Community-led data collection to strengthen coffee traceability in Indonesia

Coffee is an important crop for smallholder farmers in Lebakmuncang, a village in Ciwidey district, Indonesia. Coffee production formally started here in 2005, with the establishment of the local Forest Village Community Institution (LMDH) in partnership with Perum Perhutani, Indonesia’s state forestry company.

In 2018, through a Recognition and Protection of Forestry Partnerships (Kulin-KK) arrangement, coffee-producing households received legal social forestry permits, further formalizing this partnership. Currently, these permits cover 1,161 hectares of state forest land managed by smallholder farmers.

The growing need for traceability

According to Lebakmuncang Village Office records, around 1,500 tonnes of coffee were produced here in 2025. This production is taking place in a context where demand for traceability data from export markets and certification schemes is growing.

Communities are increasingly being asked to provide evidence for where and how their coffee is produced. For the local cooperative, Koperasi Caringin Bumi Asih, this need became apparent in February 2026, when a potential buyer from the Middle East asked whether traceability data of their coffee products was available.

“We didn't have traceability data ready when a buyer asked for it,” says Kang Yana, the cooperative’s leader. “But it showed us exactly what buyers want, and we are now building that evidence. So that the next time someone asks, we can say that we have the data.”

To support these efforts, RECOFTC Indonesia has introduced a community-led forest data collection approach in Ciwidey, first developed through RECOFTC’s engagement with farmers and community members in Myanmar and Viet Nam through the ‘Chain of changes’ project.

A locally owned and co-designed database

When the approach was introduced to Lebakmuncang, it was adapted to the local context and community needs and strengths, including the digital literacy of local youth. Through back-and-forth brainstorming with community members, the RECOFTC Indonesia team helped integrate lessons learned from Myanmar and Viet Nam into the approach.

Working with the cooperative, the team supported the co-design of a database for Ciwidey, linking coffee production data with information about farms and the forest landscape. Starting in February 2026, we organized three online database codesign discussions. We had two key objectives: to make sure that the data components met the cooperative’s needs and that local communities could collect the required data efficiently.

Currently, there are 15 data collectors, 12 of whom are 35 or younger, responsible for updating and managing the database. All of them were participants of an April 2026 training on data collection and subsequent data collection effort. Using the free mobile survey app Epicollect5, they have collected coffee plot coordinates and images, uploaded these to the cloud database and recorded data in the desired format independently.

The current database covers 225 farms, around 12 per cent of the total smallholder coffee farms in Lebakmuncang. Future surveys will cover more farms and record changes in land status and ownership. The data will be updated annually to ensure the latest harvesting volume data is available. The goal is to get a clear picture of coffee production across farms, strengthen traceability and respond to information requirements from buyers and certification schemes.

Young people in cooperative management

The 12 young people involved in data collection are now also involved in cooperative management. Many have begun to see themselves as active agents in shaping sustainable coffee production and forest management. One of them, Lukman Nurzaman, says, “When we were kids, we saw the forest as our playground. Now, our perception has shifted, and we see forests as a viable source of income,”

Ahmad Sadudin, another youth, notes, “I’ve learned many things about coffee management since getting involved. I’ve also gotten to connect with other young people from my village.” He says that he is looking forward to what the database can do for the cooperative. “By centralizing information on coffee production, the database functions as a practical tool to help us understand our total harvest, meet buyers’ minimum volume requirements and provide the traceability information increasingly required in export markets.”

Towards an inclusive, sustainable, data-informed future

The database was designed with an easy-to-read dashboard. The details gathered, particularly around post-harvest management, will support the cooperative in managing greater volumes of coffee.

The goal, ultimately, is that Koperasi Caringin Bumi can attract export buyers directly, without having to rely on local intermediaries who do not always provide competitive prices to smallholder farmers.

Cooperative leader Kang Yana says, “Before, smallholders in the village see coffee as a mere commodity with fluctuating selling price. With this database, the cooperative can mainstream a sustainable coffee cultivation practice that is inclusive of local youth and women. When we work together, our forest and communities can thrive.”

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Gomos Anditio Purba is a programme assistant at RECOFTC Indonesia