community has not understood good financial management and has limited access to markets. With this training, they can improve the financial resilience of the family in particular, and the community in general," said the Head of Wertim Village, Tambrauw Regency, Abner Mambrasar.

The workshop had several main objectives: to increase participants' understanding of family financial management and to manage household budgets wisely. Then, to provide knowledge on reporting and accountability at the institutional level so that participants can prepare transparent financial reports. In addition, participants are also expected to develop financial literacy-based product marketing strategies, which will help them understand how to reach the market and promote products effectively.

"The information obtained from this training is beneficial for increasing capacity. For women, financial management is crucial. Apart from being useful for reporting and recording finances for the group, women also tend to be the financial managers for the family," explained Stephani Elwod, a member of the Tani Ilen group from Salafen Village, North Misool. 

One of YKAN and its partners' efforts to support community groups in marketing their products is through the Kios Konservasi. Since its inauguration on February 8, 2025, in Sorong, the Kios Konservasi has become a marketing center for the products of partner groups that have received assistance from YKAN. All goods and services sold at this kiosk come from businesses that apply the principles of responsible natural resource utilization.

In principle, the Kios Konservasi is more than just a trading facility; it can also become a forum and educational space for the community to develop conservation-based businesses. At the kiosk, communities can conduct business consultations and get technical guidance on business development.

"Currently, many groups still need support to overcome challenges in managing financial resources. Therefore, training is needed so that community groups can better manage their finances and expand the market for the products they produce, including initiating the Conservation Kiosk to continue growing," said YKAN Sustainable Livelihoods Coordinator Hari Wijayanto.

Improving Livelihoods in the Bird's Head Seascape

The Bird's Head Seascape of Southwest Papua is one of the world's great centers of marine biodiversity. The region includes more than 2,500 islands spread over 225,000 km².

It is home to more than 600 species of coral and nearly 2,000 species of reef fish. This makes the area a global center of biodiversity. This extraordinary biodiversity is vital from an ecological perspective and a source of livelihood for coastal residents who depend on marine resources for their food security and livelihoods.

YKAN, with support from the Blue Action Fund (BAF) and the Darwin Initiative, has assisted in a total of 72 groups in Raja Ampat Regency (West Misool District, East Misool District, North Misool District), Tambrauw Regency (Bikar District, Sausapor District) and Sorong Regency (Makbon District).

One of the concrete steps to improve community welfare in the Bird's Head Seascape is through grant funding for various community groups. This assistance is given to business groups and biodiversity conservation initiatives in the three districts.

According to YKAN's Director of Marine Programs, Muhammad Ilman, the financial support aims to strengthen local groups, including fishermen, indigenous people, village-owned enterprises (Bumkam), youth groups, women's groups, and communities that play a role in environmental monitoring.

"Directly or indirectly, this assistance and mentoring is expected to increase the economic capacity and welfare of coastal communities in the Bird's Head Seascape area, who depend on marine resources for their livelihoods," Ilman concluded.