Indonesia’s social forestry programme can continue to flourish only if its youth see a future in farming and develop the skills to make it work.

In Indonesia, securing land rights under the national social forestry programme is just one piece of the puzzle. For social forestry to be sustainable, young people, especially those from forest-dependent families, must see it as a viable future.  

Through training and mentoring, RECOFTC is helping youth build knowledge, skills, confidence and networks to manage forest landscapes and engage in community institutions.  

From August 2023 to September 2024, we organized three training events on agroforestry, waste management and enterprise development. The impact is beginning to show.  

In Ciwidey, West Java, several participants are cultivating their own plots and joining local cooperatives. Among them is Isan Yudha. At 28, he manages 500 square metres of his family’s agroforestry plot. He is experimenting with stingless bee keeping, hydroponics, composting, solar energy and water recycling on his farm, demonstrating the possibilities of new knowledge and technology in agroforestry and helping redefine what inclusive, sustainable forest governance can look like.

Young people like Yudha, who are stepping forward to carry on their families’ forest stewardship, need targeted support. “It’s hard being a farmer if you're not smart about it,” he says. “We must reduce the toil and increase the returns if farming is to remain a viable path for youth.”