INDONESIA (June 2023) — In Indonesia, only one in five women in rural areas could claim to own their homes, as a 2023 report on housing finance in select countries showed. Nurhayati, who lives in West Java province, had to put on hold her dream of building a new home though she already bought a plot of land. Due to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, her husband’s weekly earnings dropped to one fifth of what he used to make. He had to take on construction jobs to make ends meet.

While Nurhayati stayed home to take care of their three children, she was determined to improve her family’s living condition. She took out loans totaling 20 million rupiah (about US$1,280) from Indonesian microfinance institution KOMIDA to build a two-bedroom house incrementally. Nurhayati succeeded despite the hurdles that Indonesian women faced in accessing housing finance. The challenges included lower participation in the workforce, greater likelihood of informal work, and lower incomes than men.

A report “Her Home II: Housing Finance for Women in Ghana, Senegal, and Indonesia” by the International Finance Corporation, launched in mid-2023, highlighted these challenges. Ghana and Senegal were the other countries featured. The report included data from research on Indonesia that were provided by Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter. The Terwilliger Center has been working in Indonesia with microfinance institutions to develop and grow the scope of housing finance products targeted at female-led households.

The estimated housing finance market size for female-headed households in Indonesia totals US$51.88 billion. Of this figure, nearly 80% is for new housing demand while home renovations and extensions make up the rest of the housing finance loans.

Some of the key findings for Indonesia in the report are:

• A majority of women in Indonesia, both in rural and urban areas, do not have the title to their property. Formally, the percentage of female rural dwellers owning their home drops to less than 4%. This lack of assets (which could be used as collateral), limits women’s capacity to apply for loans on their own.
• Less than half of working-age women are employed. Based on the cultural norm, women are expected to manage the household and raise children. Lower participation in the workforce, greater likelihood of informal work and lower incomes than men hamper women’s to formal lending.
• A significantly higher proportion of women saved money compared with men in Indonesia. However, men were more likely to use banks, while women tended to save more outside of the financial system, which makes underwriting women’s savings much more difficult when they request loans.

Recommendations for Indonesia, which overlap with those for Ghana and Senegal, include the following:

• Provide new business models that rapidly and efficiently expand housing finance access for women who work in both informal and formal sectors.
• The use of gender disaggregated data can help financial institutions to develop customized solutions for women.
• Gender-based targets can help ensure equitable distribution of government funding in the housing sector.
• Develop incentives for land tenure and property registration in women’s names so women can pledge property title as a collateral for housing loans.
• Increase access to housing finance for women. Not only does this grow the economy but it also improves women’s financial resilience. Housing finance is also a largely untapped market for financial institutions in developing countries.

This story is part of a series marking Habitat for Humanity’s 40 years of building homes and building solutions in Asia and the Pacific.

BATTAMBANG, Cambodia (October 2023) — After a decade of fighting for secure tenure for his community, Sreang is satisfied with the outcome. “My big achievement is the success of getting the land certificate, I own the land. I am happy to get the land and build a house,” said Sreang, 74, a community leader who lives in Battambang, one of Cambodia’s most populous provinces. According to an ESCAP report, rapid migration and urbanization has resulted in the formation of more than 60 informal settlements in Battambang city. Like Sreang, many informal settlement residents live along roads, or riverbanks, railway tracks and private land.

Since 1985, Sreang’s family and more than 60 other families have been living on a public road in Battambang city in northwest Cambodia. These families are under constant threat of forced eviction and often live in precarious conditions. Their lack of land titles deters the government from authorizing any upgrades to the informal settlements such as access to water, drainage, road, waste management and other housing conditions.

Led by Sreang as head of the residents’ committee, the Ponler Prek Preah Sdach informal settlement community took 10 years to reach an agreement with the local government to be allocated land. It involved long hours of numerous meetings and discussions between the residents’ committee and community members, and the committee with government representatives.

Unanimously, 55 of the families agreed to move to one side of the road. In return, each family received a 32-square-meter plot of land from the Battambang provincial government in 2015. Some families were living on more land before the allotment, others on less land. Those with more land were willing to share their land to receive their land certificates that provided security of tenure and protection against forced eviction. The project requires Sreang and other community residents to live 10 years on the allocated plots of land before the Battambang provincial government will grant land titles to the families.

With his land certificate as a proof of secure tenure, Sreang was able to get a loan of up to US$10,000 from Habitat’s microfinance institution partner, KREDIT and CBIRD. The money was used to buy a small truck which Sreang’s son-in-law refurbished to become a mobile ice cream store.

The following year in 2017, the families partnered with Habitat for Humanity Cambodia to construct their homes together with more than 250 volunteers in a weeklong build. “I remember the volunteers who came to help me build, I still have a photo of them in front of my new house,” Sreang shared. His eyes welled up when he described the dilapidated condition of his old house. In the rainy season, it would be flooded due to the lack of a proper drainage system. Sometime dangerous insects and venomous snakes would come into the house.

Habitat also supported Sreang and other community members to get access to basic services such as water and electricity. Community Empowerment and Development, a local nongovernmental organization that partnered with Habitat Cambodia, trained the community to build proper drainage systems.

Without having to relocate, the residents could build adequate housing on land that will belong to them. Residents in the community could continue working close to the city as cooks, barbers, drivers, welders and carpenters. Their children go to a school nearby. The families can buy fresh food from a local market and go to a local hospital for medical services.

