1. Community-Led Infrastructure: Revitalizing the Penjor Auditorium

A thriving community requires a central, reliable space to meet, learn, and organize. In July 2024, ECCO Foundation partnered with residents to completely renovate and revitalize the Aula Penjor (Genggelang Village Auditorium).

Rather than relying on outside construction firms, the entire project was mapped out, managed, and executed by local village volunteers themselves, ensuring a deep sense of local ownership.

Completed smoothly within a single month, this modern, multi-purpose pavilion now hosts vital public services, local government assemblies, cultural marriage ceremonies, and ECCO’s ongoing youth educational classes. 

2. Global Exchanges: Hosting International Live-Ins and Influencers

With an upgraded village infrastructure, ECCO Foundation launched an immersive Community Live-In Program, inviting international researchers and national digital creators to experience authentic Sasak culture firsthand.

• International Research: A Polish national completed a week-long residency in August 2024, studying rural sustainable development models. Concurrently, two prominent academic delegates from Nicolaus Copernicus University were hosted to review community farming systems.
• Digital Amplification: Renowned national influencer Marina Tashaa visited Genggelang twice. She immersed herself in the community by harvesting organic cacao, processing heritage coffee, practicing traditional bebele weaving, and creating sustainable eco-print fabrics—amplifying Genggelang’s eco-tourism profile to millions of online viewers.

3. Historic Audience with Pope Francis and the 5P Village Module

The pinnacle of Genggelang's global recognition took place in September 2024. In an extraordinary cultural exchange, Genggelang village representatives traveled to Jakarta for a rare, historic audience with Pope Francis during his official apostolic visit. This meeting allowed the village to present its unique cultural heritage and sustainable peaceful living models directly to one of the world's most influential spiritual leaders.

To ensure this successful model can be replicated by other rural communities worldwide, ECCO Foundation, in partnership with the 5P Global Movement, finalized the official 5P Village Module in August 2024.

This operational guide distills Genggelang’s methods into a practical, step-by-step framework. It is now utilized by the 5P Global Movement to establish similar self-sustaining, peaceful, and green eco-villages across Indonesia and the global south.

When young people from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds collaborate on shared social issues, they generate highly innovative, empathetic solutions. Affirming its position as a trusted leader in youth leadership, ECCO Foundation served as an active co-facilitator and organizational partner for the high-profile Scholas Citizenship × Tunas Bineka summit held in Jakarta.

This project-based learning intensive brought together 200 young leaders from highly diverse backgrounds into an inclusive, safe space where every personal story was valued and translated into collaborative social action.

A Powerhouse Alliance for Youth-Led Social Action

The summit focused on a vital contemporary theme: "Countering Toxic Habits." Participants analyzed systemic social challenges within modern youth communities—ranging from online bullying and mental health taboos to discrimination and early dropouts.

To guide these 200 students through this rigorous project-mapping journey, ECCO Foundation worked alongside a powerful coalition of leading educational, artistic, and peacebuilding institutions.

Designing Creative Solutions for Long-Term Systemic Impact

Throughout the event, ECCO Foundation’s senior educators served directly on the front lines as active facilitators, mentoring student groups as they transformed theoretical discussions into concrete, hands-on outputs.