Framing the good news

Economic Justice Inspiration from Eastern Indonesia

Economic Justice Inspiration from Eastern Indonesia

FRAMING THE GOOD NEWS Economic Justice Inspiration from Eastern Indonesia Š 2015 Published by: Oxfam di Indonesia Jl. Taman Margasatwa No. 26A Ragunan, Jakarta 12550 T. +62 21 7811-827 F. +62 21 7813-321 www.oxfam.org.uk/indonesia oxfamblogs.org/indonesia FB: Oxfam Indonesia Twitter: @OxfamIndonesia Oxfam is an international confederation of 17 organizations networked together in more than 90 countries, as part of a global movement for change, to build a future free from injustice of poverty.

Oxfam: Dini Widiastuti Darmawan Triwibowo Taufiqul Mujib Virna Emily Tobing Writer: Diella Dachlan Photographer: Ng Swan Ti Graphic designer: Arief Darmawan

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

Casting Hope

along the West Coast of Pangkajene Islands

The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods� in Jayapura

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Foreword

To learn and continue to learn, striving to better oneself creating a more significant impact this is what this book aspires to achieve.

It contains fragments of experiences and learnings of Oxfam’s Economic Justice Program.

Together with its partners in three regions: Papua, East Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi stories from the field are presented here to depict change at the community level, especially for village women as well as challenges that have been overcome and those that have yet to be.

We invite our readers and friends to follow our journey and our success stories of the women and men in Mbatakapidu village fighting for food security in the Fluctuation of Food Security in Sumba collection. There is also the story of Pangakene Kepulauan, a coastal area in South Sulawesi, where Oxfam had facilitated the creation and development of organic farmers’ groups and seaweed groups. Finally, we bring you also to Jayapura District to follow the journey of cacao farmers who worked to restore cacao plantations amid the pressure of development and who fought to conserve local traditions.

We hope that the stores in this book will give us all the opportunity to reflect and give us hope.

For us, these stories tell us that our work is far from being over.

Development is a long-term process that requires planning, monitoring and evaluation, and needs to be adjusted to the local conditions and cultures and be carried out participatively.

The government and civil society groups or organisations can be motors of development.

But without the active participation of community members, women and men, any progress that has been made cannot be sustained.

Jakarta, 20 April 2015 Dini Widiastuti Programme Director Economic Justice

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GLOSSARY ADS APBD APBN BAPPEDA BKP BP3KP BP4K BP4KP BRI CIDA DFATD DMPDS FPTO GWTK IDT KIPRa KRKP KWT LKD LSM MAP MIPA MOL Musrembang PBK PEDP PKK

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Aliansi Desa Sejahtera/Alliance for a Prosperous Village Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Daerah/Regional Budget Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Negara/National Budget Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Daerah/Local Development Planning Badan Ketahanan Pangan/Food Security Agency Badan Pelaksana Penyuluhan Pertanian Perikanan dan Kehutanan (tingkat Kecamatan)/Implementing Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry Facilitation (sub-district) Badan Pelaksana Penyuluhan Pertanian dan Kehutanan/Agency for Agriculture and Forestry Extension Implementation Badan Pelaksana Penyuluhan Pertanian Perikanan dan Kehutanan (tingkat Kabupaten)/Implementing Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry Facilitation (district) Bank Rakyat Indonesia/Bank of the Indonesian People Canadian International Development Agency Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Desa Mandiri Pangan Menuju Sejahtera/Food Self-reliant Village towards Prosperity Forum Pelaku Tani Organik/Organic Farmers Forum Gerakan Wajib Tanam Kakao/Compulsory Cacao Planting Movement Inpres Desa Tertinggal/Presidential Instruction for Less Developed Villages Konsultansi Independen Pemberdayaan Rakyat/Independent Consultation for People Empowerment Koalisi Rakyat untuk Kedaulatan Pangan/People’s Coalition for Food Sovereignty Kelompok Wanita Tani/Women’s Farmers Group Lembaga Keuangan Desa/Village Financial Institution Lembaga Swadaya Masyarakat/Non-governmental organisation Mangrove Action Project Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam/Mathematics and Natural Science Mikroorganisme Lokal/Local Microorganisms Musyawarah Pembangunan/Development Deliberation Penggerek Buah Kakao/Cocoa pod borer Papua Enterprise Development Programme Pembinaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga/Family Welfare Movement

PNPM PPL RCL RPJM SBSI SKPD TPD UNICEF UPH VSD YKL YPM

Program Nasional Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Mandiri Perdesaan/ National Program for Community Empowerment Petugas Penyuluh Lapangan/Field Extension Worker Restoring Coastal Livelihood Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Menengah/Local Mid-term Development Plan Sekretariat Bersama Indonesia Bersatu/Unified Indonesia Joint Secretariat Satuan Kerja Perangkat Daerah/Local Working Units Tim Pangan Desa/Village Food Team The United Nations Children’s Fund Unit Pengelolaan Hasil/Crop Processing Unit Vuscular Streak Dieback Yayasan Konservasi Laut/Foundation for Marine Conservation Yayasan Pahadang Manjaro/Pahadang Manjaro Foundation

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

Table of Contents Summary of East Sumba

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Talking about Food in Dry Lands

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Food Security A la Mbatakapidu Village

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The Wonder Women of Tapawallabadi

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A Food Visioner from Mbatakapidu

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How Did Change Happen?

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Joining Forces for Prosperous Villages

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Summary of East Sumba East Sumba is one of four districts on Sumba Island. The total land area of the district is 7000.5 km2, with a coastline of 433.6 km.

Meanwhile, the total maritime area is 8,373.54 km2. There are 80 islets in the district, although not all are inhabited.

Administratively, there are 22 sub-districts and 156 villages in the district. Based on 2009 data, the population of East Sumba is 225,906 people, with a population density of approximately 32 people per km2. The climate of East Sumba is semi-arid with three to four months of rain per year and a temperature of 28.8-31.4 째C. East Sumba is covered mostly by savannahs, with a total area of 223,568 hectares, or 31.91% of the total land area. Furthermore, as of 2008, there were 23,258 hectares of available rice field land, but only 61.14% (or 14,219 hectares) of it has been cultivated, whilst the rest (31.86% or 7,409 hectares) remain unused.

(Source: East Sumba RPJM 2011-2015)

Yuliana Takajaji is one of Tapawallabadi members (22/8/14).

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Talking about Food in Dry Lands During the dry season between June and October, the landscape of this 7000.5-km2 district is dominated by the colour brown.

Rainfall is sparse, the sun is extremely strong, and very little water is available. All together, these conditions create an extremely dry image for those who are unaccustomed to seeing such a view.

Heinrich Dengi, born and raised in East Sumba, is a resident of Kalu sub-village, Prailiu village, Kambera sub-district. He believes that this land is a “cursed land” from God. As children, he and his friends believed that the arid, barren and dry land—where it is extremely difficult to grow almost anything— is the exact opposite of “the land of hope”, full of fertile soil, green vegetation and fresh water.

“Almost all food stuffs were brought in from the outside. Vegetables were brought in from Ende, rice from Manggarai (Flores), and most of other foods from Java. During the extremely dry seasons, many people could not eat rice because there were none.

They would have to forage for iwi (a type of tuber) from the forests, which if not handled and cooked properly can be quite toxic,” said Heinrich at his home in Kalu (24/8/14).

A typical view of East Sumba.

Couple of young people of Mbatakapidu Village are cultivating the field.

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

Rice is the main staple of East Sumba people. In the past, corn and tubers were the main staple foods, which are high in nutrition and better suited for Sumba’s climate.

A sorghum field in Mbatakapidu Village (22/8/14).

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“Famine” in the News This dire condition was further exacerbated when reports of famine surfaced in many areas in East Nusa Tenggara in 2011.

Data from various studies concluded that East Nusa Tenggara was a “food insecure” province.

Moreover, East Sumba was one of “red areas” in the province, which means that famine was looming.

The discussion of food security, or even food sovereignty, is a very complicated one, especially in such a challenging landscape such as in East Sumba or most of East Nusa Tenggara province.

There are many factors in play here.

The dry conditions and shortage of water are often considered the root causes of the food production problem in the area.

Then there is the issue of culture.

Many people believe that most East Sumbanese are stock farmers who are not accustomed to working the land and food production. There is data that points to the low quality of human resources as indicated by the low levels of education, as well as poor nutrition and widespread poverty—all of which adds to the bleakness of the situation.

The youth are preparing the land for planting.

The general conditions of Mbatakapidu Village (22/8/14).

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

The issue is no less complex at the governmental level. Infrastructure construction, development programmes and budgeting are carried out using a cookie-cutter approach, which is not suitable for such a diverse country like Indonesia.

Since the 1980s, a lot of aid has poured into the province, including Sumba Island. Most of this aid has come from the national and local governments, donor countries and development programmes of international and national organisations. Most of these programmes were focused on agriculture, food, health, education, micro enterprises and infrastructure.

The variety of programmes and aid were channelled directly through governmental programmes or policies, starting from the province to the village, by way of working with local community organisations or direct implementation with the communities.

However, change does not happen overnight. Even a decade is not enough to create change by establishing a stronger foundation, as there many dynamics in play.

The Kambaniru dam in Malumbi Sub-village is the biggest dam in East Sumba. Built in 1992, this dam irrigates approximately 1,400 hectares of rice and other ‘palawija’ fields.

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

Change, nonetheless, has happened.

Community groups have made headway into improving their quality of life. Dry land is no longer viewed as a curse, but rather a new opportunity that is waiting to be cultivated and developed.

There is a new collaborative approach involving the provincial, district, sub-district and village governments as well as international, national and local organisations that addresses food security issues by fulfilling food needs at the household and village level. This programme, called the Food Self Reliance Village towards Prosperity (Desa Mandiri Pangan Menuju Sejahtera/DMPDS), involves creating a joint plan and guide to achieving food self-reliance, dividing roles for each institution and mobilising resources according to those roles in order to achieve the goal.

A contrast between wet and dry fields (above).

Harvesting crops in Mbatakapidu Village (22/8/14).

Nukulanja Mara, a farmer from Mbatakapidu Village (above left).

The Tapawallabadi group (bottom left).

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Jacob Tanda, the village head of Mbatakapidu, refuses to acknowledge that his village is included in the “famine” category, as reported in the news.

“The villagers do forage for iwi in the forest, especially when there is no rice or the crops have failed.

But this is because the community is not used to serious farming practices. They tend to rely on the seasons and their crops are monoculture, such as corn,” said Jacob in his office (22/8/14).

He added that during the 1960s and 1970s, the villagers were just fine if they were not able to eat rice, since the main staple back then were cassava, corn, and sorghum, all of which were grown in their own gardens.

Since he became village head in 2009, Jacob has affected a lot change from very simple steps.

He demonstrated to his village how to properly grow crops and mandated that the villagers grow at least ten different crops on their land (See: Visioner from Mbatakapidu).

What used to be a vast stretch of dry grass in Mbatakapidu has gradually been replaced with trees and an assortment of food crops.

Several women’s groups have worked diligently to cultivate the arid land and started a weaving enterprise in order to support their households and to ensure their children’s education by creating an education fund.

A variety of crops in the villagers’ garden.

Women’s group meeting in Mbatakapidu (23/8/14).

A field in Kalu Sub-village, Prailiu Village, Waingapu (right).

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

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The “Let’s Grow Organic” Broadcast Programme The farmer’s group in Kalu Sub-village, Prailiu Village, Kambera Sub-district, were delightfully surprised when they picked their first cabbage harvest.

This crop was largely due to a joint experiment done by the village and an agriculture activist from Bandung, West Java, Rahmat Adiguna.

“I was drawn to East Sumba by media reports that ‘famine’ was happening in this area,” said Rahmat, who arrived in 2012 and has since lived in Waingapu and supported various farmers’ groups.

“I do not believe that there is any land too arid to be cultivated. In fact, the vast land in East Sumba holds large potentials for agriculture,” he added.

The long-held belief that cabbage can only be grown in high lands and fertile soil was debunked using the right farming approach. It must start with using the right type of seeds that are well suited for the local natural conditions as well as using the right cultivation techniques.

A fly trap as an organic way of controlling bug infestation (above).

Cabbage and other crops in Kalu Sub-village, Prailiu Village, Waingapu (25/8/14).

Heinrich Dengi preparing for his broadcast in Kalu Sub-village, Prailiu Village (left).

Rahmat Adiguna (24/8/14).

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

“I became convinced that arid land could be cultivated to grow various vegetables that I previously thought could not be grown in East Sumba,” said Heinrich enthusiastically.

Heinrich Dengi, a radio broadcaster for Max FM, co-hosts a show called “Let’s Grow Organically” together with Rahmat every Sunday for two hours. The show has become medium for farmers in East Sumba to exchange information and experiences.

He has even joined in on the farming movement and is proud to announce that all of the crops in his garden are organic, indicating that none of the crops have been touched with chemicals. His childhood belief that the land is cursed has now slowly disappeared.

This article seeks to document the signs of change to achieve food security. It follows the connections and hints of change that are currently occurring and most likely will continue to unfold, beginning at the individual, group, village, and the district level at East Sumba.

Dang Alila, a member of the Tapawallabadi group, watering his plants (22/8/14) (above).

Cabbage in Kalu Sub-village, Prailiu Village, Waingapu.

The atmosphere at home and the Max FM radio station, in Kalu Sub-village, Prailiu Village, Waingapu. (bottom).

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Food Security a la Mbatakapidu Village The first impression from Mbatakapidu Village, Sub-district Waingapu City, East Sumba District is the dry and arid landscape. The rolling hills, which turn a golden brown colour during the long dry season, dominate the majority of this landscape.

Mbatakapidu Village, which has a total area of 28.2 km2, consists of five sub-villages, Kambara Waingapu, Kambara Maunjara, Kambara Laiborak, Kambara Tanalingu and Kambara Wundut. According to the 2013 census, there are 1,773 people in this village.

Despite the dry appearance, the village has quite a big water reserve.

Records indicate that there are at least 19 well-flowing water springs in the village, a resource that the water utility company has taken advantage of in order to pipe clean water to Waingapu.

A water bottling company, Aquamore, also set up shop in the village in 2003 to tap into this reserve.

The challenges of cultivating arid land in Mbatakapidu Village (22/8/14).

Jon is showing us one of the village’s river (bottom).

The irrigation channel in Mbatakapidu Village (right).

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

Carolina Konda Ngguna’s backyard in Mbatakapidu Village (22/8/14).

Furthermore, since it became the model for the Village for Food Self-Reliance towards Prosperity in 2009, Mbatakapidu Village has seen more visitors. Many food security and agriculture activists in East Sumba hail Mbatakapidu have a success story in food security in the region.

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Vetronela Karirimurni, Uncle Jon and Dang Alila at the Tapawallabadi group meeting (22/8/14).

Various types of food crops in the garden (above).

List of group members. Mbatakapidu Village (left).

Grow at least 10 Plants

“There are 3 women’s group out of the 27 existing farmer’s groups in Mbatakapidu village,” said Yohanes Pati Ndamung, a community facilitator from the Pahadang Manjoru Foundation. Yohanes, or often called “Uncle Jon” by the local community, has worked with the farmers since 2010.

The group is involved in various activities, such as growing food crops in the field and individual backyards. Some of the residents grow rice, whilst other women’s groups fill their backyards with other food crops such as chillies, cabbage, green onions, tubers, watercress, tomatoes, green beans, eggplants, taro, etc. Meanwhile, other residents choose to grow other types of trees, such as mahogany, sandalwood, agarwood, burdekin plum, and silk tree.

The Pahadang Manjoru Foundation was founded in Waingapu in 2001.In 2006 Uncle Jon began working there. Since its creation, the foundation has partnered with several international organisations such as VECO,UNICEF, KRKP, a national organisation and Oxfam’s partner. It has also joined a number of district programmes such as the SMART programme, implemented at the village level.

“Our village was not always like this. At one point in time, we had experienced a period of famine, which drove the residents to forage the forest for food, such as lwi,” explained Marlina Rambu Meha during a KWT Tapawallabadi meeting in Mbatakapidu village (22/8/14). This famine, she added, occurred sometime around 1997.

The current conditions are quite different from what it was back then. Since the new village head was elected in 2009, the villagers have started to grow their own gardens. “The village head announced a regulation requiring the villagers to grow at least 10 types of food crops in their gardens, so that they would have a sizeable supply of crops to harvest,” said Marlina.

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This village regulation stipulated that at least 25,000 km2 of land must be used to grow 10 types of food crops.

As a result, the community began to grow various types of food crops in their yards. According to Marlina, some of the yield is consumed by the families; some of it sold at the market, whilst the rest is kept as food reserves.

The village head’s movement in food security is actually in line with the East Sumba government’s movement, known as Hililuanya.

The name is an acronym of several words, Hili (taro), Luan (cassava), Litang (type of tuber) and Ganyu (Ganyong, a local tuber).

Furthermore, the Mbatakapidu village has also reactivated its food silo in order to build its food reserve in the village. These silos are activated at the village and household level. Community members are accustomed to the tree silo, where corn reserves are tied to tree branches. When the current corn supply is depleted, the ‘tree’ corn is then gradually used.

This method of storing reserved corn in trees is a traditional method of preventing the corn from rotting.

They also store reserved supplies of corn, sorghum, and rice on wooden posts on their home ceilings or even community centres.

Sorghum and corn are tied to a wooden post on a roof. (22/8/14).

