Kabar Itah

Edition 35 : January - March 2013

Editorial Social Responsibility a Major Issue at

Although we have a short article in World’s Largest Mining Show
this issue about YTS at the PDAC
(Prospectors and Developers
Association of Canada) show
in Toronto earlier this year, it is
worth noting the increasingly more
sophisticated levels of engagement
that companies in the minerals sector
are having with social responsibility
issues. This is especially notable
in the exploration phase of mineral
development.

Because social responsibility is a

‘non-technical space’, geologists
and technically trained people are
having to learn new skills that will
enable them to interact with local
people and deal more effectively with
local concerns. One of the speakers
succinctly boiled these down into
three questions: “What’s in it for me?”
“How are you going to affect the water
and air?” “What will be left for my
children?” Five CEOs from major mining companies discuss mining’s contribution to sustainable development in the closing
session of the CSR series at the PDAC in Toronto

This demonstrates how impossible

it is to decouple the social and The PDAC (Prospectors and reporting payments and revenues.
environmental concerns – both are
intricately intertwined. And to deal Developers Association of Canada)
with these concerns takes some very attracts around 30,000 people The social media session was
special people skills, especially the every year to Toronto, and is the particularly instructive because
ability to listen and respond openly to largest gathering of people in the it revealed that because of the
questions raised by local people, and mining sector in the world. widespread use of social media
to come up with appropriate answers.
to communicate information,
This year the program on Corporate companies had to be prepared
The importance of ‘getting it right from
the beginning’ was highlighted by Social Responsibility (CSR) was to respond much more quickly to
several speakers; and the reality that spread over three days and looked
accusations of malpractice or other
every situation is different and requires at issues ranging from the use of
an appropriately different solution. negative comments. New media,
social media by companies to CSR
such as Facebook and Twitter
practices in exploration.
It is reassuring to see this kind of enabled companies to interact
recognition of the importance of early It is very instructive for YTS to take much more directly and personally
engagement, and the need for an
appropriate investment in ‘getting it part in these sessions because with local people and organisations.
right’. Ten years ago when we first it gives a global sense of where It makes these interactions very
got started on our current program, companies are in their relationships real and immediate.
this thinking was unheard of in the with communities and other
industry. interested and concerned parties; The three days ended with a five-
and how they are dealing with person CEO panel addressing the
Bardolf Paul other high profile issues, such as question of mining’s contribution to
Executive Director
biodiversity and transparency in sustainable development.
Delegates Debate National Action Plan at Workshop on Mercury Pollution
On the first of March, YTS hosted a workshop in
Central Kalimantan entitled ‘Alternative Technology
for Better Use of Mercury in Small-Scale Mining ’.
Organised by the Blacksmith Institute, the second
national workshop on mercury pollution brought
together many government representatives from
the national, provincial, and district levels. A variety
of other stakeholders were also present, including
three major international agencies: UNEP, AusAid
and CIFOR.
There was plenty of discussion and a high level of
interaction between participants. The purpose of
the workshop was to discuss a strategy to help the
Government of Indonesia to move forward on this
issue. The first presentation, by the Department
of Environment, explained how the INC process
created the Minamata Convention which Indonesia
is expected to sign this October in Japan. Next, the
Department of Mining presented the outline of their
Draft National Action Plan on Mercury.
YTS also took the opportunity to present a summary
of the results of our mercury project over the last
seven years. In addition, the Blacksmith Institute
presented their National Inventory of Toxic Sites in
Indonesia, and UNEP presented a global picture that
stressed the need for formalization of small scale
mining by governments.
Prior to the workshop, we took our visitors to the
goldfields of Kereng Pangi, so they could see the
impacts of small scale mining at close proximity.
We saw new areas of rainforest being cleared and
burned to make way for immigrant miners, and we
saw mercury being used for amalgamation.
We also saw our condenser equipment being used
by all of the gold shops in the town. Hopefully, all Above: Participants visit the gold field of Kereng Pangi on the first day to see the artisanal mining
activities conducted by the locals and how it affects the surrounding environment
this provided a little spark of encouragement, to help
bring about the change that is needed to stem the Below: Hundreds of sluices are operating in the gold field of Kereng Pangi, turning the once forested
area into barren land and contaminated rivers
flow of mercury into our landscape and waterways.

