Gintingan in Subang: negotiating the role of Indigenous microfinance institution in the Sunda Region of West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Microfinance institutions play essential roles in poverty reduction in Indonesia. However, its practices are often insensitive to local values. Using postcolonial theories, this article explores how Sundanese (an Indigenous ethnic group native to the western region of Java, Indonesia) in the Subang district of the Sunda Region of West Java, Indonesia, utilize gintingan (an Indigenous economic system based on the rice trade) as an Indigenous microfinance practice, to fulfill their significant needs. This research adopts an ethnography approach conducted in four rural villages from 2011 to 2019. Information was gathered mainly through participatory observation and informal interviews with villagers. The analysis yields that people use gintingan to preserve their cultural practices, such as gotong royong (mutual cooperation). The findings suggest how gintingan becomes a space for the people to challenge conventional microfinance institutions. The research invites policymakers to rethink a culturally sensitive and decolonized approach to eradicating economic problems in rural areas.