Helianti Hilman used to be a lawyer. While working on a case with farmers facing criminalisation by a corporation, she learned about their lives and their work to sustain local food crops. Seeing their work at first hand, Hilman realised how rich biodiversity in Indonesia was, but that there was a missing link between the farmers and the markets.

Hilman turned to social entrepreneurship, and is devoted today to sustaining Indonesia’s food-biodiversity heritage by introducing indigenous food products to the broader market. She founded Javara Indigenous Indonesia in 2008, working with tens of thousands of farmers, foragers, fishers and food artisans, and bringing some of the freshest, most organic products to the mainstream market through a sustainable business model. In effect, she also provides a sustainable source of income for the farmers.

In 2017, Hilman also founded Sekolah Seniman Pangan, an action-based business school to promote food entrepreneurship among young people in rural areas. She was named in 2013 as Indonesia’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and in 2015 as a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur. In 2019, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development announced Hilman as part of the “eTrade for Women Advocates” list.