Women empowerment for poverty reduction in ring-1 rural area of a

cement company in Tuban, East Java Province, Indonesia

Pemberdayaan perempuan untuk pengentasan kemiskinan di daerah
pedesaan di perusahaan semen di Tuban, Propinsi Jawa Timur, Indonesia
Rustinsyah
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Airlangga
Kampus B Dharmawangsa Dalam, Airlangga, Gubeng, Surabaya 60286
E-mail: rustinsyah58@yahoo.com

Abstract
The existence of a cement company in a rural area may influence the local people, including women who are
not employed by the company. This study aims at presenting the case of women empowerment in a Ring-1
area of a cement company in Indonesia. The research used qualitative approach. The results show that the
company’s existence with its CSR programs have helped empowering rural women in social, educational,
religious, organizational, and economic aspects. The social aspect is shown in the health programs. The
educational aspect can be seen in the provision of scholarships for formal education and non-formal training.
The religious aspect is actualized in the form of incentives for religion teachers and religious festivals. The
organizational aspect is shown in the involvement of women in PKM management. Finally, the economic
aspect includes: a) the construction of village road infrastructure as compensation of taxes derived from the
company; b) the inclusion of workers from outside the village encourages the emergence of food stalls, grocery
stalls, gasoline kiosks, and boarding houses; and c) the development of traditional markets. This study confirms
that the company’s existence has encouraged rural women to improve their livelihoods and help alleviate their
families from poverty.

Keywords: cement company; CSR; empowerment; poverty reduction; rural women

Abstrak
Keberadaan perusahaan semen di daerah pedesaan dapat mempengaruhi masyarakat setempat, termasuk
perempuan yang tidak dipekerjakan oleh perusahaan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mempresentasikan
kasus pemberdayaan perempuan di daerah Ring-1 sebuah perusahaan semen di Indonesia. Penelitian ini
menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa keberadaan perusahaan dengan program
CSR telah membantu pemberdayaan perempuan pedesaan dalam aspek sosial, pendidikan, keagamaan,
organisasi, dan ekonomi. Aspek sosial ditunjukkan dalam program kesehatan. Aspek pendidikan dapat dilihat
pada pemberian beasiswa untuk pendidikan formal dan pelatihan nonformal. Aspek agama diaktualisasikan
dalam bentuk insentif bagi guru agama dan festival keagamaan. Aspek organisasi ditunjukkan dalam
keterlibatan perempuan dalam pengelolaan PKM. Aspek ekonomi meliputi: a) pembangunan infrastruktur
jalan desa sebagai kompensasi pajak yang berasal dari perusahaan; b) masuknya pekerja dari luar desa
mendorong munculnya warung makan, warung makan, kios bensin, dan rumah kos; dan c) perkembangan
pasar tradisional. Penelitian ini menegaskan bahwa keberadaan perusahaan telah mendorong perempuan
pedesaan untuk memperbaiki mata pencaharian mereka dan membantu meringankan keluarga mereka dari
kemiskinan.

Kata kunci: perusahaan semen; CSR; pemberdayaan; pengurangan kemiskinan; perempuan pedesaan

Introduction
Indonesia is an agricultural country where majority of the people live in rural areas and in a poor condition.
Based on the data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), the number of poor people in rural areas
in Indonesia in March 2016 amounted to 17.94 million people or 14.21% (Muna 2016). It has also been
noted by Dixon (1990) that rural areas in developing countries are often confronted with many challenges
including poverty, unemployment, and food security. The similar condition can be found in Tuban, a rural
area in Tuban, East Java province, Indonesia.

In 2009, a cement company was established in Tuban. This company exploited the natural resources,

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but in return, the company provided CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs for the benefit
of the people in this rural area. The obligation of companies to provide CSR is reinforced by Act
No. 40 of 2007 on Limited Liability Companies, which requires all companies engaged in extractive
industries or natural resource-based industries to implement CSR. CSR is a process in the form of
economic measures to communicate the social impact of the activities of an enterprise environment
to the groups of the general public (Gray et al. 1987). The CSR of the cement company was aimed
at the villages in the ring-1 area. This area includes the villages surrounding the cement company.

