Blocking the Gold Mine with Sustainable Agriculture

Sewu Bewa and Ripi Walo Farmers Groups are two farmer groups in Detukopi Village, Liakutu Village, Mego District, Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. Each group consists of 17 farmers. As dry land farmers, they rely on food crops such as rice and corn, as well as commodities such as candlenuts, cocoa, and coffee.

However, since 2003, a serious threat has come from a gold mining plan. Although the targeted gold deposit is still “young gold” and is estimated to only be able to be mined in the next 20 to 30 years, concerns about a bad fate have spread. They realize that they must prepare now, because the presence of a gold mine will destroy the ecosystem, damage soil fertility, and threaten the sustainability of people's livelihoods. In addition to the pressure from the gold mining plan, declining land productivity is also a concern. In order to protect the land, and overcome the decline in land productivity, this community has chosen to switch to sustainable agriculture as a mitigation strategy.

Since its inception, the Sewu Bewa and Ripi Walo Farmers Groups have never received adequate assistance, either in terms of agricultural cultivation techniques or the management and administration of farming businesses. The assistance that came was limited to the provision of seeds or seedlings, without training or assistance. As a result, the knowledge and skills of group members related to business management and agricultural cultivation techniques were still very minimal. The situation began to change with support from the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding. The Sewu Bewa and Ripi Walo Farmers Groups began a new journey towards sustainable agriculture, with assistance from the Wahana Tani Mandiri (WTM) organization.

It began with training in farmer group management to be more productive and sustainable, as well as socialization about the importance of ecosystem protection in agriculture. Then continued with training in cultivation techniques including: making organic fertilizers and pesticides, conservation practices and land management, pest and disease control, and plant nurseries. In addition, they also built a nursery house, a number of seedlings (nutmeg, red beans, carrots) and tools and materials for making organic fertilizers and pesticides were also distributed to group members.

The training and mentoring received provided new knowledge and helped to change the mindset of farmers to develop sustainable farming businesses. From an organizational perspective, the Ripi Walo and Sewu Bewa groups now understand group management better. They also had the opportunity to share experiences and learn from other farmer groups that had previously been successful in managing their organizations and farming businesses, namely the Sinar Tani farmer group, Bhera Village.

Armed with the knowledge from the training, the farmers of Detukopi Village began to abandon the use of chemicals, switching to using organic fertilizers and pesticides that they produced themselves in groups. Usually, during land preparation and planting, Detukopi farmers buy fertilizers and pesticides from Maumere. However, now they utilize organic materials available around the garden to make their own fertilizers, including liquid organic fertilizers produced together in groups. In fact, some farmers are already able to make liquid organic fertilizers independently at home.

This spirit of change also encouraged Detukopi farmers to implement conservation practices, such as terracing on sloping land to maintain soil fertility. In addition, they began to independently cultivate seedlings to support the sustainability of their farming efforts. In addition to agricultural crops, each member is also committed to cultivating at least 5 seedlings to be planted around the springs: namely banyan and fig. 

Currently, 34 members of the Sewu Bewa and Ripi Walo Farmers Group have begun implementing sustainable farming techniques on a 1-hectare plot of land that is managed together as a collective economic resource. They also agreed to form a young farmer group in Liakutu Village. More than just farming, they are building a system that not only improves welfare, but also serves as a defense fortress before gold mines encroach on the village.