Our People

Almina Kacili - Chair of the Women's Sasi Group in Kapatcol Village, Raja Ampat, West Papua

Nature Hero YKAN

Indonesia

Almina Kacili Nature Hero YKAN

Nature Hero Almina Kacili © YKAN

Indonesia

Nature Hero Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara

Nature Hero

Biography

Almina Kacili is the leader of a women's group who is active in nature conservation activities through the management of the marine sasi area. Sasi is local wisdom in the Maluku and Papua regions regarding the wise and sustainable management of natural resources. The idea of sasi came up when they saw the community sasi or general sasi that was done by the fathers. In the early days, the results of sasi were not encouraging because they chose the wrong location. It was only in 2014, through YKAN assistance, that the results obtained by mothers were much higher. The location of the sasi was chosen according to the results of monitoring where marine animals breed.

The management of the sasi area has provided many benefits both ecologically and socio-economically for the community. One of the ecological benefits of marine sasi is to protect certain species from extinction due to overexploitation or damage. The women in Kapatcol Village agreed to close and open the sasi area (open sasi) once a year and collect the proceeds as needed. The proceeds from the open sasi are used to help support children's educational needs and save for the future if any of them experience difficulties.

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