The CSR programs in the ring-1 areas in Tuban have contributed to a number of activities held in the
villages. A significant amount of the CSR budget was allocated for religious festivals, particularly
Islamic festivals, because most of the people in this area are Moslems (Rustinsyah 2016). The
existence of this cement company and its CSR programs have also contributed to the changes in the
life of women in this area. Kemp (2010) stated that the presence of mining industries contributes
to poverty reduction and human development. This can be observed in Tuban. Consequently, this
study aims at discussing the influence of the cement company in Tuban in encouraging women
empowerment in this rural area.

Research Method
This study was conducted in the villages of ring-1 area a cement company in Tuban. Before the
company was established, the residents of the villages in ring-1 area were mostly farmers. The ring-
1 rural area is the area directly affected by the activities of the company. A part of the farmland
was bought by the company to be exploited to take raw materials and to be the location of the
establishment of cement factories. The existence of this company has brought changeson women’s
social and economic activities in this rural area. The research was conducted from September 2015
until January 2017 by using qualitative approach.

The data collection was mainly conducted through observations and interviews. The observations
were conducted to see directly the women’s empowerment activities, outside the domestic sector,
in order to supplement their family income and to increase their family assets. The observations
were also useful for knowing the role of these women in the public sector. The interviews were
conducted to the following participants: a) CSR program managers from the cement companies; b)
local leaders; c) the women involved in the programs and in the economic activities. A further data
analysis is done by categorizing and interpreting the data collected.

The villages included in the ring-1 area are Kedungrejo, Mliwang, Merkawang, Sawir, Glondong
Gede, and Karang Asem. For Kedungrejo village, despite its location is in ring-1 area but there
is no resource exploitation of natural resources, so that the villagers still use agricultural land for
agricultural activities. Mliwang village is one of the villages which receives the clean water program.
Merkawang village and Sawir village are the villages within two kilometers away from the company
in which part of their agricultural land is set up for factories and its natural resources are exploited
as raw materials for cement. The streets of the villages in the area of ​​Ring 1are paved, so they
are accessible to motor vehicles. They facilitate the mobility of people from inside to outside the
villages. Educational facilities from elementary schools already exist in the villages. The secondary
school is not too far away and can be reached easily with a motorcycle Most residents in the villages
have motorcycles and mobile-phones.

Since 2009, the plant construction project has employed many people from the villages and outside
the villages. This means a number of people had regular hour jobs and there were more people
coming to the villages. These conditions led to non-farm employment opportunities in rural areas.
The construction of infrastructure such as the construction of rural roads that facilitate the mobility
of people out of the village or vice versa. In addition, the increase or change in consumption pattern
has increased the need for cash. These changes have encouraged the women in the villages to catch
the opportunities to improve the livelihoods of their families. The discussion on how these women

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have managed to empower themselves in supporting their families is presented in a later section of
this article, after the explanation of the types of women empowerment.

Results and Discussion

A cement company is one of the companies which uses raw materials and exploits natural resources.
Therefore, it has an obligation to make CSR programs, especially for villagers affected directly by
the company’s activities. These villagers live in an area called Ring 1. The role of CSR is seen as an
effort to achieve good corporate governance, good corporate citizenship and good business ethics of
a business entity. Susanto (2007) stated that it is not enough for a company to just think about the
interests of its shareholders (owners of capital) but also the interests of all stakeholders. Hence, the
presence of the company with all the activities and CSR programs should result in positive impacts
on social, cultural and economic aspects.

According to Schermerhorn (1993), CSR is a concern for the business organization to act in ways
of their own to serve the interests of the external public. Valor (2005) defines that CSR is a business
commitment to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the
quality of life of its workforce, their families and local communities. Meanwhile, according to
Nuryana (2005) CSR is an approach whereby companies integrate social concerns in their business
operations and interaction with stakeholders based on the principle of voluntary and partnership.
In this study CSR is seen as a social responsibility, caring, and an approach of the company which
exploit limestone, to local communities, safe guarding the environment and sustainable development
specifically in the area of Ring
​​ 1.