Various crafts made by the women’s group of Mbatakapidu Village (23/8/14) Food stuffs (right).

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Processing Local Food A number of women’s group, such as the Mbatakapidu Village women’s group and the Tapawallabadi women’s farmers group/Kelompok Wanita Tani (KWT) have begun to process local food crops into a variety of snacks, such as chips, cookies, and muffins. In addition to processing food, these women are also active in producing woven cloths using natural dyes and an assortment of crafts from palm leaves. Even though they have not yet to reach the level of marketing of an established business, these groups have received several orders for meeting events at the village, churches, and government.

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The groups have also set up their own group savings, a lending system, a rotating fund, and an education fund. The groups worked with the NTT Bank to set up the education fund, in which members were prohibited from drawing from that account for an agreed period of time. According to the records of the Mbatakapidu women’s group, a total of 136 children have had an education fund since 2012 to the tune of IDR 86 million as of August 2014.

There are a number of newly built buildings in Mbatakapidu, such as a small hall, a community health clinic, a public rest room, the village head office, asphalt roads, and an irrigation channel.

These structures were constructed within the past five years.

“We are still making progress and there is much work to do.

For now, I am happy that the community members have started their own gardens and food reserve, and they are also able to start an education field. But in the future, I would like to see more development in all the sub-villages here,” said Jacob Tunda.*

The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

A woven cloth from Kampung Raja and remnants of cattle bones from a burial ceremony in Prailiu Village, Kambera Sub-district, Waingapu (24/8/14).

Dang Alila, a member of the Tapawallabadi group, is demonstrating how to weave cloth in Mbatakpidu Village (above right).

The settlement in Mbatakapidu Village. Seemed more shade than before (23/8/14).

Irrigation was built by the Department of Public Works of East Sumba district in Mbatakapidu Village (bottom).

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The Wonder Women of Tapawallabadi The women’s farmers group, Tapawallabadi, has entered its 14th year—quite an mature age for a group that has gone through many struggles. Established on 1 January 2000, the group started out with just four people, a number that was not easy to achieve.

At that time, it was very difficult for women to engage in activities outside of their homes. According to Marlina Rambu Meha, household work took up the majority of their time, especially since all of the chores had to be done manually. It would take all day just to tend to the sorghum field, a local food crop that once was the main staple.

Outside, engagement became even more difficult when the women were not permitted by their husbands to leave the house.

Marlina experienced this when she first established the group. Every offer made to her female neighbours to join the group was met with rejection. Rambu Marlina refused to give up. She was grateful when Carolina Konda Ngguna decided to join.

“She has many useful skills, like weaving, farming, and cooking. Her skills would be very beneficial for us, the women of the village,” said Marlina during a routine group meeting in Mbatakapidu (22/08/14). In fact, Carolina is the current head of the Tapawallabadi group.

Members of the Tapawallabadi group. Mbatakapidu Village (22/8/14).

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Since 1998, there have been many external programmes that have entered Sumba in general and Mbatakapidu Village in particular.

The villagers have seen plenty of programmes and activities implemented in its village.

However, it requires time for lasting change to occur.

With time, the village and the groups were touched by one programme after another. Marlina recalls a few of these organisations.

Carolina Konda Ngguna demonstrating how to create the Sumba ikat pattern. Mbatakapidu Village (left).

Marlina Rambu Meha.

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

There was the Tananua Foundation, Access, and World Vision Indonesia. Then between 2010 and 2013, there was also People’s Sovereignty for Food Security that collaborated with the Pahadang Manjao Foundation and funded by the Belgian donor agency and Veco Indonesia. These organisations offered a variety of programmes, such as economic empowerment, education, health, agriculture, and food issues.

“Although I only finished primary school, I like to learn new things. Whenever I hear of opportunities for trainings and capacity building, I always try to participate,” said Marlina.

Now there are 24 people in the group. Moreover, it is encouraging that the age range is varied, ranging from 20 to 65 years of age. The levels of education are also diverse; some have only completed primary education, whilst there are others who have a Bachelor’s degree. Some of the members are homemakers and farmers, whilst others are civil servants.

“You must be a resident of Mbatakapidu to be included in the group. We rotate the positions of administrators, so everyone has a chance to learn,” stated Carolina.

The group meets twice a month, on the seventh and the 21st of each month.

During this meeting, the group discusses routine activities, evaluation, rotating lottery and savings deposit.

Tapawallabadi group meets in Mbatakapidu Village (22/8/14).

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The Helping Hand Rotating Lottery The group came up with the idea of establishing an education fund by creating the “helping hand” savings and rotating lottery. Each member had to pay at least Rp 20,000.

As of August 2014, the group’s savings had reached Rp 60 million.

The money is kept at the NTT Bank and members have their own savings book. The bank has arranged a deal with the group, in that the members cannot draw money from the education fund for a certain period of time.

Not everyone has saved up for their children. Mbitunjola, for example, who is over 60 years old, is saving up for her grandchildren’s education.

“I want to see my grandchildren to be able to attend college, so that they don’t end up like me, only a primary school graduate,” she said in a local language that Marina translated. Her neighbour, who was able to finance their children’s education through college from the education savings, inspired Mbitunjola.

Dang Alila and Daembatri inspecting the members’ deposit books. Mbatakapidu Village (22/8/14).

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Dina Padulemba has a different story. She stated that she joined the group because she felt that the savings would be beneficial when her children got sick.

“When my children get sick, I have to go everywhere for a loan, but no one will give me one.

Finally, I contacted Rambu Marlina, who was able to provide me with a loan from the group,” she recalled.

Rambu is a title for women of noble blood. Dina received a loan from the group to the tune of Rp 2 million with a fairly light repayment rate.

Inspired by the spirit of the group’s collaborative efforts, Dina finally joined the group in August 2014 and served as a treasurer.

Vetronela Karirimurni helping to keep the records of the Tapawallabadi group’s savings (above and right) FRAMING

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Carolina Konda Ngguna is showing of her woven cloth. Mbatakapidu Village (22/8/14).

Diversity of Income The Women’s Farmers Group of Tapawallabadi are involved in various activities, such as farming, livestock, savings programme, and weaving traditional cloths.

The group uses natural dyes to colour their yarn, such as indigo for dark blue and noni fruits for red.

They also use synthetic dyes bought from the market.

The price of their woven cloths can range between Rp 350,000 to Rp 3 million, depending on the complexity of the motif.

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“The cloths that depict history are more expensive,” said Carolina, showing off her completed work.

She will only sell it when she finds a buyer who is willing to pay Rp 3 million for it. “It took me more than a year to complete it.

This cloth depicts a part of our history and should only be worn for a traditional event,” she added.

In terms of their food producing efforts, the members have grown bok choy, spinach, watercress, corn, chillies, and other types of vegetables. This is in line with the

village head’s wish for residents to grow at least ten different food crops on their land.

After the vegetables are harvested, most of them are used for the family, whilst the rest is shared with neighbours and sold to the market. Nurani for example, grows 500 chillies in her garden, which she picks twice a week, yielding between 10-20 kilograms. Chillies sell for between Rp 25,000 and Rp 35,000/kg, depending on the market price. Currently, Nurani is able to make between Rp 250,000 and Rp 350,000 for each harvest.

The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

“Most of my customers come to my home to buy the chillies. I rarely have to go to the market,” explained Nurani, who also never thought that she could make extra income from her chillies.

The prices of other types of produce vary.

For example, bok choy goes for Rp 40,000/ kg, whilst spinach is sold for Rp 60,000/kg.

Depending on the type of vegetable, a group member can get on average Rp 50,000 a day from selling their produce to their neighbours or other vendors.

The group members also learn how to make food products from the local plants found in their gardens or fields. Carolina learned how to bake pound cake from two types of flour, namely cassava flour and corn flour, both of which she made from her own crops.

When she initially served guests with her pound cake, she did not expect that she would also get an order of three pound cakes. “I priced each cake at Rp 75,000. Many of my customers like the ones made of cassava flour,” said Carolina gleefully.

Although the group appears to be strong and flourishing, Marlina—who is the co-founder and current advisor to the group—worries that one day the group will discontinue its activities. “We cannot rely on the aging members. How will the younger members learn and develop if they continue to depend on the older members to lead the group?” she said sternly. To address this concern, Marlina has asked each member to take turns in chairing the group’s regular meetings. On that day, it was Dina who was tasked with chairing the meeting.

The involvement of younger group members, like Nurani, Yuliana Takaji, Nalu Ana, Dina and Apriyanti, makes Marlina and Carolina very happy.

“I would like for more young women to join the group, so that they can take over the group and develop the village even further after we are gone,” said Marlina expectedly.

A vegetable patch in Mbatakapidu Village.

An assortment of the group’s products. Photo: Diella Dachlan.

The diligence of the Tapawallabadi women’s group has become well known beyond Sumba Island. In 2013, Marlina and Carolina represented the group to receive an award from the “She Can” Tupperware programme in Jakarta. They were also interviewed in a Metro TV programmed called Kick Andy Show and by reporters from Kompas.

Furthermore, Marlina was chosen as one of the Female Food Heroes of the Oxfam GROW campaign in 2013 alongside six other female food producers in Indonesia. The award was presented based on their roles in food production for their families in communities amid the social, economic, cultural and policy challenges they face (FFH, 2013).

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A Food Visioner from Mbatakapidu On the way into the office of the Mbatakapidu Village head, located in Waingapu City, East Sumba District, the hot sun and dry air were immediately replaced with a cool shade and nice breeze. Mahogany trees and other large trees, many of them between five and 14 years old, lined the path into the village, providing travellers with a nice shade. Also seen are rice fields fitted with irrigation channels that flow with clear water.

There are also rows of potted vegetable plants belonging to the villagers and a three-metre bougainvillea flower placed in the front yard of the office.

This idyllic landscape was not created overnight. Jacob Tanda had been dreaming about this for a very long time, long before he retired from his position at the East Sumba Regional Secretary office. His father had been the village head at Mbatakapidu and since 2009, he himself has taken over this position.

Food security is an important issue for Jacob. He realises that drought and famine are the two biggest challenges facing his village. Although not in the extreme form, famine is quite a big concern for Jacob.

Especially when he sees that his villagers tend to forage for food in the forests, whilst letting their fields grow wild and get eaten by the livestock.

Although the area is indeed dry, Jacob knows that there are 19 water springs in the area, which would be ideal for farming.

Jacob noticed that his villagers were comfortable with a relaxed lifestyle, leaving their fields to grow wild and relying on whatever food products were available. The community seemed to let fate decide on how they would fulfil their daily needs since there was no effort to improve their current condition through entrepreneurship endeavours. Jacob realised that if he wanted to develop his village, he would first need to develop the community. And so he began to realise his dream through one simple step: waking up his villagers in the morning. “Most people here are not awake at 7:00 am. So in the early days, I would walk around their homes, and pretend to cough in front of their houses, so that they would get up,� recalled Jacob.

He knew that it was not enough just to preach to his villagers.

So, he also went to the fields to work. He even helped his fellow villagers in their fields.

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Jacob Tanda and Margareth Takanjanji, married for 34 years and still working hard to create change in Mbatakapidu Village (23/8/14)

The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

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Food Planning a la Jacob Jacob’s plan was quite simple. He asked that each villager grow at least ten different vegetable plants in their gardens. They could grow whatever they wanted, ranging from vegetables, tubers, corn, sorghum, etc. He wanted the villagers to be able to harvest their crops within one to three months.

Furthermore, to ensure medium term food security, Jacob asked the residents to plant 50 banana plants. The reason this is that banana trees can constantly grow irrespective of season.

For longer-term investments, Jacob required the village to plant at least 1,000 trees that could be harvested in 10 to 15 year time.

These trees vary in type, ranging from local teak, silk trees, to mahogany trees. “If one mahogany tree can be sold for Rp 10 million, in 15 years we could make up to Rp 1 billion from 1,000 trees,” said Jacob.

In order to motivate the villagers to cultivate their land, Jacob established a collaboration system. Every day in the morning, each group member must work on their fellow group members’ field.

As an incentive, Jacob gave the group members one kilogram of government subsidised rice.

Together with this wife, Margareth—whom he married in the 1980s—Jacob developed a group-based business plan.

The main activity of the business was to make various woven handicrafts. Margareth, who is also a member of the Family Welfare Movement/Pembinaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga (PKK) group, has also initiated a group savings scheme for education, promoted vegetable gardens and local food processing activities.

Some examples of local processed foodstuffs include banana and cassava chips, cassava satay—a light snack, and cassava-based pound cake.

Said Abdullah also known as Ayip with Jacob Tanda (23/8/14).

Jacob Tanda’s award.

The newly built grain silo in Mbatakapidu Village.

Locally grown organic taro is the favourite afternoon snack.

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“Before 2009, the village did not have an education fund set up for the children. Now there are 136 children whose education funds have been ensured in the PKK group, with a balance of Rp 86.6 million,” said Carolina Konda Ngguna, a member of the Rinjung Pahamu group, during a PKK meeting in the village.

She shares the same name with the head of the women’s farmers group of Tapawallabadi Village.

The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

“Our previous cooking habits were just ordinary. But now that we have local food, we can make all kinds of dishes, baked goods, and snacks, such as chips. Even though we have yet to start selling them, I am just pleased that I can make different kinds of local food,” said Carolina.

Jacob’s efforts received much praise from various stakeholders.

He received an award from MNC awards, which was broadcasted on television. Media outlets such as Tempo and Kompas covered his story.

Mbatakapidu has continued to make progress, and Jacob is also eager to achieve more. He dreams that more of his villagers will become prosperous and be able to send their children to college. This is why his vision is clearly displayed on his office door “It is natural to be born poor, but not to die poor”. This saying underlines the belief that poverty is an option, because people can also choose to be prosperous.

A child helping with the rice harvest and harvesting atmosphere in Mbatakapidu Village (23/8/14).

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How Did Change Happen?

The Context of DMPDS Mbatakapidu Village has seen its share of outside programmes. In 1998, the village made it on the poor villages list as well as the list for villages receiving aid from a government programme, the Presidential Instruction for Less Developed Villages. Different types of programmes carried out by local, national and international organisations have been implemented in this village, making it a model village for the Food Self-Reliant Village towards Prosperity (or Desa Mandiri Pangan Menuju Sejahtera - DMPDS) programme.

DMPDS is a concept born from a multi-stakeholder process that began in 2008. The programme took advantage of momentum of the World Food Day to promote the 2008 NTT Food Summit, which in turn produced the 2008 Maumere Declaration and Joint Action plan. This declaration was followed up with initiating the DMPDS programme in three villages, namely Wureh Village in East Flores District, Femnasi Village in North Central Timor District, and Mbatakapidu Village in East Sumba District.

This village was selected based on several indicators and requirements. One of the main requirements included strong local government backing (district and village) and cost sharing amongst the government and donor agency.

A dry landscape in Mbatakapidu Village and crop fields (23/8/14).

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

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Many organisations were involved in the initial process, including Oxfam, who worked through the Prosperous Village Alliance/Aliansi Desa Sejahtera (ADS). This alliance consists of 15 partner organisations that were coordinated by the United Indonesian Joint Secretariat.

Oxfam’s involvement was focused on advocacy support to the alliance in realising this programme between 2009 and 2012, which was part of their Economic Justice campaign.

Implementation of the programme in Mbatakapidu village was carried out by the People’s Coalition for Food Sovereignty/Koalisi Rakyat untuk Kedaulatan Pangan (KRKP) in collaboration with a local partner, the Pahadang Manjaro Foundation.

The Foundation received funding from Veco Indonesia between 2011 and 2013.

The general landscape of East Sumba, particularly during the dry season.

Said Abdullah dan (left) and Samuel N.Muni, field extension workers from BP3K, showing how a simple rain gauge works at the BP3K office in Mbatakapidu Village (23/8/14).

Food reserves stored at Carolina Konda Ngguna’s home. Mbatakapidu Village.

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According to the DMPDS programme design, there are three stages to implementation, namely preparation, growth and development, and finally selfreliance. These three stages would need to be accomplished in three years’ time. During the first year of preparation, the organisations helped create and give structure to groups, create an initial survey, carry out programme socialisations, and establish the proper institutions in the village. These institutions included the Village Food Team (VFT) and the Village Financial Institution (VFI). Additionally, they also created developmentplanning documents for the village.

The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

The VFT group consists of representatives from the village government, community leaders, PKK members and seven household heads representing poor families.

The task of this group is to make a plan, starting from planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. The VFI, on the other hand, consisted of group representatives. These teams were confirmed by a Memorandum issued by the Head of the Food Security Agency in East Sumba District.

Members of both teams receive a monthly incentive of Rp 100,000, which is funded by the local budget (DMPDS, 2011).

During the second year, the growth and development phase focused on group empowerment and strengthening activities.

Additionally, the groups also built a food security system and developed the required facilities.

Finally, during the last phase, self-reliance, the groups focused on strengthening the existing activities as well as developed access to capital, production and markets.

Mung bean saplings grown in polybags in gardens, Mbatakapidu Village.

Growing food in such dry land like in East Sumba is quite a challenge.

Lukas Renda Malo, the Head of BP3K, Waingapu City, East Sumba District, pictured here in his office in Mbatakapidu Village (23/8/14).

