Save 50 Youth with Regenerative Agriculture

The term youth is broadly defined by the UN as the age group from 15 to 24 years old, which marks the transition from childhood into young adulthood. It is a period when young people develop independence, self-sufficiency and maturity. In Jakarta and surrounding areas, there are approximately 1.900 refugees and asylum-seeker youths who are living independently, with limited assistance from UNHCR and partners.  These young peoples are unable to work legally in Indonesia, and while UNHCR and partners are working to increase access to post-primary education and livelihood skills training, there are still major challenges for refugee youth to achieve full independence. The current outlook for durable solutions for refugees in Indonesia is also unfortunately limited. 

Since November 2016, The Learning Farm, has sought to offer solutions for refugee communities by extending its program to refugee youth. The Learning Farm teaches organic farming methods which serve as learning and therapeutic tools that provide a sense of order for these young people, fostering their resourcefulness and building their sense of self confidence. 

Through this inclusive approach, The Learning Farm has offered a chance for refugee youth to practise their skills and opportunities to contribute positively to the community. Refugee graduates from The Learning Farm are serving their communities by volunteering to teach organic farming, Bahasa Indonesia, English, and showing leadership in many other ways. The refugee participants are deeply grateful for the valuable learning experiences, friendship and home they found in The Learning Farm.

On behalf of UNHCR, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to The Learning Farm colleagues and board members. The Learning Farm is an impressive example of solidarity on the part of the global community, which will have a positive impact on this generation of young people – offering hope and solutions for refugees.

The long-awaited graduation day came for our Batch 33 students. It was a wonderful event celebrating the student-chosen theme of 'Never Give Up Because Hope Will Always Be There'. The evening began with appreciating the students’ commitment over the last one hundred days in the program, we then recognised the three ‘most’ students nominated across ten categories that represent their past year.

We then had an internal flag ceremony with just Batch 33 but later, finished the event with representatives from all the organisations who supported and recommended the students to The Learning Farm. Many heart-felt messages and positive memories were delivered by the batch leader and the representative students as their thank-you to TLF.

We were honored to be visited by Ibu Sranya and Pak Marti Natalegawa. They were delightful and giving a wonderful congratulatory speech to the students who completed the Basic program in Rumah TLF.