Meet Ramona Sari, a community member at the Gerbang Barito REDD+ Project in Indonesia. She won the project’s first writing competition “Akar dan Kata” (Roots and Words). The goal of the competition was simple but meaningful: to create space for inclusive participation while encouraging local voices to document lived experiences, traditional knowledge, and the ties between people and nature.

Wildlife Works Reading Club, known locally as Carbon School part of the broader community engagement strategy of the Gerbang Barito REDD+ Project. By introducing environmental themes early, the program invests in future stewards of village forests. It strengthens learning spaces that belong to the community and grow with it.

The community engagement workshops at the Gerbang Barito REDD+ project have started including free child daycare, greatly increasing participation from women. This small step creates a space for more focused, and equal participation by women, while demonstrating that listening to the community also means changing the way activities are designed.

At the Gerbang Barito REDD+ Project in Indonesia, Social and Biodiversity Impact Assessment (SBIA) workshops provide a space for communities to discuss the future of their forests. Through simple questions and the visual method of a designing a tree of hope, residents discuss their dreams, challenges, and conservation solutions together. SBIA workshops are key for meaningful community engagement in voluntary carbon market projects.

In this blog, learn more about the community-based recruitment process used to create patrol teams, that are now ready to monitor, protect, and report activities in their village forests at the Gerbang Barito REDD+ Project in Indonesia.

Wildlife Works’ Indonesia Country Director Erlinda Ekaputri’s moving essay on the region's recent floods, and how she finds hope amidst the devastation.

The Gerbang Barito REDD+ project has started a “Roots and Words” writing competition and series of workshops to create an inclusive space for community members to document their lived experiences, customary knowledge, and their people’s relationships with nature. Through this initiative, community members have gained confidence and a deepened sense of responsibility over their REDD+ project.

At the Gerbang Barito REDD+ project, endangered orangutans build intricate nests to sleep in each night. Learn more in this blog.

In March 2025, severe floods hit villages in South Barito, impacting communities involved in the Gerbang Barito REDD+ Project. Wildlife Works Indonesia responded swiftly, delivering medical care to 400+ people and food aid to 800 households. Despite logistical challenges, the effort showed the strength of local collaboration. The response highlights the group's belief that true forest conservation means supporting communities facing climate-related crises.

In rural Indonesia, where access to education is limited, a reading club becomes a place of hope. Guided by volunteer teacher Ibu Husna, children learn, play, and grow their love for nature with support from the Wildlife Works Gerbang Barito REDD+ Project.

Through the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent  (FPIC) process, diverse parts of the community members came together, from leaders, to women, youth, and elders,  to discuss and decide on the REDD+ Project in Gerbang  Barito.

This blog recounts exciting sightings of endangered species at the Gerbang Barito REDD+ project in Indonesia.

A story of the formulation of articles of association and bylaws for village forest management units in Gerbang Barito REDD+ Project

In this month’s spotlight meet Imam Basuki PhD, Wildlife Works Senior Wetland Specialist for Indonesia

In this thoughtful reflection, Hadi Prayitno, Stakeholder Engagement Manager at Wildlife Works Indonesia, shares his experiences.

By Tamara Anisa, Communications Specialist Indonesia Meet Erlinda Ekaputri, our Indonesia Country Director at Wildlife Works. She joined...