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Mobilisation of Resources The DMPDS model which was implemented in Mbatakapidu was a result of a cost-sharing mechanism involving many stakeholders. Each of them contributed a part of their resources to the programme, according to the initial agreement and guide found in the Joint Action Plan that was created at the design phase.

Some of the funding came from the National Budget, which was channelled through the PNPM Mandiri programme and mainly used to construct health facilities, such as health clinics and toilets. Funding from the Regional Budget was provided through a capital fund channelled by the provincial government for the groups.

Local Government Working Units at the district level were also involved in the programme, such as the Department of Public Works, the Department of Agriculture, Food Crops and Horticulture, the Department of Education, and the Food Security Agency. Finally, a budget from the Village Budget was also available to the tune of between Rp 50 and Rp 110 million.

Food booth of the BP3K office, East Sumba District in Waingapu (22/8/14).

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Field extension workers from BP3KP and the Pahadang Manjoru Foundation facilitated Mbatakapidu. Since the office for BP3KP was also located in the village, it made it much easier for the extension workers to reach the village.

and World Bank were also involved. A national organisation called Kehati also carried out facilitation, such as teaching the local communities to use natural dyes, such as indigo and noni fruits to colour the yarn used in cloth weaving projects.

According to the DMPDS design, donor agency contributions are given directly to the groups, or through collaboration with national and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

For example, Veco Indonesia worked with KRKP and YPM, involving three farmers groups (Veco Indonesia, 2013).

Other donor agencies, such as UNICEF, ACCESS,

The community contributed their resources by saving up for the group’s capital as well as donating their labour and other materials for physical structures.

For example, when they built homes and the village head’s office, the community contributed local wood, nails, corrugated sheets and cash.

The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

The Roles of the Agents of Change Agents of change played worked on various levels during this programme. At the district government level, there was a strong commitment by the district head and his staff to play an active role in DMPDS. The district head, Gidion Mbiliyora issued a district head Regulation No. 130 year 2009 as a sign of his policy support for food diversification in the area. Local Working Units also incorporated the programme into their own programmes in order to support the DMPDS programme in Mbatakapidu Village.

Development Plan for the 2010-2015 period.

This Plan covers a variety of strategic issues, such as food requirements, health, agriculture improvements and village development.

The agriculture sector contributes to the local revenue as well as creates jobs for 66.37 percent of the population, amounting to 102,725 workers above the age of 15 years (2008 data, East Sumba District Mid-term Development Plan, 2010-2015).

Gidion believes that it was possible due to the DMPDS design which was in line and in support of the East Sumba government Mid-term

Facilitators, both from NGOs and BP3KP, are also important actors in this programme.

Their role is to serve on the front line of the programme,

translating the programme’s concepts into real activities that the community can engage in.

A very important aspect of the programme is community leadership. The village head’s work for the past five years has created a lot of change in the village. As the holder of formal leadership in the village, he is able to make policies important for development. What is interesting in this case is that when interviewed, villagers of Mbatakapidu stated that they became interested in participating in the programme after they saw that the village head worked alongside them in the field and teach them good farming practices.

In the groups, particularly the women’s groups, women like Marlina Rambu Meha and Carolina Tonda Ngguna have worked tirelessly to encourage other women to join the groups.

They have also asked women with college degrees, like Dina Padulemba and Apriyanti from the women’s farmers group in Tapawallabadi to join the group and become administrators.

These are quite extraordinary achievements, since culturally women in Mbatakapidu have spent most of their time and energy solely on household affairs.

Uncle Jon examining the rice grains from the crop harvest in Mbatakapidu Village (23/8/14).

He has facilitated this village since 2010.

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Was the DMPDS Programme a Success?

To answer this question, a series of in-depth evaluations will be needed to compare the different implementation of the DMPDS programme in three different locations.

According to the DMPDS design, there are a number of indicators that indicate the programme’s success, including the development of productive economic endeavours, functioning village institutions, availability of food and adequate food distribution, consumption of diversified, nutritious and safe food, increase of community incomes from both agriculture and non-agricultural activities, as well as functioning cross sectoral relationships.

At a glance, a few stakeholders we met stated that the DMPDS was indeed a success in Mbatakapidu Village.

However, a more detailed and in-depth study will need to be conducted to support this argument.

The next question is, is it possible to replicate this programme in other villages in East Sumba or other areas?

Which stage would need to be replicated? If one were ambitious enough to expand the positive changes such as that in Mbatakapidu Village, the government and the donor agencies would need to scale up the programme to increase the number of target locations.

Nonetheless, when considering replication and scaling up, there area various factors that need to be considered, such as adapting the programme to new areas, joint planning, commitments and agreements as well as clear programme phasing.

According to different stakeholders, starting from NGOs to communities, the DMDPS programme was quite successful in Mbatakapidu due to the following factors: (1) joint commitment; (2) good planning, conception and programme design; (3) a guide of programme design and indicators as a reference; (4) clear division of roles and coordination at each level (provincial to village); (5) resource mobilisation commensurate with the activities and objectives of the programme; (6) programme phasing, objectives and indicators; (7) establishment of implementing institutions and coordination at the village; (8) internal and external facilitators, from NGOs and the government, which allowed for information and knowledge exchanges; and (9) strong leadership at all levels, both at the government and the community members as agents of change.

A resident’s crop field in Mbtakapidu (left).

A contrast between dry fields and wet rice fields in Mbatakapidu. Although it appears dry, the village has 19 water springs and is the main source of fresh water in Waingapu (23/8/14).

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

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Joining Forces for Prosperous Villages ADS was involved in initiating the NTT Food Summit and conceptualising the Food Self-Reliant Villages towards Prosperous villages programme between 2009 and 2012.

Consisting of 15 partner organisations of Oxfam, ADS was formed to support advocacy efforts of Oxfam’s Economic Justice programme between 2009 and 2013. Members of the alliance appointed the Unified Indonesian Joint Secretariat/ Sekretariat Bersama Indonesia Bersatu (SBIB) to function a coordinator and secretariat.

Sumbanese horses in the Purukambera savannah, Ambapra Village, Waingapu (24/8/14).

Harvested grains in Mbatakapidu Village (22/8/14).

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The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

Food Issues to Unify the Alliance Tejo Wahyu Jatmiko, the coordinator of SBIB and ADS, provided an explanation for why they chose East Nusa Tenggara as their target location for advocacy programmes. “Organisations working in the region have observed that there seems to be a rotation of famine in the province.

Every year, there is always at least an area within the province hit with a food crisis and hunger crisis. Therefore, we have a strong justification to advocate for food issues in this province,” he explained in his office (8/8/14).

Food issues have become a sort of catalyst for members of the alliance. In order to make their work more effective, ADS created three working groups. The first working group, focusing on food issues, consists of KRKP, Bina Desa, Kehati, and Solidaritas Perempuan.

This group is coordinated by SBIB.

The second working group focuses on palm oil, consisting of Sawit Watch, Walhi, LBBI Kalimantan Barat, KPS Sumut and Solidaritas Perempuan.

This group is coordinated by Sawit Watch. Finally, focusing on fisheries are KIARa, Bina Desa, JPKP, and Jala Sumut, coordinated by Kiara. There are currently seven members active within ADS, including KRKP, Bina Desa, Kehati and SBIB. In advocating for food issues, ADS worked with various stakeholders, including the provincial government, which culminated in the NTT Food Summit in 2008. Tejo admitted that he was pleasantly surprised when the provincial government, the Food Security Agency, contacted ADS immediately after the event.

Newly constructed irrigation channels in Mbatakapidu Village. Ever since this village became a part of DMPSDS, the local government has directed more cross-sectoral development programmes to this village. (23/8/14).

“They asked us to follow up the Food Summit and the Maumere declaration with a more concrete programme,” he recalled.

After several meetings, the stakeholders created the DMPDS programme, as well as established the criteria for determining locations, resources, roles and programme indicators.

Through its Economic Justice programme, Oxfam continued to provide support to ADS activities, such as advocacy and facilitating meetings with different stakeholders in the province that laid the groundwork for the DMPDS programme.

Tejo added that in order to keep the programmes running smoothly, some ADS organisations that were involved in this initiative volunteered their own resources, especially when there was a staff turnover in Oxfam, which slowed down the administrative processes.

Harvest crops, such as corn, are stored as food reserves by hanging them to avoid from rotting.

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The Remnants of the Alliance in East Sumba It has been six years since the DMPDS programme was conceptualised and rolled out, but it has not been easy to trace the level of involvement of ADS at the district level, let alone at the village level, such as in Mbatakapidu.

The reason behind this is that there was a period of six years between the inception of the idea and the formulation of the programme design at the provincial level. ADS is an alliance of 15 partner organisations of Oxfam, which under the context of the DMPDS programme was part of the Economic Justice advocacy programme.

Other factors include that ADS’ involvement happened mainly at the policy level, working with governments and other stakeholders focusing on conceptualising the programme. Further, the programme was not designed for ADS to get involved in implementation at the village level.

“Oxfam, through ADS, was mainly involved in the 2009-2012 NTT Food Summit by holding various workshops, seminars, and exhibitions. In other words, ADS and Oxfam were recognised more at the provincial level, whilst in the field, communities are more familiar with Veco Indonesia, KRKP and YPM due to their work in the village,” explained Said Abdullah, the KRKP Networking and Advocacy Manager in Waingapu (21/8/14).

According to Ayip—Said Abdullah’s nickname— Oxfam could play a bigger role if it were also involved in implementation at the village level.

This would complement their advocacy efforts.

KRKP was founded in 2000 with a focus on food security and sovereignty. Although it is part of ADS, KRKP partnered with Veco Indonesia and YPM during the DMPDS implementation in Mbatakapidu Village.

Said Abdullah, the KRKP Networking and Advocacy Manager.

With the Tapawallabadi group in Mbatakapidu (22/8/14).

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“Without Oxfam’s support through ADS, I think it would have been quite difficult to accomplish all of our current achievements in DMPDS,” said Tejo.

This was largely due to Oxfam’s advocacy support to ADS during the conceptualisation process and other advocacy efforts.

Jacob Tanda, village head of Mbatakapidu, admitted that he was not very familiar with Oxfam.

“But I do know Tejo and ADS, they have visited our village. In June, they brought with them a visitor from Sulawesi, who stayed with us and held a discussion session with the community,” said Jacob.

The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

DMPDS Implementation in Mbatakapidu The target demographic of the DMPDS programme are farmer families, both men and women.

The total number of beneficiaries was 4,500 families, in which 450 of whom were women.

DMPDS was implemented in three villages, namely Wureh in East Flores District, Femnasi Village in North Central Timor District, and Mbatakapidu Village, in East Sumba District.

Activities implemented in the 2011-2013 period include: 1. Facilitation and capacity building of target groups, farmers groups, women’s farmers groups, silos, savings groups, food village teams; 2. Review and organization of climate change adaptive farming systems; 3. Development of climate change adaptive seeds; 4. Creation of advocacy platform with national civil society organisations; 5. Lobby and coordination with regional government bodies (provinvical and district); 6. Workshops on DMPDS implementation and village development programmes; 7. Drafting of annual activities plan with target groups; 8. Capacity building of target groups in developing a community silo; 9. Action research on climate change adaptive cultivation systems; and 10. World Food Day celebration.

Source: KRKP, 2013.

With the support of Veco Indonesia, KRKP and YPM carried out a programme that they named Food Sovereignty and Sustainable Development of Community Food.

The programme, which ran from 2011 to 2013, was designed specifically to support the DMPDS programme in the village.

There were 150 direct beneficiaries— all of whom were women—who participated in this programme in Mbatakapidu village.

The objective of this programme was to provide institutional capacity building and support the decision-making processes in the community, private sector, and government, both at the village and district levels. It was envisaged that this programme would influence local and national government policies in order to achieve a favourable environment for food sovereignty and strengthen farmers’ organisational capacity.

Various activities were carried out during the programme, including facilitation and capacity building for target groups, re-activation of village silos (both physical silos as well as food storage systems in the homes and in the community), establishment of advocacy links through networking with national civil societies, as well as support for World Food Day celebrations.

Ayip stated that one of the challenges they faced in implementing the DMPDS programme included leadership turnover, particularly at the local government, which resulted in the slow uptake of the DMPDS programme.

Furthermore, Ayip worries about the sustainability of the activities in the village and district levels after the project has ended.

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Joining Forces Speaking from a governmental point of view, Ir. Ida Bagus Puru Punia, Head of the Food Crop and Horticulture section of the Agriculture department in East Sumba (23/8/14), stated that institutional branding for a collaborative programme such as DMPDS should not be a priority.

“The strengths and uniqueness of this DMPDS model is that it is a true collaboration between international and national NGOs with the government. We all played a role and contributed our resources to achieve the common goal. Since everyone played an active role, I personally believe that the organisational brands of each institution should not be a priority,” stated Ida Bagus. “The NGOs and the government are both puller and pushers. If there is only one of them, there is no longer a balance of power towards achieving the common goal,” he added.

Furthermore, he also stated that more work should be done to promote food sovereignty, and not just settle for food security.

“When there is food sovereignty, communities are empowered.

With food security, the main objective is trying to fulfil the food production quota and when the quota falls short, the community must import their food from outside.

Communities should be able to fulfil their food requirements through empowering themselves with local food,” said Ida Bagus. Moreover, 48

“Without this DMPDS model, I don’t think that Mbatakapidu village would be as well-known as it is now. With this network, we are able to exchange information and work towards a common goal,” said Lukas. he also added that in order to achieve food sovereignty, it would require a lot more resources and energy, as well as sound concepts and adequate amounts of funding.

He also emphasised that one of the strengths of NGOs is their facilitation skill. He stated that government facilitators still need to improve their capacities in this regard.

Moreover, networks and linkages are also strengths of the DMPDS model, as stated by Lukas Renda Malo, Head of the BP3K office in his office in Waingapu (23/8/14).

“I think that this is a very positive model, because I’ve seen that the community has expanded their farming land.

Previously, they were content with their situation, in that they were not maximising their farming land potentials,” he added.

Lukas Renda Malodengan proudly displays his dragon fruit in the yard of this office. To motivate the local community, Lukas and his staff set an example by planting various food crops in the front lawn of the BP3K office.

Ir. Ida Bagus Puru Punia was involved in the conception of DMPDS between 2008 and 2009 when he was the head of the Food Security Agency.

The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Sumba

Policy Support “The focus for the 2010-2015 Mid-Term Development Plan includes improving household economics, improving human resources, and increasing community participation,” said the Head of East Sumba District, Drs. Gidion Mbiliyora, MSi, at his home in Waingapu (23/8/14).

In order to bolster local food policies, he issued a District Head Regulation no. 130 year 2009 that regulates local food diversification. Under this regulation, one person should have at least 25 acres of land and plant a variety of local food crops. Other programmes under his office included the SMART programme (Sejahtera, Mandiri, Adil, Relijius, dan Terdepan), which in English translate into Prosperous, Self-reliant, Just, Religious, and Progressive, for which he provided up to Rp 25 million to the village budget.

“The implementation will rely highly on the village heads, so the results may not be the same from one village to the next. We hope that this will help fulfil the food requirements at the household and village levels. We hope that families will consume not only rice, but also incorporate corn, tubers and other legumes in their diets,” Gidion added.

As part of his office’s commitment to support local farming and food, the district head assigned BP4KP as a Local Working Unit so that it may have proper budgets to implement the programme.

At the sub-district level, the corresponding office is called the BP3K. “In my opinion, the role of the facilitator is very important in developing farming. Therefore, these facilitators should intensify their support to the farmers in cultivating their land,” said Gidion.

He also stated that NGOs should play an active role in local development. “We have always involved NGOs in the Development Deliberations processes at the village, sub-district and district levels.

That is why I hope that NGOs could refer to this process when designing their programmes.

Their strengths lie in community facilitation and empowerment, which has been a positive contribution to the regional development,” he added.

the Head of East Sumba District, Drs. Gidion Mbiliyora, MSi, (23/8/14).

Sunset in Ambaprai Village, Sumba Island (24/8/14).

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Casting Hope

along the West Coast of Pangkajene Islands

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Casting Hope

along the West Coast of Pangkajene Islands

Table of Contents About Hope along the Coast

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Overview of Pangkajene Islands District: The District of a Hundred Islands

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About the RCL Programme

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“Welcome to Our Organic Garden”

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The Pita Aksi Group in Action

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Sukri: “Organic Produces Creativity”

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Casting Hope from Seaweed and Nets

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After Oxfam is Done Working Here…

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The Business Potentials of Pangkep Coasts

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About Hope along the Coast When it comes to coastal data, there are two options available to us: there are pleasant data and there are bleak data.

Pleasant data features the rich potential of Indonesia’s marine diversity. In monetary values, this translates into a billion, or even a trillion, Rupiahs. This wealth of marine resources has not been fully exploited and capitalised on.

On the other hand, the bleak data calls attention to the lives of the coastal communities, which are often associated with poverty and lack of welfare services. Most of these communities depend on the sea as a source of livelihood, and just like the ebb and flow of the sea, so are their lives.

When the season is bad, there are no fish to be caught.

Even those who decide to start a fish farm often face hardships.

Amid the hardship, there is always hope.

Despite the adversity, however, signs of change have begun to emerge as demonstrated by community groups along the west coast of Pangkajene Kepulauan district, in the province of South Sulawesi. These vary from community gardens that revive agriculture land that has been dormant for decades to braving the waves to plant seaweed seedlings.