Locals Provide Homegrown Fish and Vegetables to Exploration Camp

In addition to having a policy of local hire for their vegetables that are currently grown by local farmers.
workforce, part of the local content strategy of We found that a very limited range of vegetables are
Kalimantan Gold is to purchase food that is grown grown successfully, and the existing level of production
locally, to help meet the needs of the exploration is low. In fact, many common vegetables are not grown
camps. For this reason, YTS has begun a camp supply here at all, but are brought upriver by traders to be sold
program to promote small scale farming opportunities in in the village at high prices. We then went on to identify
the vicinity of the exploration camp. the training needs of the vegetable growers, as well as
other types of vegetables that could be introduced, to
This new initiative will greatly increase the level of sup-
be cultivated as part of the new program.
port we provide to vegetable growers and fish farmers
in Tumbang Mahuroi village. Through ongoing training We soon realized that we must aim not only to increase
and more material support, we will assist the commu- the overall availability of vegetables grown by the
nity to grow more food. Furthermore, the new program community, but that we must also try to lower the prices
will assist the local farmers to sell their production paid for food in the village. We also realized that the
directly to the exploration camp in Marinyoi. Thus, it is prices the company pays to the farmers in Mahuroi
now time for the villagers to start optimizing their farm- must be competitive with the price of the same goods
land to plant crops that produce well, in order to take in Palangkaraya if the program is to run successfully.
advantage of the business opportunities that exist. In this way, we can ensure that the farmers will have a
In January, we started identifying the types of continued on page 5

