GrowHer:Kakao | Advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment and Climate-Smart Cocoa Production in Indonesia
- Grow Asia Communications
- Oct 3
- 2 min read
Now into its third year, the GrowHer: Kakao Project is strengthening gender equality, climate resilience, and economic opportunities for thousands of women cocoa farmers in South Sulawesi Indonesia. The program focuses on enabling women to participate more actively and equitably in cocoa value chains while adopting practices that support sustainable production systems. Grow Asia is proud to collaborate with Save The Children, Mars, and PISAgro on this transformative journey, supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Strengthening Women’s Economic Participation
The program’s field activities from January to June 2025 show measurable impact at the household and community level.
Project Reach achievements include:
90 women-led households reporting higher incomes, with an average increase of IDR 890,000, representing a 2.6 percent rise in household income
131 women farmer champions delivering peer training to other farmers in their communities
227 women participating in village-level planning processes
36 villages committing to include women’s voices in decision-making forums
141 village savings and loan associations formed to improve women’s access to financial tools and build resilience
These results reflect ongoing efforts to strengthen women’s leadership roles, improve economic outcomes, and increase community participation in land-use and production planning.
Ecosystem Partners Working Together at the World Expo Osaka
In addition to field-level progress, GrowHer: Kakao was featured at the Grow Asia Investment Forum in Singapore, and the Women’s Pavilion and Indonesia Pavilion at the World Expo Osaka, Japan. Consortium partners highlighted the program’s gender-transformative and climate-smart approach, and shared examples of how women farmers are contributing to stronger, more sustainable cocoa supply chains.
The sessions also reinforced the importance of financing models that recognise and support indigenous peoples, local communities, and women-led enterprises, aligning with the program’s broader objectives.