Tenacity is what is required to create change. These are their hope-inspiring stories‌

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Casting Hope along the West Coast of Pangkajene Islands

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Overview of Pangkajene Islands District: The District of a Hundred Islands The district of Pangkajene Islands (or Kepulauan), often abbreviated as Pangkep, is one of 21 districts and 3 cities in the province of South Sulawesi.

Geographically, Pangkep district is unique in that it resembles a miniature Indonesia.

A total of 117 islets form an archipelago under the administrative region of Pangkep district. Of those, only 70 islets are inhabited.

(Map: Department of Science and Mathematics, Hasanuddin University)

Records show that as of 2012, there are 325,239 residents in the district (Bappeda, 2012).

Out of its 13 sub-districts, four of them are located on islands, namely Liukang Tupabbiring, Liukang Tupabbiring Utara, Liukang Kalmas, and Liukang Tangaya Sub-districts. Meanwhile, the other sub-districts located on the mainland are Pangkajene, Bungoro, Labakkang, Ma’rang, Segeri, Mandalle, Minasatene, Balocci, and Tondong Tallasa Sub-districts. A 2011 report from the office for Marine and Fisheries of Pangkep District states that the total marine area of the district is 11,464.44 km, whilst the area of the smallest island measures at 35,150 hectares and a coastline of 240 km. Furthermore, it also reported that the total area of coral reefs is 36,000 hectares.

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About the RCL Programme Beginning in February 2010, Oxfam in Indonesia has implemented the Restoring Coastal Livelihood (RCL) programme in South Sulawesi with two local partners, the Foundation for Marine Conservation (Yayasan Konservasi Laut) and the Mangrove Action Project. This was initiated by Oxfam Canada and was supported by DFATD Canada.

This programme, ending in August 2015, focuses on efforts to develop coastal areas. The RCL programme is engaged in various activities, such as improving communities’ welfare through diversification of businesses to promote entrepreneurship and improving the household economy.

Additionally, the programme also engages with various stakeholders to strengthen community institutions and improve local participation to be more gender responsive.

The RCL programme, amongst others, is engaged in a 400-hectare restoration activity of mangrove areas, including 1,600 hectares of coastal area that supports the lives and livelihoods of the local communities. Additionally,

the programme also helps develop the local economy through a variety of agriculture and fisheries activities, strengthening local decision-making processes and capacity building.

The RCL programme has involved the participation of 74 groups with 1,318 beneficiaries from 13 sub-districts in four districts along the western coast of South Sulawesi Province, namely Maros, Barru, Takalar, and Pangkajane Islands (Pangkep) Districts. In its implementation, Oxfam has also worked with the local government such as the Regional Body for Planning and Development, Industry, Trade and Cooperative Agency, as well as Marine and Fishery Agency.

(Source: Restoring Coastal Livelihood, www.rcl.or.id)

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The Restoring Coastal Livelihood (RCL) Programme in Sulawesi Selatan February 2010 - February 2015

4

districts

13

sub-districts

36

villages

61

sub-villages

74

The RCL programme is located in South Sulawesi Source: RCL Data

groups

1359

beneficiaries

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“Welcome to Our Organic Garden” “Welcome to our organic garden,” greeted Suruga.

With a wide, proud smile, she led us into the garden of the Talaswati group. Suruga is a member of this group, which is located in Kasuarang Subvillage, Tamangapa Village, Ma’rang Sub-district, Pange District. It is one of several groups that the RCL group facilitates. Suruga and 12 other group members enthusiastically showed us their group garden located by the side of the village road.

“Before, we had to buy our vegetables at the market. But now that we have a garden, we can get our vegetables for free from our own backyards or the group garden,” said Suruga.

This 20 x 50 metre garden holds many different types of plants, such as watercress, bok choy, green beans, eggplants and chillies. It also holds some banana and papaya tress.

The group uses organic fertilisers for all of the plants, which they get either from within the group or other groups in neighbouring villages.

“You can really taste a difference in flavour of organic vegetables compared to those using chemical fertilisers. The organic ones taste sweeter and last longer,” promoted Suruga.

The Talaswati Group is one of many groups facilitated by the Restoring Coastal Livelihood Program of Oxfam and Mangrove Action Plan (MAP), formed in 2011. The group chose the name Talaswati due to the abundance of talas, or taro, plants in the village.

The suffix –wati indicates a feminine nuance, due to the 23 female members of the group.

“Although we each have our own gardens to tend to at home, there is always at least one group member who comes to here to water, care for, or pick vegetables from the garden,” explained Nurjaya, the head Talaswati group. They have also now created a nursery near the garden.

During our visit that day, we saw remnants of 62

small 250 ml cups that were used to grow mung beans seedlings. “Group members needing seedlings can come to our nursery,” said Nurjaya.

Additionally, the Talaswati Group has also built a catfish pond in the garden. “We have just started out with a small fish pond. It is built from tarp and bamboo and we feed them vegetables or food scraps, so it’s still all organic,” explained Nurjaya.

Since he went organic, Suruga stated that he no longer “sprays with impunity” anything that looks like a pest, such as caterpillars. “There are certain Suruga shows the nursery of the Talaswati group in Tamangapa village.

Members of the Talaswati group in their garden (19/8/14).

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seasons when pests descend on crops. I use a vegetablebased solution that I created on my own to get rid of the pests, or sometimes I just leave them alone until they go away,� said Suruga. He added that he learned how to make these vegetables-based pest solutions from the field school.*

Organic chillies and tomatoes from the group garden Talaswati’s catfish pond.

Tamangapa village (19/8/14).

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Production, Access and Marketing Suruga added that the organic vegetables are usually consumed by the family, the group and their neighbours, whilst the rest is sold at the market.

“We sell our vegetables to the Pa’gandengs, or the mobile produce vendors. Sometimes, there are people who come to the village to pick up the produce and sell them at the Bonco-Bonco market, located at about 4 kilometres away,” she added.

“Visitors to the group also often leave with some of our vegetables in hand,” said Suruga, as she offered some produce to Fatma Hutagalung, an Oxfam staff. Her offer ended in success as Fatma agreed to buy some vegetables, which then prompted the Talaswati members to pick an assortment of vegetables from the garden. “And as a bonus, we will thrown in some super-sweet organic papaya for you,” she added as he put two papayas in the bag.

There is quite a diversity in the type and price of the group’s produce harvest. For example, bok choy crops may yield 5 kilograms in one harvest and sold for Rp 8,000/kg. On the other hand, water cress is typically sold for Rp 1,500/ bunch or Rp 5,000/kg. String beans are sold for Rp 1,000/bunch.

The Talaswati group, along with other groups, such as Pita Aksi in Kampung Baru Sub-village, has also supplied their organic produce to the Gelael supermarket in Makassar city.

This access was possible thanks to the Organic Farmer’s Forum/Forum Pelaku Tani Organik (FPTO) as well as other farmer forums established out of the RCL field school alumnae.

Sylvia Sjam, a faculty member at the College for Agriculture in Hasanuddin University, Makassar, who has been quite active in the Asyta organic Nawiah, a member of the Talaswati group. (18/8/14) Rohani and Siti Nursiah are picking organic chillies from the group garden to be sold at the market. Tamangapa Village (19/8/14) 64

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produce enterprise, also played a role in supporting the group’s access to markets.

Soni Kusnito, an RCL facilitator, explains that together with the groups and the Farmer’s Forum, he has been able to open new channels for marketing organic produce and compost. However, he stated that they have encountered challenges in balancing between production, demand and access to transportation.

Sometimes there is an excess of supply that cannot be absorbed, whilst other times the demand is too high that the supply side cannot keep up.

Additionally, the distance between the gardens and the markets can be too wide that transportation costs become an issue.

Soni stated that they are also currently approaching a partnership with a restaurant in Pangkep district to work out an alternative marketing channel. “The restaurant has confirmed that they would require a number of vegetables such as 10 kilograms each of water cress and bok choy.

We would discuss the technical details with the groups,” explained Soni, while showing the text message on his cell phone that he received from the restaurant (19/8/14).

Another member of the Talaswati group, Nawiah, expressed how much she enjoyed being in the group.

“Before, all we did was focus on household chores and only once or twice help weave a net or help with the duck farm.

When I get together with my neighbours, it is only to chat.

Now we are able to grow our own gardens and take care of the group garden. We can eat vegetables every day and not have to buy them. In fact, we are even able to sell them!” she exclaimed.

On the other hand, direct sales to the mobile produce vendors, or the Pa’gandengs, who come directly to the groups, is one of the best marketing alternatives that is currently available to the groups.

The downside to this method is that these vendors are only purchasing a limited amount of produce.

The volume of rural sales of organic produce has yet been able to match that of urban sales in the traditional markets and supermarkets.

Meanwhile, the cost for access to markets in the big cities is not comparable to the production cost.

As such, marketing and production costs continue to be a struggle and source of contemplation for the facilitator and the groups.

Hasri, a mobile produce vendor, or Pa’gandeng, often purchases the organic produce from groups in Pitusunggu and Tamangapa Villages (18/8/14).

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The Pita Aksi Group in Action For Sitti Rahmah, a villager of Kampung Baru Sub-village, Pitusunggu Village, growing crops and farming is nothing new.

Sitti Rahmah and the 24 members of the Pita Aksi group live about 1 kilometre from the Talaswati group in Kasuruang Sub-village.

Pita Aksi, which is actually an abbreviation of “Pitu Sunggu Beraksi”, was established in 2010.

“Ever since I joined Oxfam’s and the Mangrove Action Plan’s field school, I stopped using chemical fertiliser for my farming activities. Now I use all natural ingredients for my crops, which I make myself.

We are now able to create our own compost and local microorganisms,” said Sitti Rahmah, the head of the Pita Aksi group. The compost is made from hay, banana tree stalks and cow dung. Meanwhile for the local microorganisms, they use a mixture of rice water,

The Pita Aksi group demonstrates how they make compost fertiliser. Pitusunggu Village (18/8/14).

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coconut water, yeast and fruit peelings, such as bananas and mangoes. The mixture must sit for around 15-45 days in a barrel before mixing it with the compost, but can also be used directly on the crops.

“We sell this organic fertiliser for Rp 1,500/kg to the public, but give our own members a cheaper price, Rp 1,000.

In fact, if they only require just a little bit, they can take it for free,” said Sairah, another member of the Pita Aksi

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group. The RCL programme placed the processing tools in Sitti’s house as the head of the group. A day does not pass without a member of the group stopping by her house to pick up some compost, work on the compost pile or just picking up some seeds and chat with her.

On average, each group member owns a piece of farming land and a fish pond, which means that they are able to use this compost for their farming needs. For example, Muhamad Arif, Mrs. Rahmah’s husband, owns about half a hectare of farming land and a small milkfish pond.

“I use the compost for my field, usually around five 50-kg bags.

Additionally, I also use the fertiliser for my milkfish pond,” he explained.

He further added that 1 kilogram of milkfish, or approximately four medium-sized fishes, can be sold at Rp 15,000. Every time they harvest the fish, usually every 8 months, the couple can make up to Rp 3 million.

Sitti Rahmah, the head of the Pita Aksi group, receiving an award from Oxfam as the 2013 Female Food Hero.

A local microorganism mixture.

Pitusunggu Village (18/8/14).

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Reviving Dormant Land The Pita Aksi group has a reason to be proud.

After attending the RCL Field School in 2010 and forming the group a year later, the women started an initiative to revive the dormant land in their village.

Their plans to revive an unproductive land that had been the site of a shrimp farm and dormant for the past 20 years were laughed at by the other villagers.

“The soil is so alkaline.

How can it ever be used for farming?” Muh. Arif said, parroting his neighbours’ comments at the time.

This land was initially a rice field, and then was converted into a shrimp farm between 1997 and 1998, due to the spike in shrimp prices that reached Rp 100,000/kg.

However, after a drop in prices, the shrimp farm was abandoned by the owner for 20 years.

Muh. Arif showing this organic field after attending the field school in 2011.

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Since the beginning, Arif has been actively involved in Pita Aksi’s activities. Although the Pita Aksi group is officially a women’s group, its presence in the village has resulted in the gradual involvement of men, most of whom are the husbands of 25-members of the group.

“The men help us with heavy tasks, such as ploughing the land and transporting the fertilisers, whilst the women help out with

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planting the seeds, applying the fertiliser, maintaining the crops and harvesting the crops,” said Sitti Rahmah. Furthermore, she added, despite their separate roles in the village, men and women work together to support each other.

“Sometimes I help cook the meals when Mrs. Rahmah is out of the house, although not too often,” explained Muh. Arif.

At the Field School, Sitti Rahmah and the other members of Pita Aksi learned how to plant rice on soil with high levels of salt, sow the seeds, make organic fertiliser from local materials and make plantbased organic pesticides.

As a result, the group began to work on this 8-hectare dormant land, starting with the first hectare.

They worked together with the men in the village, many of whom were their own husbands. When their first crop turned out well, the group become even more motivated to continue to work on the land.

The local government provided some hand tractors to help with ploughing work.

There is a local ceremony called Mapalili, which occurs at the start of the rice planting season.

This ceremony is held to wish the farmers a good planting season before they leave for the field.

It is typically held in the sub-district and districts in December.

Sitti Rahmah’s house used as a base camp for the Pita Aksi group (above and centre).

Mr. Arif together with the members of Pita Aksi.

Pitusunggu Village (18/8/14).

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Backyard Vegetable Garden The Pita Aksi’s activities were not limited to reviving dormant land in their village. Almost all of the members have a small plot of land of 700 square metres in their backyard, which they’ve turned into a vegetable garden.

In these gardens you would find bok choy, cabbage, eggplants, chillies, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, green beans and string beans.

Various seedlings and saplings in the garden.

Organic green onions growing in the Pita Aksi garden. Pitusunggu Village (18/8/14).

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“Once the seedlings are planted, all I need to do is work on the garden for one or two hours a day, water the plants and give them some fertiliser,” said Sahriyah, a member of Pita Aksi.

Crops from the garden are either harvested for consumption by the members themselves or sold to the Pa’gandengs.

The prices vary for different types of vegetables. For example, bok choy can be sold for Rp 2,000/bunch, whilst water cress is sold between Rp 1,500 and Rp 2,000/bunch. Similarly, string beans are also priced at Rp 1,000/bunch, whilst eggplants

are sold for Rp 1,000 each.

Each month, the group members typically make between Rp 100,000 and Rp 200,000 from the sales.

“If we start supplying for supermarkets in Makassar, the vegetables would not be priced in bunches, but rather in grams, such as 250 grams,” explained Sitti Rahmah. Her husband, Arif, would oftentimes transport the groups’ produce to Makassar. One time, the group made Rp 250,000 from their sales to Makassar.

Generally the group makes

two drops in a week to Makassar, but as of August this has not been continued.

According to Sitti Rahmah, the price of organic produce is higher in the city. She also heard about “organic” certification for products such as vegetables and rice. However, this certification is also quite expensive, which could cost up to Rp 30 million.

Because of that, the group decided to focus its efforts to sell their produce to the local markets, the Pa’gandengs and explore alternative other channels, such as partnering with restaurants.

Vegetables ready to be harvested in Pitusunggu Village (18/8/14)

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Achieving Self-reliance The Pita Aksi group has also received support by local field extension workers from the Agency for Food Security, such as Ahmad Sabara, who visits the group on a regular basis. “Since Pita Aksi has made quite a lot of progress, I am now devoting more time to other villages. There is limited availability of field extension workers for these other villages,” he explained.

Due to this shortage of field extension workers, he has also had to serve as an extension worker for fisheries. “Even though my background is in agriculture, I have had to learn more about fisheries to support the fisher folk,” he added.

In addition to the field extension 72

workers, RCL facilitators such as Karel, Munir, and Soni have visited the villages that are part of the programme.

“We would like to see more extension workers visit our village more regularly so that we can increase our production volume,” said Sitti Rahmah. Sitti and her husband Arif have been able to make Rp 500,000 to Rp 700,000 a month from selling their vegetables.

They also have two children who are currently in university in Makassar.

Ahmad Sabara, local field extension workers and members of Pita Aksi.

Pitusunggu Village (18/8/14)

According to Sariah, Sitti Rahmah’s garden has the most plants and biggest variety. Walking through her 800 metre (8 ares) garden felt like walking through a produce market with vegetables ready to be picked.

“Mrs. Rahmah is very diligent in maintaining her plants.

She also has a large plot and many plants,” complimented Sairah, a member of Pita Aksi.

“This makes me want to be more diligent like her,” she added.

Muh. Arif in front of his home. For the past four years, he has maintained an organic garden in his yard. (right) (18/8/14).

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According to members of Pita Aksi, not only has growing their own organic vegetables made a positive impact on their health, they have also received additional income from selling the produce to the market.

“Nowadays I do not have to ask my husband for money if I need to buy new clothes, since I can afford it myself,” said Rosmawati proudly.

In addition to the benefits of her garden, Sitti Rahmah also received an award for Female Food Heroes in March 2013. This award was given by Oxfam in Indonesia to women who are actively engaged in promoting food security in their communities. This was part of the GROW1 campaign, Oxfam’s global campaign in Southeast Asia.

A mix of joy and pride was how Sitti Rahmah felt when she received the award. Moreover, she has also been invited by different offices at the district level such as the Department of Agriculture and the Agency for Food Security as a facilitator and speaker at various events.

