Dispatch
Enjoy thought-provoking insights as we traverse along the nexus of nature and society in Indonesia and the wider Global South.
Research That Cannot End: Reflections on Relationships, Reciprocity, and Sustainability in Feminist Participatory Research
What happens when a research project cannot truly end, even though the project has been administratively closed? This is a risk that, apparently, one might face when carrying out feminist participatory action research. My team's research project is finished on paper, and the funding has stopped. But unlike other research or evaluation projects that I usually conduct, there is no sense of “relief” as usual. I felt sadness, mixed with deep emotion and joy, witnessing the achievements of our peer
Riset yang Tak Berakhir
Refleksi tentang Relasi, Resiprositas, dan Keberlanjutan dalam Penelitian Partisipatoris Feminis Disclaimer: * Semua kutipan dan informasi dalam tulisan ini telah mendapat persetujuan dari para peneliti sejawat. * Tulisan ini dibuat dengan menggunakan bantuan kecerdasan buatan Apa yang terjadi saat sebuah kegiatan penelitian tidak bisa berakhir meskipun secara administratif proyek sudah ditutup? Ini adalah sebuah risiko yang, ternyata, mungkin dihadapi saat sebuah tim melaksanakan kegiatan
8 Years In: The Learning Continues 🪴
Anniversaries invite reflection, and we've been sitting with a question: what has actually shaped how we work? Not only the neat project outcomes or milestone achievements; but the deeper shifts in how we understand our role as an institution that conducts research, evaluation, and technical assistance at the intersection of social-environmental change and climate justice. The truth is, our most significant learning has come from staying with the troubles and in conversation; with communities n
Seri Refleksi JET Malut 02 - Mematahkan Monopoli Pengetahuan: Catatan dari Pelatihan Penelitian Kualitatif bersama Pemerintah Daerah
Ditulis oleh: Tim ‘Transisi Energi Berbasis Masyarakat untuk Ketahanan Sosial dan Ekonomi’* sebagai bagian dari seri refleksi rutin yang dilakukan tim proyek. Orlando Fals Borda, salah satu perintis Penelitian Aksi Partisipatoris, pernah mengatakan dalam bukunya “Action and Knowledge: Breaking the Monopoly with Participatory Action Research (PAR)” (1991) bahwa atensi PAR tidak sebatas mengumpulkan data dari kelompok/komunitas tertentu, tetapi membangun kapasitas untuk menghasilkan pengetahuan d
Building Feminist PAR from the Ground Up: Solidarity and Radical Listening
By Rahayu Harjanthi (Senior Researcher at Dala Institute) Research shouldn’t begin with taking—it should begin with giving. This conviction guided our 18-month feminist participatory action research (FPAR) journey with environmental defenders across Indonesia, where zines became our first act of solidarity and radical listening rewrote our methodology. Yet my reflections began with a colleague’s transformative words: "This project has restored my faith in research. Now that I’ve experienced t
Shifting to Open Source Workspace: What Happens When Big Tech Service Providers No Longer Align with Our Purpose?
While being a purpose-driven organisation feels great and unites us within Dala, implementing our purpose and values is, well, inconvenient. It means we have to test everything we do to examine how it contributes to our purpose of conducting high-quality research, evaluation, and technical assistance that integrate social-environmental dimensions and amplify diverse Global South voices, fostering fairness and equity. Our metrics of testing are often our values of the dignity the people and natur
Seri Refleksi JET Malut 01 - Menimbang Keadilan dalam Transisi Energi: Suara dari Daerah Penghasil Mineral
Ditulis oleh: Tim ‘Transisi Energi Berbasis Masyarakat untuk Ketahanan Sosial dan Ekonomi’* sebagai bagian dari seri refleksi rutin yang dilakukan tim proyek. Sejak awal tahun 2025, Dala Institute bersama dengan mitra regional eLSiL Kie Raha memulai proses kegiatan dukungan penelitian untuk Maluku Utara terkait dengan pengelolaan mineral transisi yang berkeadilan dan berkelanjutan (Just Energy Transition in North Maluku/JET Malut). Pemilihan fokus dan lokus kegiatan sudah dimulai sejak tahun la
Treading the Field: Ethical Reflections on Doing Ethnography
By Vilona Stevanny, Research Assistant at Dala Institute. Having done only a small number of ethnographies as a recent Anthropology graduate, I’ve come to feel that there’s no better moment than now to let myself explore the unknowns of what ethnography truly is. So, here’s a bit of my reflection. Ethnography takes you to places you’ve never been, not just geographically but also within your mind. I think ethnography is as much a bodily experience as it is an intellectual one. As researchers,
Dala Dispatch #4 - 2024
Hello! 👋 Welcome to the Dala Dispatch by the Dala Institute. – Dala has been filled with exciting events and meaningful engagements, bringing together knowledge, collaboration, and fresh perspectives. Read through to learn more about recap of the events, key takeaways, and our experiences! – SISET's Mission to South Sulawesi and Jakarta Dala Institute has been working with the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre as an implementing partner for the Socially Inclusive Sustainable Energy Transiti
Some Views on Engaging in Contracts with A Small Enterprise in the Global South
The Dala Institute’s Giovanni Dessy Austriningrum recently spoke at a webinar focused on promoting equity in evaluation contracts hosted by the Center for Evaluation Innovation, BLE Solutions, and Institute for Peace and Development. We learned of a document published in October, 2023 called “On Equity in Contracting with Small and Solo Local Evaluation Firms: An Open Letter to Funders“ that makes some great points. We realise that at Dala we have been quite effective at bidding against large f
Dala On The Move!
Hello! 👋 Welcome to the Dala Dispatch by Dala Institute. Expect thought-provoking analyses, insider notes, glimpses into our projects, and event highlights as we traverse along the nexus of nature and society in Indonesia and globally. Subscribe to join our journey. 🍃 – This month, our team has been on the move both at home and abroad! From June to July, our staff members have gathered insights, made new connections, and brought back important knowledge for their own professional developm
Inside Dala: Our Journey to Self-Management
Hello! 👋 Welcome to the Dala Dispatch by the Dala Institute. Expect thought-provoking analyses, insider notes, glimpses into our projects, and event highlights as we traverse along the nexus of nature and society in Indonesia and globally. Subscribe to join our journey. 🍃 — Dala Institute in a glance The Dala Institute for Environment and Society was formed six years ago. In the beginning, it was four co-founders and a few consultants working together on projects. The idea was to provid
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