Research Sites

Research was conducted from November 2017 to May 2018 in six villages in Kulon Progo Regency, namely: Bumirejo, Gulurejo, Ngentakrejo, Wahyuharjo, Jatirejo and Sidorejo; as well as in Salmon Regency, namely Sendangadi and Sendangtirto. All eight villages had participated in the Inclusive Village Initiative (Rintisan Desa Inklusi) since 2015. Although both Regencies appear to have similar ethnic groups (predominantly Javanese) and religious affiliation (predominantly Muslim), each experiences poverty and growth differently at macro

(regional) and micro (household and individual) levels. The villages in Sleman Regency have relatively better welfare, upward mobility and movement out of poverty when compared to villages in Kulon Progo Regency (Statistics Indonesia 2015). The proximity of Sleman Regency to Yogyakarta city has considerably improved its public services and infrastructure whereas Kulon Progo is known for its proximity to an active volcanic site and is geographically more isolated with poor infrastructure and experiences water shortages.

The prevalence of Kulon Progo residents living in poverty is higher compared to all regions under the Yogyakarta municipality. According to the latest national poverty data, Sleman Regency contributes the largest regional GDP, while Kulon Progo has the smallest value of regional GDP compared with other regencies under Yogyakarta (Statistics Indonesia 2015).

The exact population with disability in Sleman and Kulon Progo Regencies is

unknown and the official figures are dubious as there is no dedicated disability census and household survey by either local or national governments. At the

time of this research, the eight villages had already implemented the Village Information System (Indonesian acronym SID- Sistem Informasi Desa) to improve the quality and quantity of disability data through better collection and

integration of numerous data points such as poverty, assets, village profile, village budgets and monitoring. However, the accuracy of the SID data is

questionable. Although the Village Information System has adapted the disability questionnaires from the Washington Group , our research team members 6 discovered discrepancies between official disability data and the nature of

disability among the majority of our respondents during our data collection exercise.

Those with intellectual disability and mental illness are categorised in the SID under a catch-all term - psychotic disorders – when in fact the respondents are slow to respond to questions or are mute or deaf. A handful of individuals are misidentified in the SID as having physical mobility when they actually experienced a bout of illness rendering them immobile in bed and had long been recovered when our researchers visited. Such inaccuracies are most likely due to census-takers being unfamiliar with and untrained about various disability definitions and types.

Our research team members who work as village facilitators alluded to a lack of disability sensitization training among census takers, however we have no way to

The Washington Group (WG) disability questionnaires comprised of a set of short questions that 6 can be modified and included in population survey to identify individuals who experience restricted social participation because of difficulties undertaking basic activities. Indonesia officially adapted and tested the WG short questionnaires in Intercensal Population Survey (SUPAS) in 2015.

corroborate that assessment. It should be therefore noted that the general lack of reliable data makes it difficult to draw conclusions about the representativeness of any of the villages included in this research study, and therefore confidently generalise conclusions to other regions.

RINTISAN DESA INKLUSI (RINDI) was launched in December 2014, building on the results of a three-day meeting arranged by SIGAB, a local disability-led organisation with a coalition of grassroot DPOs. The meeting happened six months after Indonesia passed a village law signalling a major policy shift guaranteeing high- level autonomy and authority to every village.

This Village Law (UU 6/2014) is expected to significantly impact the lives of marginalised groups, including persons with disabilities, for it provides villages with greater autonomy to determine their governance structures, development priorities and natural resources management among other issues at the local level. This legislation also means a substantial increase in both regional and national budgets resulting in greater funds available to villages.

Seizing the momentum on the Village Law and availability of Village Fund, RINDI aims to create various village models, each with accessible and inclusive services and resource foreveryone that can be easily replicated and adopted by other villages on an ad hoc basis. The proposed strategies include taking on cultural issues, addressing communication and resources access, as well as deliberately forging and facilitating networks among existing marginalised groups.