Anton Soedjarwo

1983 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Community Leadership from Indonesia. Anton Soedjarwo was a young engineering student when he was exposed to harsh realities of the rural poor in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In 1968, he went to live in the villages of Mount Merapi, 50 km north of Yogyakarta and there he saw that water was a scarce resource. As student engineer, he worked with the communities and was successful in laying water pipes that allowed for villagers access to water. In 1972, he formed Yayasan Dian Desa or Light in the Village Foundation in order to continue helping villages through the application of appropriate technology.

Today, YDD has succeeded in becoming one of the largest foundations in Indonesia. The very first income earning activity of YDD was the processing of various agricultural commodities grown in communities, such as coffee beans. Then in mid 80’s YDD engaged in a Coastal Community Development Program and that is how they found out that “waste can be used as a marketable product” – the story of the stingray leather. Anton Soedjarwo combined his engineering and marketing acumen to sustain Dian Desa’s mission to serve and help the poor communities become empowered. More than 30 years later, this philosophy remains the cornerstone of Dian Desa’s work.