A Utopia: A Desire Credit Unions Expanding Ecological Realm

The recent Credit Unions (CUs) movement in West Kalimantan, or locally ‘CU Gerakan, ’ consider the ecological aspect as a fundamental issue other than economic. Apart from their aim for farmers’ economic improvement, the new CU movement that came about a decade ago began their concern on environmental sustainability by prohibiting clients from using financial services for damaging ecological activities, such as oil palm and illegal logging investments. This noble idea seeks to accommodate the traditional Dayak livelihoods, such as swidden and rubber agriculture, which are considered more environmentally friendly. The question then is whether the idea can be instilled into CUs, which have been serving oil palm farmers for decades. To reveal the answer, I employ an ethnography approach through fieldwork, participatory observations, and interviews.