Coffee Processing, Strengthening Customary Land: The Long Road to Collective Economic Sovereignty of Sembalun Indigenous Youth

It started with the anxiety of the Sembalun Indigenous Youth to do more to protect their customary land from the threat of seizure of customary rights. The response was positive, and this anxiety was finally answered. In early 2024, the Sembalun Indigenous Youth Front (BPAN) with the support of the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding pioneered a coffee bean processing business, named "Situs Coffee". For them, this name can be interpreted as a place for the Sembalun Indigenous Youth to return to, wherever they are.

BPAN Sembalun is a youth organization in the Tanak Sembahulun Indigenous Community. BPAN Sembahulun currently has 21 youth members spread across 11 communities from 6 villages on the slopes of Rinjani Sembalun, East Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). Currently, the Tanak Sembahulun Indigenous Community is still in the process of obtaining state recognition for customary land covering more than 500 hectares. With the support of AMAN East Lombok area and AMAN NTB region, they continue to advocate and provide legal assistance to defend their customary land. The Tanak Sembahulun Customary Community including BPAN Sembalun collects funds independently for action every time they face a court hearing, as part of an effort to protect their ancestral land.

The Nusantara Fund Direct Funding Support allows BPAN Sembalun to procure coffee processing production equipment such as roasting machines, grinding machines, packaging machines, and storage containers for dry coffee beans (green beans), which are very helpful in ensuring the quality of coffee products. Although the limited drying space during the rainy season is still a challenge, BPAN is trying to use alternative places from local coffee activists. BPAN uses social media as a marketing channel, so that "Situs Coffee" can now be known and reached by consumers outside the Sembalun area.

The coffee processing stage carried out by BPAN Sembalun is divided into three stages, post-harvest processing on April 20-29, 2024), coffee roasting on April 30 - June 1, 2024, and packaging and marketing on June 2-6, 2024. The coffee processing process includes sorting quality fresh coffee cherries, peeling the skin of fresh coffee beans using a pulper machine, drying for about 14 days (depending on the weather), and milling the rice to produce dry coffee beans (green beans). Furthermore, the coffee is carefully roasted to maintain the taste, then ground, packaged, and sealed so that its quality is maintained when it reaches the hands of consumers.

To overcome the challenge of raw material source stability, namely fresh coffee beans that are often bought up by outside middlemen, BPAN Sembalun has collaborated with local coffee farmers, "Situs Coffee" the local coffee processor buys coffee harvests that meet quality standards at a higher price. In addition to marketing on social media, in the future BPAN Sembalun plans to expand its marketing network to shops in the main tourist areas for local and foreign tourists (Mount Rinjani, Senggigi, and Kuta Mandalika) and increase the capacity of BPAN members in coffee processing as a step towards economic independence and preservation of ancestral lands in Sembalun.

With support from various parties, including Nusantara Fund and AMAN, the collective coffee processing business “Situs Coffee” produced by BPAN Sembalun strengthens the contribution of indigenous youth to the economic welfare of indigenous communities. In addition to providing added value to local agricultural products, this collective economic activity can be a source of funds for the organization's operational and strategic needs and support the costs required in the legal process and advocacy in efforts to defend indigenous land.

The legal process for gaining recognition of customary land is often very long and expensive. Data shows that customary land disputes in Indonesia typically take more than five years to reach a definitive resolution, even if the dispute is successfully brought to court. With economic independence from collective economic efforts, Indigenous Peoples not only have the resources to survive the long process of fighting for legal rights to customary land, but are also stronger in facing the threat of invasion by irresponsible investors who are constantly targeting their ancestral lands.