YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (ILO News) – It all started with a simple idea: make better use of the land around your house. Together with the Kencana Asri Kadipaten farming community in Yogyakarta, Rahardyan Chandra began cultivating aloe vera that had been neglected for a long time. With the support of his wife, he eventually turned the plant into a ready-to-drink beverage under the brand Gawe Sae.
What began as an effort to develop a business gradually turned into an opportunity to make better use of available resources while sharing the benefits with the surrounding community.
“At first we only used meat, but as the business grew, we realized that almost everything could be processed and used,” Chandra said. “Now our waste is practically zero. Even used bottles can still be recycled in waste banks.”
The changes in Chandra’s business go beyond how she uses aloe vera. It has also improved the way it manages its businesses and finances. “We have become much more administratively organized. In the past, we only used simple delivery notes. Now we understand proper financial records,” he said. “We printed standardized invoices, built networks, and fortunately, our market has expanded beyond the city.”
Greener practices, new opportunities
Dwi Kuntari has followed a similar path through his business, Jamu Deka. Driven by her love for the traditional Indonesian herbal drink, jamu, Dwi wanted to introduce it to younger generations in a way that better suits modern lifestyles. Along the way, it began to adopt greener business practices, changing not only its packaging but also the way it managed and grew the business.
In just a few months, from September to December 2025, Dwi saw improvements in its business, including an increase in revenue. Since then, Jamu Deka has started engaging in export-related activities through business associations and government programs. He also got opportunities to take his business to Malaysia and Thailand in 2026.
A lot has changed. Our revenue increased from 2 percent to 17 percent. We also expanded our team, adding administrative staff, a social media team and production staff, and the packaging has become more unique and has greater value. Our financial records are also much more organized.
Dwi Kuntari
His business has also created a new gardening division, opening up additional economic activities ranging from compost production and seedling cultivation to educational tourism in its herb garden.
Helping small businesses go green
Chandra and Dwi are among the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have participated in the green tourism training organized by the ILO in collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism. Through the Partnership for Action on the Green Economy (PAGE)The ILO promotes green, low-carbon and circular economy approaches that can help businesses grow while using resources more responsibly and creating decent work.
As of December 2025, the program had trained 19 certified trainers and developed a comprehensive training module covering entrepreneurship, financial education and green tourism. Four pilot projects were initially implemented in Central Java, Yogyakarta Special Region, North Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara, which directly benefited 172 tourism MSMEs. Subsequently, the program was replicated in 12 provinces and reached more than 950 MSMEs.
The financial record we teach is very simple, but it is exactly what banks are looking for. SMMEs often do not realize that adequate financial records are a key requirement when applying for business financing to grow their businesses.
Hanif Andi Al Ansori, trainer and mentor in green tourism
An important part of the approach is helping small businesses understand that going greener also goes hand-in-hand with strengthening basic business management.
Hanif Andi Al Ansori, a green tourism trainer and mentor, highlighted financial management as an example. “The financial record we teach is very simple, but it’s exactly what banks are looking for,” he said. “MSMEs often do not realize that adequate financial records are a key requirement when applying for business financing to grow their businesses.”
Bringing green practices to the community
Changes are also coming at the community level. At Jagalan Tourist Village, located in the historic Kotagede area of Yogyakarta, green tourism practices are being introduced in the way visitors are welcomed and served.
Ismail, manager of Jagalan Tourism Village, said a simple change involved moving away from bottled drinks. “When guests visit us, we used to serve bottled drinks. Now we have switched to serving local drinks from Kotagede Jagalan, such as guava juice and wedang secang, and serve them in glasses,” he said.
In the future, I hope that more people will make use of the unused land around their homes and hopefully become productive as well.
Rahardyan Chandra
The town also encourages visitors to avoid single-use plastic bottles by providing glasses or asking them to bring their own. These changes may be simple, but for small businesses and communities they demonstrate how environmental considerations can become part of everyday business practices while creating opportunities for local products and businesses.
For Chandra, the next step is to encourage more people to see the potential of the resources they already have around them. “In the future, I hope that more people will make use of the unused land around their homes and hopefully become productive as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dwi sees collaboration as key to moving his business forward. “Our strategy is collaboration to accelerate business growth,” he said. “Hopefully next year the market will expand even more and we can even export.”
For both entrepreneurs, being green is more than just reducing waste or changing packaging. It has also meant finding new value in existing resources, improving the way they run their businesses and opening doors to new markets.
Their experiences show that for small businesses, greener practices can start with practical changes using what is already available, managing resources more carefully and gradually building a stronger business for the future.