Philanthropy for Everyone

A Mandate from the Common Folks
Dompet Dhuafa, or 'Wallet of the Poor', collects and distributes alms to empower people in remote places like Lombok and Jeneponto. Improvements in the economy, education and health are the main objective.

Rahman Akbar's happiness spiked this Lebaran holiday. The harvest this yearfrom dozens of hectares of farmswas abundant. Last year, he was only able to make a profit from his carrot, tomato, red and green bell pepper and strawberry nursery. This year, his surplus comes from the bell peppers and zucchinis, with rocketing sale prices at that. One kilogram of carrots sold for Rp10,000 at the Sembalun central market. Compare that to the profitable prices of peppers and zucchinis at Rp35,000 per kilogram. "Not bad. I earned more for Lebaran," Akbar, a 27-year-old farmer from Sembalun, East Lombok, told Tempo English three weeks ago.

Akbar has been planting peppers and zucchinis since last January. He began cultivating the two kinds of crops after he obtained training from the Dompet Dhuafa team. Based in Jakarta, Dompet Dhuafa is a non-profit foundation that collects different forms of Islamic alms: zakat, infaq, and others in kind, such as training facilities. Akbar, 94 farmers and 20 cattle breeders at Sembalun were among those who received such training.