“Other Oxfam and MAP groups, such as those in Pitue village, also visit us to learn from our experience,” she added. In fact, she said, farmers from other village have also visited her at her home to learn how to grow organic vegetables or simply to admire her garden. “I am happy to share my knowledge with other people,” said Sitti Rahmah excitedly.

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Currently, nearly 1 in 8 people regularly go hungry. The GROW campaign is about transforming our broken food system so that it works for everyone. (www.oxfam.org) FRAMING

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Inspiration for Neighbouring Villages Haji Bahtiar is the neighbour from the next village that Sitti Rahmah was referring to. When the Pita Aksi group began to form in 2010, Bahtiar, a villager of Pitue sub-village, Pitue village, attended the group meetings and even joined some sessions at the Field School.

“I came even though I was not a member of the group or even invited. I was interested because the information was good and I could use it to grow organic vegetables in my own garden, such as organic tomatoes,” said Bahtiar, who also owns a fish pond (18/8/14). Since then, he has dreamed that one day his wife, Odah and other women in his village could one day be like Sitti Rahmah and the Pita Aksi group. His wish came true when in 2014 the Mutiara Desa group was formed.

This group has 23 members and is headed by Odah. The group has an organic vegetable garden and also makes organic fertiliser.

“We set up a weekly schedule for making the organic fertiliser.

The working hours for each member are different; some of them work in the morning, whilst others work in the afternoon, depending on when they finish their household work,” explained Odah shyly. She admits that after being more involved in group activities, she has become more confident in public.

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Fatimah feels the same way.

“The women here are used to just taking care of their husbands and children.

And when they get together with other women, they sit around combing for ticks.

But now things are different, since they can tend to their gardens and make fertiliser.

We still like to tick-comb when we have spare time, though,” explained Fatimah, as the rest of the group chuckled.

Bahtiar and other men in the sub-village also pitches in with the group work, especially for tasks such as carrying the raw materials for the fertiliser, cranking up the machines, and setting up the beds before planting season.

In making organic fertilisers, the group already has a grinding machine that was donated by the RCL programme. It pleases Bahtiar that the Department of Agriculture has also ordered 1.5 tonnes of fertiliser from the group at a rate of Rp 750/kg.

“There is a big need for fertiliser in this area, because most of the residents here are rice farmers who have their own fields.

In the future, I would like to focus more on making the organic fertiliser for them,” said Bahtiar.

H. Bahtiar, who inspired the founding the Pita Aksi group. Pitue Village (18/8/14).

Members of the Mutiara Desa group (bottom).

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Vegetable Central The head of Pitue Village, Amrullah, who has been at this position since 2010, would like to see organic gardens modelled after the RCL programme to be implemented in other sub-villages. Pitue Village currently has four sub-villages, namely Dusunge, Jenae, Sabange and Pitue.

“Since Oxfam starting working in this village, we started to have our own vegetables. The women only need to go into their yards and pick their own produce, all which are organic.

I hope that the residents here can become healthy as well as get some extra income,” said Amrullah at his home (18/8/14). “I see this activity as being very positive.

Before, the women were only busy at home or with the women’s group, but now they are involved with something new and are making some extra money,” he added.

Amrullah, the head of Pitue Village would like to make his village the ‘vegetable’ centre (18/8/14).

According to Amrullah, the compost produced by the villagers can be used on their own gardens, the fish ponds or even sold to the department of agriculture. The district Department of Agriculture in Pangkep has already made an arrangement to purchase fertiliser from the Mutiara Desa group. “I would like to create a sort of vegetable central in this village. And for that, I need the help of facilitators to help the community here to be like other Oxfam-facilitated villages,” explained Amrullah. He plans to provide free seedlings to his villagers so that all of them can have the opportunity to grow their own garden.

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Sukri: “Organic Produces Creativity” When M. Sukri, a community member from Boddie Village, Mandalle Sub-village, Pangkep District, was asked by the village head to form a farmers’ group and attend the Field School in 2011, he immediately refused to do so. “My initial thought was that this group was going to be politically related for his political purposes. I am a farmer and not interested in politics,” said Sukri during a visit to his field (18/8/14).

However, after it explained to him that the Field School was purely for agricultural activities and nothing more, much less politics, Sukri was convinced to participate in the activites. He joined the RCL Programme activities at the Field School in September 2011. After completing it, he became the head of the Sipakatuo group that was subsequently formed and joined by 24 farmers.

Sukri, who had been farming since 2001, learned how to cultivate his land organically.

He also learned how to make compost from local materials, such as hay and animal waste, as well as making his own local microorganism solution.

Crop Yields Reduced by Half However, when Sukri tried to apply the organic methods to his 3-hectare field, his crops did not multiply. Instead, they decreased by half.

“Usually, I could make around 4 tonnes, but when I used the organic crops, I only got 2 tonnes,” explained Sukri.

His fellow farmers began to worry that Sukri’s yield would continue to decline and asked him to go back to the old ways, using chemical pesticides for the crop.

“I was not motivated to use chemicals again.

I just continued to be patient and keep trying, knowing that it would be worth it in the end,” said Sukri. He believed that organic methods were more acceptable and the materials were cheaper.

He explained that the materials for making compost and local microorganisms were readibly available and abundant, which meant he did not have to purchase fertilisers.

M. Sukri spraying local microorganism solution on his field.

Boddie Village (18/8/14)

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Focus on Farming Sukri’s diligence and patience eventually paid off.

Two years later in 2013, his crop that was initially cut in half, suddenly experienced a surge.

Using organic fertilisers and the SRI (System of Rice Intensification) method, his yield rose to 6 tonnes. “From four tonnes to two, and then up again to six tonnes, using organic methods.

Of course I was delighted,” said Sukri.

From that harvest, Sukri made a profit of Rp 10 million from one hectare of land.

This means that in one year, Sukri would have two harvests, making up to Rp 60 million.

He employs four to six labour farmers at a daily wage of Rp 50,000. These labourers only work during the planting and harvesting season, with a total of 22 work days during the two seasons.

According to Sukri, the biggest difference he has noticed with organic farming is in the use of fertiliser. “Typically, I would need ten bags of fertiliser with a base capital of Rp 700,000.

When I switched to organic fertiliser, the most I have had to spend is Rp 300,000,” said Sukri.

Sukri’s creativity did not end here. He has also applied compost fertiliser in his half-hectare pond for milkfish, shrimp, and tilapia. As it turns out, the results were quite impressive. From two harvests in a year, Sukri was able to make around Rp 6 million.

Sukri’s wife, Nuraeni, is a member and administrator of the Rejeki group in their village.

This group is more focused on backyard organic vegetable gardens. The couple has four children; two of the eldest are attending college in Makassar in agriculture and computer science.

Sukri has also become a facilitator at the Field School. He opened his rice field as a learning site for the group that he facilitates.

Sukri also admitted that he was delighted to have participated in an exchange programme with the RCL programme and learn from his farmer counterparts in Yogyakarta in September 2012.

“It was such a new experience for me to get to know farmers from other places and share our knowledge in farming,” said Sukri.

Sukri learned that in other places, organic rice is sold at a high price. In his area, the Logistics Depot typically purchases rice at Rp 3,200/kg.

He learned that in Central Java or Jakarta, organic rice could be sold for Rp 9,000 to Rp 10,500/kg (Kompas, 22/1/13). He also learned that in order to get ‘organic’ certification for his rice, it would be very expensive. “I would like to focus on being a farmer. I will continue to learn and participate in trainings that can help me increase my productivity,” he said confidently.

Organic rice in Boddie Village (18/8/14).

Organic “anti-rice bugs” a la M. Sukri.

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Casting Hope from Seaweed and Nets The sun was shining bright in Kekean Sub-village, Tamanrupa Village, Mandalle Sub-district—one of the many coastal areas in Pangkep District (18/8/14).

The stilt house where Syarifah and Arman live appear to be quite crowded. About 10 women between the ages of 30 and 50 years old are sitting underneath the house around a pile of wet seaweed and a large spool of rope. Meanwhile, on the upper floor, eight people are busy untangling and weaving a large net that nearly fills up half the room.

These are two groups that have been facilitated through Oxfam’s RCL programme since 2013.

Syarifah is the head of the Kalaroang seaweed group, whilst also maintaining membership at the net-weaving group of Siangkalingadae. “The average

Members of the Kalaroang group weaving a seaweed net, Tamarupa Village (18/8/14).

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education level of our group is primary and middle school. The Siangkalingadae group, on the other hand, almost exclusively consists of poor widows who struggle to provide for their families,” explained Syarifah, who herself has two children and work as a primary school teacher. She has made it her passion to work with these groups, particularly in supporting with bookkeeping.

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Sowing the ‘Seaweed Rope Line’ in the Sea With her grandchild on her lap, Safiah, a member of the Kalaroang group, diligently ties 5-15 cm seaweed onto the rope net with other group members. The group is creating a bentang, a local term they use to describe a 25-metre rope embedded with seaweed seeds that will be planted in the sea.

“One seaweed rope line can weigh between five to seven kilograms, which after it is submerged in the water

between 0.5 to 4 metres deep can turn into 40 kilograms after 45 days,” said Arman.

After the seaweed is harvested from the sea and before it is sold to the market, it must be dried first. After this process, the weight will shrink to merely five kilograms.

Arman is Syarifah’s husband.

The couple helped translate for the members of the group, who understand Bahasa Indonesia, but were more comfortable speaking in their local language.

The men of Kekean Sub-village, Tamarupa Village, helping cast seaweed seeds in the sea.

Safiah making the seawed rope line with her grandchild. (18/8/14).

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In one day, this 11-member group typically makes between eight and ten seaweed rope lines, which can be completed in two hours. However, this task is often interspersed with other tasks, such as weaving nets, catching crabs and other household chores.

Each completed seaweed rope line is priced at Rp 2,500, which provides each member of the group an income of Rp 25,000/day.

Buyers of seaweed from outside the village typically purchases it in the dried form. Wet seaweed is generally priced quite low at Rp 3,000/kg, which will be used as seaweed seedlings.

The monthly income of each group member differs slightly.

For example, Safiah can make between 50 and 145 kilograms of dried seaweed. She makes between Rp 700,000 and Rp 2,000,000 from selling her seaweed products, which are priced between Rp 14,000 and Rp 15,000/kg.

According to Syarifah, the gendered division of labour in her village is quite fair. Her husband and the spouses of the other group members are quite helpful with activities of the Kalaroang group. Although they are not officially registered as

Members of the Kalaroang group preparing to go out to sea to check on their seaweed line.

Seaweed being dried out. Tamarupa Village (18/8/14).

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members of the group, Arman and other men from the sub-village help the women with “planting” the seaweed rope lines in the sea every afternoon.

“We feel sorry if the women have to do it themselves. Sometimes they will come to the coast when they only have to plant the lines along the coast, so they don’t need a boat for that,” explained Arman.

Poor weather conditions and high waves make this quite a challenging task. Moreover, since many people in the village are also planting seaweed, Arman must find an empty lot for the group’s lines—often further into the sea. He faces the risk of his boat turning over and damaging the seaweed lines.

These lines are tied onto two stakes on each side in the sea.

Styrofoam and plastic bottle ‘buoys’ demarcate the location of the seaweed lines. The numerous buoys along the Kekean coast indicate the high number of seaweed lines planted by the villagers.

“There was once a training on how to make seaweed taffy.

However, since we did not know where we would sell it, it only became a seasonal activity,” said Syarifah.

During the same training event, Syarifah and the other group members learned how to manage bookkeeping.

“The group members have become better at keeping records of the group’s income, making the bookkeeping much more organised,” said Syarifah. She also added that she and her husband can produce between 80 and 150 kilograms of seaweed and sell them at around Rp 14,000 and Rp 15,000 or depending on the market price.

Thus, for one harvest, they are able to make between Rp 1.2 - 2.5 million (RCL data, 2014).

Syarifah states that what is lacking is the processing component of seaweed products, something that she herself would like to see happen in the village.

Lilah, a member of the Kalaroang group.

Armand and his partner, pushing the boat full of the group’s seaweed rope lines, out to sea.

Tamarupa Village (18/8/14).

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Weaving Nets Whilst the Kalaroang group is busy making their seaweed nets underneath the stilt house, eight women of the Siangkalingadae group are busy weaving a net for their shrimp and crab trawls on the upper level of the house.

“We will not use these nets ourselves, rather it will be brought to Papua by collectors,” said Rohani. Also a member of the group, Rohani added that she is able to complete five nets per day, each priced at Rp 45,000.

Another member of the group is Siti Raiya stated that she is able to make eight nets a day with her daughter.

Almost all of this 23-person group are female household heads. One of them is Salmiah, who has three children— the youngest still in the third grade. After getting divorced in 2009, Salmiah has become the main breadwinner of her family and is often supported by her eldest who is in highschool.

A display of equipment donated by the RCL programme. Tamarupa Village (18/8/14).

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“Because I have to do other household work, I am only able to complete two nets in a day,” said Salmiah cheerfully. In addition to making the nets, she also raises chickens and ducks.

Salmiah makes around Rp 2.7 million from the 60 nets that she is able to make in a month.

According to the group records in August 2014, Salmiah has produced 30 nets and made Rp 1,350,000.

Casting Hope along the West Coast of Pangkajene Islands

When there is big celebration in the village, such as a wedding, Salmiah and other group members postpone their weaving and help their neighbours for the celebration.

Depending on the type and magnitude, these events can last between one day and one week.

During the RCL programme, the groups participated in various trainings, such as group management and bookkeeping.

Additionally, they also received equipment such as rope, buoys and tin. They laughed when asked about they did before getting involved in net weaving and the seaweed business. “We’d comb for ticks, chat, or just do household work,” stated several members of the groups.

“This business has helped me support my family and allowed my children to stay in school,” said Salmiah optimistically.

Salmiah and Nando, members of the Siangkalidae group, showing the net they are weaving. Tamarupa Village.

The group’s records. Tamarupa Village (18/8/14).

Members of the Siangkalidae group must work to support their families.

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After Oxfam is Done Working Here…

Oxfam’s presence through the RCL programme has entered its fourth year. The villagers of Ma’rang sub-district who were involved in groups facilitated by Oxfam and MAP are well aware that the programme would not continue indefinitely.

This was stated by Adhy Mahdi Syuaib, the husband of Nurjana. Nurjana is the head of the Talaswati group in Kasuarang Sub-village, Tamangapa Village, Ma’rang Sub-district, Pangep District (19/8/14). “Since Oxfam will discontinue its programme in 2015, we would like to be able to continue what they started,” said Adhy. Therefore, Adhy welcomes the founding of the Organic Farmer’s Forum (FPTO) that was started at the field school in 2011. The purpose of this forum is to encourage communications amongst farmers and fish farmers in four villages, namely Boddie, Pitu Sunggu, Bongomanai and Tamangapa Villages. Adhy is also one of the forum’s administrators.

“Alums of the Field School in these villages will need a forum to communicate with each other. That is why the forum was founded in the first place. There are now more members of this forum than the members of groups that Oxfam facilitated. Furthermore, there is one orange farmer from outside of the village that is involved in the forum,” said Nursaba, the treasurer of the forum, who is also a Field Extension Worker.

The administrators of the forum consist of a head, a secretary, and a treasurer.

Moreover, there are a number of divisions in the forum, including marketing, human resources, development, facilities and production. Each group has a representative in the forum. According to Nursaba, due to their daily routines, it is quite a challenge for the forum members to meet. However, they are still able to communicate through text messages and telephone. The administrators and some members of the group also often make rotations to the different groups.

The forum encourages its members to avoid using chemical materials and instead use organic materials, such as food waste, dung, and others found in the field and fish ponds.

Abdul Haris, a field extension worker and administrator of the forum in the Talaswati garden. Tamangapa Village (19/8/14).

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“Our focus now is to groups who still need a lot of guidance.

Well-established groups such as Talaswati and Pita Aksi are only visited once and a while,” said Nursaba.

Moreover, she added, members of the forum also monitor the markets, so that they are able to inform their consitutents if there is a deficit or surplus of crops. Crops from the groups are either brought to the local markets or sold to the Pa’gandengs, or mobile produce vendors.

This market information is quite useful.

According to Suruga, a member of Talaswati, he and other members spend most of their time in the village and are less aware of the market situation.

“Mrs. Nursaba will often tell us which type of vegetable is needed from our gardens,” said Suruga. Information about the market situation is also often received from the village facilitator, such as Soni, Karel and Munir.

During the middle of August, for example, a restaurant in Pangkep district asked the group to supply ten kilograms of water cress.

Nurjaya and Adhy Mahdi.

Members of the Talaswati group in Tamangapa Village (19/8/14).

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Although it is still in its infancy, the Organic Farmer’s Forum’s presence is continually promoted through coordination and communication with relevant offices and convening special events. At the end of 2012, the forum and RCL Oxfam held a campaign event entitled “Stop Poisoining Yourself,” in Boddie Village, Mandalle Sub-district. They invited various offices and community groups as well as introduced a number of products, such as organic vegetables, organic milkfish and an assortment of food products.

Karel, an RCL facilitator for Oxfam with members of the Talaswati group (above).

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In need of more Extension Workers According to Adhy, since the RCL programme began its activites in his village, he has become more aware of the existence of field extension workers. “Before Oxfam’s programme, I rarely saw extension workers or staff from the government offices in our village. But after the programme, many of these people began to visit our village,” said Adhy.

