Their land.
A shared future
In the early years of Nihiwatu’s development (1988–1994), life on Sumba Island presented significant challenges, with villagers and early residents alike living without running water, electricity, or access to medical care. Malaria was a constant threat, and many, including newcomers, experienced firsthand how debilitating it could be.
Chris Burch has always admired the drive and ethos of The Sumba Foundation®, embracing its grassroots spirit and unwavering commitment to the Sumbanese people. Inspired by its early efforts, he and his family became deeply involved, expanding the foundation’s reach and resources while honoring its original mission. What began as a modest initiative to improve basic health care and education has since evolved into a dynamic platform for empowerment. Today, the foundation focuses on advancing education, delivering vocational training, and supporting small-scale entrepreneurship, all while nurturing a sustainable future rooted in dignity, resilience, and shared purpose.
Our Projects
The first endeavor of The Sumba Foundation® was to address the most basic need of the local community: access to potable water, one of the basic needs most of us take for granted. With an initial purchase of a drilling rig capable of reaching a depth of 450 feet, we began our first water project in Hobawawi.
Having access to clean water increased the quality of life for thousands of Sumbanese benefiting from these projects, in particular women and children who previously walked many miles each day just to bring back a bucket of water home to their village.
Over the past 20 years, the Foundation has drilled and hand dug a combined 80 wells, established more than 300 water stations that are now providing more than 30,000 people living in 200 villages access to safe, clean drinking water.
In 2004 we began to address a most prominent health issue in the area, malaria, and established a comprehensive program to reduce and work towards eradicating it from
the local communities.
In 2005, we established our first health clinic and now have a total of four that operate in two districts (West Sumba
and Southwest Sumba), staffed by a team of Foundation Nurses and Midwives also trained to WHO level certification standards in malaria diagnosis and treatment.
This project has distributed over 15,000 high quality insecticidalimpregnated mosquito nets to the villagers in our coverage area and our World Health Organization certified microscopists work daily, analyzing bloodsmear
slides and treating patients with the best drugs available on the international market.
In 2010, we established our Malaria Training Center and since then have had 500 WHO level students graduate from the Malaria Training Center, delivering around 150,000 diagnoses per year in NTT. In our coverage area, we have seen a dramatic drop in the malaria rate, 93% in our original core area, and 70% island wide (Sumba Foundation, Government Clinics and UNICEF and other contributors combined).
In addition to general health and malaria control, we operate with two Eye Care nurses to perform weekly screenings at our clinics and in the villages providing the gift of sight to 100’s of people every year. For the past 12 years the Foundation has worked with volunteers and in collaboration with a group of Australian Eye Doctors from RACS (Royal Australasian College of Surgeons) and together have helped to perform 1,000 eye surgeries, and distribute 15,000 pairs of prescription glasses.
Covering
- more than a 200-square kilometer area
- 400 villages
- 40,000 people
Malnutrition is one of the major health problems in this area for which we have developed several initiatives that focus on finding solutions.
Every week our nutrition staff visits the village to monitor and record each child’s weight as well as to take other data based on the WHO established growth chart. In addition to growth tracking, the children’s parents cook on-site a mung bean porridge fortified with Nutrilite Little Bits micronutrients to distribute to the children.
Our nutrition team then distributes a week’s supply of eggs, milk and Nutrilite Micronutrients to the families of the children enrolled in the program so they may continue to provide at least one high protein meal each day to their child to foster further growth development.
The School Lunch Program was started in 2008 in one Primary School (grades 1 through 6) in the area to help foster school attendance, encourage mental growth and development, and to teach the children well rounded eating habits. Since then, the program has grown to cover 12 primary schools and reaches out to more than 2,600 Primary School Students ages 7 to 12 years old, providing three high protein healthy and nutritious meals to each school per week.
Helping 167 children (ages infant to 5 years old)
Minimum six-month program
Menu served is based on two rice based meals per week supplemented with locally available vegetables, tempeh and/or tofu, and on a regular rotation a singular protein of chicken, fish, or hard boiled eggs, and for the third meal of the week we provide the children with a porridge consisting of milk, banana, tapioca beads, and mung bean for protein.
Over the past 13 years, we have helped to construct and renovate new classroom buildings and washroom facilities for these schools and where available connected
schools to a nearby water project to provide
children direct access to clean water at school.
Teachers have been provided textbooks, educational tools, and inside the classrooms, desks, tables, and chairs made for the children so they had adequate facilities to learn in.
Foundation has been to build a better future for the people of Sumba.
In November of 2017, with the help of guests from NIHI® Sumba, we were able to initiate and establish our first English class. At the time, it comprised 39 primary school students. By June 2019, we officially opened our Learning Development Center in Hobawawi where we teach nearly 500 students (ages 4 to 18) English language and computer skills.
In 2012 the Foundation initiated a Health & Hygiene course taught by two teachers employed by The Sumba Foundation to increase awareness of health issues among children in grades 4 and 5: healthy, malaria and other illnesses, diarrhea, infections, healthy diets and eating habits, dental hygiene, hand washing and body hygiene, as well as trash and recycling.
Supporting more than 20 primary schools
Helping more than 2,030 students
3 afternoon English class locations
Created libraries containing 100’s of age appropriate books for the children
The Foundation’s Organic Farming Projects teach local farmers new farming methods for sustaining their crops year-round.
