As an organization that places learning at the center of its monitoring and evaluation system (the Planning, Learning & Accountability system), Rikolto continuously seeks to evaluate the impact and performance of its programs. One of Rikolto’s learning programs is Knowledge Cafe. This program consists of annual or biannual informal meetings aimed at exchanging experiences between partners and/ or other development actors working in the same intervention area.
On 13 – 14 November 2018, Rikolto Indonesia organized its regular knowledge café in Sanur, Bali. The event was attended by Rikolto’s strategic partners, including farmer organizations, NGOs, universities, private sector enterprises, and others to exchange lessons learned and good practices applied by farmer organizations. The four topics that were the focus of the discussion are: (1) Product branding and online market strategy; (2) Product diversification to expand to new markets and expand farmer organization business; (3) Youth in agribusiness; and (4) Climate Smart Agriculture Practices. Almost all of the speakers were representatives of Rikolto farmer organization partners who shared the best practices and lesson learned of their respective organization.
The event was held under collaboration with Rumah Sanur Creative Hub who provided the venue for the second day. Rumah Sanur is a hub for local communities, businesses, social entrepreneurs, traders, start-ups, artists and creatives that are creative ecosystems and encourage social innovation and place making. For this occasion, Rikolto Indonesia and Rumah Sanur invited various participants to attend the talk show, of which around 80 were present.
One of the most awaited activities was a coffee tasting where our participants had a chance to try differen high quality coffees which happened to win win national and international competitions, all produced by our partners: (1) Kerinci Arabica (fullwash, honey, wet hull, honey wet hull, and natural), (2) Merangin Robusta, (3) Toraja Arabica (Sapan, Sesean, Kapala Pitu, Peaberry), (4) Benteng Alla Arabica, (5) Manggarai Arabica, Robusta, Yellow Catura, Juriah, (6) Bajawa Arabica.
By reflecting on the number of active participants on the event and the enthusiasm that stayed for the whole duration of the event, it can be concluded that the event was successfully held.
For Rikolto, best practices and lessons learned can provide very valuable insights to support better planning based on the validity of some assumptions underpinning project and program design. Rikolto will continue to assist our partners and staffs in developing the learning and knowledge management systems to ensure that the knowledge, experience, lessons learned and best practices are shared for the program improvement.
Rikolto aims to improve both learning within the organization, and the institutional learning, which consists of sharing its experiences, both positive and negative, with a wide range of stakeholders, such as beneficiaries, private actors, governments, other NGOs, research organizations, and the general public.Therefore, we are open for collaboration to external parties on this learning activity.