A company can carry out its social responsibility by focusing on three things: profit, environment
and rural development. It is intended as an integration to maintain harmony and to prevent conflict
and social tensions. Strategies to implement the CSR has been amended from time to time. Based
on the annual reports, more and more companies are now reporting CSR as a sustainability report
(KPMG 2005). For Asia, Japan has made significant strides make the reporting of corporate social
responsibility. However, other countries such as India, China and others have very limited number
of CSR reporting (KPMG 2005).

Hopkins (1999) stated that the CSR program can enhance human development both within the
company’s organization and outside the company. Keller (1974) mentioned that there are four
CSR programs disclosed: community involvement, human resources, physical resources and the
environment, as well as the contribution of the service product. Organizations such as the World
Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a coalition of 120 international companies,
have identified that a key component of social responsibility, namely human rights, employee rights,
protection environment, community involvement and relationships with suppliers (WBCSD 1998).

WBCSD has described CSR as the business contribution to sustainable economic development.
Building on a base of compliance with legislation and regulations, CSR typically includes ‘beyond
law’ commitments and activities pertaining to: 1) women empowerment, 2) health and safety, 3)
environment stewardship, 4) human rights (including core labour rights), 5) sustainable development,
6) conditions of work (including safety and health, hours of work wages), 7) community involvement,
development and investment, 8) involvement of and respect for diverse cultures and disadvantaged
peoples, 9) corporate philanthropy and employee volunteering, 10) customer satisfaction and
adherence to principles of fair competition, 11) anti-bribery and anti-corruption measures, 12)
accountability, transparency and performance reporting, 13) supplier relations, for both domestic
and international supply chains, and 14) industrial relations (Singh & Sarkar 2013).

The form of a corporate success in its community activities is not only the acceptance of the relevant
company, but also the participation of the company in the lives of the general public. The success
can be achieved when the company can cope with all the social and environmental changes that
occur within the community where the company is operating (Budimanta 2008). The participation

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of the company and other stakeholders play significant role in the development of the society and in
providing business advantages for companies and communities. In terms of participation, both men
and women must be involved. The UNDP (United Nation Development Programme) has emphasized
this globally and nationally by supporting gender equality and women’s empowerment into the efforts
for poverty reduction (http://www.undp.org).

In the last century, the role of women has changed in the labour market as well as for families
(Swedberg 2003). Saleh (2011) explained how a woman in Jordan changed the life of the women
in her area with her weaving project. However, most of the labourforce of women in developing
countries are generally in the agricultural sector. According to Anne & Mary (1998), in their first
study noted that women as a productive partner in agriculture, as a farmer, a wife, and professional
workers in agriculture; there are even success stories of women in the agricultural sector. Employment
in the agriculture sector involves many women. Apart from a reality in almost every community that
domestic tasks closely related to women, now more and more of them engage in productive activities
that generate wages. In these circumstances, women have double burdens that are as wage laborers
and domestic workers. It similarly happens in the area of mining
​​ environment, before there is any
firm the area is isolated and its inhabitants rely on agricultural sector.

Women have an important role as a great economic resource in capturing non-farm employment
opportunities in rural areas. Recently, the company’s CSR programs have addressed gender equality
to foster the participation of women in the workforce. The purpose of CSR activities is not only to
have brand recognition but to mark an impact in the society. The success of any strategy of women
empowerment depends upon the various factors, such as education, upgrading social custom, family
planning, health and sanitation, initiating livelihood, initiating tree growing, kitchen gardening
(Singh & Sarkar 2013).

According Eyben et al. (2009), empowerment is the power to act and a process to expand and improve
the capacity of people (individuals or groups) as a strategic choice to get the desired result. Women
empowerment is a process whereby women become able to organize themselves, to increase their
own self-reliance, to assert their independent right to make choices and to control resources which
will assist in challenging and eliminating their own subordination. Devande (2001), stresses the
importance of a) health, b) education and self-esteem; c) economic empowerment as the strength to
overcome poverty; d) organizational empowerment is participation of women in the organizational
field and in variousdecision making bodiesan important tool for empowerment. Meanwhile, according
to Annes & Wright (2015) in their study on women empowerment in agro-tourism, there are three
things to facilitate empowerment namely power to, power with and power within. They explained that
women’s participation in a network of agricultural tourism management, has the power to conduct
and has the responsibility for the business, facilitated by the solidarity of members in the network.
Members have the support, experience, skills and knowledge together.

