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Kartini Pesisir Berdaya Foundation
Kartini Pesisir Berdaya Foundation
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
For as long as I can remember, the sea has been the center of my life’s work. I trained as a marine biologist, spent years studying coastal ecosystems between Indonesia and France, and eventually earned my doctorate researching how coastal communities and the resources they depend on can thrive together rather than at each other’s expense. But it was not in a laboratory or a lecture hall that the idea for this foundation was born. It was in the villages.
Over more than a decade of working directly with seaweed farmers — training them in good aquaculture practices, sitting with them in coastal communities from Sulawesi to Papua, mediating between farmers and the export markets that determine their livelihoods, and representing their voices in rooms far from the shoreline — I noticed something I could not unsee. The women were everywhere in this industry, and yet they were rarely the ones being asked what they needed.
They were the ones drying and sorting the harvest under the sun for hours. They were the ones managing household finances when the price of dried seaweed swung without warning. They were the ones raising children between planting and harvest cycles, absorbing the shocks of a volatile market with quiet resilience. And still, when training opportunities, certifications, leadership roles, or a seat at the negotiating table were offered, they were too often an afterthought — present in the labor, absent from the decisions.
I do not believe this was ever a matter of capability. I have seen coastal women learn quality standards faster than anyone expected, negotiate fiercely for fair prices, and mentor the next generation with a patience and clarity I have rarely seen matched. What they lacked was not skill. It was access — to training built for them, to markets that saw them as partners rather than labor, to a seat at the table where the rules of this industry are written.
That is why I helped establish Kartini Pesisir Berdaya. I named it, in part, after Kartini — a woman who believed that dignity and opportunity for women were not a departure from tradition but a foundation for a stronger future. That belief is exactly what we are trying to build into Indonesia’s coastal economy.
Our foundation exists because I believe an Indonesia where the sea is a source of pride and prosperity cannot be built without the full, recognized participation of the women who already carry so much of it on their shoulders. We want to invest in their capacity, connect them to fair markets, support the next generation of coastal entrepreneurs and educators, and advocate for the systems and policies that will let this progress outlast any one program or any one of us.
This is not a finished vision. It is a beginning, built on years of listening to coastal communities and taking seriously what they told me they needed. I am deeply grateful to the founding team who share this conviction, and to every farmer, trainer, and coastal woman whose work has shaped what we believe this foundation should be.
If you share this belief — that a fairer, more sustainable blue economy must be built together with the women of Indonesia’s coast, not around them — we would be glad to have you join us.
Bersama kita wujudkan pesisir yang berdaya.
Together, let us build an empowered coast.
With sincerity and hope,
Dr. Maya Puspita
Founder & Chair of the Supervisory Board
Kartini Pesisir Berdaya
To our valued partners, beneficiaries, and friends of the sea, It is with sincere heart that I welcome you to the digital home of the Kartini Pesisir Berdaya Foundation.
As a Chair of the Board of Trustees, my identity is deeply rooted in the waters of our archipelago. For over 13 years, as the Founder and CEO of PT. Bahari Agro Indonesia, I have navigated the complex currents of the seaweed export industry. I have stood on the docks at dawn, watched the harvests come in, and negotiated with international buyers who trust the quality of our product. That journey has taught me the language of global trade, the discipline of supply chain logistics, and the brutal realities of market volatility.
But those 13 years also taught me something far more profound: the faces behind the commodities.
In my travels from the eastern shores of Sumbawa to the coasts of South Sulawesi, I saw the same story repeated over and over. I saw the Ibu-ibu—the mothers, the wives, the daughters—who are the true backbone of this industry. They are the ones tying the seedlings, monitoring the lines, and drying the harvest under the sun. Yet, despite their labor, they remain on the fringes of the financial ecosystem. They are the most vulnerable to climate change, to price drops, and to economic exclusion.
When we established this foundation, I knew that we could not simply offer charity. Charity fades; empowerment endures. My role at the company allows me to bring more than just passion to this foundation—I bring direct industry access and credibility.
To the coastal women we serve: I see you. I know that you are not just workers; you are potential entrepreneurs and heroes of the home. This foundation is built to ensure that your access to the market is fair, that your roles and skills are recognized, and that your voices are heard not just on the shorelines. We are here to leverage the commercial networks we have built to create a direct pipeline for your products, ensuring that you get the fair price you have always deserved.
To our corporate partners and sponsors: I understand that sustainability is not just a buzzword; it is a necessity for long-term growth. By supporting the Kartini Pesisir Berdaya Foundation, you are not just funding a program—you are investing in a resilient, high-integrity supply chain. You are backing women whose commitment to quality is matched only by their commitment to their families.
This personal letter is my promise to you: that the bridge I have built between the seaweed farmers and the global market will now also serve as a bridge to education, financial literacy, and leadership.
R.A. Kartini fought for the freedom to dream. Today, we fight for the freedom to earn, to lead, and to thrive in the blue economy. This is our Kartini movement—modern, pragmatic, and deeply rooted in the saltwater of our homeland.
Thank you for joining us on this journey. The tide is turning, and together, we will lift the coast.
With gratitude and resolve,
Fauziah Hanum
Founder & Chair of the Board of Trustees
Kartini Pesisir Berdaya
When I was young, my father used to tell me that being an entrepreneur is not just about building something for yourself. He believed that the moment you create a business, you are also given a responsibility. Every employee you hire has a family depending on that income. Every vendor you work with has their own livelihood tied to your decisions. Every customer you serve trusts you with a small part of their life. And through taxes, through the value you create, you are also contributing to your government and your country. He taught me that a blessing given to one person is never meant to stop there. It is meant to flow outward, to as many people as it can reach.
That belief has stayed with me my entire life. My mission has always been simple to say and difficult to live out: to uplift as many livelihoods as possible, and to open as many job opportunities as I can, for as long as I am able to. I want to see my country become a developed nation. I know how far away that dream can feel some days, but I have never been able to let it go.
What breaks my heart, again and again, is seeing people with so much potential who are never given the chance to grow into it, simply because of where they were born, or what they could not afford to learn. That gap between potential and opportunity is one of the deepest injustices I know, and it is also where I feel most called to act.
This is part of why I started Yayasan Kartini Pesisir Berdaya. I have seen, firsthand, how extraordinary Indonesia’s maritime potential is. And I have also seen the irony that sits alongside it. We are rich in raw marine resources, yet so much of what we produce leaves our shores unprocessed, only to return to us later as finished goods made with value we could have added ourselves. Countries like China did not accept that position. Through deliberate investment in places like Qingdao, they built maritime economic zones with research, manufacturing, and trade working together, and turned raw potential into national strength. I do not think our path will look the same, and I know it will take structural change that is far bigger than any one foundation. But every structural change has to begin somewhere small and honest.
Yayasan Kartini Pesisir Berdaya is my first step. It is not the whole answer, but it is a real one. I believe that as long as our intentions are good and our effort is sincere, doors will open that we cannot yet see. I hold on to that belief, and I hold on to my faith that if we put our heart fully into a mission that serves others, we are never doing it alone.
Through this foundation, I hope to help coastal communities, and especially the women within them who are so often overlooked, gain the education and access they need to compete and thrive in a maritime industry that keeps moving forward. If we can help even one coastal community stand stronger and prouder, then this first step will have been worth taking.
With hope and love,
Gina Syailendra
Founder & Chairwoman
Kartini Pesisir Berdaya
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