Building Skills

There was a time when there were no skilled construction workers on Sumba. To build Nihiwatu Resort, now rebranded as Nihi Sumba Island, it was necessary to bring in hundreds of Javanese tradesmen do the work. It was important to the resort owners that the skills the Javanese possessed was passed on to the locals who wanted to learn. Each Javanese carpenter, electrician, stonemason and plumber was assigned two Sumbanese to be their assistants through the construction periods, so they too could pick up the skills to be able to work on their own. Many of those have now become local contractors, building houses and government buildings throughout the island, as well as our Foundations Clinics and Learning Centers.