In several countries, several types of women empowerment programs have been initiated by
companies and government institutions. One example of the programs in the micro-credit program
which has been used as a means to assist women in accessing credits for running their businesses,
which in turns has reduced poverty and empowered women in many areas (Hashemi et al. 1996).
The success of the village community empowerment program is supported by the role of social
capital from several elements related to the implementation of development program empowerment
(Rustinsyah 2015). The research conducted by Ganle et al. (2015) mentioned that the micro-credit
program for women has enabled women to use the loan for business activities while they also learn
how to manage the loan they received.

In Indonesia, women empowerment should also be supported by a company, not only by the
government. This case can be seen in the villages of ring-1 area in Tuban, East Java province,
Indonesia. It is interesting to explore how the company in this area has tried to empower women.
Consequently, this study aims at describing and analyzing the efforts made by a company in supporting
women empowerment, particularly in reducing poverty.

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The existence of the cement companyand its CSR programs provide several impacts on the
empowerment of rural women. Table 1 shows the impact of the company’s existence and its CSR
programs on several aspects of empowerment towards rural women.

Table 1.
Types of women empowerment, activities and impact
Types of women
Company’s Programs Impact on Women’s Empowerment
empowerment
• The non-formal education
for women such as organic
farming systems, training
for making food and food • The extension of social relations as
ingredients the women meet more regularly.
Social
• The involvement of women • The women can work together
Empowerment
insomecommunity health more easily to find solutions to their
programs problems.
• The improvements in
infrastructure (roads,
technology and others)

• Increasing the participation in formal

education for girls. It gives a wider
• The scholarship programs employment opportunities in the
villages and outside the villages.
Educational • The foster parents movement The villagers who have completed a
Empowerment university study are accepted to work
• The improvement of school’s in the cement company.
infrastructure
• Increasing the knowledge through
free courses provided by the company

• There were women who have

become religion teachers (in the
Religious • Providing incentives for Islamic
past, only men).
Empowerment religion teachers
• The women obtained income from
• Sponsoring religious festivities
the provision of food for the religious
festivities

• The involvement of women

Organizational • Having the opportunity to submit
as administrators of the
Empowerment programs for the benefit of women.
Community Activity Center

• The production of canned fish • The women know how to make

canned fish and local food.
• The production of light meals
from local agricultural produce. • The women open shops and become
new merchants at the traditional
Economic • The promotion of the traditional
market.
Empowerment market.
• The increase of income which has
• The opening of food stalls and
resulted in the improvement of the
small kiosks.
living standard of women and their
• The opening of boarding houses families.
Source: Research data collection made by the author in 2016

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Social empowerment

The presence of the company with its CSR programs has made the villages not isolated anymore. The
CSR programs include the improvement of infrastructure such as village roads, transportation, and
telecommunication system. These have enabled people to commute more easily and visit one another,
thus increasing the social relations among the people. In addition, there have been a number of migrants
working in the company, and they also have expanded the social relationships among the villagers.

The CSR program of the company includes the training on organic farming system for members of
PKK-Pembinaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga (The groups of housewifes from the same neighborhoods)
in the villages of Ring 1. In this case, the PKK members received training in organic farming system
and practiced it in the yards of the villages and their own gardens. Agricultural products produced
from this organic farmingwere sold in the PKM-Pusat Kegiatan Masyarakat (Community Activity
Center) cooperative. The PKK members may also sell their products directly in the traditional market.

