The challenges of land grabbing and corruption in land management are prompting innovative responses from grassroots initiatives in Indonesia and Thailand. The Land Defenders project is leading the charge by unleashing the power of marginalized communities to fight for their land rights and supporting existing advocates with valuable data and information. Meanwhile, the Voices4Budget project is revolutionizing the process of village fund allocation. By engaging local communities in decision-making, this initiative ensures that their needs are front and center. 

Land Defenders and Voices4Change were two of the winning teams of the South East Asia cohort of Hackcorruption this year who each received $10,000 in seed funding to further develop and launch their solutions. Their projects are emerging as timely responses in Indonesia and Thailand to support marginalized communities by enhancing transparency, promoting accountability, and fostering grassroots advocacy. They highlight the benefit of a collaborative approach among different stakeholders in creating pathways for sustainable change. 

Land Defenders

The Land Defenders project has made significant progress in addressing the issues of land grabbing and corruption in land management across Indonesia and Thailand. Non-transparent land concessions, forced evictions and relocations, exclusion of local communities from land agreements between private investors and local government, irresponsible urban planning, and ruthless land speculations have resulted in the displacement of marginalized communities, environmental degradation, and widespread human rights violations. In response, this project offers innovative solutions that include transparent information, community sensitization, and essential legal and advocacy support. 

At the heart of the Land Defenders team is the multi-stakeholder approach that utilizes technology and grassroots advocacy to combat land-related corruption. By fostering collective efforts of activists, environmentalists, technologists, and journalists, the project team intends to create a robust platform that promotes transparency and empowers communities with crucial legal knowledge about land rights and land-use policies. 

The project is particularly focused on the needs of marginalized rural and indigenous communities in Indonesia and Thailand, whose land rights are increasingly threatened. Additionally, activists, environmentalists, and legal advocates working on land issues benefit from the platform’s resources, including relevant data, tools, and networking opportunities.

The project is steadily progressing with the development of the platform, outreach activities, and building partnerships with like-minded organizations. Collaborations with local NGOs that focus on anti-corruption and land rights have been initiated to gain strategic support from them and strengthen advocacy efforts at both national and regional levels.

Addressing land rights issues is fraught with challenges, specifically due to complex legal frameworks and entrenched corruption in land acquisitions. 

“At times, resistance from local authorities, who are aligned with powerful developers, complicates community-led advocacy efforts,” says Nukila Evanty. 

Therefore, building trust within the community and creating alliances with local organizations is key to success. The team explains that involving local communities from the beginning of a project strengthens the project’s legitimacy and provides appropriate solutions. This project’s advocacy efforts are persistent as legal battles and governmental opposition can significantly delay the progress.

The Land Defenders project aspires to create a robust, transparent, and accessible platform that fosters long-term systemic change in land governance. They aim to reduce land-related conflicts, promote sustainable land use, and empower vulnerable communities to defend against exploitation.

Voices4Budget

The Voices4Budget team is making significant strides in promoting transparency and accountability in the use of village funds in Indonesia and Thailand. This initiative empowers local communities towards meaningful participation in decision-making of village funds through an online platform where they can vote for priority programs that align with their needs. 

Having successfully implemented the project in Indonesia’s Nupabomba Village, the Voices4Budget team is preparing to launch in the second pilot village, Ban Chambrung Village in Thailand. The team attributes much of their success to collaboration with the local NGOs and committed volunteers. Fira Tiyasning Tri Utari emphasizes that “the local NGOs and volunteers have been significant in reaching out to communities, guiding them through the platform, and encouraging participation through door-to-door efforts”. 

In Indonesia, the annual Musyawarah Perencanaan Pembangunan Desa (Musrenbangdes) – a forum for citizens to submit their project proposals for village development – often sees low community participation from vulnerable groups, including women, youth, and minorities. The Voices4Budget Platform aims to bridge this gap by providing technical training for community champions, enabling them to engage citizens in participatory budgeting  through online Musrenbangdes. 

The impact has been positive and inspirational. The team shared that 222 voters participated in the recent voting process, advocating for approximately USD 38,000 in funding. Youth involvement in village fund forums has notably increased by 37%.  

Despite challenges such as inconsistent internet access in rural areas, the commitment of volunteers in Nupabomba Village has proven instrumental in this project.

“The patience and collaboration of volunteers and our Musrenbang champions helped us address these challenges. They guided citizens to areas with better internet access and patiently trained them on the platform,” says Fira.

The Voices4Budget team believes that while technology is crucial for promoting transparency and participation, it must be paired with the community’s commitment to effective decision-making. “Without the local champions’ dedication to drive the change, technology alone cannot create meaningful impact.” 

Looking ahead, the Voices4Budget team aspires to expand Voices4Budget to additional countries for a more transparent, inclusive, and accountable system for managing village resources. They say, “We aim to build a sustainable model for community-led decision-making that can influence the allocation of public funds at the local level.” 

Khadijah Chang and Shreemanjari Tamrakar