Kabar Itah

Edition 18 : May - July 2008

Editorial Technical Support

Fledgling program takes flight
Recently the company began preparing for ex-
ploration activities in East Kalimantan province,
on an island called Mandul. As exploration
activities were only going to last for two to four
months, YTS decided it would be best to wait
until they were finished before embarking on
any community development work. The feeling
was that if the drilling results were negative,
we would not need to engage in community
development activities.

However, during a recent visit we quickly

realised that despite the uncertainty about
continuing to work in this location, there still
was an immediate need for better communica-
tion with the local community, because many
people had questions and concerns about
what was going on.

We then arranged to have an information
sharing session with the villagers the following
week. That meeting was attended by 60-70
villagers, all men. In the meeting, the explora-
tion group first explained their drilling plan, and
then what might happen if results were good
and a mine developed. YTS then gave an ex-
planation about how we would like to work with
the community, if the project went ahead.
A very active discussion followed the presenta-
tions, with villagers raising numerous ques-
tions about the potential impact both from the
exploration and the mining activities, and how
the yayasan works. Afterwards, most people
seemed satisfied with the information they
received; and that really was the point – that
in the absence of information, people usually
create their own understanding of what may
happen, so it’s essential to keep people well-
informed about what may happen.
This was a good learning experience for all of
us, because it demonstrated very clearly how
important it is to engage with and provide good
information to everyone from the very begin-
ning of any company operation.
Bardolf Paul
Director
Murding, a villager from Mewet-Tenggiling village learn to give injection to a chicken
In Kaltim, YTS is commencing a
chicken-raising training program
to promote new income-generat-
ing activities in the villages. We
hope that in future, local produc-
tion of both eggs and meat will
be boosted, and the surplus will
be sold at market.
Local birds (ayam kampung)
already exist in the villages but
the populations have been deci-
mated by disease. As sickness
is a primary problem, our training
will start with vaccination, and the
making of a jamu that is good for
both birds and humans.
Semi-intensive chicken farming
requires villagers to build coops,
keep them clean, and feed and
water the birds on a daily basis.
The activity is not difficult, and
the whole family can engage in
caring for the birds. What is gen-
erally lacking is motivation.
Therefore, we will pay attention
to motivational training, and the
need to learn to work together in
a cohesive way. On the technical
front, we also intend to demon-
strate cage building using local
materials. There is no lack of
resources in this regard, villagers
have easy access to the neces-
sary building materials, such as
bamboo, rotan and timber.
There is a common mispercep-
tion that fast-breeding chickens
are required. Thus, community
development programs in other
parts of Kaltim have made the
mistake of distributing large
numbers of hybrid chickens to vil-
lages only to watch them all die.
In fact, selection is only one of
several considerations. Local
chickens can be bred success-
fully in semi-intensive systems,
but all breeds do need attention.
So, the problem is not the breed
of chicken but the lack of hus-
bandry skills among the village
community.
Indeed, cultural barriers to good
husbandry exist. The common
continued on page 2 ...
Government Relations:
Government and NGOs discuss ‘Acceleration of Pro-Village Policy towards Poverty Alleviation’
The Forum for Participatory Village Develop-
ment (FPPD), in cooperation with the gov-
ernment of South Kalimantan held a work-
shop on ‘Acceleration of Pro-Village Policy
towards Poverty Alleviation’ on 4-5 June in
Banjarmasin. Village heads, local govern-
ment officials, NGOs, and private sector
representatives from Java, Kalimantan, Su-
lawesi and Sumatera attended the workshop.
The workshop reviewed the concept and
practice of village autonomy in poverty al-
leviation. The Village Allocation Fund mecha-
nism is not being directed towards poverty
alleviation. Most often the fund is used to pay
village staff and for infrastructure construc-
tion. Most participants agreed that communi-
ties are not being given full responsibility to
manage the fund for their own development.
Government still maintains rigid control over
the fund. The fund would be more effective if
it was directed towards the priority needs of
villagers.
The bottom-up planning mechanism, called Some of the workshop participants get together for a post-workshop photo
Musrenbang, provides an opportunity for a
much better development process. As the coordination, a proper mechanism for managing funding,
smallest unit of governance and closest to the people, institutionalization of procedures, and transparency in all
the village is the logical place to start planning the devel- activities.
opment process. Thus, if planning and development is This workshop provided an opportunity for YTS to ex-
started and focused at the village level, then the develop- change experiences with other NGOs dealing with the
ment process will become more realistic, efficient, and same issues, such as Formasi, an NGO from Kebumen,
sustainable. Central Java. Formasi has been working with village
At the preparation stage of the development planning, it is development planning and budgeting, combining the
very important to prepare the data, the plan and the priori- budget and plan within the Musrenbang mechanism at the
ties. At the implementation stage, there’s a need for better village, subdistrict, and district levels.

