North Kalimantan, Indonesia, July 24, 2026 – Halbatia wasn’t sure the bok choy would survive. The greenhouse was new, the hydroponic system unfamiliar, and the group had so much still to learn. But in mid-June, she harvested her third round of fresh, leafy produce: 22 bunches, clean and ready for the table or the market.

As she harvests these fresh leafy greens before moving on to sorting, cleaning, and packaging them for sale, Halbatia reflects on this process as a new way of growing.

“Every harvest teaches us something new,” Halbatia said. “From how to care for the plants to preparing the produce for market. This work makes us more confident about growing our hydroponic business going forward.”

Women’s groups in Sekatak Bengara Village, North Kalimantan, cleaning their bok choy harvests.

Halbatia was first introduced to hydroponic farming when she joined a capacity-building initiative in her village, Sekatak Bengara, in North Kalimantan, along with other women’s groups in her neighborhood. The initiative, part of the Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Smart Livelihoods in Mangrove Landscapes (NASCLIM) project, aims to support the group in finding creative ways to diversify their income.

Coastal communities in North Kalimantan have long relied on fishing and managing aquaculture ponds, including processing their catch into marketable food products. However, aquaculture ponds contribute significantly to mangrove loss, as they are often built across the coastal mangrove belt. On the other hand, healthy mangroves can serve as a natural habitat for fish and other marine life, thereby increasing pond productivity.

NASCLIM, a collaborative project between the Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia, local governments in North and East Kalimantan, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), and Wetlands International, works alongside coastal communities in North Kalimantan to build sustainable livelihoods as an incentive to protect and rehabilitate the mangroves they depend on.

Halbatia, a resident of Sekatak Bengara Village, tends to her hydroponic farm.

The idea is straightforward: when communities have a genuine economic stake in a healthy ecosystem, conservation becomes something they choose rather than something imposed on them. Hydroponic farming, which is land-efficient, chemical-free, and suited to the humid coastal environment, is one of the ways that stake is being built. The hydroponic farming initiative also serves as an innovative alternative source of income to fish and shrimp farming in mangrove areas. It sustains food security among the communities, builds community skills, and creates new economic opportunities rooted in local potential.

Team Facilitator Nur Afdalia has watched that confidence take root alongside the crops. Her goal from the start has been for the group to own the whole process, not just the planting, but the business behind it.

“This third harvest shows the group is increasingly able to manage things independently,” she said. “We hope production keeps growing, and that it keeps bringing real economic benefit to the members.”

The Sekatak Bengara hydroponic group is on its way to becoming a model of what’s possible when communities have the skills, the support, and a reason to invest in their own land and water.