Fisherwomen lead community waste banks and climate-resilient food cultivation in Coastal Demak, Indonesia

In the face of mounting climate pressures such as daily tidal flooding, fisherwomen in Demak demonstrate how collective action and local leadership can reduce pollution and strengthen food security.

In many coastal villages in Demak, Indonesia, tidal floods now occur daily, fundamentally reshaping living environments.

Saline water mixed with plastic waste contaminates soil and water sources, leading to the loss of household crops, declining land productivity, and increasing threats to food and environmental safety.

Through a community-led initiative titled “Rising Tides, Rooted Futures: Fisherwomen Leading Climate and Gender Justice”, the Puspita Bahari Fisherwomen’s Community, in collaboration with the GENERATE project, have established community waste banks and carried out a series of community-led climate-resilient food cultivation to strengthen household and community food security across three coastal villages: Morodemak, Purworejo, and Timbulsloko.

The collaboration began in 2025 and is led by Dr Katie McQuaid, Associate Professor in Gender and Climate Change, and co-organised by Andi Misbahul Pratiwi, a PhD researcher in the School of Geography.

The initiative is designed to strengthen grassroots resilience among fisherwomen and coastal communities who experience intersectional and gendered impacts of the climate crisis, coastal ecological degradation, persistent tidal flooding, economic insecurity, and gender-based violence.

While led by fisherwomen, it also actively involves men, young people, and people with disabilities, reflecting an inclusive, community-wide approach.

A total of 75 fisherwomen actively participated in the waste bank and food garden activities, which focused on building collective capacity, leadership, and autonomy in sustainably managing coastal food security.

The programme was also supported by the local government of Demak through the Environmental Agency of Demak Regency (Dinas Lingkungan Hidup Kabupaten Demak), Demak Green Forum (Forum Demak Hijau), and the FOSIL Demak community (Forum Solusi Lingkungan Demak).

As part of the initiative, Puspita Bahari established three community waste banks across the three coastal villages. The formation of these waste banks was inspired by successful models already operating in other parts of Demak Regency.

The waste banks aim to reduce the flow of plastic waste into the sea and limit plastic contamination of coastal soils, while addressing the lack of state-provided waste management services in many coastal villages.

The initiative involved 15 women who received training in waste processing and waste bank management.

In response to the loss of cultivable land and soil contamination caused by tidal inundation, food production in this initiative was carried out above water.

Seventy-five women and members of the coastal community collectively designed and built raised bamboo racks and platform gardens, constructed by the community itself. These structures allow plants to grow safely above flood levels despite daily exposure to seawater below.

The community-led climate-resilient food cultivation activities involved planting more than 100 food crops and seedlings, including vegetables, medicinal plants, fruit-bearing plants, and other household staples.

Community members used diverse, environmentally friendly growing media, including pots, polybags, and repurposed household waste such as plastic bottles and used cans.

These practices not only help restore access to fresh food for households but also strengthen community-based waste management in coastal environments increasingly affected by flooding.

Beyond food gardens and waste management, this initiative serves as an important space for strengthening the collective leadership of fisherwomen in responding to complex and overlapping coastal environmental challenges.

Through shared learning and hands-on practice, women are enhancing their knowledge, skills, and confidence, positioning themselves as key actors in community-based environmental management that is both gender-just and sustainable.

This community-led waste bank and food garden initiative represents a broader adaptation strategy to climate change, coastal ecosystem degradation, and economic uncertainty faced by fisherwomen in their daily lives.

By strengthening food security amid everyday tidal flooding, fisherwomen in Demak demonstrate that women’s leadership at the local level plays a vital role in building a more just, resilient, and sustainable future for coastal communities.