Spotlight Series: Interview with Lastiana Yuliandari
Director of Aliet Green Lastiana Yuliandari shares with us who are her biggest inspirations and how she stands her ground.
Introduce yourself and your current role/startup
I am Lastiana, Director of Aliet Green, and I’ve been at it for 15 years. I provide leadership and management to the business, and I’m responsible for the day-to-day operations of the various departments. I monitor the company’s performance and finances and implement sales strategies to nurture and grow the company’s interactions with clients. I also look at ways of improving supply and value chain management. Lastly, I engage with the farming community for organic farming and ethical trading through Fair Trade principles and empower village women to be part of the social and economic areas within the farming community.
Where are you from?
I am from Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and I am the youngest of the family. Previously, I studied to be an English teacher.
Who are your biggest inspirations?
People who care about the world we live in inspire me the most — they lead with gratitude and conviction and are continuously trying to make a social, economic, and environmental impact. I enjoy connecting with people like that.
What lessons have you learned as a (female) founder/leader/entrepreneur?
Be authentic, have empathy, take initiative, and see where that leads you to.
What are some of the challenges you have encountered thus far?
Being a solo founder was so hard in the beginning! As with anything, there are highs and lows, triumphs and tribulations, and many decisions that need to be made. There was only one constant: I had to rely on myself and my inner strengths. When you’re going at it alone, it may be difficult to see problems from different perspectives or to brainstorm alternative solutions. This can result in making bad or poorly thought-out decisions, leading to regrets about not going with a different approach. However, I am now more independent and have freedom without pressure to do the things I need to do.
What is the greatest risk you have undertaken?
I sacrificed personal capital to initiate Aliet Green and lost so much money in the beginning. No one wanted to lend me money but I believed in myself and that Aliet Green would work out, so I persevered.
Share with us a story or an example of when you chose to be right and made a stand. What happened? How did it affect you? Did anything change?
During the inception of Aliet Green, I faced a lot of obstacles from everywhere, including my own family. In Javanese family culture, women and girls never start or run their own businesses. It’s because of this culture that reinforces the traditional model of male leadership. In addition, gaining farmers’ trust and confidence was a big challenge. Back then, none of the farmers were on board with the concept of community engagement, organic certification and documentation, food hygiene training and Fair Trade. Farmers had no faith in a younger facilitator like me. There had never been a female facilitator who provided training for farmers before.
Today, Aliet Green can look back with a sense of pride and accomplishment at our achievements and reputation as a trustworthy innovative women's social enterprise that produces high-quality food ingredients, acts responsibly with integrity, doing what is right, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for our people and products by contributing to our local communities and care for the natural habitat.
Final words of wisdom?
Being of service to others is good work for the soul
Lastiana’s interview is also available on our Instagram page. You can view more photos of Lastiana and her farmers!