Hasanuddin Muin, the Secretary of the Marine and Fisheries Deparment of Pangkep District agrees with Adhy’s observation (19/8/14). “We still need more field extension workers. There are currently only 80 extension workers for agriculture and 16 for fisheries. This is obviously not commensurate with the amount of land and ponds in the villages,” he explained.

Hasanudin added that one extension worker could only handle 200 hectares of fish ponds, whilst the total area of fish ponds in Pangket district exceeds 10,000 hecaters. Therefore, he said, there would need to be at least 50 extension workers, who would facilitate exclusively on fish farms, excluding agriculture and other types of farms.

In terms of knowledge base, he added, the workers need to continually increase their capacity, due to the ever-changing technology for agriculture and fisheries.

Soni Kusnito, an RCL Oxfam facilitator with members of the Pita Aksi group. Pitusunggu Village (18/8/14).

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“I feel that the trainings and the field schools provided by Oxfam and MAP have been very helpful. I had never fully understood-let alone implemented-organic principles in agriculture.

Now I am more educated,” said Abdul Haris (19/8/14), an extension worker and member of the FPTO. Meanwhile, Sitti Rahmah would like to see more intensive facilitation by extension workers in her village. “I would like for them to continue to visit us, so we can consult with them and receive their help, just like in Oxfam’s programme. This is important for us, since we want to increase our production volume,” she explained.

Casting Hope along the West Coast of Pangkajene Islands

A Reflection on the Field School In implementing the RCL Programme, Oxfam has partnered with the Mangrove Action Project (MAP) since 2010. MAP in Indonesia is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 2000. Initially it focused on planting mangroves as part of an effort to rehabilitate coastal areas in regions where they worked. The programme also worked to increase the communities’ incomes through their active participation.

In addition to working with MAP, Oxfam’s RCL programme also partnered with the Foundation for Marine Conservation, or Yayasan Konservasi Laut (YKL).

In early 2012, MAP and Oxfam also started a Field School for four districts in South Sulawesi where the RCL programme was implemented. This Field School also engaged the extension workers from the Agency for Food Security, who were working in that area.

When the Field School was completed in 2013, the programme staff and partners saw that the groups still needed further facilitation and capacity building. So, the programme decided to start an Advanced Field School.

Reflecting on the school, Fatma Hutagalung (18/8/14) stated that the Field School needs to be more effective and efficient. “For the Advanced Field School, the staff should focus more on modules that the farmers would need and that are appropriate for the specific location. They should not have general courses,” she said.

In the middle of 2014 towards the end of the program, Oxfam recruited three consulting facilitators to work in the villages. One of the consultants, Soni Kusnito, had been facilitating the communities in Pangkep district since he worked at MAP in 2010. “At this stage, there is more monitoring and facilitation involved, which can be done more efficiently through the role of a facilitator,” said Fatma.

Fatma Hutagalung, a staff member of RCL Oxfam during a meeting with the Talaswati group. Tamangapa Village (19/8/14).

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The Business Potentials of Pangkep Coasts Milkfish and shrimp fish farming is one of the stars of Pangkep District, with a total area of more than 10,000 hectares, according to Hasanuddin Muin, the Secretary of Marine and Fisheries Department of Pangkep district, located at the Regional Agency for Planning and Development office (19/8/14).

Seaweed Potentials Additionally, there are other potentials that have yet to be expoited in Pangkep district, namely seaweed farming.

Seaweed is one of the marine cultures of the district that is still produced at a small, household level, using traditional methods.

According to records in 2013, seaweed production reached 1,240 tonnes. This is still considered small when compared with other areas in Indonesia,” said Hasanudin. However, he is optimistic that the quality of seaweed coming out of Pangkep is quite good, since it is supported by good quality water. On other hand, seaweed processing is still greatly needed in this area.

Syarifah of Kekean sub-village, Tamangapa village, Mandalle sub-district, made a similar remark. “We sell the dried seaweed to collectors from outside the village, who said they would sell the seaweed to Makassar. Since we don’t have a seaweed processing enterprise in the village, we can only dry and sell them,” said Syarifah (18/8/14), who is a member of both Kalaroang and Siangkalidae groups, facilitated by the RCL programme.

Alfian Muthmainah, Sub-division Head of Cooperatives and Industries in the Economy Division of the Regional Body for Planning and Development, Pangkep District, showing a map of the district (19/8/14).

Preparing to plant seaweed rope lines in the afternoon. Tamarupa Village (right).

Armand and his partner planting the seaweed rope lines. Tamarupa Village (18/8/14).

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At the national level, the Ministry for Industry indicated that 1.1 million hectares of water territory around the islands holds large potential for seaweed, with only 220,000 hectares having been exploited.

Even at the national level, although seaweed development as an export product holds big potentials, there are only 18 seaweed industries in the whole country with a production volume of 15,638 tonnes per year (Kompas, 4 September 2014).

As a district that consist largely of islands and is surrounded by the sea, seaweed industries could be a large economic activity for Pangkep district. This could also help improve the income and welfare levels of the community, the majority of whom live on the coastal areas.

Casting Hope along the West Coast of Pangkajene Islands

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Data, Access to Markets, and Replication Meanwhile, Samsu, the Head of Food Supply and Distribution at the Agency for Food Security for Pangkep District, stated that since the RCL programme started, he has seen positive changes in the area.

“For nearly five years since Oxfam and MAP worked in Pangkep District, I’ve noticed that not only have the numbers of vegetable production gone up, but moreover they have created a significant foundation for household food security,” said Samsu.

Furthermore, he added, this is in line with and supporting the vision of a Self-reliant Village that is promoted by the Pangkep District government. The concept of this vision is that in every sub-district, there must be one village that can be self-reliant in both agriculture and fisheries. The district government of Pangkep strives to make agriculture and fisheries as the local flagship industries.

According to Samsu, access to markets for organic vegetables, both in the district and in Makassar is still not yet well established.

The market price for organic vegetables tend to be the same for non-organic vegetables, although the quality of organic vegetables is much better and is also better for the consumers’ health. Samsu believes that in the future, in addition to increasing organic farming production, education and market advocacy is also needed to introduce the benefits of organic products.

On the other hand, Sabrun Jamil, the Head of Fish Farming for the Department of Marine and Fisheries of Pangkep District, stated that using organic compost in fish farms in the RCL villages have had a positive impact on improving the farms and production level of fish.

“For years, fish farmers have used chemical materials in their ponds. The RCL Field School taught the farmers to use organic compost. We were interested in this method. I wanted to explore possibilities for cost-sharing, where Oxfam pays for the field school and we would fund the operations,” said Sabrun.

Furthermore, he added that the facilitators play an important role in facilitating and empowering the communities.

Above to bottom: (1) Ir. Hasanuddin Muin, Secretary of Marine and Fisheries, Pangkep District. (2) Samsu, Head of Food Supply and Distribution, Agency for Food Security. (3) Sabrun Jamil, Head of Fish Farming Division, Department of Marine and Fisheries, Pangkep District, located at the Regional Agency for Planning and Development (19/8/14) and (4) Boedi Sardjana Julianto, Oxfam RCL Programme Manager.

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“We would like to replicate the RCL Field School model; although from the government point of view, we would not be able to fully implement organic farming, because there are different demands. However, if possible, we would like to adapt the model, modules and methods. And for that, we would require some support from Oxfam and its facilitators,” said Sabrun.

The local government also envisages a database on potential agriculture land potentials and identification of farmers’ groups in the area. It is expected that this would accelerate and facilitate many development programmes. In that way, farming and fishing aid would be given to the groups, instead of to individuals, which has been the norm.

In August 2014, the RCL Programme held a training event that discussed the role of the private sector in developing coastal communities and their human rights. This three-day training also included the local government, communities and the private sector.

Boedi added that in order to help the communities understand where their products stand in the industry sector, the RCL programme has also facilitated a community visit to relevant industries, such as seaweed processing plants.

“It is our hope that the communities can see for themselves what the industry is like to motivate them to continue in improving their products’ quality,” he added.

“Therefore, we feel that it is necessary to strengthen institutions, including building the capacity and facilitate farmers’ groups. We hope that programmes can involve more communities, so that more groups and superior farmers emerge,” said Samsu.

Boedi Sardjana Julianto, the Oxfam RCL Programme Manager made a similar remark.

He said that the RCL programme can help strengthen the existing foundations for economic growth.

“The next strategy is to figure out how the programme can strengthen the bargaining power of these economic groups. This could be done through helping the fish farming techniques, product packaging or helping open access to the markets, for example. All of these can be achieved by facilitating a meeting between the communities with business owners and the government,” said Boedi in Makassar (17/8/14).

Members of the Sipadecengi Fish Ponds in Pungkalawaki Sub-village.

Pitusunggu Village (19/8/14).

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The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura

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Table of Contents The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura

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The Ebb and Flow of a Partnership

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The Cacao Farming Mamas of Hamonggrang

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On Cacao, Culture and Development

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The Story of Chocolate from Papua

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The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura Isak Usmani from Kwansu Village, Kemtuk Sub-district, Jayapura District, is a member of the Mabuma I group.

This farmers group has been facilitated by the KIPRa Foundation, a local development foundation. Isak used to sell wet cacao beans, but after enrolling in the Field School, he can now sell dried cacao beans. In fact, together with his group members, Isak has learned the process of bean fermentation.

“Fermented cacao beans are priced higher than wet beans, at Rp 20,000/kg. Wet beans, on the other hand, can vary between Rp 7,000 and Rp 12,000/kg,” said Isak (14/8/14) at his home in Kwansu village.

He added that his group has just learned how to ferment the cacao beans. “We are still at the trial and error stage, so we have not produced that many,” he explained, showing the wooden box where the cacao beans are stored before they are fermented. This box, measured at 40x40x50 cm, is usually kept on Derek Bano’s land, a farmer and facilitator from Kwansu village. When it was opened, we could see that only a quarter of it was filled with the cacao beans.

“Our cacao production has declined in the past three weeks due to a disease,” added Isak, whose plot was infested with the cacao pod borer moth.

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It was once a Star Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is quite the tempting commodity. It is the main material for making chocolate. In the Greek language, Theos means gods, and Broma means food, which makes Theobroma meaning ‘food of the gods’, a food item that has longed been considered a delicacy of the middle and upper class.

Cacao was not originally from Indonesia, but was first found in the Amazon River in South America. The Spaniards brought the seeds to Minahasa, South Sulawesi in 1560.

Currently there are three main cacao producing locations in Indonesia, namely in South Sulawesi (988,309 hectares, 448,344 tonnes), Sumatra (377,032 hectares, 166,609 tonnes), and Papua Moluccas (107,641 hectares, 33,568 tonnes).

(Ditjenbun, 2012, quoted from the Kalimajari Report, 2013)

The Dutch brought cacao to Papua in 1955 and was subsequently planted in various places in Papua, including in Jayapura district.

The total production area for Papua province is 34,400 hectares with a total volume of 9,530 tonnes (UP4B, 2014).

Cacao beans can be harvested in three years from the time it is first planted. After it begins to bear fruit, it will take six months to ripen.

Cacao bean harvests are not dependent on seasons, which enable farmers to pick beans all year long. Furthermore, cacao trees can last for 20 years, afterwhich they need to be replaced.

The Konsultansi Independen Pemberdayaan Rakyat (KIPRa), or the Oxfam’s partner in the PEDP Programme.

Isak Usmani (left), Mince Waisimon and Melki Esau Waru of Mabuma I Kwansu group, show their cacao fermentation box.

Cacao beans ready for picking (bottom).

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Kuncoro Samiyana, a co-founder and advisor of the foundation has lived in Papua since 1970.

He remembers when cacao was the superstar of Papua’s commodity.

During the 1980s, wet cacao bean prices reached Rp 500/kg.

However, during the economic crisis in 1997, the prices skyrocketed to Rp 27,000/kg due to the influx of Rupiah exchange rates. According to Kuncoro, the prices have stagnated for the past 15 years. Currently, the price of cacao ranges between Rp 17,000 and Rp 20,000/kg.

“There are many problems in producing cacao, such as dysfunctional institutions and defective cooperatives.

Further, there are poor planting patterns and many of the trees have been infected by disease,” Kuncoro explained during a visit to his office at KIPRa (13/8/14).

“We know that cacao has a high economical value due to it being an export commodity, which can improve the incomes of local farmers and the local community.

Together with Oxfam through this PEDP programme, we would like to restore the glory of cacao for the cacao farmers. It is envisaged that this Cacao Restoration Programme will achieve that,” Kuncoro added.

Isak Usmani trimming cacao stems (above).

Kuncoro Samiyana, co-founder and advisor of KIPRa. Office atmosphere of KIPRa (13/8/14).

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The Challenges and Potential of Traditional Cacao Farming During a visit to the office of Adolof Yoku (13/8/14), the Head of the Department of Agriculture in Jayapura District, he explained that farming cacao presents a number of various challenges.

“Most cacao farmers are traditional farmers. They still use simple tools and the small amount of profit they receive is just enough to afford their daily needs. They have yet to become more market-oriented.

Farmers are slow to absorb and apply new methods of cacao farming, even after facilitators came to support them,” said Adolof.

Technical facilitation in the village is carried out by field extension workers and the Agency for Agriculture and Forestry Extension Implementation (BP4K).

In 2006, the local government enacted a Compulsory Cacao Planting Movement (CCPM) for ten districts in Jayapura District, which would last until 2009. The movement was enacted based on an Edict of Head of Jayapura District, number 1 year 2006, in which the government handed out 10.9 million cacao seedlings to 12,469 farmers throughout a number of stages (BNPM, 2012).

The target of the CCPM was for each farmer to have between one and two hectares of land to plant cacao trees.

It was envisaged that the products of cacao would improve the farmers’ income to Rp 5 million/month.

In the villages, cacao trees are largely left to grow wild in the field and can typically grow up to six to seven metres, making the fields look more like a cacao forest than a cacao plantation. In cacao farming, the ideal height for cacao plants is between two and three metres, which makes trimming and picking much easier for the farmers.

Unfortunately, these farmers have neglected to pay attention to spacing in between plants and keeping the plots clean, which is essential in order to avoid diseases.

Moreover, cacao production is still quite limited due to limited amounts of cacao seeds and saplings.

Adolof Yoku, the Head of the Department of Agriculture in Jayapura District.

Mince Waisimon inspecting cacao pods in the cacao garden in Kwansu Village (left).

Jayapura District holds large potentials for cacao production. (14/8/14) 106

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The largest factor affecting cacao production is cacao disease.

Two of the most frequently encountered diseases are the Vascular Streak Dieback (VSD) and the cacao pod borer moth, which causes the pods to rot.

Luckily, these diseases only prevent the cacao plants to produce pods, but do not kill the plant itself.

Cacao marketing has been quite limited due to a decline in cacao production. As a result, the cacao market has been dominated by only a handful of players. This lack of competition, in turn, has further pushed prices down, which means less income for the farmers as well.

Other challenges include the wide range of quality, which includes beans that are not fully fermented, damp beans, uneven sizes of beans, and inconsistent flavours.

These factors tend to lower the prices and competitiveness of Indonesian beans in the global cacao trade.

Cacao pods ready to be picked (14/8/14).

Rotting cacao pods in Melki Esau’s plot in Kwansu (bottom).

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Challenges of the Cacao Industry PT. Purni Jaya Perkasa Papua, a cacao company in Jayapura, stated that there has yet to be a balance between a high market demand in cacao and its supply. The company has begun communications with farmers and has collected cacao beans directly from the farmers or through collectors. These efforts, however, are not deemed as sufficient.

“Usually farmers will sell their cacao beans to us directly in the wet form, because they need fast cash.

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said Enggar Winaryo, who works at the Licensing department of PT. Purni Jaya (13/8/14).

PT. Purni Jaya buys cacao beans from farmers at a price range between Rp 17,000 and Rp 19,000/kg. These beans have approximately 12% water content and have not gone through a bean sorter.

Meanwhile, beans with only 7% water content are priced at Rp 20,000/kg.

It requires seven to ten days to dry cacao beans.

When large collectors, such as PT. Purni Jaya, purchase wet and unsorted cacao beans, this means that it will require more time and money in the production process.

Ideally, companies would like to receive dried cacao beans, or better yet, fermented beans.

The purpose of fermentation is to crush the pulp, add aroma and rectify the bean’s colour.

Cacao beans dried and spread out on Paulus’ front yard in Hamonggrang

The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura

In order to fulfil the high demand in cacao, PT. Purni Jaya is working to obtain licences to manage 928 hectares of cacao plantation in Arso, Kerom district. Initially, the licence was issued for 5,500 hectares, but due to conflicts with district land use regulations and local expansion, they only were able to get a licence for managing 928 hectares along with a fourhectare nursery.

Paulus, a cacao collector from Hamonggrang, Kemtuk Sub-district, Jayapura District, stated that he usually travels around on his moped, buying up cacao beans from the farmers. Oftentimes the farmers would come directly to his house to bring their beans.

“On average, the farmers could bring between 10 and 20 kilograms in a day, but there are others who are only able to bring five kilograms, stored in plastic bags. On average, most of these beans are still wet, but I take them anyway, because I will dry them later on,” he explained (15/8/14).

A warehouse belonging to PT Purni Jaya Perkasa in Jayapura City and Enggar Winaryo, at the company licencing department (above).

Cacao beans dried and spread out on Paulus’ front yard in Hamonggrang (right), a cacao collector from Hamonggrang.

