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Folk Festive of Tompobulu:
FARMER SCHOOL INITIATING CHANGES
The People’s Festival consisted of some rituals (recitation of Al–Quran, sacred chants and barzanji --a tribute to Prophet Muhammad), traditional ensemble (mortar music, bamboo, kecapi --two strings instrument-- and violin), as well as preview of videos about villagers daily life and the process of irrigation construction (more detail in the following box). The night cold weather of Saraung Mountain (1.600m), about 70 km from Makassar, did not prevent hundreds of villagers to attend the festival. Moreover many people from the neighboring villages did not hesitate to walk for several miles away.
This event facilitated and organized by Sekolah Rakyat Petani (SRP – Farmers Popular School) Payo-Payo, one of the members of INSIST network, and the local farmers. The total cost of this infrastructure construction – which started from May 2009 – was about Rp 40 millions (USD 5,000) – collected from the villagers themselves and additional donation from the Student Union of Helsinki University (SUHU), Finland. The donation was collected from the university café that the union ran. The construction of this irrigation is part of a three year cooperation (2009-2011) to develop sustainable rural agriculture and alternative energy between SRP Payo-Payo and SUHU, facilitated by SUSDEC-LPTP, member of INSIST in Solo, Central Java. Beside the two activists of SUHU (Terhi Paikkala and Ilona Kalliola) and board members and field staff of SRP Payo-payo, some activists from members and partners of INSIST network in Central, North and Southeast Sulawesi, Flores, Maluku, East Java, Central Java, and Jakarta, as well as the board members and staff of INSIST secretariate from Yogyakarta attended this event. By coincidence, they were in Makassar to attend a workshop two days beforehand.
Beside the micro irrigation infrastructure, this cooperation project between SRP Payo-payo and SUHU has constructed some simple biogas installations (using plastic) and permanent biogas digester (cement construction) with 9 m3 capacities for several families in Tompobulu. One unit of similar biogas digester has been constructed also in lowland of Bonne-bonne village, Polewali Mandar regency, West Sulawesi, about 400 km from Makassar. One more construction is underway in Soga village, Soppeng regency, South Sulawesi, about 200 km from Makassar, in addition to a farmer training center and demonstration plot for organic farming in that village. People of Kompang village, Sinjai regency, South Sulawesi, about 120 km from Makassar, have also expressed their interest to build similar facility in their village which has been devastated by landslide in 2008. This is part of the cooperation between SRP Payo-Payo, SUSDEC-LPTP, and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Program of CORDAID.
‘The small initiative and action’ of Tompobulu farmers might not be as controversial as the ‘lizard vs. crocodile’ (a scandalous national corruption) case in Jakarta, that until today fill up the national mass media. However, for sure, people of Tompubulu are happy and proud with what they have done and will be continue doing for their village. At least, at the village level, they are trying to solve their immediate problem, settling an ongoing problem by their own efforts, hands and sweats, just when the central government is wasting trillions of rupiahs for the corruptors. This initiative is proven to inspire many farmers in other villages to practice these alternative efforts in their respective villages. That was also the case for the activists from other areas who attended the festival. Hedar Laudjeng from BANTAYA Palu, immediately made an agreement and invited Anton, technical expert on alternative energy from LPTP Solo, to accompany him to Donggala Valley di Central Sulawesi, to conduct 10 days assessment. This was an initial stage to embark similar initiatives for the local communities there. Apridon (YDRI Manado), Solikhin and Udin (MEDIKRA Buton) admitted that what they have seen in Tompobulu has “...inspired them what and how to work more concretely with the local farmers”. More obviously, Benito Kissya, a young farmer from Haruku Island, Central Maluku, after leaving the mountainous Tompobulu, was busy purchasing some materials for plastic biogas installation in Makassar. When departing back to Maluku, with his sweaty body, he said: “Beta (I) can make that biogas. Beta have discussed alot with Pak Tande. Beta knows how to make it. Beta will definitely make one in Haruku!”
Yes, it is real action that generates change, however small.
The source of water for the micro irrigation infrastructure of Tompobulu is coming from Batummoppo River that never dries even in the dry season. Batummoppo is located behind the top of Saraung Mountain which is close to the rice fields near the center of villagers’ settlement. One small dam (12 m widths and 1, 5 m heights, with water gate 1 m width) built across the river. The water channeled with gravity technique, following the contour and mountain slope, through PVC pipes for 4000 meters to two small pools near Acce rice fields (8 hectares) and Lompo Lembang rice fields (10 hectares), two out of five largest rice fields in Tompobulu. According to the calculation of the river water debit, only the two rice fields that can be continuously watered by the micro irrigation channel. Therefore the direct benefit has been experienced by 43 families (177 people) of the local farmers who own rice field in those two areas.
All the ideas and technical design of the micro irrigation were prepared by the farmers themselves, with technical support from SUSDEC-LPTP. Pak Tande, one of the members of Tompobulu Farmers Group is a ‘barefoot engineer’ who led the whole project. This middle aged man, together with some other local farmers, has attended training on organic farming and alternative energy for several weeks in LPTP Solo and visited some villages in Central Java (Klaten, Sragen, and Boyolali). They learned about the micro ecosystem of wet and dry land, producing bacteria for organic fertilizer, natural pesticide, developing seeds, biogas installation, and modifying Jathropa curcas and pala-pala stove. The knowledge and technical skills from this training are now practiced in hinterland of South and West Sulawesi. The results and impacts started to appear significantly.
Hasriadi Ary and Melanie Febrista, two farmer organizers in Tompobulu, reported significant increase of the agricultural products in that village since the irrigation functioned in July 2009. By implementing the organic farming methods, the local farmers claimed to produce 1,5 – 2 sacks for every 10 liters of seeds. Beforehand, at the most they could only harvest 1 sack. Farmers who planted peanuts admitted to yield 100-120 liters of peanuts for every 10 liters of seeds; it increased for about 30-50% as before they could only harvest 70-80 liters. They also reported that some families who have used biogas for cooking have saved the trees cutting (for cooking) in average 10 trees per week. Obviously it has supported the efforts of protecting the trees inside the Saraung-Bantimurung National Park. Atikah, organizer of SRP Payo-payo stationed in Bonne-bonne, West Sulawesi, also reported that the farmers there have produced bacteria for organic fertilizer (Lacto basillus), and even sold the surplus of their production to other farmers, a new additional income for them. In general, Hasriadi and Melanie calculated that only in several months, the expenses for food and energy in the families of the local farmers practicing their new knowledge and skills have decreased for about 40-50%, 10% less than before.
Now, Pak Tande and his fellows villagers started to share their knowledge and skills to other farmers in their village and also other interested villages. Therefore there are more farmer engineers’ in the hinterland of Sulawesi. This is one of the main goals of Farmers Popular School of Payo-payo, established in 2007 by some activists and researchers from Ininnawa Community based in Makassar City, provincial capital of South Sulawesi.