Yayasan Mitra Ruang Kolektif, also known as Common Room Networks Foundation (Common Room) is an open platform for creativity and innovation, which was registered as a nonprofit organisation in 2006. This institution started as a project led by Bandung Center for New Media Arts (active until 2006). After being initiated as a project that bridged dialogue and interaction to encourage multidisciplinary collaboration and connect numerous individuals, Common Room has now been managing to reach out to diverse social and cultural backgrounds.

Since the initial period of development, Common Room has been committed to maintaining space for freedom of expression and civic empowerment that utilised art, culture and ICT/media tools. Starting from 2013 Common Room also has been actively engaged in a collaborative effort to develop urban-rural collaboration platform that nurtures creativity, innovation and social entrepreneurship both in local and international contexts.

Kasepuhan Ciptagelar indigenous community is known as one of the few traditional communities that protect and preserves rice culture and cultivation in West Java, Indonesia. Kasepuhan Ciptagelar community strongly relies on rice culture and cultivation, which also depends on the natural environment and protected forest areas. The Indigenous Youth and Women Empowerment for Livelihood Improvement and Cultural Resilience project is based on the cultural space and participatory mapping project that was being conducted by Common Room at Kasepuhan Ciptagelar region towards the end of 2016 to 2017. As the foundation of their shared narrative, culture, and identity, rice culture and cultivation, Kasepuhan Ciptagelar has been able to protect and preserve the forest area, as they already managed to develop forest and water management systems that are strongly embedded with their culture, tradition, and local knowledge.

Nevertheless, the environmental conditions in Kasepuhan Ciptagelar region are have been impacted by the rapid development processes happening in the surrounding regions. As the current government development policy has not yet directly involved Kasepuhan Ciptagelar indigenous community, there has been a disembedding process with a widening gap between the development agenda and traditional social ties. This tendency has also had an impact on the environmental carrying capacity, as the economic pressure from the rapid development process has started to damage some forest areas as well as put pressure on customary values, culture, and tradition. The project focuses on indigenous youth and women empowerment to improve their livelihood and cultural resilience, as well as to reconcile the current development policy with cultural preservation as well as the forest protection efforts.

The project also attempts to maintain the balance between cultural and ancestral beliefs with the fulfillment of people’s economic needs and future challenges. The project uses participatory mapping to unravel shared problems, challenges, and opportunities by young people and women in order to gather preliminary data and evidence, which is followed by an ideation process to explore and design new economic plans and models that are in line with indigenous cultures and traditions. As a way to increase participation and involvement of the Kasepuhan Ciptagelar indigenous people, the project facilitates capacity building and institutional development that fit in sustainable development agenda and policies.