2 Kabar Itah - Edition 35

Tips for Making the Musrenbang Work
Musyawarah Perencanaan Pembangunan (Musrenbang) Mas, YTS is making a similar effort in the Bukit Batu
or development planning forum is the process of drafting subdistrict. Here YTS is active in seven kelurahan (urban
annual development plans involving various stakeholders villages). The implementation of Musrenbang in each
in deciding how to utilize and allocate the government kelurahan varied significant and overall improvement has
budget, in order to improve social welfare in a region. been limited.
One of the positive experiences was
shared by Pak Rawan, Chairman of the
Urban Employment Agency (LKK) in
Habaring Hurung: “If we want to develop
our village, we must be active, as when
we want to build a house; men and
women should be actively involved. The
process and model of Musrenbang from
year to year remains the same. There is
almost no significant change. The model
may vary; however, we should have our
own follow up action.”
“Musrenbang only informs us on the
programs from each government
agency. However, if we want to achieve
success, we must make a clear
argument. For example, in proposing
for road construction: take a photo of
the road, attach a letter that states it is
a follow up of Musrenbang and based
One of the keys to success in the Musrenbang planning process is the involvement of women, because their aspirations
and participation are equally important to those of men; and therefore they should represent their own interests. on results of community meetings, and
then address it to city government to
The process is carried out by local government and follow up on it. Complete the letter with documents, such
starts at the village level. Proposals from the village level as minutes of meetings and other supporting documents.
should be compiled and discussed at the subdistrict Remember, propose only the urgent ones - the needs of
level before they are submitted and considered at the people that are priorities. It can achieve success”: stated
district level. The involvement of various stakeholders is Rawan in explaining their strategy.
critical to ensure that the most important development
needs are identified and prioritized, to make best use of Rawan also commented
limited government development budget and increase on women’s
the chances for successful development planning participation: “If only
implementation. However, a lack training and experience women participated
of key government officials can cause the Musrenbang to more actively in the
become more of a ceremonial event. This in turn results Musrenbang it certainly
in declining community participation. will be different, because
their participation is
Communities have expressed their disappointment with considered important.
the process, since many of their proposed programs are Differences of opinion
not realized without explaining why. are necessary and
Because of this situation, YTS is collaborating with should be examined
Gunung Mas regency and has funding from the Ford together so the best
Foundation to implement a governance project to Rawan explains the Musrenbang strategy in
Habaring Hurung urban village
solution can be found.
improve the planning process in the three subdistricts in Women are most often
Gunung Mas where YTS has been active. thoughtful and critical. Unfortunately, they think their
voice is already represented by men and by community
At regency level, the focus of the project is planning and leaders.”
budgeting, while at village and subdistrict levels the focus
is on Musrenbang planning and facilitation techniques. Rawan asserted that to minimize disappointment in the
YTS has trained 52 persons from 19 villages as village Musrenbang, the community should propose only urgent
facilitators, and provided guidance on how the village de- programs. In conclusion, to restore public interest and
velopment planning forum can be made more effective. enthusiasm in the Musrenbang: first public awareness
should be developed in the village; next, people should
The process of planning and facilitation of Musrenbang be active and open to information; they should be
at village and subdistrict levels has shown good
realistic and work closely to establish good relations with
improvement. However at the subdistrict level progress is
all parties. In addition, higher government levels should
slower, as coordination and synchronization between the
be more open with information, so that communities
different technical agencies is more difficult to achieve.
know which proposals have been accepted and which
Besides the support for the Musrenbang in Gunung have not.
Kabar Itah - Edition 35 3
Village Profile: Tumbang Mahuroi
Tumbang Mahuroi is the last upriver village along the need to travel south through the neighbouring district of
Kahayan River in the subdistrict of Damang Batu, in Katingan. In addition, the proximity of the camp means
Gunung Mas District. To the north, the village lies close that many small business opportunities are emerging for
to the provincial boundary with West Kalimantan. The the village, as the company needs a regular supply of
village was established in 1840 and until now it has fresh vegetables, fish and chickens, to feed the growing
only ever been accessible by boat. It is two hours travel number of staff in nearby Marinyoi base camp.
upstream from Tumbang Marikoi, the central village of
For this reason, YTS has already started to support the
the subdistrict of Damang Batu.
interest groups by providing training in small business
Mahuroi has 239 households, and the major livelihood management. This training started in March and will run
activities are gold mining, hill rice, mixed farming, and until June. In April, we also plan to increase the level of
rubber cultivation. Most villagers prefer to do small scale technical support we provide to interest group members
mining because it can often be the most financially for vegetable cultivation and fish farming. We hope that
rewarding. a positive response from the community will soon help to
boost the village economy as well as improve the welfare
Village infrastructure and public services are still inad-
of the local employees.
equate. Although there are two medical
workers available, there is no doctor.
Villagers still use traditional lighting at
night, and some others are using genera-
tors as there are no electricity services
in the village. Some streets in the village
have been constructed in concrete but
others are unpaved. The children of the
village can go to kindergarten, elemen-
tary school and junior high school, but
must leave the village to go to senior high
school or university.
YTS has been assisting Tumbang
Mahuroi since May 2007, and there is an
established Village Management Group
as well as Interest Groups for vegetables,
rubber, fish and pigs.
Since the mineral exploration camp was
established nearby, transportation from
the village to Palangkaraya has become In Tumbang Mahuroi, children can still play in the clear water, unlike in other villages along the Kahayan River, where
rivers are already dirty because of the increasing activities in artisanal mining
easier, although most road vehicles still

Annual Village Planning in Gunung Mas 2013

The Governance Strengthening Project this year
is expanding its support to all 21 villages that
YTS works with in the Kahayan. This support
prepared village government and local cadres to
facilitate their annual village planning activities.
In previous years, YTS Program Officers were
the main facilitators.
The overall results from monitoring the annual
village planning process are mostly satisfying,
as most villages successfully managed the
event on their own, despite the absence of
clear budget guidelines. Participation levels
rose substantially, reinforcing the perception
that local facilitators did an excellent job. Some
interesting stories came out of the process. For
example in Penda Rangas village, four women
took charge of facilitating the planning, as all
the village officials were absent. They were
motivated to make sure their village did not lose
(On far left) Feniwati, Yati and Lisa organised and ran the planning in Penda Rangas Villages
their rights to get government support.

