Indigenous Education and Environmental Restoration for the Younger Generation and the Future of the Sigala-Gala Lobu Nauli Indigenous Community in North Tapanuli 

For generations, the Sigala-Gala Lobu Nauli Indigenous Community has relied on agriculture for its livelihood. Their agricultural products include oranges, andaliman, coffee, chilies, various vegetables, pineapple, cassava, and corn. Among these agricultural commodities, the Sigala-Gala Lobu Nauli Indigenous Community also relies on frankincense tapping for income. However, the operation of eucalyptus monoculture plantations has had a negative impact on the environment and on the community's agriculture. Eucalyptus, known for its excessive water needs, has reduced the productivity of the community's agricultural crops, caused cloudy springs, and even led to soil degradation. Flash floods and landslides have become increasingly frequent each year, including the 2026 disaster in North Sumatra.

To address the ecological problems caused by eucalyptus plantation operations, the Sigala-Gala Lobu Nauli Indigenous Community has initiated traditional education and environmental rehabilitation. The curriculum covered in the traditional education relates to Batak customs, such as the Batak language and script, and rituals. The curriculum also includes materials on traditional games and environmental conservation. Meanwhile, the environmental rehabilitation program involves planting productive crops. They planted 1.000 cocoa trees, 50 sampinur trees, 500 durian trees, and 1.000 coffee trees by May 2025. This initiative not only rehabilitates infertile land, but also provides the community with the opportunity to utilize eucalyptus to increase income. They also have a strategy to ensure the rehabilitation process is successful. This is done by re-seeding during the rainy season, as well as preparing a backup water source (tank/simple irrigation) for watering, making a more shaded nursery house with a plastic/paranet cover and improving the soil moisture system, and building a simple collective watering system using small pipes in a mutual cooperation manner for rotating watering.

The impact of these two activities is increased awareness and knowledge of the Sigala-Gala Lobu Nauli Indigenous Community. First, improvements related to the preservation of language, script, and rituals, as well as maintaining their identity and culture as a strategy to counter the expansion of monoculture industries. Second, public awareness and strategies related to collective efforts to maintain and protect the environment also increased. This awareness touches on human or community involvement in environmental protection efforts, including the younger generation being more enthusiastic and involved in practicing their traditional knowledge. The ecological impact of these initiatives affects an area of ​​1.436 hectares, which constitutes the customary territory of the Sigala-Gala Lobu Nauli Indigenous Community.