The Multi Donor Fund for Aceh and Nias(MDF) and the Java Reconstruction Fund (JRF) have playedsignificant roles in the remarkable recovery of Aceh, Niasand Java, following some of the worst disasters in Indonesiain recent years. The MDF and the JRF, which is patternedafter it, are each considered a highly successful model forpost-disaster reconstruction. This paper presents thelessons from the MDF and JRF's use of large-scale,government-implemented community driven development programsto deliver reconstruction at the village level in Aceh, Niasand Java. It documents how local level recovery using acommunity driven approach can result in not only costeffective physical outputs, but also empowered communitieswith greater capacities and more prepared to face futuredisasters. The MDF and JRF experiences have demonstratedmany less tangible social benefits. These include fastersocial recovery from the impact of disasters and increasedconfidence and capacities of local actors to engage in locallevel planning. Most importantly, the community drivenapproach to reconstruction empowers victims of naturaldisaster to become key agents in their own recovery.