Community Forest Program: Lampung, South Sumatra

By Barrie | August 16th, 2007 | No Comments

The fragrance of coffee blossoms wafted through the air from the
road dividing Gunungterang village. It was approaching noon when scores of people from the village in Way Tenong district, West Lampung regency, gathered at the village hall. A blue tent was erected in front while 78 Ettawa goats loitered in a corner of the compound.

Some villagers busily fed a food supplement to the goats — a mixture of tamarind, palm sugar and salt — while others waited on the side in anticipation.

Then the moment arrived, when a facilitator of a local non-governmental organization, the Nature and Environmental Lovers Group (Watala), Nurhayati, led the goats to the local residents. With happy faces, one by one they each received three goats, allocated by lot.

“We hope the goats that we have distributed can continue breeding. If the goats that you receive bear kids, then please hand over the nanny goats to your neighbors who also need them,” Watala director Rama Zakaria said.

Rama said it would have been ideal if 100 goats were distributed in the first phase of their program. However, of the 100 Ettawa goats brought in from Central Java, only 78 passed selection.

“We only want to buy healthy goats so that they can breed quickly and improve the lives of farmers living around forested areas,” Rama said.

According to Rama, the distribution of goats to 26 farmers in Gunungterang is part of the group’s Forest Community Economic and Conservation Program, in collaboration with Heifer International Indonesia. The core of the program is what they call “community based forest management”.

Heifer International Indonesia is part of the Heifer International, based in Nairobi, Kenya. One of its programs is to empower rural communities in Sumatra to live adequate, independent and sustainable lives free of poverty, famine and environmental destruction. The program aims at working to strengthen local organizations, while sharing knowledge and resources with those in need.

According to Rama, 120 farmers have received three goats each in Gunungterang and Simpangsari rural subdistricts.

They are members of the farming group who have managed land in forested areas thus far and have been included in the Community Forest Program. The entire community will have the chance to breed the goats in later phases.

Located in an area surrounded by forest, Gunungterang rural subdistrict, inhabited by 3,165 people, has been selected for the program in part because one local river supplies the 90-Megawatt Way Besai power station in West Lampung.

Through the interconnection network, the Way Besai power station is one of the main power suppliers for people in Lampung, South Sumatra, Jambi and Bengkulu provinces.

Most people in Gunungterang, who have long cultivated coffee, are already aware of the importance of forest conservation. Each prospective married couple, for example, is required to plant several tree saplings in their family compound.

Before the government put the Community Forest Program into effect, farmers in Gunungterang were often criticized for their land clearing. This was despite many local residents saying the barren areas near the village were in fact caused by illegal loggers.

When the Forest Community Program was initiated in 2000 and farmers were given temporary permits to manage forests for five years, local farmers were eager to replant barren areas with productive crops such as vegetables, coffee, cacao, durian, nutmeg and cinnamon.

“We can live peacefully now because the West Lampung regent has issued community forest licenses of up to 25 years. To be able to manage farms in protected forests for 25 years, we must get a temporary permit for five years. After managing the land for 25 years, we can hand down the farm to our children,” Suparyoto, a Gunungterang resident said.

Gunungterang village head Masmuda said the goat distribution program had been good for local people’s livelihoods.

“Farmers’ lives will gradually improve by breeding Ettawa goats. They can yield milk, while their droppings can be used as organic fertilizer. Residents have started to develop organic farming, such as cultivating coffee, tea and vegetables,” Masmuda said.

Oyos Saroso H.N.