Cacao beans that farmers bring to Paulus, wet and unsorted (15/8/14).

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A Roadmap to Cacao Production The Head of the Department of Agriculture in Jayapura District, Adolof Yaku, would like to see a growth in cacao production.

In 2014, his programme plans to construct three Processing Units in several potential locations, each of which will cost Rp 240 million.

“We would like to give direct support to farmers, such as providing them with seeds, opening new land, purchasing equipment and even dabble in post-harvest technologies,” explained Adolof. In terms of budgeting, he stated that the funds for this programme would come from the local government budget. Additionally, he also hopes that he would receive a fund from the Village Allocation Fund to the tune of Rp 500 million to Rp 1 billion, which will bolster the local economy and support cacao production in the villages.

The two biggest commodities from the agriculture and plantation sectors that currently contribute to the local Jayapura economy are cacao and palm oil, respectively. Adolof believes that there is a large potential for cacao in Papua, due to the large amount of available land.

Jayapura District consist of 19 sub-districts, with a total area of 4,537.9 km2, and a total population of 119,117 people (Statistics Indonesia Papua, 2012). As of August 2014, 112

the total land area for cacao plantation was 14,588 hectares, with a total yield of 8,389 tonnes from 14,762 farmers. Sub-districts Kemtuk Gresi, Nimboran and Kemtuk are the three largest cacao-producing sub-districts in Jayapura (Data from the Jayapura Department of Agriculture, 2014) In order to promote cacao industries in the district, the Jayapura Department of Agriculture plans to develop crop-processing industries located in the centre of plantations as well as develop a plasma system for superior seed cultivation with the farmers.

Adolof stated that in order to gain a comprehensive idea on how to further develop cacao production, all stakeholders involved would need to make a Roadmap for cacao production.

“We hope that we can work with Oxfam and relevant stakeholders to develop this strategic Roadmap in advancing cacao production and to coordinate our roles in implementing the programme,” stated Adolof.

The Oxfam programme would be able to use the existing development plan in Jayapura as a reference point in developing this cacao production plan.

In that way, there could be a synergy with existing programmes that will support local economic improvement.

Cacao saplings ready to be planted (14/8/14). Cacao pods can be picked after the plant is three years old. During the productive years, cacao farmers can harvest all year round.

The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura

Moreover, Adolof also hopes that such farmer facilitation activities that the KIPRa Foundation and Oxfam have started can continue to be sustained. He stated that the government field extension workers have not reached enough communities nor have they performed as well as the KIPRa Foundation and Oxfam’s facilitators.

Speaking from a private sector point of view, Enggar Winaryo from PT Purnijaya, stated that farmers still need much support in facilitation. “We currently do not have the capability to facilitate and empower local cacao farmers the way the KIPRa Foundation and Oxfam has done,” said Enggar.

He hopes that cacao farmer facilitation activities can be conducted in a more focused and intensive manner in the cacao production areas.

A meeting for Oxfam PEDP with Adolof Yaku at the Jayapura Department for Agriculture office (13/8/14).

Matius Daka, a facilitator from Hamonggrang and Qorinilwan Ishaq, Oxfam’s PEDP programme manager (15/8/14) (bottom).

Isak Usmani believes that the Oxfam and KIPRa facilitation programmes are quite different from the government-offered programmes that he has participated in at his village in Kwansu.

“Those programmes are much shorter in that the facilitators leave the village not long after they enter. The Oxfam-KIPRa programme, on the other hand, is more intensive and the facilitators are constantly present in the field. They also established a field school, in which we were educated so that we can implement these farming techniques ourselves,” said Isak.

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The Ebb and Flow of a Partnership Between 2012 and March 2014, the KIPRa Foundation partnered with Oxfam in the Building and Deepening Resilience (BDR) in Eastern Indonesia project in Papua. Additionally, since the end of 2011, they have also partnered in an Economic Justice related programme called the Papua Enterprise Development Programme (PEDP). In this context, the aim is to improve the community’s income and develop sustainable livelihood opportunities in Papua.

The KIPRa Foundation was founded on July 2, 1999 in Jayapura, Papua. “Most of the foundation’s staff are from Papua, with the intention of creating capable workers that can serve as local consultants for other development programmes in Papua,” stated Kuncoro Samiyana, a co-founder of foundation, in his office (13/8/14).

The foundation is involved in advocacy and micro-enterprise activities that directly help improve the local capacity as well as community facilitation activities. They utilise traditional bonds as a base in supporting sustainable economic empowerment.

The foundation has also partnered with various national and international organisations, as well as government programmes.

The Grime River runs through Hamonggrang and Kwansu Villages. Community cacao plantations located on either side of the river (15/8/14).

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Cacao Restoration At the beginning of the PEDP programme, Oxfam asked the KIPRa Foundation to carry out an assessment of cacao producing areas. The Foundation chose Hamonggrang and Kwansu as the two cacao producing villages in Jayapura District.

“We believe that Hamonggrang and Kwansu are unique, because even though they are located next to each other, these two villages are located in two different sub-districts with different cultures as well.

For example, although Kwansu is an old village, the rate of its 116

cacao production is slower than that of Hamonggrang’s.

So we will have to see how things develop in these two villages,” said Kuncoro.

With the special autonomy that has been granted to Papua, many programmes have been able to directly enter villages, including Hamonggrang. According to Eduard Agaki, the Division Head of Community and Local Government Capacity Building, KIPRa’s programmes present both positive and negative aspects.

“On the positive side, communities in Hamonggrang are more articulate and assertive in expressing their ideas. They are much more open towards development programmes. The downside, however, is that farmers in Hamonggrang have become more preoccupied with attending meetings than ploughing their fields,” said Eduard. KIPRa addressed this concern by motivating the groups to be more focused and manage their time better.

Kuncoro with Melki Esau and Mince Waisimon in Hamonggrang (14/8/14).

The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura

KIPRa’s partnership with Oxfam in the PEDP programme at the end of 2011 began with the “Cacao Restoration Programme.” Since 2012, there have been 70 farmers in Hamonggrang and Kwansu that were facilitated by KIPRa. This restoration programme aimed to improve the local economy through cacao farming.

In doing their work, the KIPRa Foundation had to identify and learn their communities’ cultures and characters. This initial socialisation process would determine whether the programme could be implemented or not. When they returned to Hamonggrang and Kwansu in early 2012, KIPRa discovered that the communities were committed to farm cacao.

“The communities’ plots were scattered all over the area and difficult to reach. In some areas, we had to travel through rivers that would flood during the rainy season, which prevented both the farmers and our staff from reaching the fields. These fields would also get flooded during the rainy seasons,” said Steve Lewerissa, KIPRa’s project manager.

The Ebb and Flow of a Partnership In the eyes of the KIPRa Foundation, the partnership with Oxfam has given them an opportunity to apply their concepts in implementing the programme. Further, this partnership has also given the organisation access in networks, opportunities to share information and strengthened their capacity through various trainings, including learning from other areas.

“I believe Oxfam has made a good effort to build its partners’ capacities and established a good pattern of partnership. Our interactions with Oxfam have proven to be quite valuable when working with other donors, especially in capacity building and reporting,” said Eduard.

On the other hand, the partnership has also seen its share of conflicts,

particularly when it came to field implementation.

Implementing partners are often considered slow in responding to programme demands and requirements; meanwhile these differences may lead to the partner organisation to “go their own way”.

In regards to expert staff that were involved in the programme, the KIPRa Foundation believes that Oxfam should seek out local experts first or discuss the plans with the partner organisation. Since the contracts of these experts are often short-term, KIPRa worries that the products of the experts would not be suitable for the field as they have limited understanding of the local cultural and social context.

In the design of the PEDP programme, Oxfam staff served as a facilitator and main contact for the implementing partners in the field. The staff person serves not only in a managerial and partnership capacity, but also in understanding the conditions of the field and the communities together with their partners.

Meeting at KIPRa’s office, located on Jl. Bosnik No. 15 BTN Umum KAMPKEY, Abepura. (left to right) Kuncoro Samiyana, Steve Lewerissa and Eduard Agaki.

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As a partner organisation, KIPRa also stated that it could sometimes be confusing to differentiate between programmes that are managed by the partner, by Oxfam, or jointly by both organisations.

In the beginning, direct involvement of Oxfam staff in the field became a problem, because they were considered encroaching on the role of the partner. Luckily, this changed

when the partner organisation realised the importance of Oxfam’s involvement in supporting the programme implementation. In the eyes of the community, however, the programme was implemented by both the partner and Oxfam as a whole, not as separate entities.

In order to address this ebb and flow, the partner realised that it is thus important to improve communications and coordination between the two organisations.

Therefore, they hoped that Oxfam staff would frequent their office more often so that they could foster better communication.

KIPRa and PEDP Papua staff with cacao groups in a Kwansu, Kemtuk Sub-district, Jayapura District (14/8/14).

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Papua Enterprise Development Programme (PEDP) Oxfam and the partner organisation implemented the Papua Enterprise Development Programme (PEDP) between 2011 and 2014. This programme was implemented in five districts in Papua the Jayawijaya, Dogiyai, Nabire, Jayapura, and Kepulauan Yape Districts, involving 5,525 beneficiaries.

The main goal of PEDP is to improve the basic rights of Papua indigenous people, both men and women, through increasing their incomes and developing sustainable livelihoods.

This programme is a combination of development and eradication of poverty through efficient business collaborations between partners and Papua communities. One of the objectives is to promote a climate conducive to business in Papua.

In implementing the programme, Oxfam has worked with local partners, each focusing on five different commodities, namely: 1.

The Moanemani Arabica Coffee Project Partner : Perkumpulan PAME Mandiri Beneficiaries : 244 farmers Locations : Deiyai, Paniai and Dogiyai, Nabire District

2. Cassava Partner Beneficiaries Locations

: YAPUM : 5.124 farmers : Jayawijaya District

3.

Kioks, vanilla, and vegetables Partner : WMV Beneficiaries : 87 farmers Locations : Serui District

4.

Kakao restoration Partner : KIPRa Beneficiaries : 70 farmers Locations : Hamonggrang Village, Jayapura District

Kwansu Village, Kemtuk Sub-district, Jayapura District

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The Cacao Farming Mamas of Hamonggrang It was a sunny afternoon in Hamonggrang Village, Nimbokrang Sub-district, Jayapura District (15/8/14).

Carolina Sanggrangbano, or affectionately known as Mama Carolina, demonstrated the grafting technique for cacao plants. The specific technique she uses is called the ‘triangle technique,’ which is used to rejuvenate old cacao plants without having to destroy the plant itself. Further, this technique also allows for growing new shoots by grafting a stem onto a tree.

Carefully, Mama Carolina makes an incision on the cacao stock, approximately 50 cm up from the ground. An incision is also made on the grafting twig, which is then connected to the split cacao stock and tied together.

“We cover it with plastic for two to three weeks, and then open it to see if the graft has taken,” said Mama Carolina, who also stated that she learned this technique from the Oxfam-KIPRa Field School in 2013.

Members of the Waibano group. From left to right: Carolina Sanggrangbano, Orpa Andei, Yuliana Yekusamon, Oktovina Sanggrangway and Alfonsina Sanggrangbano, Hamonggrang Village (15/8/14).

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The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura

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Orpa Andoi, also known as Mama Orpa, demonstrated a similar grafting technique that she taught herself, known as bud grafting, also a cacao propagation technique.

bud grafting technique, but now I know how to do them both,” said Mama Opra, also a mother of six. Her eldest is 22 years old, who is currently working, whilst her youngest is still only six years old.

“In the beginning, I tried and failed using this technique in my own plot, but I kept on trying. Before this programme, I did not know how to use the stem or

Mama Orpa shared her triangle grafting technique with farmers in Jembrana Bali, during a farmer’s training session in April 2014.

This training was sponsored by the PEDP programme.

“Farmers in Jembrana, like Mr. Agus, used the square grafting technique. So, I showed them what the triangle grafting technique looks like. They said that the triangle graft was more practical and produced better results,” stated Mama Opra proudly.

Carolina Sanggrangbano demonstrating the grafting techniques, Hamonggrang Village (15/8/14).

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The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura

The Sun and the Moon group Both Mama Carolina and Mama Orpa are members of the Waibano group in Hamonggrang village. This group was established in March 2013, consisting of 23 farmers, 11 men and 11 women.

The name Waibano was chosen, because it meant the Sun and the Moon. Furthermore, there are two major tribes represented in this group, namely the Sanggrangwai and the Sanggrangbano.

In this village, there are a total of 75 families, or 300 people, most of whom are farmers. Additionally, there are 1,175 hectares of cacao plantation (KIPRa, 2013).

KIPRa facilitated two villages, which despite being only one kilometre away from each other, are located in two different sub-districts.

Hamonggrang Village is located in Nimbokrang Sub-district, whilst Kwansu Village is located in Kemtuk Sub-district. Both villages are 85 kilometres away from Abepura City, which surrounds Sentani Lake.

Community members of these two villages know Oxfam and the KIPRa Foundation as “Oxfam-KIPRa”.

In addition to the facilitators from the NGOs, there are three local facilitators from the two villages, called Manus Daka, Derek Bano and Agus Trapen.

These local facilitators are farmers, which enables them to practice what they have learned with their fellow farmers.

Orpa Andoi demonstrating a grafting technique.

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During the facilitation period, the group members established a working schedule, prepared the land and cacao seedlings, learned cacao cultivation techniques, as well as how to keep records of cacao harvests and how to plan for cacao marketing. Additionally, they also attended six meetings at the Field School, one of which was conducted in the village for two days.

Field Extension Workers from the Agency for Agriculture and Forestry Extension Implementation were also involved in these sessions, particularly in introducing farming techniques.

In Hamonggrang, the groups took turns working in the garden every Thursday and Saturday between 8:00 am and 10:00 am.

The duties included cleaning the plot and digging small trenches around the plot to bury the dried leaves. They collected water from the nearby four-metre wells or from the river.

“In this context, men and women perform very similar work.

We all plant and tend the plots.

However, it is usually the men who plough the field before planting,” said Mama Carolina.

Group members also pay dues.

Every time they work in the field, they pay a due of Rp 2,000/person. “Those who do not show up will receive a fine of Rp 5,000,” added Mama Carolina.

Cacao pods are ready to be picked when they turn yellow or red, depending on the type of plant. Farmers would harvest the pods between three and four times a year, yielding approximately 50 kilograms, and sometimes even up to 100 kg when it is a good harvest.

Carolina Sanggrangbano sweeping up dried leaves underneath the cacao plant, Hamonggrang Village (15/8/14) 124

The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura

Crop Fields In addition to cacao, members of the group also grow other types of crops, such as areca nuts, betel, tubers, peanuts, string beans, onions, and chillies, or what the women here call as Rica [meaning spices].

They usually sell the crops to the market twice a week. To save money, the women would hire a public car for Rp 40,000/person to transport the women and their crops to the market.

“I could make between Rp 500,000 to Rp 1 million from selling my crops. Then, I would use this money to buy my family’s daily needs, such as rice, soap, and fish, as well as pay for my children’s education.

The rest goes into a mobile BRI Bank account,” said Oktovina Warisu.

Orpa Andoi showing her sago palms in the cacao plot, Hamonggrang Village.

Sago palms are also grown in the fields, although unlike cacao, sago cannot be harvested all year round.

The fruit of a sago palm tree is ready to be harvested after six years. According to the women, the indication that these fruits are ready to be picked is when the leaves become short and start to flower. One tree can produce about ten to twelve 15-kilogram sacks.

Sometimes, it can also vary between 50 to 450 kilograms of wet sago flour.

For each harvest, two to three trees are cut down. The sago is then extracted by cutting the stem with a machine, or using a traditional method called tokok, which uses a wooden stick to hit and split the sago stem.

One sack of sago can last for three months at the household level. The rest of the sago is sold at the market for Rp 150,000 to Rp 200,000.

Before rice became the main staple in Papua, indigenous communities would consume sago as their main starch.

A good source of carbohydrates, sago also contains high levels of protein, fat, calcium, and iron.

It is also often prepared in a local dish, called Papeda, which is accompanied with fish and vegetables.

Members of the group also grow melinjo trees. For Mama Orpa and the other women of Waibano, melinjo is the raw material used to make noken, a woven bag from the tree’s bark. Weaving these nokens is a favourite pass time for the women. The bags can be sold for between Rp 100,000 and Rp 200,000.

The Waibano group learns cacao propagation techniques from the Oxfam-KIPRa Field School in 2013 (15/8/14)

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Requires Further Facilitation According to Mama Orpa, five years ago—before OxfamKIPRa entered Hamonggrang— another NGO had come to facilitate the group.

“But it wasn’t until Oxfam-KIPRa came in that we learned cacao cultivation techniques, such as grafting. Now that we know how to do it, our cacao yield has increased,” said Mama Orpa.

The best part of this facilitation, she said, was that there were so many opportunities to learn new things at the field school and training events in other places outside of Papua.

“Our cacao crops are currently in decline due to disease,” said Alfonsina Sanggrangbano.

“Usually we could get between 10 and 30 kilograms of cacao beans during a crop harvest, but nowadays we are only able to harvest between five and ten kilograms,” he added. Depending on the amount, Mama Alfonsina could receive between Rp 85,000 and Rp 561,000 for wet cacao beans.

The group members collectively gather their cacao beans to be dried or sold directly to a collector. One of the members of Waibano group named Toni Sanggrangway is a collector.

