BACKGROUND

IDRAP (Institusi Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Asli dan Pedesaan) is an institution for development of rural area in which indigenous communities are. In South East Sulawesi of Indonesia, indigenous community is identical to rural area as most of them traditionally live in rural area. But not all rural people are indigenous.

IDRAP was initially founded in 1999 by a group of students from North Kulisusu as an informal caucus. The idea of its establishment was inspired by their collective worries and concerns on the poverty situation of Kulisusu People in North Buton Island while they are in abundance of natural resources. After having been active as a voluntary caucus for five years, a substantial change was made on October 24, 2003, when IDRAP was legally registered as a not-for-profit organization at District Court of Kendari under registration  number: 331/II/10/2003. At the Office of Social Welfare of South East Sulawesi, IDRAP was registered under registration no. 220/39 Kesbang, and at the Office of Taxation under registration no. PEM-013/WPJ.15/KP.0503/2004.

The overall goal of IDRAP is to contribute directly and indirectly to the empowerment of indigenous people in South East Sulawesi in a self-help and sustainable way. Strengthening the capacity of indigenous people, improving their health status, raising their income as well as heightening their participation in preserving living environment are its basic objectives.

The general situation of the 22 indigenous ethnics in South East Sulawesi is rather same, mostly poor. This condition not only brings them into inability to access education and health facilities but also has trapped them to be involving in illegal logging and illegal fishing.