PPC Training Center: Maintaining the Agricultural Heritage and Agrarian Rights of the Young Generation

The Cianjur Farmers Unity Community (PPC) is an organization established to support and fight for the rights of farmers in the Cianjur region, especially in facing the increasingly pressing challenges of agrarian conflict. Most of the PPC members are farmers who have been working the land in the Batulawang region for years, to meet their daily needs by planting various vegetables. However, the area that has been managed by farmers since the 1970s is now facing an ownership claim from the Land Bank. In response to this situation, PPC is strengthening its advocacy through the establishment of a Training Center (TC) supported by the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding.

Through the Training Center development program, PPC wants to create a means of agrarian education as well as a consolidation space for farmers. It began with careful planning and internal deliberation among community members. Then it was decided that TC would become a center for agrarian education and consolidation not only for Cianjur farmers, but also open to farmer communities fighting for Agrarian Reform from various other regions in Indonesia.

After the planning is complete, the community begins the first stage of field activities by clearing the land for the TC location. The construction of the TC is carried out through mutual cooperation, each PPC member contributes in the form of labor and equipment, both in clearing the land, preparing materials, and the building construction process. After the land is clean, the community then focuses on purchasing building materials such as wood, cement, and sand.

Construction work begins with the building of the building's foundation, supervised by several community members who are experienced in construction. Members who have special skills in the building field help direct other workers so that each stage of construction is in accordance with the plan and meets safety standards.

As the building frame began to take shape, the focus shifted to installing the walls and roof with a simple yet functional design. Several community members who are skilled in carpentry ensured the quality of the installation of wooden walls and a weatherproof roof. To increase the durability of the building, a waterproof coating was applied to the walls and roof so that the TC would remain safe and comfortable to use, both in hot and rainy conditions. At each stage of construction, PPC held regular evaluation sessions to assess progress and ensure that every aspect of the construction was going according to plan.

In addition to physical development, other activities carried out in the program are preparations for the implementation held at TC. Several members who have received training on agrarian reform have begun to prepare the curriculum and teaching materials that will be taught at the True Agrarian Reform Academy (ARAS). The curriculum is designed to cover all important aspects of agrarian reform, from agrarian rights, advocacy strategies, to sustainable farming techniques. Thus, every participant who comes to TC will gain a deep understanding of the agrarian struggle, as well as practical skills in farming activities on their respective lands.

In addition to being a training facility, TC is also designed to support community economic activities through the development of agrotourism and agrarian reform tourism villages, allowing the wider community to come to learn about the struggle for agrarian reform while enjoying the Batu Lawang natural educational tour. The Training Center also serves as a means of education about agrarian rights for the younger generation of farmers, encouraging the regeneration of farmers who understand their rights and have the skills to continue to preserve and develop land sustainably.

With the training facilities that continue to be developed, PPC is able to hold more educational activities that involve the surrounding community. TC functions to increase the economic capacity of the community, both through training on sustainable agriculture and through the tourism potential of the Agrarian Reform village. The tourism will present the concept of an educational village that introduces the public to aspects of the struggle for agrarian reform, so that it not only generates income, but also increases public awareness of the urgency of the importance of land sovereignty for farmers.