Back to the Roots: Ancestral Farming of the Uri Indigenous People

The Uri Indigenous Community is one of the indigenous communities in Pengkendekan Village, Rongkong District, North Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi. Their existence was recognized through the Regional Regulation of North Luwu Regency Number 2 of 2020 concerning the Recognition of Indigenous Legal Communities. However, their struggle is not over yet. This recognition has only opened up opportunities for legal protection for their customary areas, which are still in the process of legalization.

A study by the Customary Territory Registration Agency (BRWA) shows that legal recognition of customary areas can reduce agrarian conflicts and increase economic and environmental resilience. Areas managed by indigenous communities with local wisdom have also proven to be more effective in reducing deforestation rates than non-customary areas.

For the Uri Indigenous People, their customary territory is not just a place to live, but their main source of life. They rely on forest products, agriculture, and other natural resources to meet their daily needs and support the community's economy. Without strong legal protection, their customary territory will never be safe from the threat of extractive industry expansion and infrastructure projects that risk damaging the ecosystem.

Although they have not yet received full legal recognition, the Uri Indigenous Community continues to strive to protect their land. One of the strategic steps they have taken is to develop natural farming based on local materials. This farming model is becoming increasingly relevant amidst the threat of a modern farming system that relies on chemicals, which not only have a negative impact on health but also disrupt the balance of the ecosystem.

With the support of the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding, they conducted intensive training on natural farming utilizing materials around. In addition, the Uri Indigenous Community also built a Rongkong Outlet to promote various local Rongkong products.

The Uri Indigenous Community held a natural farming training in the Uri Indigenous Community, Pengkendekan Village, Rongkong District, which was attended by 18 participants consisting of 7 women and 11 men. This activity is an effort to preserve environmentally friendly natural farming practices, produce healthier agricultural products, and as an effort to improve the economy of the Uri Indigenous Community.

The community learns and practices making organic fertilizer from surrounding materials, such as snails, egg shells, cow bones, and guava or banana/stumps. In addition, they also utilize local microorganisms (MOL) from bamboo and make natural pesticides from plant materials, such as onions, turmeric, galangal, and ginger, according to pest control needs.

In addition, the Uri Indigenous Community utilized the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding to build Gerai Rongkong, a marketing center for products created by the Uri Indigenous Community. Gerai Rongkong is located in Salutallang Hamlet, the capital of Rongkong District. This location was chosen because it is an area that is frequently visited by tourists. Located in a tourist area, Gerai Rongkong is a bridge for products such as honey, coffee, and traditional weaving produced by the Uri Indigenous Community and other Indigenous Communities in Rongkong to reach a wider market.

In the traditional agricultural system, farming is not just an effort to produce food, but also part of a philosophy of life that places nature as a partner that must be respected. Nature provides all human needs, but it will never be enough to satisfy greed. Traditional agricultural practices were born from a long process of interaction between indigenous peoples and their environment for hundreds to thousands of years. The ancestors have conducted various observations and experiments to find the best way to increase agricultural productivity without sacrificing the balance of the ecosystem.

For indigenous peoples, agriculture is not just about planting and harvesting, but also a manifestation of the cycle of life that is intertwined with the customary territory. In order for its benefits to remain sustainable, the principle of taking enough must always be accompanied by preserving nature to return what has been taken, ensuring that resources remain sustainable for future generations.

In terms of economy, traditional farming has the advantage in terms of cost efficiency. By relying on materials from the surrounding area, farmers can reduce their expenses and still increase agricultural productivity. This is proven by studies in various indigenous communities in Southeast Asia which show that agricultural systems based on local wisdom are more resilient to price fluctuations in agricultural support materials. In addition, research from the World Agroforestry Center reveals that agroecological practices that respect natural cycles can increase soil fertility and land productivity in the long term without causing ecosystem degradation.

Unfortunately, many development policies still contradict this principle. Instead of supporting agricultural systems based on local wisdom, many policies actually encourage excessive exploitation of natural resources. Therefore, a paradigm shift is needed in policy formulation to better support a balanced life cycle between humans and nature.

In addition, traditional agricultural practices need to adapt because they face various new challenges that were never faced by our ancestors in the past - for example climate change, which causes shifts in planting and harvesting seasons, as well as an increase in the number and types of pests and plant diseases.

So, how do we adapt? Combining appropriate modern technology with proven traditional practices can be a solution. Documentation of local knowledge, training for young farmer regeneration, and strengthening policies that support local wisdom-based agriculture need to be continuously developed. In addition, the use of current environmentally friendly technologies, such as water-saving irrigation, agroforestry farming systems, and community-based weather monitoring techniques, can help farmers adapt without having to abandon their local wisdom values.

The Uri Indigenous Community has proven that returning to natural agriculture is not just a romanticism of the past, but a strategic step in maintaining food sovereignty, ecosystem balance, and customary land rights. With the support of supportive policies and active community participation, tradition-based agricultural practices can be a solution to environmental and social challenges in the present and the future.