Activities
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One of the
fishponds in Marang
Field worker Agung discusses economic tree development with 3 Dayaks
Project worker Lorna Dowson-Collins inspects dryland rice planting
The Balinese cow has been identified as the best species for Kalimantan
Field worker Getrin before and after taking Artemesia
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FISH
FARMING
Building on the Javanese expertise in intensive farming combined with the Dayak’s knowledge of the local fish.. For example 13 fishponds have been built by families in the village of Marang. Water in the ponds is highly acidic due to contamination with peat water, and so only local species can survive. Farmers have to struggle against pests such as cannibal fish called haruan (snakehead) and otters.
One of the groups facilitated by the project obtained the rights to 60 hectares of forest that they intend to maintain as a conservation area. In the time they have cared for it, they have identified promising trees that have timber and/or non-timber value. A number of increasingly rare plants have also been identified and through the care they have shown, orang-utans and gibbons have returned to the area. Having been given this area of 60 hectares, they have now obtained a further 400 hectares of deforested land to replant. The group intends to cultivate in the new plot the most promising species identified by the field workers in the original smaller area.
To make production more efficient by introducing organic methods such as composting, making use of effective micro-organisms and bio-pesticides. Farmers currently prefer to use chemical fertiliser and pesticides, but have had some success with using bio-pesticides and want to develop this further.
One project involves rearing ducks. A source of young female ducks was identified in the village of Alabio in South Kalimantan. A consignment of ducks was brought to the village of Harawung and distributed to the women. They will raise the ducks and make a profit from the eggs. They will also breed them, with an agreement that the first ones will be given back to the project to be sold at a low price to other women who also want to rear ducks. Other trials have been undertaken on cattle, goat and pig husbandry, with efforts to overcome problems of disease and poor nutrition of the animals.
Yulia Raemae, an ethnobotanist visited 8 villages and identified 80 local medicinal plants used by the villagers. She is publishing her work to raise awareness of the potential of central Kalimantan’s medicinal plants and help more people to gain access to local alternatives to expensive conventional medicines. The next step is to undertake clinical trials on several selected species Artemesia is a Chinese herb that is effective against malaria and bilharzia. The plants grow well in Kalimantan once established, though delicate and difficult to cultivate in the early stages. Getrin, a senior Dayak field-worker, had malaria and had tried all the drugs and other remedies available, but without success. After taking herbal tea made from Artemisia leaf he felt better straight away, and pronounced himself cured within a few days. This was good news, and had the bonus that the word spread rapidly around the project area, greatly improving the motivation to grow the plants and use the cure. It is planned to grow Artemesia in a plot at Rungan Sari where local people will be able to come and take cuttings. These will provide an easier, more reliable method of propagation. The aim is to have a patch in every village so that the local people can cure themselves of malaria at little or no cost.
Farming land is arid, acidic and lacks minerals. In order to improve the soil, trials are being undertaken to apply rock phosphate and SKMg, a multi-fertiliser mined from the seabed in the United States. In one trial both fertilisers were applied and the yield of egg-plant was more than doubled. The success of the trials has lead to new demand for the fertilisers, but there is no local supplier. This has opened up new opportunities for some farmers to become distributors in the area.
A number of local credit unions have been established. Members are encouraged to save money, and loans are made to those who want to start businesses, buy livestock or supplies for agricultural projects.
The aim is to prevent malnutrition by working with pregnant mothers and infants. The program includes supplying powdered milk, additional food and vitamins for infants, educating mothers how to prepare cheap nutritious food and making low-cost contraceptives available. |