4 Kabar Itah - Edition 35

Working for Chicken Feed?
Have you ever had a bad dream in which you are running is market domination by middlemen. Although these
very hard but barely moving forward? Then you may traders do supply farmers with all of the necessary inputs
understand how the farmers in Bukit Batu feel when they for their enterprises, their credit system also forces the
have to spend most of their profits on purchasing factory farmers to sell all of their production back to them at very
feeds for their fish and chickens. To help shake off this low prices, and thus eliminates their collective bargaining
condition, YTS recently held a series of workshops on power.
the ‘Development of Sustainable Fish and Chicken Feed
In contrast, the purpose of the new village feed-making
Enterprises’ which aims to get farmers back on their feet
program is to build the farmers capacity to run their own
and running again.
small enterprises, making an alternative feed from local
Seven workshops were held in all, one in each of the resources that can be produced and sold cheaply. In turn,
seven villages we serve in Bukit Batu. More than eighty this should lower their operating costs and improve their
women attended, as well as sixty men. The workshops profits.
followed on from the Focus Group Discussions we held in
In the village of Banturung, where there are twenty
February in order to raise interest in this new program.
large chicken farms and seventy fishponds, the local
Our micro-enterprise trainer started with an institutional government also made presentations. The department of
analysis and a SWOT analysis to establish the case agriculture gave advice on stocking, feeding and raising
for successful business. From this, it emerged that in fish and on nutrition requirements when making fish feed.
addition to the high cost of factory feed, another problem The agency for food security also gave advice about
the establishment of farmer’s groups
and some possible scenarios for forming
village cooperatives or farmers collectives.
As an outcome of the workshops, each
of the seven villages created a group
specifically for the purpose of making
feed. In general, the villages chose to form
new micro-enterprise groups around this
activity, only in Kanarakan did they decide
to use an existing cooperative for this
venture.
In April and May, our micro-enterprise
trainer will provide two more levels of
training to each of the newly-formed
enterprise groups. The first training will
be on the principles of self-organization
and the second will be on management of
group finances. In the second half of the
Villagers in Marang are excited to learn about fish food production and the feed business
year, YTS will follow up with a series of
technical trainings in feed production.

Locals Provide Homegrown Fish and Vegetables to Exploration Camp

continued from page 2

market for their produce and that the new program

will not cause any inflationary pressure in the village.
As the camp supply program is scheduled to begin
in April, we have also created a purchasing and
delivery mechanism to get the supplies from the
village to the camp. For this function, the camp will
send a Community Relations Officer to the village
to purchase vegetables directly from local farmers
every Sunday. They will also collect other produce
directly from the forest farms around the camp every
Wednesday.
The new program is already getting a positive
response from villagers in Mahuroi and we all
hope that it will soon be helping to reduce the
existing dependency on expensive supplies from Joshua (far right), KSK Community Relation Officer and Godwin (second from right), YTS
downstream traders, and creating more resilience Field Coordinator discuss the mechanism for food supply to the company’s basecamp with the
villagers of Tumbang Mahuroi
and food security in the village.

