Village community empowerment through village owned enterprise based on social capital in North Sumatera

ABSTRACT Conducted in four villages which are located in four Districts in North Sumatera Province, Indonesia, this study evaluates village community empowerment through village owned enterprise that is based on social capital in North Sumatera. The study is conducted by using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches where the qualitative data were obtained through in-depth interviews, while the quantitative data were obtained through survey by questionnaire. Analyses were made on three aspects of community empowerment: institutional aspects, economic aspects, and socio-cultural aspects. Results show that the various empowerment programmes have helped the communities to develop their economic activities in the villages through business activities. The implication of this study to the policy for Village Law is that all business carrying out with funds based on the village owned enterprise must refer to the applicable law to avoid any deviation.