Technical Support: Comparing two rubber seed varieties Technical Support

In providing technical support for rubber cultivation, YTS currently is focus- ...continued from page 1

ing on seedling production. Technical support is aimed at improving seed- perception is that chickens simply run
ling quality, which will increase the productivity of the overall rubber cultiva- around freely, fend for themselves, and
tion system. Rubber farmers who have followed this training in their interest sleep in the trees at night.
groups soon will be producing their own improved seedlings. Farmers will However, this will not provide a high
compare the results from two seed varieties: GT-1 from South Kalimantan, reproduction rate. Chickens that have
and a local variety. GT-1 seeds are provided as part of the training package. to live under stressful temperature and
Interest group members have already applied some of their training, such rainfall conditions with nowhere to brood,
as selecting the best location for the nursery, constructing the seedbed, will not lay many eggs. Indeed, eggs are
selecting seeds for planting, and establishing and maintaining the nursery. as important a source of protein as meat,
After two and can replace the need to slaughter
months, birds for the table.
they have
achieved an Once the essential skills have been
80% success learned, the breeders will soon have a
rate in raising lot of birds on their hands. Then, comes
seedlings the question of how and where to market
from seed. the birds. Here the village benefits from
However, the its strategic location, close to the towns
groups still of Tarakan and Tanjung Selor. Further-
need to learn more, we will encourage buying by local
more about companies.
nursery man- Thus, we are starting an experiment. Can
agement, the local culture embrace the concept of
in order to caring for domestic fowl and do semi-in-
monitor con- tensive chicken-raising in the forest? The
ditions in the chicken is a descendant of a jungle fowl
nursery more Women from Posu Village plant GT-1 variety seeds so why not? We will keep you informed of
effectively. our progress.

2 Kabar Itah - Edition 18

 Technical Support: Three villages are ready to practice fish rearing
Three villages in the Upper
Kahayan River took part in
a training on fish rearing
- Tumbang Korik, Tumbang
Tajungan, and Buntoi. This
training arose out of the an-
nual village planning meet-
ing that took place in Tum-
bang Miri last December.
As the price of fish is rising,
and fish are becoming
more difficult to find in the
rivers, fish rearing presents
a good livelihood prospect,
especially as some villages
have potential areas for
building fish ponds.
The training expert is Yu-
lianto, S.Pi from the Fishery
Unit in Tewah. The Fishery
Unit is willing to loan finger-
lings as a form of capital to
fish interest groups. If the
fingerlings grow into mature
fish, members will repay
the loan after harvest. If
the fingerlings die for no
accountable reason, the
group has no obligation to In Buntoi village, three members of the fish raising group are building a dam to make a small fish pond

repay the loan.

The situation in each vil- interest group in Tumbang Tajungan a schedule for maintaining the pond.
lage is different, depending on the made a small pond by damming a The interest groups in all three
resources and the potential. In Tum- river. The group is divided into teams villages have already cleaned their
bang Korik the interest group uses a of two people who take turns to man- ponds in preparation for receiving
small river that was previously used as age the pond. In Buntoi, the pond was the fingerlings.
a trench. Management is distributed made from a small gold mining pond.
between two to three people. The The group created a set of rules and

Workshop: Safe and affordable clean water from Bio Sand Filters
At the beginning of May, YTS attended a workshop
on Implementation of the Bio Sand Filter Program,
held by CAWST International in Sanur, Bali. Sixteen
participants from government and NGOs attended
this workshop. The workshop introduced a method
of processing water for drinking, using the Bio Sand
Filter (BSF). The BSF uses a natural process with a
certain media to grow a Biolayer, a type of bacteria
that can kill bad bacteria in the water. This technol-
ogy is very suitable for household consumption, as
it can produce 80 liters of drinking water per day.
During the five day workshop, participants learned
about clean water technology and saw demonstra-
tions of the BSF technology. During the training two
BSF units were constructed and tested.
At the present time, the price of water is increasing,
and villagers continue to consume turbid river water.
As clean water is becoming increasingly expensive
and hard to find, and villagers are accustomed to
take water directly from the river, the Bio Sand Filter
Tohar from YTS (r) practices BioSand Filter construction
is a good alternative for getting clean water because
it is practical and affordable.