Another CSR program that empowers social relation is related to health issues. The company provides
free medicine and additional food for small children and pregnant women in this rural area. These are
available through Posyandu (Integrated service post for maternal and children clinics) in each village.
The Posyandu holds a monthly meeting, where the women and children can meet and reveice free
health advice from a midwife and free medicine. The company also allocated Rp.250.000 (US$ 20)
each month for each Posyandu to provide a variety of additional food for children. The existence of
this program particularly attracted mothers who have balita (children under five years-old) to come
to Posyandu. It is a place to meet with other villagers and at the same time check their children’s
health, have vaccination and other health programs. They can establish social relations with other
mothers and have better health knowledge.

In addition to Posyandu which is available in each village, the company has also helped the
establishment of Puskesmas (Community Health Center as local clinic). Puskesmas has medical
doctors and nurses that provide more comprehensive health services than Posyandu. However,
although men can also visit Puskesmas, most of its visitors are still the same as those of Posyandu, i.e.
mothers and children. Based on the observation, these mothers did not necessarily visit Puskesmas
and Posyandu because they or their children needed medical treatment. Some of them made the visit
in order to meet and socialize with other mothers.

Educational empowerment

The pattern of women’s empowerment in education from CSR program includes formal education,
non-formal education and improvement of school’s infrastructure. The type of empowerment for
formal education includes scholarships for children who have reached excellent academic achievement
at schools. The scholarships are available for boys and girls. Several girls have managed to obtain
scholarships for higher education and have been employed by the company after they graduated.

In addition to the scholarship provided for formal education, the company also provides a program
called Gerakan Orang Tua Asuh which is literally translated as Foster Parents Movement. In this
case, the company becomes the parents to provide English language courses and preparatory courses
for students who want to study in a university. The English language courses can be followed by
anyone. The women who do not work in a formal sector enjoy joining this informal education.

Religious empowerment

Almost all of the villagers are Moslems. Consequently, Islam education and festivals play significant
role in the daily life of the people in these villages. The company provides incentives for people who
want to teach religion and fund for Islamic festivals. In the past, all religion teachers were men. Since
there are mothers in the villages who are also knowledge able of Islamc religion, these mothers work
part time as Islamic tutors. Their incentices or salaries are provided by the company. This program

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has made the women more encouraged to learn about religion by themselves and teach it to the
children in the villages.

There are several religuous festivals held in the villages every year. The company provides funds for
these activities. Most of the funds were given to women’s groups because in every festival, meals
must be provided. The women were the ones who obtained the funds to purchase, prepare, and cook
the meals. Every religious festival is a big event which is joined by most of the people in the village,
so the meals cannot be provided by just a few people. Many women participated in providing the
meals.

Organizational empowerment

In the villages of ring-1 area, we can find women who have obtained organizational empowerment.
There are several rural women who become administrators of organizations. One example of such
organization is the PKM. PKM is an organization created the company. Each PKM has a maximum
of 30 people as the members. Each PKM may apply for fund from the company for village activities.
One of the village women who worked as an elementary school teacher and became the secretary of
a PKM, said that by holding a post in the PKM, she can advocate the needs of women. Consequently,
several activities proposed by the PKM are for the benefit of women. The work in the PKM is
a part-time work, which usually starts at 2 p.m. and last until early evening. The salaries of the
administrators of PKM are provided by the company.

Economic empowerment

One of the impacts of the existence of the company and its CSR programs is the development of non-
farm economic activity. The non-farm activities are activities related to increasing off-farm income,
efforts to generate revenue in order to face the risks in agriculture. Non-farm activities consist of
trading, manufacturing and services related directly or indirectly to local agriculture and economic
activities in urban areas (Reardon 1997). According to Mukhopadhyay & Lim (1985), the non-farm
activities cover all economic activities: cottage industry, agricultural product processing industry,
rural transportation, trade and all commercial activities.

Non-farm activities are generally able to provide a decent living. As said by Readon (1997) that
the income of non-farm activities in Africa range from 22% to 93%. Non-farm activities as rural
economic activities are more dynamic (Newman & Canagarajah 1999). Non-farm economic
activities in rural areas are done by men and women. In fact, there are a number of women who are
successful in running the non-farm economic activities in the villages. As well as the women in the
villages of ring-1 area, the cement company’s presence give impacts to non-farm economic activity
opportunities for rural women. Several such examples of non-farm activities in the ring-1 area are
the production of canned fish, the production of tempe (fermented soybean cake), the opening of
food stalls and small kiosks, the opening of shops in the traditional market, and the opening boarding
houses. Each of these are 1) production of canned fish, 2) production of tempe (Fermented soybean
cake), 3) opening of food stalls and kiosks, 4) opening of shops in the traditional market, and 5)
opening of boarding houses.