Kabar Itah - Edition 35 5

Newsflash Newsflash
YTS Road Show Reaches Out to Government in Gunung Mas YTS expands networking through
In mid-January, YTS staff together with KSK’s Community Coordinator Implementing CSR Ethically
visited several technical agencies in Gunung Mas. The purpose of the In mid-March, YTS attended a confer-
visit was to inform officials about YTS and KSK activities, and to look for ence held by IBL, Indonesia Business
opportunities to cooperate. Links, an organization that actively pro-
The team met with senior officials in Planning (Bappeda), Community motes Corporate Social Responsibility
Empowerment, Agriculture and Plantations, and Livestock and Fisheries. or CSR activities in Indonesia.
These officials appreciated the visit and would like to get up to date In this event, attended by
information on the activities of YTS and KSK on a regular basis. The stakeholders from various sectors
parties discussed possibilities to collaborate on technical support for - private companies, NGOs and
farmers in the Upper Kahayan. government representatives, YTS
took the opportunity to expand its
Bouncing Ideas Off WWF network and learn about how other
During the subdistrict development planning meeting in Tumbang Napoi, companies implement CSR. As an
YTS staff and WWF field staff met to discuss similarities in programs we organization working in a remote area
run in the same villages. It was felt important to coordinate our activities like Kalimantan, the event has been
to avoid overlap and confusion. valuable for YTS in improving our
WWF’s activities are focused on the four most upstream villages along knowledge and building relationships
the Miri River, whereas YTS has been working in the five downstream with others with similar perspectives
communities. This year, YTS is planning to start activities in one of the and activities. During the two-
upstream villages, Masukih. Both agencies are also working with rubber. day sessions, we also shared our
experience with other participants.
The Facts from IFACS
YTS attended a workshop conducted by the Indonesian Forest and
Climate Support (IFACS) program. This is a support program from the Agenda
USA focused on forest and climate change. One location is the Katingan April
watershed, including Palangka Raya and surroundings, and the buffer Kahayan: Credit Union Basic Training in
zone in Sebangau National Park. Some of the YTS urban villages in Kahut & Miri Manasa
Bukit Batu subdistrict are located in this buffer zone. Further discussion is Micro Enterprise & Horticulture Training in
needed to identify if there are opportunities for cooperation. Mahuroi
Bukit Batu: Feed Business Workshop I
Indigenous Peoples Debate Issues in Palangka Raya Governance: Training on Strategic Planning
In February, YTS attended the third National Congress of AMAN (Aliansi for Government Agency; Technical
Masyarakat Adat Nusantara or nationwide alliance of indigenous Assistance on Strategic Planning for Health
Agency
peoples) in Palangka Raya. During general dialogue sessions, various
ASGM: Second Visit to Purwekerto, Java
parties explored policies related to the development of indigenous
Training: Visualization in Participatory
peoples’ rights. During workshop sessions, participants discussed other Programs
interesting topics, such as: strengthening the system of self-funding
organizations; a draft law on recognition and protection of indigenous May
Kahayan: CLAP in Masukih; Trainings on
peoples; indigenous participation in politics towards the 2014 national Rubber, Fish and Vegetable Cultivation
election, green economy for indigenous peoples; strengthening Micro Enterprise &Horticulture training in
organizations that defend, protect and serve indigenous peoples: and Mahuroi
advocacy and case assistance. Bukit Batu: Feed Business Workshop II
Governance: Mid-term Project Evaluation
Major Study on Small-Scale and Artisanal Mining Workshop
YTS is in the process of forging a new relationship with the Overseas ASGM: Borax Demonstration in Java
Development Institute (ODI), a UK-based research and development Training: Note Taking & CLAP
agency that is interested in exploring the dynamics in the small-scale and June
artisanal mining sector in Indonesia, including the relationship the sector Kahayan: Trainings on Rubber, Fish and
has with commercial mining companies. Vegetable Cultivation
Bukit Batu: Insitutional Management Training
This initiative would be funded by AusAID and would help to define
Governance: Exhibition on Gunung Mas
a largely hidden and unknown sector of the economy, one that could Anniversary
involve up to a million people in Indonesia. ASGM: Preparations in Sumbawa
Clean and Renewable Energy Partnership Starts Running Training: Personal Development Training

YTS has teamed up with New Ventures Indonesia to start running a Kabar Itah
‘Clean and Renewable Energy’ support project in Kalteng. The objective Kabar Itah is the quarterly newsletter of Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta
(YTS), an affiliate of PT. Kalimantan Surya Kencana (KSK),
is to help new business ventures in the green energy sector to develop a mineral exploration company.

their business by providing advice, training, and links to investors. Published by:
Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta
Bank Accounts:
Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta

This is a big challenge in Central Kalimantan because there are very few Jl. Rajawali VII, Srikandi III No. 100
Bukit Tunggal, Palangka Raya 73112
BNI 1946
Palangka Raya Branch
entrepreneurs with much experience engaged in this activity. Our first Kalimantan Tengah - Indonesia
Telp. +62 (0536) 3237184
Central Kalimantan
INDONESIA
stakeholder event is happening in Palangka Raya very soon. Fax. +62 (0536) 3229187
Email: tambuhaksinta@gmail.com
Number 0114981608
Swift: BNINIDJA
Website: www.tambuhaksinta.com

Kabar Itah - Edition 35 6