Solidaridad Asia

11/05/2026

In Indonesia, female farmers' groups are indispensable to the agricultural and rural sectors. But, how do they support the goals of food and nutrition security as well as rural prosperity? And, how exactly is Solidaridad lending a hand to these institutions?

Know more from this article.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/strategic-power-female-farmers-groups-driving-food-security-6o0rc/

Solidaridad Network | Solidaridad Asia | Solidaridad Indonesia

10/05/2026

: In Asia, women often nurture and sustain multiple institutions—the farm and the household, for instance—while bringing up their children, all at the same time. This is no mean feat!

This International Mother's Day, we celebrate the voices of such women who juggle these roles with aplomb. The women featured here hail from India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Malaysia, but what connects them is their sense of pride and responsibility towards their farming, household and motherhood duties. They are not only earning independently and ensuring food and nutrition for their families, but also scripting a better future for their children by providing them with a proper education.

Solidaridad honours these women and their innumerable contributions.

Solidaridad Network | Solidaridad Asia | Solidaridad Indonesia | Solidaridad Malaysia

06/05/2026

In recent times, the 'No to Palm Oil' narrative has gained traction mainly by exploiting consumer anxieties. Through the narrative, companies often create an artificial distinction, to justify higher prices for alternative products that are not necessarily superior.

The reality, however, says otherwise—and the 'No to Palm Oil' narrative has a number of hidden costs associated with it.

Oil palm is among the world's most land-efficient crops. For a country like India, which is the world’s largest importer of vegetable oils, turning away from palm oil is an economic risk (palm oil is the cheapest edible oil) as well as an environmental risk. It can trigger massive land-use change, biodiversity loss, and higher greenhouse gas emissions.

Find out why, despite popular perception, palm oil continues to provide a sustainable answer to India's edible oil conundrum.

Solidaridad Network | Solidaridad Asia | Choose Palm For India

04/05/2026

What is the role of credit unions in Indonesia?

It is through these unions that Solidaridad reaches out to women from oil palm farming families, and supports them through lessons and information on financial literacy and management. Aspects covered include knowledge on financial assistance schemes, financing for household, replanting, and entrepreneurial activities, as well as for estate maintenance. Through such training, women are contributing to their households and communities to a greater extent than before.

Watch how one such union, the Daya Lestari Credit Union, is making a difference in Kutai Timur district, Indonesia.

Solidaridad Network | Solidaridad Asia | Solidaridad Indonesia

01/05/2026

Decarbonisation, resource efficiency, and competitive sustainability were at the centre of discussions in the Better Mill Initiative (BMI) Lessons Learned workshop, organised recently in Dhaka, Bangladesh, by Solidaridad Asia.

Representatives from leading industry players such as BGMEA, BKMEA, and MBM Group participated in dialogues that showcased results from BMI, highlighting it as a practical, investment-ready model for sustainable transformation across Bangladesh’s textile and apparel sector. Assessments have already revealed the potential of this collaborative initiative: 43% energy savings, 34% water reduction, and 50% emissions reduction.

Over the duration of the workshop, participants arrived at the consensus that sustainability must move beyond pilot initiatives and become part of factory operations.

In collaboration with four Dutch fashion brands (G-STAR Raw, America Today, Hunkemöller, and Zeeman), the BMI initiative has been implemented in eight factories (Surma Garments Limited, Motaleb Monowara Composite Limited, Famkam Dyeing Limited, Kentucky Knit Composite Limited, Auko-Tex Group, Clifton Apparels Limited, Cutting Edge Industries Ltd., M T Sweaters Limited).

📰 Find out more about the Better Mill Initiative and the workshop:
https://www.textiletoday.com.bd/solidaridads-bmi-workshop-delivers-a-profitable-sustainability-model

Solidaridad Network | Embassy of the Netherlands in Bangladesh | Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland - RVO

Bangladesh’s apparel sector is accelerating its transition toward climate-smart manufacturing, supported by growing collaboration with European sta...

27/04/2026

How can a textile cluster be responsible for and sensitive to the workers sustaining it and the surrounding environment affected by its operations?

The Panipat textile cluster in Haryana, India, generates an enormous amount of toxic effluents and emissions that harm both workers and the environment. However, process-based and systems-transformation interventions implemented by Solidaridad show that it is possible to make the cluster safer and greener to a large extent, one unit at a time.

Read on to find out how.

Solidaridad Network | Solidaridad Asia | Namami Gange | Northern India Textile Research Association

24/04/2026

What is the role of a rubber producer society in Kerala? It supports small-scale farmers to scale up production, protects them from intermediaries, and ensures that they earn better prices.

But, what happens when such a society faces problems of its own?

Find out how Unnati, the Sustainable Natural Rubber initiative implemented by Solidaridad and Bridgestone India, is supporting the farmers of Thekkummury Rubber Producer Society in Kottayam district to produce better-quality rubber sheets.

Solidaridad Network

20/04/2026

In Indonesia, women's groups are showing that the clever use of existing resources can drive significant impact.

How are they achieving this? By transforming underutilised garden plots and household waste into tangible economic assets for families in villages.

Let's take a closer look at this model of structural, strategic change supported by Solidaridad.

✅ By repurposing vacant land into collective gardens and using home-made compost and liquid organic fertilisers, the groups have boosted crop yields while reducing expenditure on synthetic fertilisers by 50%.

✅ Household gardens have been reimagined as 'raw material hubs'. Small plots now provide the ingredients for herbal medicines and snacks, such as vegetable crisps, generating a steady stream of supplementary income.

✅ Through the cultivation of diverse fruits and vegetables, families have ensured a consistent supply of fresh, nutritious produce, shielding themselves from fluctuating market prices.

✅ The implementation of a shared composting system fosters a sense of communal ownership. Members manage the facility together, ensuring that the resulting organic fertiliser benefits the entire group.

✅ Beyond their role as demonstration plots, these transformed gardens act as nurseries for distributing seedlings to members. The groups also process the harvest into affordable, ready-to-eat meals for local residents, further bolstering their community funds.

✅ Kitchen and household waste are repurposed into eco-enzymes. These serve as both a base for organic fertilisers and a sustainable alternative to commercial household cleaners, effectively lowering monthly domestic expenditure.

Financial inclusion and grassroots economic resilience therefore begin with education that is directly relevant to daily life. And when communities are empowered to see the value in their immediate surroundings, sustainable development becomes a reality instead of remaining just a theory.

Solidaridad Network | Solidaridad Asia | Solidaridad Indonesia

16/04/2026

: In villages around Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, India, women are indispensable to the functioning of the leather cluster. Yet, their roles and contributions remain next to invisible.

Read how the Pathways to Prosperity (P2P) programme is supporting these women to stand on their feet, by improving their skills in leather goods production and by providing them the equipment to do so.

Solidaridad Network | Solidaridad Asia | Small Industries Development Bank of India

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/women-unnao-stitch-resilient-livelihoods-themselves-sustainable-mpomc/