Gemapalu was established on December 14, 2004 in Lumajang Regency based on the deed of establishment of the institution with Notary Deed No.133 /BH.GMP/IX/2004/PN.LMJ, Notary Name Ari Mudjianto SH. Gemapalu was founded by one of its founders, Misbach Isnaifah, a former migrant worker who was born in Kandangan Village, Senduro District, Lumajang Regency, East Java Province, Indonesia.
Since her return from Malaysia in 1998, Isna has been active in the East Java Indonesian Migrant Workers Solidarity (SBMI) movement.
This organization, which was initiated by Solidaritas Perempuan (SP) Jakarta, has taught Isna about the politics of deploying Indonesian Migrant Workers (TKI) in Indonesia, and made her awareness to organize in her village, for migrant workers and their families. From the process of organizing the migrant workers’ communities and families, Isna found out that the pockets of migrant workers were located in former Dutch plantation areas (land of erpacht rights).
Land conflicts and the uncertainty of ownership of residential land and agricultural land are one of the factors that make villagers work abroad to become Indonesian migrant workers. The existence of
Indonesian citizens (WNI) who have to leave the village and their families abroad is because the village does not guarantee a decent life, peace and prosperity. Together with several other activists who are concerned with strengthening the lives of villagers, Isna, Eri Andriani, and Khoirun Nisa founded Gemapalu. An organization that is expected to be a media for education, media for advocacy, and media for building economic, social, political, and cultural solidarity of villagers (gemapalu.id).
Gemapalu’s vision is to create rural communities that are prosperous and economically, politically, socially, and culturally sovereign in managing and maintaining village resources in accordance with the principles of local wisdom and environmental sustainability and justice for all groups. Gemapalu’s mission is (1) to increase the capacity of rural human resources through education, training, and organizing for groups of farmers, indigenous peoples, migrant workers and their families, women’s groups, youth, youth, and children with adult learning principles and methods inclusive;
(2) build and develop a Credit Union/Savings and Loans Cooperative (KSP) “Credit Union Gema Swadaya Jawa Timur” as an intermediary medium for rural family financial aspects and access to community business development; (3) build and develop trade cooperatives as intermediaries of goods and services between communities; (4) developing Community-Based Service Centers (LBK) as a medium of interaction and communication for community groups in developing self, family, and community literacy; and (5) conduct advocacy and policy campaigns to encourage an open, clean, accountable and corruption-free government (gemapalu.id).
Gemapalu has three sub-institutions within it, namely (1) Organizational Advisory Council (DPO), (2) Daily Implementing Body (BPH), and (3) Community Organizing Structure (SPK). The DPOs are the people involved in establishing and building Gemapalu and are committed to supporting the vision and mission of Gemapalu which consists of Misbach Isnaifah as chairman, and members namely Khoirun Nisa, Intan Damarwati, Ruth Murtiasih Subodro, and Iwan Kusuma. BPH is elected in the Gemapalu Strategic Planning Meeting (RPS) which is held every five years. The structure of BPH for the
Liswin (Secretary), Nur Azlina (Treasurer), Misbach Isnaifah (Program Coordinator), Liswin (Lumajang Regency Regional Coordinator), Taupik (Probolinggo Regency Regional Coordinator), Rini Febriati (Jember District Coordinator), Bagus (Administrative and Finance Staff), Dinka (Community Marketing Staff), Gito Rolis (Head of Household), and Sarti (Office Boy). The SPK in Gemapalu is functioned to run the program using the LBK approach and strategy, an education system and organization based on the Rukun Tetagg (RT) territorial group at the hamlet level. The LBK group consists of a maximum of 50 family heads (KK). The LBK group has administrators as LBK cadres who are tasked with organizing members in their area to obtain financial services from the Gema Swadaya CU in East Java and the business development of members and the community. In one village, LBK groups are coordinated by the Village Mobilization Cadre (KPD) whose task is to ensure capacity building for LBK cadres through education and training, and to facilitate meetings between LBK at the village level. The KPD coordinates with the sub-district Regional Coordinator (Korwil) whose task is to facilitate inter-village networks and the development of LBK groups within the sub-district area. The sub-district Korwil will coordinate with BPH Gemapalu for program planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting (gemapalu.id).
The Gemapalu work program is formulated every five years, as a mandate for BPH selected in strategic planning by involving various key stakeholders. Monitoring is carried out every three months, and is taken into account in activity reporting. The focus of the issues that form the basis of the Gemapalu program are (1) farmers’
sovereignty over land, seeds, and fertilizers as well as other production facilities; (2) food sovereignty for villagers through sustainable and environmentally friendly natural agriculture; (3) gender equity in all aspects; (4) community market as a form of independence over market and price management; (5) reproductive health of families and the younger generation; (6) creative free space for village children;
(7) assistance and education for migrant workers; (8) non-litigation advocacy: promotion and campaign on civil society rights and innovative community-based actions (gemapalu.id).
In addition, there are additional work programs, namely (1) Increasing access to financial services through the Gema Swadaya CU in East Java with the expected results: (a) strengthening the ideological and philosophical aspects of the administrators, supervisors, managers, regional coordinators and cadres as well as members of the Gema Swadaya CU East Java; (b) strengthening institutional governance of Gema Swadaya CU towards cooperatives that are healthy, clean, reliable, and meet access branding standards;
and (c) capacity building of members in organizing family, community and inter-community financial resources. (2) Increasing awareness of the values of gotong royong in the fulfillment of production facilities, post-harvest management, and community marketing, with the expected results: (a) the establishment of a system for the fulfillment of collective production and distribution, consumption, and marketing facilities for the community; (b) increasing the added value of community production, both agriculture and animal husbandry, as well as other community economic outcomes; and (c) the decline in the bondage system so that relations between farmers and traders or collectors are more fair and equal. (3) Conducting promotions and campaigns related to the independent economic movement and the right to access and information for rural communities, with the expected results: (a) the establishment of space or media both offline and online for the community and the wider community about ideas and works innovative community; and (b) the establishment of communication networks between communities to support each other and share interesting experiences in making changes in the community (gemapalu.id).
According to Isna, Gemapalu has been carrying out organizing efforts for more than 17 years in various communities, and in the process has experienced many challenges. Organizing is a learning by doing process, because organizing is a human process growing in consciousness. Moreover, collective/community awareness. This is not easy, because there are very different between community service, community gathering and community organizing (besuki.id).
2. Cooperative Movement: KSP CU Gema Swadaya, Gema Kedai,