In the News

Rebuilding livelihoods brick by brick in Oecusse

Cut off from the main island of Timor-Leste, the residents of the rural aldeia or village of Larisuc in Oecusse have many things to worry about. Their litany of woes includes lack of access to basic social amenities like schools, hospitals, markets, electricity, water and sanitation services, problems common in the enclave district of Timor-Leste.

But motivated by UNDP and UNOPS, they are harnessing the only major asset at their disposal—social capital.

“In good days, we can make about US $ 150 per day and if we had a guaranteed market, we can do even better,” says Mr Gasper Naheten, leader of the thirteen-member male self help group (SHG) involved in brick-making since 2006.

Working with local change agents or so called Community Activation Facilitators (CAFs) employed by the Oecusse Ambeno-Activation Project (OCAP), the group was supported with a brick-making machine as well as training in technical and business skills. “We now have a capital of about US $ 6000 and our credit services to members have grown tremendously,” says Gasper.

Elsewhere, in the Bobocase village of Pante Makasar, investment in a water pond by a SHG has transformed the lifestyle of residents by providing regular water supply to dozens of people.

“We can now cultivate crops throughout the year and this has significantly improved our nutrition and food security,” says Miguel Agapito, a resident of Bobocase and member of the SHG involved in water harvesting to cultivate vegetables like onions, eggplants, cabbages and spinach.

The two groups were among the 180 successful SHGs supported by OCAP. Each SHG has about a dozen members. Supported by the European Commission, the five-year EUR 5 million OCAP was implemented by UNDP in partnership with UNOPS as the executing agency. Its main counterparts were the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Ministry of Economy and Development, Office of the Secretary of State for Oecusse (SOS), and District Project Working Committee made up of representatives of local government and civil society. It started in 2004.

Festooned with spectacular beaches and historic sites predating the advent of Portuguese settlers in the 15^th century, Oecusse is potentially a tourist paradise. However being an enclave within the vast Indonesian archipelago, it faces formidable communication and transport difficulties, which undermines economic growth and development. Besides, the people of the area are still recovering from incredible trauma and loss, following what is referred as the “Black September” when in an unprecedented orgy of terror and destruction, Pro-Indonesian militias killed 82 people in the Oesilo subdistrict on 8^th September 1999, days after the announcement of the referendum results which overwhelmingly favored the independence vote.

Against this background, the formation of the SHGs, say experts, provided an ideal social—and psychological—space for many people, especially women, to share their grief and support each other. “The SHG were hugely important in touching the lives of a big percentage of the population in Oecusse,” says a development worker who monitored OCAP closely. The population of Oecusse is estimated at about 60,000 people, according to the 2004 census.

At the time of project closure in May 2009, total savings by group members amounted to US $78,566.   Their activities ranged from savings and credit schemes, rehabilitation of community infrastructure to improved faming techniques like the sloping agriculture land technology and micro-irrigation systems. In addition, training provided to community groups in sustainable management of savings and credit schemes and the regular mentoring by the CAFs ensured increased access to basic banking facilities.

“The SHGs have progressed considerably since their foundation but face many challenges as they seek to become sustainable economic units. In particular, linkages must be formed with microfinance and marketing institutions,” says Claire Martin, a UNDP Programme Officer. She explains that the capacity of group members to pursue such linkages has been improved with the help of the newly founded NGO, Fundasaun Esperansa Enclave Oecusse (FEEO) that continues with the community activation support approaches introduced by OCAP.

 Meanwhile, it is expected that synergies will be explored with other projects and especially, the recently established joint  UNDP and UNCDF project on Inclusive Finance for the Underserved Economy (INFUSE).

At the same time, the fate of the area is tied to flexible cross-border operations with Indonesia and plans for a new border regime are already in the pipeline. “We have a ready market for our bulls in Kefa, Indonesia especially after the end of the Ramadhan fasting season” says Magdalia Nacolo, a member of the Mau Sufa SHG involved in cattle-fattening in Sakato, aldeia Nipane of Oecusse.  

A bullish economy, it seems, offers the best hope for Oecusse.