STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL RESILIENCE THROUGH LOCAL WISDOM-BASED INTERVENTIONS IN DISASTER-PRONE AREAS

Hans Lura

Authors

Hans Lura Universitas Kristen Indonesia Toraja, Indonesia

Keywords:

Strengthening Community, Psycho-Spiritual, Local Wisdom, Disaster-Prone Areas

Abstract

Disaster-prone communities in North Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, frequently face landslides, floods, and extreme rainfall events that generate not only physical damage but also profound psychological distress, social fragmentation, and spiritual disorientation. Despite growing evidence for the effectiveness of culturally grounded psychosocial interventions, community service programs in disaster-prone areas of North Toraja have rarely integrated the region's rich local wisdom particularly the communal values embedded in the Rambu Solo' tradition, the Tallu Lolona philosophy, and the practice of situru'-turu' (collective solidarity) as primary mechanisms for building psycho-spiritual resilience. This community service program was implemented in the disaster-prone sub-districts of Baruppu', Sesean, and Rantebua, North Toraja Regency, involving 85 community members across three villages. The program employed a participatory action approach integrating four intervention modules: (1) psycho-spiritual first aid grounded in local wisdom, (2) community resilience mapping using indigenous knowledge frameworks, (3) Tallu Lolona-based group healing circles, and (4) capacity building for local resilience facilitators. Outcomes were assessed through pre- and post-intervention resilience scales, reflective group discussions, and facilitator competency assessments. Results demonstrate significant improvements in community psycho-spiritual resilience scores (p < 0.01), stronger activation of local solidarity networks, and the formation of 12 trained community resilience facilitators. Participants reported greater ability to integrate spiritual meaning-making with practical disaster preparedness, drawing on ancestral wisdom as a source of strength rather than passive fatalism. This program contributes a replicable model for culturally grounded psycho-spiritual resilience building in indigenous disaster-prone communities across Indonesia

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