Production of canned fish

Glondong Gede village is one of the areas in ring-1 of the cement company which is located at the
seafront. The village people usually work as fishermen, farmers and other non-farm activities. Its
seafront location makes the village has abundant seafood, especially fish. Many people sell fresh fish,
make and sell salted fish, as well as make and sell shrimp paste. In relation to the abundant number
of fish, one of the CSR programs which has been implemented in this village is the empowerment of
women in small businesses of seafood products made from raw fish. The coordinator of this program
is Siti (50 years old woman) who is a high school graduate as well as a fishmonger in the local
market. The company provided fund to hold training for processing seafood products. Siti responded

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to the offer and managed the training which has been provided to rural women in the ring-1 area. The
invited trainer was a lecturer from the Faculty of Fisheries, Gadjah Mada University, one of the best
state-owned universities in Indonesia.

The training in 2016 was attended by 30 housewives of Glondong Gede village. The training focused
on how to process and make preserved food from fish. The initial production of processed products
were in the form of fish jerky. After the training, the company provided grants in the form of a set
of cookware for seafood processing. The company also provided other grants such as a jerky oven,
spinner, fish grinder, pot, fitter tool, and some other cooking utensils. The 30 trainees were divided
into three groups: a) a group to process fish jerky, b) a group to make canned fish, and c) another
group to make fish crackers. However, in its further development, because of the limited number of
equipment and to simplify the processing, the three groups were merged into one.

In addition to the equipment support, the company provides a capital of Rp200.000 (US$16) for
each group. However, because the equipment is only one, then they had trouble in producing, so the
capital is merged again. With the financial capital of Rp600.000 (US$ 48), they made fish sticks that
were sold in the market and was sold for Rp1.000.000 (US$80). This capital continues to develop.
The name of this group is Sari Laut. Currently, its revenue is between Rp5.000.000 (US$400) and
Rp8.000.000 (US$640) per month. After there venue is deducted with the wages andthe costs of raw
materials, a 20% net profit is given to Glondong Gede village’s cash budget. The rest of the profit are
used for additional capital to buy raw materials and other purposes.

At this time, the production of canned fishis still running with the raw materials of fish ranging from
15 to 20 kilograms per week. The types of fish to produce include barracuda at Rp25.000 (US$2)
per kilogram, mackerel at Rp35.000 (US$2.8) to Rp40.000,00 (US$3.2) per kilogram, swordfish
at Rp20.000 (US$1,6)per kilogram. Other materials needed to process fish are oil, flour, sugar and
flavorings.

The sales of Sari Laut fish product is still limited in Tuban, such as in Eni store, Ara shop, Taman
Sari, Simpang Raya, Hospital cooperative, and PKM cooperative. The shops make advance payment
of 25% of the sales price, and the rest if the goods have been sold. The products were used to be
sold in other cities, but the payment was too long, i.e. for until one month. Some of the obstacles
in developing this business such as marketing, and disagreements between the board members of
Sari Laut still exist. However, the production process still continues and is able to provide work and
income for the housewives in Glondong Gede village.

Production of tempe (Dermented soybean cake)

The small business of making tempe is done in Karang Asem village, one of the villages in ring-1
area. An example of tempe business is done by Is (34 years old woman) who only finished junior
high school (grade 9). This effort did not get help from the company, but the company’s presence
give simpact to the business of making tempe. Initially, the business of making tempe was run with
her husband, who becomes the seller of tempe around the village. Their business reached its fame
when there was a cement plant construction projects and raw materials for soybean reached 100
kilograms per week and they employed two workers. The production process is in the morning and
in the afternoon. Thesemi-finished tempe (i.e. the tempe which is ready to be cooked or fried) were
then delivered to food stalls and vegetable sellers. The existence of the company makes the ring-1
area into bustling villages. There are more people in the villages as the number of people employed
by the company is quite big. Consequently, there is a bigger market for tempe, which is the favourite
food of many people in Java, including the people who live in the villages in this ring-1 area.

