Who says that digging the soil can only be done by men? A group of resilient women, Mandouw Women Farmers Group (KWT) in Mandouw Village, Samofa District, Biak Numfor Regency, with 15 members, has succeeded in breaking this stigma. They have demonstrated that women can handle the hoe for farming and achieve outstanding results.

Initially, these women joined the church women’s association and only became seasonal farmers, especially when church-related activities were underway. However, with support from the Village Government, the Department of Agriculture, and Technical Field Officers (TFO) from YBTS, they transitioned into sustainable vegetable farming. This group of women farmers grows shallots as their main commodity.

Starting in February 2021, KWT Mandouw planted the Lokananta variety of shallots for the first time on a 300 m2 land area and managed to get a yield of up to 100 kg. In the second planting season, they continued to cultivate shallots on the same land and managed to harvest 300 kg. Looking ahead, the group members plan to expand their shallot cultivation on their individual plots of land with broader coverage. This is concrete evidence that the determination and hard work of these women have dismantled stereotypes about women’s roles in agriculture in their region.