The project introduces healthier foods to the communities and provides them access to our farming tractor and water
pumps to maximize their productivity.
Farmers learn how to improve their soil by applying composting methods using readily available materials. Seeds are provided to the farmers who need them and The Sumba Foundation staff provides technical advice as well as monitoring of each project’s progress.
The sustainability of these new farms is provided by The Sumba Foundation purchasing their produce to be used for cooking in the School Lunch Program.
Additionally, 10% of all crops yielded from these farming projects are donated back to the Foundation for use in the School Lunch and Nutrition Programs. Any additional surplus harvests are then available to the farmers to sell at the
local markets or for their own general consumption
as they see fit.
NIHI® Sumba opens their doors three times a week to local farmers to purchase items for use in the hotel restaurants.
Watermelons, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and many other seasonal produce are purchased directly from the farmers.
Our humanitarian work includes providing access to general healthcare and clinics in the areas covered by our four clinics in Hobawawi, Lamboya, Kodi, and Karang Indah.
These clinics provide healthcare, health consultation and screening, as well as medicine distribution completely free of charge to the local community.
At times we are faced with unique and often sad situations, in particular when villages burn down. We have and continue to assist the people from these villages overcome the burden created by these situations by raising funds to provide food aid, pots and pans for cooking, general kitchen
items, materials and tools to help them rebuild their homes, mosquito nets, health screenings and general school supplies such as new uniforms, notebooks, pens and pencils, to help the people affected get back on their feet.
Improving the general quality of life for over 40,000 people
The Sumba Foundation® has made life better for the 40,000 people they are helping every day with many water, health, economic, and education initiatives, and outside of these core areas, there are several hundred thousand more who are benefiting from the collaborative projects that have been initiated in other areas of Sumba. The Sumba Foundation® is a small but highly effective organization that is fully committed to helping the people of Sumba prosper, and with our help, they will.
Nihigram
No trending audio. No soundtrack needed.
Just the rhythm of Sumba. The ocean, the horses, the wind through the palms and the sounds that make this place feel like nowhere else.
After an unforgettable first Healing with Horses retreat on the Edge of Wildness, we’re delighted to announce that Candice Webster will return to NIHI Sumba in 2027.
Our inaugural retreat brought together the extraordinary energy of Sumba, our Sandalwood horses and Candice’s intuitive approach to equine healing for five deeply transformative days of connection, renewal and discovery.
In 2027, we return to the herd for two intimate retreats:
1–6 June 2027
8–13 June 2027
Spaces are limited. Each retreat offers the opportunity to slow down, reconnect and experience the profound relationship between horses, nature and self.
Full details and enquires are available via the retreat page, linked in our bio.
A true @nihi journey that has only just begun.
Cherish is a graduate from the Rote Hospitality Academy. Today, he is proudly part of the team at @nihirote, welcoming guests from around the world and sharing the beauty, culture and stories of the island he calls home.
@rote_hospitality_academy is proud to help create opportunities for Rote’s next generation, providing the skills and pathways to build their futures on the island.
Where culture runs deep and nature remains wild.
From ancient traditions and the enduring bond between the Sumbanese people and their horses, to untouched coastlines, rolling hills and endless horizons, Sumba is a place shaped by both its people and the land they call home.
At NIHI, every journey is a chance to experience the island as it has been for generations: raw, beautiful and deeply connected to its roots.
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#nihigram by @gedewahyuu_
Mornings to dream about.
Wake to the sound of rolling waves, swaying palms, and birdsong as the island slowly comes to life. Here, peace isn’t something you have to search for, it’s all around you. In the quiet, away from the everyday, you’ll find space to reconnect with nature, with the moment, and with yourself.
The simplest mornings often leave the greatest impression.
Experience one of NIHI Sumba’s most magical moments: swimming with horses at Nihiwatu Beach.
Deeply woven into Sumbanese culture, the local people have bathed their horses in the ocean for generations. More than just an adventure, it’s a rare opportunity to connect with these incredible animals while experiencing a tradition that has been passed down through the ages.
Join the daily swimming with horses experience and discover one of Sumba’s most beautiful and authentic rituals.
The soul of Sumba lives in its traditions.
Here, culture isn’t something preserved behind glass. It’s woven into every thread of ikat, passed from one generation to the next through age-old stories and legends, and carried proudly by the people who call this island home.
The bond between the Sumbanese people and their horses runs deep, shaped over centuries and celebrated in the ancient Pasola festival, where tradition, courage and community come together in one of Indonesia’s most extraordinary cultural events.
Even today, these timeless scenes can still be found along the beaches of Sumba, where horses roam freely and the island’s heritage continues to live on.
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#nihigram by @gedewahyuu_
The first light spills across the ocean, the mist slowly lifts, horses wander freely along the shoreline, and the world seems to move a little slower.
This is the magic of mornings at NIHI, quiet, wild, and beautifully untouched.
Where wild horses roam the shoreline, endless palms sway in the ocean breeze, world-class waves roll onto untouched white sand, and every sunset feels like nature’s grand finale.
This is Nihi, a place where time slows, the horizon stretches forever, and every moment reminds you just how beautiful the world can be.
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#nihigram by @scottybauer_
No notifications. No playlists. No endless scrolling.
Just birds singing, waves rolling onto the shore, and the kind of silence that reminds you what peace actually sounds like.
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