Opening of food stalls and kiosks

The emergence of food stalls as the impact of the company’s presence in the village is to serve lunches
for the employees working in the company. One example of a food stall is managed by a woman

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named Mar (37 years old) who comes from Nganjuk and is married to a man from Sawir village. She
lives with her two daughters in a house for shelter and builds a stall to sell food to serve the workers
and local residents. The food served is quite various, from vegetables, fish, chicken, tempe, and so
on. To eat at the food stall, one just need spend about Rp15.000 (US$1.2), which includes a plate of
dish (rice, vegetables, and a selection of fish, chicken or tempe) and a glass of tea.

This food stall business has been started since there was a cement plant construction project. At that
time, thousands of people were working in the project, so that food stalls became a high demand
along the road to the factory. Mar’s food stall has started since three year ago, and could spend
70 kilograms of rice per day in the first year of operation. Mar had some employees to help her
cooking, and her food stall opened 24 hours, since there were always people having meals at any
time. However, after the company’s factories have been built, her number of customers decreased.
During the development projects, there were many people working in the construction of the factories
and they enjoyed having meals at food stalls at any time. After the factories had been established,
there are only the company’s employees. Currently, the food stall only opens from 6 am to 10 pm,
and spends only about 15 kilograms of rice per day. However, the family is still very grateful with
the presence of the company. With the money she obtained from the food stall, she could send their
children to vocational high schools and buy a new house. Besides Mar’s food stall, there are also
other food stalls run the wives whose husbands work in the company.

Food stalls are not only available in Sawir village. They are also available in other villages. The food
stalls in Merkawang village and Glondong Gede village are always crowded by customers. There are
food stalls which sell gado-gado (Javanese vegetable salad with peanut sauce) and rujak cingur (the
mouth of cows mixed with vegetables and spicy sauce).In the evening, there are people selling fried
rice and fried noodle. Most of the food stallsare managed by women.

Another example of a food stall managed by a woman is the food stall of Mrs. Cokro. She is a 42
years old woman who only finished junior high school. Her food stall has actually started for a long
time, but the number of customers only increased when there is a company in the area. Currently
the sales turnover of this food stallranges from Rp500.000 (US$40) to Rp1.000.000 (US$80) a day.

In addition to food stalls, the women in the villages have also opened kiosks. Given the improvement
of the roads and the increase in the number of motorcycles, several women opened gasoline kiosks.
The gasoline is bought from a petrol station and put in bottles to be sold to motorcyclists who only
need a litre or two litres of gasoline, and do not want to travel to far to the petrol station. Besides the
gasoline kiosks, there are also small kiosks selling basic necessities (soap, toothbrushes, etc.) and
cigarettes. There kiosks are usually only located in front of the houses.

Opening of shops in the traditional market

The traditional market merchants in Merkawang village are generally dominated by women who
originated from the surrounding area. The village’s market has developed significanty, as told by
Soleh who is 74 years old and has worked there as a market guard for 40 years. The market was
founded in 1975; it used to be just a collection of merchants who sold things for temporary time
of the day which had no permanent building. It occupied a vacant land owned by the village that is
located in front of Merkawang Village Hall. At that time, the traders only sold fish and vegetables.
Before the company was established, the number of merchants were only around 24 people.

In 2009, the market was built with funds from the village and had about nine los (a block with a
rectangular area for selling products). Every los contained four rooms where each room was filled
with two merchants. So, there were about 72 places for merchants. Some merchants who did not
have a room, sold their merchandise in any space available around the market. In addition to the los,
Merkawang market also has 17 stores with a permanent building. The stores are located outside of
the market, facing the street. Currently, the types of the merchandise sold are increasingly diverse,
ranging from vegetables, snacks, ice, fish, sliced chicken, fruit, clothing, fabric pieces, kitchen

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utensils of plastic and clay, as well as some services offered such as sewing clothes. The existence of
this traditional market has made it easier for the village people to sell their agricultural products and to
obtain information about the product prices. Having a market access and information about agricultural
product prices plays a significant role in community empowerment (Saenz & Thompson 2017).

