Three Villages, One Vision: How East Lombok Achieved Indonesia’s Highest Climate Award

In 2024, East Lombok achieved something extraordinary.  In a single year, three villages—Seruni Mumbul, Sugian, and Sapit—each earned Indonesia’s highest national recognition for community climate action, the ProKlim Lestari (“Sustainable”) award from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK-RI).

Reaching Lestari is rare. Achieving it three times in one district simultaneously represents a national milestone. Behind this success was a sustained collaboration between local communities, village governments, district and provincial authorities, together with World Neighbors and their local NGO partner LPSDM, in partnership with KLHK-RI.  Together, they demonstrated how community-driven climate action—rooted in daily behaviors and local leadership—can transform landscapes and strengthen climate resilience.

1. Sugian Village – Protecting Coasts Through Mangroves and Collective Action

In Sugian Village, the story began with Kokok Pedek Hamlet, where a farmer named Mr. Kalam inspired residents to work together to restore their environment.  His open, collaborative leadership helped unify youth, women’s groups, elders and community leaders behind climate action.

Head of ProKlim Group, Sugian Village

Under his guidance, Sugian strengthened:

• Mangrove conservation
• Climate-friendly agriculture
• Waste management improvements
• Institution building and record-keeping
• Expansion of ProKlim efforts to other hamlets

The village government—especially the then-Village Secretary, Bagus Hady Kusuma—reinforced this work through targeted budget allocations for conservation and climate adaptation.

After achieving the Lestari award, Sugian continued its momentum.  Led by ProKlim Kokok Pedek, the village planted 1,000 new mangrove trees, began maggot cultivation for organic waste management and as animal feed and prepared village funds to purchase a community motor vehicle for environmental operations.

2. Seruni Mumbul Village – Women Leading Climate-Smart Homes and Waste Banks

In Seruni Mumbul Village, the heart of the movement lay with a powerful group of women from Barangtapen Hamlet, who transformed their small yards into productive spaces for vegetables, medicinal plants, and fruit.

They also:

• Converted household waste into organic compost
• Used livestock manure to produce biogas
• Created broomstick products from coconut leaves
• Operated an active waste bank, giving value to recyclable waste
• Strengthened their savings and loan group.

These women faced challenges—including maintaining plants while balancing farm labour and home responsibilities—but their persistence paid off.  Their work not only brought Seruni Mumbul to the Lestari level but also ignited a strong sense of community pride and environmental ownership.

3. Sapit Village – Restoring Forests and Rebuilding Water Sources through Agroforestry

In Sapit Village, the transformation was most visible on the hillsides.  Years earlier, these areas were barren, dominated by wild grass and small shrubs due to forest encroachment, but under the leadership of Village Head Sriatun, Sapit began replanting degraded areas with coffee and perennial fruit trees.  Over time, the hills turned green again, groundwater reserves improved and coffee became a new local economic product.

H. Sriatun, Head of Sapit Village

Sapit’s notable achievements included:

• Integrated agroforestry systems combining food crops and perennial trees
• Spring-source conservation on key water points
• Expansion of micro-watershed technologies such as smile-berms
• Strong collaboration between village government, communities, WN, LPSDM, and the provincial Environmental Agency.

Women continued yard-based agriculture to support household nutrition and food security, while village policies—such as local regulations on spring-source protection, ensured the work would continue for future generations.

Collective Factors Behind the Treble Lestari Achievement

Across all three villages, the same elements kept emerging:

• Strong Local Leadership: Community leaders and ProKlim committees actively mobilized residents—young and old, men and women—to participate in climate adaptation and mitigation.
• Women and Youth at the Centre: Women led waste management and home-garden productivity. Youth groups contributed energy, creativity, and continuity.
• Institutional Strengthening: Regular meetings, proper documentation, and strong administrative systems helped each group meet national assessment criteria.
• Multi-level Collaboration: Village governments provided budgets; district and provincial agencies offered training, tools, and monitoring; WN and LPSDM guided the technical process.
• Continuous Technical Support: Field facilitators built trust through consistent visits, mentoring, and hands-on demonstrations—from composting to agroforestry to waste reduction.
• Village Policymaking and Budgeting: Local regulations and annual budget allocations ensured long-term sustainability beyond project cycles.

Beyond the Treble Trophy: Expanding the Movement

In addition to the three Lestari winners, seven other ProKlim groups facilitated by LPSDM and WN made significant progress, with three villages having reached the Advanced level in 2024, and another five doing so in 2025.  This shows that the transformation is not isolated, it is spreading.

Planting Trees in the Water Source Conservation Zone

A Message from East Lombok to the Country

The journey of Seruni Mumbul, Sugian, and Sapit shows that climate action does not require advanced technology or large budgets.  It starts from home yards, community gardens, women’s groups, mangroves, compost bins and small but persistent actions.  It grows through local leadership, community trust, and multi-stakeholder collaboration, and it succeeds when the community believes that protecting the environment is inseparable from improving livelihoods.

Three villages, three stories, one common message: change can emerge from small villages, from the grassroots, from humble hands who love their earth.  ProKlim Lestari is not just an award; it is a journey to safeguard the environment and its future.