The COVID-19 posed significant challenges in countries with weak welfare systems, like Indonesia, where government resources struggled to meet social protection needs. In response, grassroots community movement, grounded in solidarity, mobilized to support national efforts, building on either existing initiatives or creating new ones during the crisis, provided essential health, financial, and social assistance.

This study draws on social movement and welfare state theory from a feminism postcolonial lens to analyse grassroot solidarity movements in providing local social protection based on three Indonesia’s empirical case studies. These actions highlight the role of local actors including women, in cultivating Sense of Community Responsibility that emphasise commitment to collective well-being. From a welfare perspective, grassroots movements can strengthen Indonesia’s welfare state, expanding the concept of citizenship to include “social citizenship”—where citizens not only receive welfare but also contribute to social safety nets, complementing government efforts for inclusive local problem-solving.