Merkawang market opens at 5 A.M and is closed just before noon at around 12 P.M. The merchants in
this market do not pay taxes, but they must pay for cleaning service every day at Rp1.000 (US$0.08)
per merchant who owns regular los, and Rp2.000 (US$0.16) for merchants who have a permanent
los, which means having a wall that separates between merchants. Every day the average money
collected for cleaning service ranges from Rp60.000 (US$4.8) to Rp70.000 (US$5.6), but on holidays
(Sunday or public holiday) it can reach Rp85.000 (US$6.8). After being deducted with cleaning costs
and the salary for the market’s janitors, the rest of the money is then deposited into the village cash
budget, which is about Rp750.000 (US$60) per month.

Other income from the village market comes from the parking lot. Two people are hired to manage the
parking area around the market. Every day there are more than 100 motorcycles parked in the market.
Parking fee for a motorcycle is Rp1.000 (US$0.08). Thus the income from parking service is around
Rp100.000 (US$8) a day. The revenue is then deposited into the village’s cash budget for about
Rp20.000 (US$1.6) per day, and the remaining Rp80.000 (US$6.4) is for paying the two parking
attendants. If there are more motorcycles parking, the parking attendants will also receive higher
amount of money. However, if the number of motorcycles parking is few, the parking attendants will
also received a smaller amount of money.

Opening of boarding houses

The company’s presence increases the opportunity for the opening of boarding houses in the
surrounding villages. When there was a plant development project, it had sprung up boarding houses
because the company hired a lot of employees from outside the villages. Warti (44 years old woman)
who lives in Merkawang village and has only a primary school education is a manager of one of the
boarding houses. The boarding house that she managed has 18 rooms and was built in 2013 by her
relative who lives in Jakarta. She also provides food for the inhabitants of the boarding house. The
boarding house costs Rp200.000 (US$16) per room per month. One room can be occupied by 3-4
people. Unfortunately, some of the boarding houses opened during the plant development project
have been closed due to the small number of people who stayed in the boarding houses. During
the plant development project, there were a lot of people working to build the factories. After the
factories have been built, there are only the company’s employees. Mrs. Reza’s boarding house,
which is located on the main roadside of the village, is still filled with tenants who are the contract
workers of the cement company and students who are doing a field training in the company.

Conclusion
The existence of the company in the rural area of Tuban, Indonesia, with its CSR programs has
encouraged the women empowerment. Most of the women in the villages are not employed by the
company, but they managed to take advantage of the existence of the company. The rural women
have managed to achieve social empowerment, educational empowerment, religious empowerment,
organizational empowerment, and economic empowerment. The social empowerment can be
seen in the closer relation between the women, particularly in the health aspect. The educational
empowerment is obtained through the scholarship and training programs provided by the company.
The religious empowerment is seen in the number of women who become religion teachers and who
provide the meals for the religious festivities. The organizational empowerment is achieved from the
administrators’ role assumed by the women for the important organizations in the villages. Finally,
the economic empowerment has enabled the women to improve their livelihoods. A number of new
economic activities have been initiated by the rural women. The activities include the production of
canned fish and tempe (fermented soybean cake) for sale. There are also the opening of food stalls,

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small kiosks, shops in the traditional market, and boarding houses, which have enabled the rural
women to increase their families’ income.

This study has shown that the involvement of women in the public sector and the non-farming
activities has increased the families’ income and add the families’ social-economic assets. This can
be seen in the fact that almost all households have owned motor vehicles to make their mobility
easier, almost everyone has a mobile phone, some families have been able to renovate their houses,
and most families can send their children to schools. The existence of the traditional market has made
it easier for the village people to sell their agricultural products and started small businesses. All of
these confirmed that the involvement of women in the company’s program has been successful in
reducing poverty in this rural area of Indonesia.

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