3 Kabar Itah - Edition 18

Governance: Training:
Participation and development Improving media materials will enhance livelihoods
In this quarter, YTS took part in two national
workshops focused on participation and
development. Both events brought together
actors from donor agencies, from central and
local government, including legislators, and
from civil society and civil society organisa-
tions. The goal was to share experiences on
participation and the role of communities in
improving the quality of public service.
One workshop was sponsored by the USAID
Local Government Support Program (LGSP),
and the other by Ford Foundation, with the
help of two groups promoting participatory
community development, FPPM and FPPD.
One key theme was that community partici-
pation at local and national levels was es-
sential to achieve sustainable development.
Without strong community involvement,
development will be irrelevant to local people.
The conference emphasized the need for Testing the Rubber Production handbook with villagers in Bukit Rawi Village
public participation in policy-setting and
in improving public services. Participatory To improve the quality of information materials for villagers, Studio Driya
methods are needed to strengthen the role
of civil society in public policy and budgeting Media (SDI) from Bandung provided five days of training to YTS staff.
processes. Also taking part were technical training experts and media people work-
In many parts of Indonesia, community par- ing with YTS in the preparation of media materials.
ticipation – especially in development plan- The trainers from SDM provided a very practical step-by-step, hands-on
ning – is still not institutionalized. This can be
seen by the minimal involvement of commu- approach to media development, using a YTS booklet on rubber cultiva-
nities in the Musrenbang planning process. tion as a demonstration tool. Each section of the booklet was re-worked
Institutionalising community participation and made more easy to understand with improved text, layout, and
requires legal surety, as well as government illustrations.
action to ensure community involvement.
Good access to information, and sufficient A critical part of the process was testing the booklet in the field with
budgets and facilities are also essential. villagers who will be using it as a learning aid. This provided specific
Both workshops emphasized that community feedback on the appropriateness of the text and illustrations.
participation in the planning and budgeting
cycle is the responsibility of local govern- As a result of this training, YTS staff learned how to create publications
ment, especially in the Musrenbang plan- that communicate more effectively with villagers. This approach will be
ning cycle. Government must also be more applied to all technical information materials that YTS prepares, with the
transparent in setting development priorities expectation that the improved materials will make it easier for villagers
and budgets
to improve their livelihood activities.
Profile : Muhammad Yunus, chicken expert from East Kalimantan Agenda for 3rd Quarter
Muhammad Yunus and Agung Triadi August
together make a dynamic training Participatory monitoring and evaluation
team: they combining expertise in with management and interest groups
chicken raising with community moti- Individual household analysis
vational skills. Upland rice: identification and training
Starting with 69 birds, Muhammad September
Yunus now has 4,000. He also is Monitoring & evaluation follow up
Secretary-General of the Indonesian Fish mobilization.........
Poultry-Raising Community. In his Chicken training in East Kalimantan
spare time, he builds and sells egg
October
incubators to help others get into the
egg production business. Outplanting rubber seedlings
Fish rearing & rubber cultivation training
Chicken farming is a good way of
raising people out of poverty, as Upland rice training
illustrated by the experience of one Kabar Itah
member of Yunus’s group. This man Kabar Itah is the quarterly newsletter of Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta
had no income and used to sleep in (YTS), an affiliate of PT. Kalimantan Surya Kencana (KSK),
a mineral exploration company.
the local mosque. Within a few years Published by: Bank Accounts:
of joining the group, he managed to Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta

acquire a good house and a motor- Jl. Rinjani No. 39

Palangka Raya 73112
BNI 1946
Palangka Raya Branch

Muhammad Yunus, chicken expert
cycle, all from his efforts at raising Kalimantan Tengah-Indonesia
Telp. +62 (0536) 3237184
Central Kalimantan
INDONESIA
chickens. Fax. +62 (0536) 3229187
Email:tambuhaksinta@gmail.com
Number 0114981608

4 Kabar Itah - Edition 18