Polewali Village TCD Project
A 5-year Transformational Community Development (TCD) initiative (2020–2025) empowering Polewali Village in Sulawesi, Indonesia to break cycles of poverty and achieve full self-sufficiency.
Income Generation: Women's Soap Cooperative
Background & Challenges
Before intervention, Polewali faced severe economic hardship and infrastructure scarcity. Families depended almost entirely on breadwinners working far away, school attendance was dangerously low, and the community relied on a single shared stream for drinking and washing. Most drastically, only one latrine existed for the entire village.
Project Updates (2023)
Economic Livelihoods & Micro-Enterprise
Building upon traditional palm oil farming, we helped establish a Soap-Making Cooperative. Local women utilize coconut oil sediment to manufacture high-grade bar soap for commercial distribution on Java, alongside expansion into liquid detergents.
Next Steps: Transitioning towards sustainable local poultry and livestock production.
Water Access & Sanitation Infrastructure
Five new deep water wells were drilled, successfully shifting families away from river dependence to direct village faucet access. Household latrines expand rapidly under a GHNI-managed community co-op resource fund.
"Families now access clean water from faucets directly inside the village, saving hours previously spent trekking to the river."
Kiki's Transformation
Kiki, a mother of four, previously spent hours every day carrying heavy water jugs back and forth from the river. With clean water faucets installed nearby, her daily schedule was completely transformed.
With her newfound time, Kiki now weaves and sells two hand-crafted sarongs per week, bringing direct income home to support her family's education and nutrition.
Through savings and health education, her family built their own private household latrine. Read full story at GHNI ?
Project Updates (2024)
Community-Led Learning Centre
A multi-purpose Learning Centre was constructed to serve as both an early childhood education hub and a central community meeting space.
100% Community Driven: Local families contributed land, raw materials, and construction labor to construct the facility independently.
Irwan — Village champion and community coordinator
Sanitation Expansion & Enterprise Growth
The community-pooled water and latrine subsidy system expanded to cover remaining unserviced homes across the village area.
Simultaneously, the Soap Cooperative expanded production to supply nearby regional markets.
2025 Graduation — Fully Self-Sufficient
In November 2025, Polewali Village officially graduated from the GHNI Transformational Community Development programme, standing today as a thriving, self-sustaining community.
Key Final Achievements
- 91% Electricity Coverage: Nearly all households connected to safe, reliable power.
- 3x Sanitation Infrastructure: Expanded from 1 single latrine to village-wide family latrines.
- 2x Clean Cooking Adoption: Replaced toxic open wood fires with clean cookstoves.
- Diverse Enterprise: Community members independently manufacture clay pots, coconut soaps, virgin coconut oil, and market new crops.
Husni crafting clay pottery
Self-reliant community gathering