The findings are significant because more than 70 percent of community-based initiatives in developing countries stagnate or collapse within three to five years after external funding ends. Payungi, however, has continued to expand while strengthening social cohesion, preserving local culture, and improving the economic well-being of its traders, most of whom are women.
According to the researchers, Payungi demonstrates that sustainable community development depends less on external financial support and more on trust, collaboration, and inclusive governance built from within the community.
Learning from Failure Became the Foundation
The research traces Payungi's origins to the failure of a community ecotourism initiative called Damraman, launched in 2017. The project collapsed after administrative conflicts and weak coordination among neighboring regions disrupted cooperation.
Instead of abandoning community development efforts, Payungi's founders transformed that failure into a blueprint for a stronger institutional design. They narrowed the project's geographical scope, spent six months consulting local residents before launching the market, and built community trust through religious leaders and neighborhood discussions.
This careful preparation ensured that the market emerged from the community itself rather than being introduced as an externally designed program. The researchers describe this process as failure-based learning, which became the cornerstone of Payungi's long-term sustainability.
Three Mechanisms Behind Payungi's Sustainability
Based on fieldwork conducted during the third quarter of 2025, the research identifies three major mechanisms explaining Payungi's continued success.
Turning Failure into Institutional Strength
Rather than treating the collapse of Damraman as a setback, Payungi's founders used it as valuable organizational knowledge.
Every weakness identified in the previous project informed concrete institutional decisions, including community engagement strategies, operational boundaries, and governance structures.
Building Triple Legitimacy
Payungi secured legitimacy from three different sources simultaneously:
- Community support,
- Cultural and civil society recognition,
- Government endorsement.
The researchers refer to this approach as triple legitimacy. Because support comes from multiple stakeholders, the organization remains resilient even if one source of legitimacy weakens over time.
Developing Strong Social Capital
The study also highlights Payungi's deliberate strategy to build three complementary forms of social capital:
- Bonding social capital, which strengthens trust among local residents;
- Bridging social capital, which connects people from different ethnic and social backgrounds;
- Linking social capital, which creates productive relationships with government agencies, universities, media organizations, and other institutions.
Rather than competing with one another, these three forms of social capital reinforce each other and create a resilient community network.
Collective Governance Encourages Participation
Another key factor behind Payungi's sustainability is its participatory governance model.
Important decisions including trader recruitment, conflict resolution, and strategic planning—are made through community deliberation instead of being controlled by a single leader.
At the same time, the organization maintains transparent financial management and formal administrative systems to facilitate collaboration with government institutions without sacrificing community participation.
This shared leadership structure reduces dependence on individual founders and strengthens organizational continuity.
Annual Turnover Reaches Rp4.8 Billion
Beyond its social impact, Payungi has become a significant contributor to the local economy.
The market operates every Sunday from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., hosting approximately 20 business units and generating an estimated Rp100 million in revenue during each market session.
The study estimates Payungi's annual turnover at approximately Rp4.8 billion.
Individual vendors earn between Rp500,000 and Rp8 million per market event, depending on the type of business. Average monthly earnings exceed Lampung's regional minimum wage in 2025 despite the market operating only four hours each week.
Around 60 percent of Payungi's traders are women. According to the study, the benefits extend beyond increased income, including stronger self-confidence, greater social recognition, improved business identity, and expanded community support networks.
A Model for Community Empowerment
The researchers believe Payungi offers valuable lessons for semi-urban communities across Indonesia.
However, they emphasize that its success should not be copied mechanically. Instead, communities should adopt its underlying principles: investing in social relationships before launching programs, learning systematically from previous failures, and establishing transparent, participatory governance.
The study also recommends that governments shift from directing community programs toward facilitating them by providing legal support, technical assistance, administrative services, and official recognition while allowing communities to develop solutions that fit their own local contexts.
Mulyadi and his colleagues conclude that Payungi demonstrates how long-term community resilience is built through strong relationships, inclusive governance, and shared ownership. The market's guiding philosophy, "Naik Bersama" (Rise Together), reflects a commitment to ensuring that economic growth benefits the entire community rather than a select few.
Author Profile
Mulyadi is a researcher specializing in social innovation, community empowerment, collective governance, and sustainable development. This study was conducted together with Hartoyo and Handi Mulyaningsih, both affiliated with Universitas Lampung, whose research focuses on community development, social capital, and public policy in Indonesia.
Research Source
Title: Rise Together: Social Capital, Collective Governance, and the Sustainability of Community Market Innovation in Semi-Urban Lampung, Indonesia
Authors: Mulyadi, Hartoyo, Handi Mulyaningsih
Journal: Indonesian Journal of Advanced Research (IJAR), Vol. 5, No. 6, 2026
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