The title of this project is ‘Kampung Katong’ which in Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) Province dialect means Our Hamlet. Kampung Katong also an acronym for Kami Pung Manekat, Papada, Kampo Tanga which means Our Spirit for Collective Work (Manekat, Papada, andKampong Tanga are local terms from Mollo, Labuan Bajo, and Larantuka representing “collective work of a community”). This project idea was born from the reflection between RMI and Lakoat Kujawas on the collaboration in Being and Becoming Indigenous (BBI)in 2020-2021. In the BBI project, financial resources were disbursed to Lakoat Kujawas to support the implementation at the community level. This approach then ended up in several informal (i.e.: outside of the project work plan) capacity building provided by RMI for Lakoat Kujawas in terms of project administration and management, which was positively reflected by both parties. Lakoat Kujawas sees the additional administration and management capacity as a meaningful resource in improving their initiatives in working with the indigenous youth and children. RMI, affirming with Lakoat Kujawas, sees that this approach is needed not only by Lakoat Kujawas, but by other local initiatives and that the collaboration model that strengthens local communities’ access to productive resources can be formalized as a specific project in the future. By mentioning productive resources, we refer to funding, capacity building, and linking and learning opportunities that will capacitate indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities(IPEM), especially their young women and men, in governing their land and strengthening ownership toward their local culture. Taking into account the gender balance of rightsholder groups who participate, it is also decided that 50% of participants in the community organising and partners’ local initiatives are women.

This project is also designed in response to global trends and their unintended consequences when many financial resources are mobilized directly to communities that are often not prepared either socially or organizationally. RMI involvement with other grant schemes shows that the managerial capacity of many other involved community organizations was the main barrier in grant implementation. Donor’ expectation on project management and reporting, especially in terms of administrative works, is beyond community capacity. Although series of initial training on several themes such as project management, financial reporting, and M&E were conducted pre-implementation, the one-off approach has proved to be ineffective in the face of other organizational issues such as leadership and organizational management and HR turnover. Our extensive experience working with Kasepuhan IPs communities in Lebak Regency also shows how prone the communities are to elite capture which often results in horizontal conflict and failure of community organization when certain funds are directed to the community without proper assistance. This is why community preparedness is of importance today. Thus, after several initial discussions, identifying potential collaborators, and one consultation process with other potential collaborators, RMI, Lakoat Kujawas, SimpaSio Institute, and Kolektif Videoge agreed to propose this proposal as a consortium with RMI as the lead/host organization.