Currently, Sreang lives with his family of 12 in Battambang city. He and his wife Vanna, 71, are taking care of their grandchildren whose parents have gone to Thailand for work. The COVID-19 pandemic had taken a toll with some of his children losing their jobs. His sons who are working abroad send him money for living expenses.

This community is one of four existing communities of Sangkat Prek Preah Sdach, where Habitat works to build awareness on land rights; provide land tenure security; strengthen partnership in social land concession; and provide housing solutions and support services.

Sreang continues to be active as the community leader. “My committee worked closely together, cooperating, not finding fault of putting blame on others when things go wrong, we find ways to bring people together.” He helps to maintain unity in the community by mediating between neighbors who may have conflicts over division of land, sharing of resources, relationships and financial matters.

In 2025, Sreang and his neighbors will finally receive land titles that give them and the future generations secure tenure. “My neighbors are grateful to me, I’m very grateful to them, we supported each other to get the land,” he said. Sreang shared that he has asked his children not to sell the house and land after his passing.

This story is part of a series marking Habitat for Humanity’s 40 years of building homes and building solutions in Asia and the Pacific.

DHANGADHI, Nepal (September 2023) — Without a secure and affordable home, Mohan might have remained as an agricultural worker. Low wages, poor working conditions and a lack of social security would have been his lot, like the millions of people employed in Nepal’s informal sector.

A key conversation, however, opened the door to lasting change. Now Mohan teaches in a government school and advocates for the rights of marginalized communities. Home is a two-story house that he shares with his wife and two of his children.

Mohan recalled meeting a staff member of Habitat for Humanity Nepal in February 2001. He learned about Habitat’s partnership with low-income families to build decent homes. “It was as if the field had spoken to me, and the wind had delivered a message.”

Together with several families, his family worked with Habitat Nepal to build new homes in Dhangandi, a sub-metropolitan city in the far western Sudurpaschim province. During the five-month construction process, Mohan and the other future homeowners encouraged and supported one another.

Mohan’s two-room home was built on a 3-feet, solid stone foundation that was considered ambitious in those days. The brick walls were plastered with cement with timber beams supporting the house’s structure.

More than two decades after moving in, their house is now two-story high with eight rooms and two kitchens. “As our family grew, we added more rooms while keeping the original wooden windows,” says Mohan. His family rents out the ground floor and uses the rooftop for storing grains, drying laundry and taking in sunshine during the winter months.

There are other areas of growth. “Despite belonging to a marginalized community, I have earned the respect of others over time, thanks to those who gave me the courage to pursue my dreams.” Mohan beamed when he spoke about his children Khagendra, 20, and Dichha, 12. His eldest son Nirmal Kumar lives on his own due to his job.

While Mohan is a teacher, he is passionate about advocating for the rights of vulnerable people such as former bonded laborers. “No one should be deprived of a home,” he declares. He also calls for improved access to health services and vocational training for these communities.

Sharing about his homeownership experience, he says, “It was a challenging journey, but the support and guidance of Habitat for Humanity Nepal gave me the strength to persevere. Today, I am proud to stand in front of my own home and marvel at how far I have come.”

Habitat for Humanity has been working in Nepal since 1997. In fiscal year 2022, more than 230,000 Nepali individuals have partnered with Habitat Nepal to build or improve a place they call home. Visit habitatnepal.org or connect on facebook.com/habitatnepal/.

This story is part of a series marking Habitat for Humanity’s 40 years of building homes and building solutions in Asia and the Pacific.

DHANGADHI, Nepal (August 2023) — Over two decades of living in their Habitat home, Jodu and his wife Sita welcomed their third child and the family survived a devastating earthquake.

Jodu could recall the year — 1999 — when he came to Dhangadhi, a sub-metropolitan city in Nepal’s far west province of Sudurpaschim, in search of work. He sent for Sita and their two young sons after he found a job as an employee at a hotel. While his family lived together in a rental house, he knew it was not a long-term solution.

A few years later, Jodu met a staff member of Habitat for Humanity Nepal in Dhangadhi and learned that the housing nonprofit organization partners with low-income families to build homes. With a loan of 125,000 Nepali rupees (US$945) from Habitat Nepal’s microfinance partner, Jodu and his family began to construct their home. They were among seven families in Dhangadhi who partnered with Habitat Nepal that provided technical support for home construction. Jodu and Sita contributed “sweat equity,” or their own labor, by working on their home. People from their community — future homeowners like them — also chipped in to help.

While Jodu has not expanded his home, he is confident about its resilience. His house remained intact despite being hit by the devastating 2015 earthquake in Nepal. With a secure, stable home, Jodu has advanced in his career. He is now a manager at the three-star Rubus hotel in Dhangadi and his income supports his family of five.

“It’s hard to express how grateful I am to have partnered with Habitat for Humanity Nepal,” Jodu says. “They helped me build a home for my family, and it has made all the difference. Our family is thriving and I am so proud of what we have accomplished.”

Habitat for Humanity has been working in Nepal since 1997. In fiscal year 2022, more than 230,000 Nepali individuals have partnered with Habitat Nepal to build or improve a place they call home. Visit habitatnepal.org or connect on facebook.com/habitatnepal/.