Central Java, November 03, 2022 - PT Combiphar as one of the leading consumer healthcare companies in Indonesia with support from the Karanganyar and Wonogiri Family Welfare Program (PKK) activator team, the Agriculture Service, and the Center for Development and Research of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicines has been holding a women's empowerment program (Combi Hope Women Empowerment) which started in mid-2021. This was done to improve women's livelihoods, especially the Women Farmers Group (Kelompok Wanita Tani) and PKK in the vicinity of Combiphar Group's operational areas. In addition, this activity was in line with its commitment to 'Championing a Healthy Tomorrow', improving the quality of its products in the preventive segment, one of which is through the procurement of quality herbal products.
To continue this women's empowerment program, Combiphar handed over five dryer houses to five villages participating in the program. The handover of dryer houses in two villages in Wonogiri was symbolically handed over by the Director of PT Combiphar, Christina Sung, to the Regent of Wonogiri, Joko Sutopo, on November 2, 2022. Meanwhile, the other three dryer houses were handed over by the Director of Combiphar, Chandra Dewi, to the district of Karanganyar on November 3, 2022.
In collaboration with the TPPKK and the Department of Agriculture as well as the local government, PT Combiphar launched a women's empowerment program. This collaboration is a form of PT Combiphar's concern for the welfare of the residents around Combiphar's operational areas.
"Of course, we welcome this with joy. This pandemic certainly has an impact on the economy of all Indonesian citizens, and this is also felt by our citizens. Therefore, this women's empowerment program really supports prosperity in the Wonogiri district. Assistance from the Agriculture Service and B2P2TOOT is also very helping women in cultivating ginger and galangal so that they meet the specifications needed to make herbal medicine raw materials," said the Regent of Wonogiri, Joko Sutopo.
Around 230 women farmers attended a series of programs ranging from training from the Department of Agriculture and B2P2TOOT and Persada – Combiphar partners on seeding and planting, to making ginger and galangal simplicia, which are the primary raw materials for herbal medicine. In addition, education on self-motivation, healthy lifestyle, and entrepreneurship is also provided to equip women to be able to improve their standard of living. Through this program, around 4,000 women have received education on healthy lifestyles distributed by the 230 participants.
“Women have a key role in the family and their surroundings. We invite women to increase their self-capacity through education on healthy lifestyles and self-motivation, as well as improving the family economy through cultivating ginger and galangal, which the results can be absorbed as raw materials for the Air Mancur herbal medicine. For this reason, we have re-initiated our program by fostering and providing training to women farmers, so that women's welfare will increase in our business operational areas," said Christina Sung.
Christina added that the ginger and galangal cultivation program uses land that was previously unproductive and utilizes the community's yard, so that women, especially mothers, can remain productive at home.
In addition, the Combi Hope program is run to reinforce Combiphar's commitment to empowering the community around its operational locations in a sustainable manner, to increase the capacity and capability of women farmers. This program also proactively collaborates with various stakeholders to create a healthier generation.
The sustainability of this CSR program aims to support women farmers in the operational locations of Combiphar so that people's welfare can increase through education and empowerment. Currently, Combiphar has 6 community development programs, including Combiphar Healthy Living Education, Combiphar Health Desk, Combiphar Women and Youth Development, Combi Hope, Combi Run, and Combiphar Players Championship.
"We hope that the training given to the women farmers by Combiphar is just the beginning and that their educational journey will continue by applying the knowledge gained to make all women improve their economic outcomes and improve their whole communities and the communities around their village," concluded Christina.
