The May 2006 earthquake caused widespread damage and loss of life throughout the Yogyakarta Special Region. As international aid flowed into the region in the preceding months, numerous first-response, rehabilitation and longer-term recovery projects proliferated. Given the sheer number and scale of disasters that impact Indonesia annually, the disaster risk management community often has limited time and resources to evaluate the performance of responses and improve future practice. Drawing on a case study from Salam village, on the outskirts of Yogyakarta, this chapter seeks to contribute to the limited documentation of the successes and ongoing challenges of long-term livelihood recovery efforts following a large-scale disaster.

This study, undertaken in July 2015, uses a sustainable development lens to assess the performance of a Caritas-funded disaster recovery project in Salam village. This disaster recovery project aimed to assist affected women to rebuild their livelihoods and enhance their long-term financial resilience following the 2006 earthquake. Drawing on focus group discussions with a number of the women (n = 9) involved in the recovery project, it was perceived overall as high benefit and low risk; however, a number of weaknesses also emerged that have restricted the potential growth and long-term sustainability of the project. Comprehensive studies analyzing the performance of these recovery projects are often absent from disaster studies. This is an oversight given that we must learn from these interventions to: assure optimal performance; guarantee that donor assistance is deployed in ways that create the most value; and ensure that livelihoods are rebuilt and transformed so that their vulnerability is reduced.