Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Farming in Indonesia

Oded Carmi was a social entrepreneur striving for a “green Bali.” He started Sari Organik as a model farm intended to grow according to market demands and to benefit the local community while serving as an educational centre for small-scale farmers in the region. Thirteen years later, the idea was not as well embraced as he had hoped. The case discusses some of the challenges the entrepreneur was facing as the founder and owner of Sari Organik farm and the restaurant Warung Bodag Maliah (“overflowing basket”). His main challenge was to replicate and sustain his organic rice-farming model across Bali and eventually other parts of Indonesia. His initial thoughts involved some options: (a) to utilize the established village system and its leadership to re-introduce traditional rice-farming culture in Ubud, Bali, and eventually Indonesia; (b) to introduce a new model such as micro-franchising through which he would recruit a number of local farmers and provide them with the resources to grow rice organically; (c) to go into a joint venture with the few existing organic rice farmers in the region; and (d) to expand his business as a sole proprietor. The case may be a good starting point for a discussion on the impact of modernization on a traditional society and the role of business in society. Carmi, a native of Israel, tried to revive traditional farming techniques that were more sustainable and healthy. He realized he had to come up with a strategy soon.

<ul><li>To learn about the role of business in society, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable farming in emerging markets. </li><li>To examine strategic options available to a small business in an under-developed market. </li><li>To show how the local culture and institutions must be taken into account when implementing a business strategy for local economic development and social development through entrepreneurship. </li><li>To introduce micro-franchising as a unique strategy of franchising in less developed markets, where buyers and workers are impoverished. </ul></li>

• Sustainable Development
• Social Entrepreneurship
• Micro-franchising
• Rice Farming
• Agriculture
• Bali, Indonesia