He usually purchases the wet cacao beans from the group for Rp 5,000/kg and Rp 20,000/ kg for dried beans. The group sells either wet or dried beans, depending on their financial situation at the moment.

When they are in desperate need for cash, the group would sell their wet beans.

The Waibano group has also set up a place to dry their cacao beans, an area of 6 x 4 metres that can hold about 100 kilograms of cacao beans. They procured the other materials, such as wood and bamboo from the forest.

They only had pay for the nails and the labourers.

“We still need a lot of facilitation so that we can be completely self-reliant.

We would also like to expand our land and make our own chocolate like Mr. Made (a professor who initiated the idea to make organic Papuan chocolate and processing machines—Ed.),” said Mama Opra. Additionally, she also hopes that she and the group can receive trainings to improve their cacao production as well as be invited to trainings outside of Papua.

Mama Alfonsina, on the other hand, would like to have a cacao expert come and live in the village. “That way, we can all learn from the expert and also save some money,” she said.

Matius Daka, a facilitator for Hamonggrang, showing Mama Carolina the location to practice cacao grafting (above).

Orpa Andoi showing where the Waibano members dry their cacao beans, Hamonggrang Village (15/8/14).

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On Cacao, Culture and Development Melki Esau Waru is a cacao grower and member of the Mabuma II group, one of two groups facilitated by Oxfam-KIPRa in Kwansu Village, Kemtuk Sub-district, Jayapura District, since 2012.

Melki’s daily schedule includes walking 1.5 kilometres to his cacao plantation to take care of his cacao trees.

Since the group was established, each of the members took turns working on each other’s cacao plantation, twice a week between 9:00 am and noon. In return for the work, the plantation owner would provide lunch for the group members.

“With this type of collaboration, it is much easier to take care of the plantation, because there are a lot of people working together,” said Melki, who is also the head of the group.

Melki has been able to afford his children’s university education in Jayapura from his cacao business.

Melki spends his afternoons in the plantation, whilst in the evenings he goes hunting in a nearby forest. He has three arrows and a spear that he made himself. He has caught bats, rats, deer, wild boars and wallabies, as well as cassowary birds.

“I think the cassowary birds are funny. When they encounter humans, instead of running, they stick their heads into the ground, making it easier to be captured,” said Melki, chuckling at his story. The game animals that he catches are used as additional food for his family, as well as reducing critters that may eat his crops, such as boars and rats. Melki brings his dog to help him during his hunts.

Melki Esau Waru showing his cacao tree, Kwansu Village (14/8/14).

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The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura

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When it was first established in 2012, the Mabuma I group had 26 people, nine of which were women. The Mabuma II group had 20 people, in which seven of them were women. “Now, there are only ten people who are really active in the group. For some reason, they left one by one,� said Melki.

There are about 47 families or 400 people in Kwansu. The total area is approximately 1,537 hectares (KIPRa, 2013).

Mince Waisimon has lived in Kwansu since 1960, when she and her mother returned to the village after her father, who was from Genyam, passed away. Since she was a little girl, Mince has always

Melki Esau Waru displaying his self-made arrows and spear in Kwansu Village (above).

Elisabeth Yaram showing her cockatoo that she captured from a nearby forest in Kwansu (14/8/14).

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been growing plants, such as peanuts and tubers. Her family also owns a cacao plantation, although she stated that the cultivation techniques are still quite simple.

On average, cacao plantation owners in Kwansu stated in the 1980s. The biggest worry for Mama Mince is cacao disease, which would drastically reduce her cacao yield. As a result, Mama Mince does not rely on cacao alone to support her family.

“In addition to cacao, we also plant other crops, such as taro, chillies tomatoes, green beans, and an assortment of other vegetables. We eat and sell the crops,” said Mama Mince.

Mama Mince is helped in the field by her children and daughter-in-laws, Siana Yaroserai and Oktovina Yowi (14/8/14).

Rifka Kwano picking peanuts in her field in Kwansu (bottom).

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She grows most of her crops in her field, which is then consumed at the household. The rest are sold at the Sentani market, located about one hour from Kwansu. It costs her around Rp 60,000 to go to the market with her crops. During each market trip, Mama Mince can make between Rp 500,000 and Rp 1 million. With this money, she buys daily needs for her family as well as pay for her grandchildren’s education.

Mama Mince has seven children and six grandchildren. Two of her youngest children are currently attending university in Jayapura.

When she is not in her field, Mama Mince and the other women like to gather around, chewing on betel nut, whilst chatting or weaving a Noken bag. “We get a headache when we do not chew on the betel nut,� chuckled Mama Mince.

The materials needed to make a noken bag can be procured from tree fibre or even yarn purchased at the market.

Betel nuts are also grown in the field, and sometimes sold at the market between Rp 25,000 and Rp 60,000/kilogram, depending on the size. In addition to farming, almost all Kwansu villagers also raise livestock, such as chickens and ducks.

A children in Kwansu, accustomed to chewing on betel nut with chalk (14/8/14).

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Mama Mince also still adheres to certain rules and traditions when working in the field.

“Do not wear any perfume before going to the field. That will spoil your crops,” stated Mama Mince.

Additionally, certain crops such as string beans must be moved to another plot after two harvests.

Drying cassava in Mama Mince’s front yard in Kwansu Village (above).

Mama Mince examining cacao pods (14/8/14).

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The Role of Ondoafi There are five tribes in Kwansu the Bano, Yaram, Waru, Bemey and Kwano. The language spoken by the Kwansu villagers is the Sano language. The tribal chiefs, called Ondoafi, hold custom leadership in the village. Despite the official village head system that is in place, Mama Mince and Melki believe that the Ondoafis regulate most customs, including land ownership, marriage, and custom fines.

The main obligation of the Ondoafis is to maintain the welfare and main interests of their people, including preventing and mediating conflicts.

Furthermore, the Ondoafis are allowed to have more than one wife and are allowed to regulate land ownership and use.

Ondoafi status is passed down from one generation to the next to the first boy in the family. Culturally, it is the boy who has ownership over land, and the number of boy children determines the amount of land owned by a family. Furthermore, the total area of a land is determined by the family’s ability to cultivate it.

If the male child marries a woman from another village, the bride must move to her husband’s village.

Derek Bano, a facilitator at Kwansu, showing a forest plant, called “String Vegetables” by the local community (14/8/14).

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“There are some differences between men and women in our village. For example, only men are allowed to go hunting; women are not allowed.

But when it comes to ploughing the land and maintaining the crops, both men and women are involved. In general, almost all tasks are divided evenly between men and women,” said Mama Mince.

Despite modern changes in culture, the role of the Ondoafi is still quite important.

The Ondoafi is the liaison between their people and formal government structures, like the village administration.

The Ondoafi also serves as the link with outsiders, like investors, in terms of economic use of the land for the welfare of the people (Bao, 2013).

The group setting up the cacao bean drying area and fermentation box in Derek Bano’s field in Kwansu.

Oktovina Yowi and Isak Usmani, villagers of Kwansu (14/8/14).

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Culture and Development Change does not always occur in the timeframe we expect it to. The challenge is how to balance time-bound development targets or programmes with the conditions in the community.

Tradition and modern development challenges have become unique aspects of the development discourse in Papua.

Oxfam and KIPRa facilitators, including Kuncoro Samiyana, KIPRa’s co-founder, are well aware of this tension (14/8/14).

Although he is from Malang, East Java, Kuncoro has resided in Papua since 1970.

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“The most basic difference in lies in the farming patterns, indigenous Papuans have traditionally used shifting cultivation in their farming practices. Although most still adhere to this tradition, many farmers have come to use settled and intensification farming practices,” said Kuncoro.

Furthermore, even with the expansion of settled farming amongst the communities, entrepreneurship has not taken off. An Oxfam staff member involved in the PEDP made this observation when she was in

the field with a partner staff person, facilitating farmers in the four districts of the programme.

“During my visits with indigenous people in Papua, I discovered that their understanding of entrepreneurship is currently limited to making ends meet for the family or group and village. This conception of enterprises differs from that of more advanced communities,” said Juniar Mahdalena, an Oxfam PEDP Programme Officer.

The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura

There is still a big gap in realising entrepreneurship in a true business sense in Papuan communities.

“When we normally talk about the cacao business, the orientation is typically geared towards downstream industries. At this point, the discussion would have been directed at access to markets and market networks, logistics, packaging, policy support, etc.

However, it looks like for now there still needs to be a lot of support to strengthen the upstream industries here. For example, by building the farmers groups and promoting efficient and effective cacao cultivation in order to increase the production,” said Qorinilwan Ishaq, an Oxfam PEDP Programme Manager.

Despite the limitations, staff members of both KIPRa and Oxfam are completely aware that each programme has its time limits and targets to achieve.

Change, indeed, does not happen overnight. “In the Papua context, it would take the first three years to identify, establish and strengthen farmer’s groups as well as strengthen the local capacity in crop cultivation,” said Kuncoro.

Siprianus Guntur, an Oxfam staff member who has lived in Papua since 2002, stated that when designing a program for Papua, there are three main aspects that need to be considered: religious contacts through the church, indigenous leaders, such as the Ondoafi, and the local government.

“These three components are interconnected, and it is important to involve them in programme designing, which includes consultation and coordination. This will help accelerate change in the area,” said Sipri.

Sipri said that from the outset, the PEDP programme has established coordination with these three elements as well as planning with its implementing partner, KIPRa. Towards the end of the programme in October 2014, both Oxfam and KIPRa felt increased pressure to achieve the programme objectives.

“We needed a breakthrough in innovation in the remaining time we had left. We had to focus more on the solutions and become more efficient at implementing the programme.

This included having to be

more active in our advocacy at the policy level for cacao production,” said Qori optimistically.

“Before, we were not very good with numbers.

Working in the fields was all we knew how to do. But with Oxfam and KIPRa’s support, I learned how to work with numbers, including how to calculate the cost of meals during a collective group work in the field. I have also learned how to grow crops better than before,” said Mama Mince, who only completed middle school.

“We hope that we can continue to be supported until we achieve self-reliance— at least for the next one or two years,” she added.

Qorinilwan, the PEDP Programme Manager, inspecting the wet cacao beans in Hamonggrang (15/8/14). Dried cacao beans. Siprianus Guntur and Juniar Mahdalena, Oxfam PEDP team. (left page, clockwise) A container ship yard in Jayapura.

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The Story of Chocolate from Papua Mince Waisimon of Kwansu Village, Kemtuk Sub-district, Jayapura District, never imagined that she would eat chocolate made in Papua. All she knew that the cacao beans from her field would be sold and eventually made into chocolate.

The experience of tasting Papuan-made chocolate was a very memorable one. “It turns out that Papuan chocolate is quite delicious,� said Mama Mince, assuming that chocolate was only for the rich.

Papuan-made chocolate has only been around for the past six years. It was I Made Budi who first came up with the idea of making local chocolate. He is currently a faculty at the Department of Mathematics and Sciences at Cendrawasih University, where he has taught for the past 30 years.

His background in Food and Nutrition from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture as well as in Microbiology has helped him greatly in experimenting with raw food materials and developing them into food products.

Made started experimenting in 2008 when he tried to make an extract of red fruits from Papua, which has nutritional properties. The experiment began when, by chance, he fed some red fruits to his sick chickens. When all of them got better as a result of the red fruits, Made thought that he might try to make the extract for human consumption.

The market response was quite impressive. He made between Rp 20 and Rp 30 million in the beginning, and soon afterwards it increased to Rp 100 million. People who bought the red fruits reported to enjoying the health benefits of the fruits.

Chocolate production process at laboratory of I Made Budi (13/8/14).

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The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura

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From the capital made from his sales profits, Made decided to produce cacao and make chocolate.

“Papuan cacao has always been transported elsewhere. There is always a tremendous amount of market demand. No matter how much cacao is produced, it is always sold out. So I thought to myself, why not make chocolate here in Papua?” recalled Made (13/8/14), who also thought of developing coffee instead.

Made started his own research in 2008, learning all he knew from the Internet. He learned how to make a chocolate mix and finally decided to order chocolate bar moulds from Belgium. Made’s house has become his laboratory, where he constantly experiments in making chocolate mixes.

Moreover, he also built his own chocolate processing machine, which he also continues to perfect.

This machine is now able to produce 100 to 200 kilograms of chocolate mix per hour.

“I am a lecturer and an academic.

So I must be able to not only teach, but also practice what I teach.

I wanted to experiment combining technology with the existing raw materials, mainly because it was a hobby and I was curious.

My students are also able to practice their craft here,” said Made.

Chocolate products of Made.

Made and his self-built machine he uses to produce chocolate in his home “laboratory”.

Workers at the “Made Chocolate Factory” (13/8/14).

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The Twists and Turns of Producing the “Food of the Gods” in Jayapura

Life-saving chocolate Made found it ironic that the cacao farmers themselves had never tasted their own products. As a result, he began to train the farmers.

Starting in 2012, he trained two farmer’s groups from Genyem and Kirom to make their own chocolate and build their own machines.

Since then, many other farmers have begun to frequent Made’s workshop to learn and make their own chocolate, watch how it is made, or even just to consult with Made on cacao cultivation.

His name began to be known amongst cacao farmers, which on one occasion, saved his life. When Made was visiting a village in the interior of Papua, his vehicle was stopped by a group of armed villagers in traditional clothing. When he stated his name, the group leader put down his weapon and gave him a hug.

“They said to me, ‘Mr. Made, thank you for teaching our people how to grow cacao. We are happy that you have taught us this, now our cacao crops are better,’” recalled Made. Since that moment, Made believes that “chocolate has saved my life.”

Made continues to expand his creativity. He has created a variety of chocolate mixes, including by adding red fruits into his chocolate mix. He has also made his own packaging for the chocolates. Finally, he has also filed to trademark “TT”, which stands for Terima Kasih Tuhan, translated as Thank you God. Made has a little shop where he sells his chocolates, located on road between Sentani and Jayapura. The prices of his chocolates vary between Rp 10,000 and Rp 65,000.

Some of his chocolate is also sold in bulk for industry materials.

Made’s Organic Papuan Chocolate Shop (13/8/14).

I Made Budi.

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“Chocolate can be used for a variety of things, ranging from foods to cosmetics and chemical materials,” said Made.

In addition to making his own chocolate, Made also makes organic fertiliser, which he gives out to cacao farmers or sells it a very low price.

Made stated that what makes his chocolate unique is that it is 100% made in Papua, and all the raw materials that went into its making are organic, including the compost.

The Ministry of Research and Technology donated a mixing machine to Made. Further, Made has also been invited to various events to talk about chocolate production. He is, however, quite selective in attending these events.

“I would like for there to be more experts that come and live here to help guide the farmers. A one or two-hour session is not enough,” said Made.

Furthermore, chocolate experts are also needed to facilitate the farmers in the field, as well as share their expertise with the farmers and local community leaders, such as tribe chiefs and the local government.

Made believes that aid programmes without first knowing the cultural contexts and direct facilitation is not very useful. Oftentimes, very expensive machinery and tools end up lying around and becoming mere monuments in the village.

“Since the community did not request these equipment, they became of no use to the village,” said Made.

Chocolate products of Made.

A mixer given by the Ministry of Research and Technology for Made.

An Oxfam PEDP staff person and Made (13/8/14).

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Strengthening Required for Upstream Industries Made believes that in order to effectively develop the chocolate industry in Papua, the upstream industry must first be strengthened. In other words, the farmers groups must be strengthened in terms of cacao cultivation, increasing production, and improving quality. He thinks that this is where Oxfam and KIPRa is needed, because the type of facilitation and capacity building that the PEDP programme provides to the farmers have promoted chocolate production in Papua as well as increase the farmer’s and the village’s incomes.

Furthermore, he stated that cacao cultivation could be both easy and difficult. He said that growing cacao is like ‘raising a baby’.

“The field must be cleaned daily, a drainage must be dug around the field, and the shoots must be trimmed in order to allow new shoots to grow,” said Made. He added that many farmers are not following these steps. Moreover, the problem of cacao diseases must also be solved.

Made suggests that facilitators should explain cacao cultivation science in a language that farmers can understand. Further, they should also be given constant motivation and shown good examples of what good cacao cultivation looks like. In that way, the cacao farmers can see for themselves how to do it right.

Farmers have always resisted in offering their fields as demonstration plots. They worry that their yields would go down as a result. Because of that, Made suggested a programme where the farmers’ plots could get rented to become demonstration plots, thereby lessening the potential risk of declining yield.

Made does not discriminate who he shares his knowledge and experiences with, whether it is with indigenous Papuan or settlers, locally known as Amber. He welcomes anyone who comes to learn from him. He also enjoys “challenging” farmers to increase their cacao production and quality. He provided them with the specification of the cacao quality and the production amount in order to motivate the farmers.

Melki Esau Waru agrees. She is a member of the Mabuma II group, one of two groups that were facilitated by Oxfam-KIPRa in Kwansu Village, Kemtuk Sub-district, Jayapura District.

“Mr. Made challenged us to collect 200 kilograms of dried or fermented cacao beans. We would not have been able to do that on our own, or even within our own group. So we tried discussing it with the Waibano group in Hamonggrang, and hopefully they will agree to collect their dried cacao beans together with us to sell to Mr. Made, which will be made into chocolate,” said Melki.

Ripe cacao pods in Kwansu (14/8/14).

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