The wooden hut was built as a two-story stilt house. The lower level was left open without walls so that guests could directly view the Tangka River, or Salo Tangka in the local language. At night, the sound of the river could be clearly heard from the hut. Coupled with the cool air that pervades the valley area around Mount Bawakaraeng, it created a perfect atmosphere for meditation or clearing the mind. A wooden table and benches were located to the left of the front entrance. The hut had no door, simply standing open. To the right were sofas and a small table. This was where the young people often hung out and chatted when gathering at Bola Sanroa. The back had a kitchen for cooking. Meanwhile, the upper level functioned as a bedroom that could accommodate a dozen or twenty people.
"Bola Sanroa means healing house or healer. Bola is home, and Sanroa is healer," explained Program Facilitator Muhlis Paraja, referring to the meaning of the group's name. "This house was founded to heal, to help young people find their identity," he added, accompanied by his characteristic laugh.
At that time, several young people had gathered at the hut to welcome our arrival, the Documentation Team. Dana NusantaraIlham, a twenty-something who had shared the location of the Bola Sanroa hut via WhatsApp, was also there. When we entered the hut, the young men were huddled on the sofa, chatting engrossed in Konjo.
"They came here on their own," Muhlis said. "I was lifting river stones for the foundation of this house. One by one, they came."
The Bola Sanroa Youth Group has members aged 17 to 26. Although located in Pao Village, Tombolopao District, Gowa, the youths come from four different villages. Since their youth, these young men have worked in the rice fields as farmers, a profession they inherited from their parents.
Most of the young men's educational backgrounds were elementary school dropouts. The rest were high school graduates. Aras was the only member to have attended university in Makassar, although he ultimately decided to Dropout and returned to their villages because they didn't suit the teaching methods at universities. Due to their lack of formal education, some Bola Sanroa members were illiterate or unable to read or write when they first joined.
"They share with each other," Muhlis said. "Ilham taught Randi to read and write."
New Journey
Sanroa Ball is included in the direct funding of solidarity allocation Dana Nusantara 2025. Their chosen initiative is natural farming, involving the production of liquid organic fertilizer (POC) and biogas. This initiative was chosen due to the massive dependence of farmers in the Gowa region on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. According to Muhlis, the POC production initiative aims to meet the needs of the Bola Sanroa youth for plant nutrition. They have already been producing POC on a small scale. They provide half a gallon of water, 19 liters of liquid fertilizer. However, the POC has not yet been used directly on the crops in the youth's rice fields.
"They are afraid their plants will die if they use liquid fertilizer," said Muhlis.
"Finally, we'll test it on the tomato plants over there," he added, pointing to the back of the hut. This trial is crucial, as it aims to reassure the young people who have been directly using chemical fertilizers.
Gowa is an agricultural region in South Sulawesi. The majority of the population in the region works as farmers. Agricultural products include rice, corn, potatoes, various vegetables, and fruits. The mountainous region provides fertile soil for the local population. Numerous rivers and springs flow through the region, facilitating irrigation for rice fields.
The rapid increase in agricultural production has been targeted by the chemical fertilizer and pesticide industry. Sales representatives from various brands flock to offer promotions. For farmers already dependent on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the offers are too tempting to resist. Moreover, subsidized fertilizer programs are often unclear.
"The salespeople offer massive promotions here. Some even offer free products for one planting season," explained Muhlis. "Usually, they'll put up banners or signs in the rice fields that are accepting the promotion."
"I'll be honest, I'm also a farmer. I planted 8 packages of chilies. I prepared 20 million rupiah in capital," said Muhlis, regarding his experience using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. He explained that besides the direct temptation of the chemical fertilizer and pesticide industry, these products promise instant results with abundant harvests compared to organic fertilizers. In a single harvest, Muhlis said that if he's lucky, he can earn up to 300 million rupiah in gross income. Meanwhile, the fermentation period for organic fertilizer takes 2 months. Therefore, in his natural farming education at Bola Sanroa, he uses a gradual approach through hands-on practice so that the young farmers can understand it well.
"After the cage is finished, we'll plant one package first," Muhlis explained. "Because I'm afraid I'll force them to go organic, and it'll fail. Then they'll say, 'Replace my money,'" Muhlis said, accompanied by a chuckle.
Meanwhile, Bola Sanroa's biogas production efforts are still in the livestock barn construction phase. Originally, the barn was scheduled for construction in September 2025. However, due to their busy schedule in the rice fields, construction had to be postponed until October 2025.
"Before building this cage, we invited Mr. Dusing to perform a ritual," he said, "so that everything would run smoothly."
During our visit, they took us to the construction site for the cow shed and biogas production facility. It's approximately 200 meters from the Bola Sanroa hut. The shed measures 9 x 5 meters and has two floors, larger than originally planned. The materials used are pine wood provided by members of Bulu-Bulu Village. This way, on cold nights or in the rainy season, the building will remain warm because the pine wood will help maintain humidity. The shed will have many rooms, approximately four to five. The ground floor will consist of a fermented feed production room and a livestock room capable of housing four adult cows. The second floor is planned to be used as a rest area or bedroom. Interestingly, they learned about building the cow shed and biogas production independently through videos on a YouTube channel.
The construction of the pen was carried out collaboratively by the youth themselves. Some were tasked with carrying sand and mixing the cement mixture. The youngest member, Dili, helped carry the sand. Akbar, a young man from Bulu-Bulu, was seen measuring the floor. That day, they were cementing the floor and casting the pillars in the livestock area. The cement mixture was poured into PVC pipes used as casting molds. The pipes had been filled with 10-gauge cast iron to strengthen the pillars.
"They're used to working together. They still have a lot of energy. I couldn't keep up with them," Muhlis said. He then explained that the young men were also the ones leveling the land for the cattle pen. The pen was built on a fairly steep slope. The sloping land was rocky and overgrown with tall bushes. Some trees were left to provide natural shade or to harvest during the fruiting season.
"They work at night. If I hadn't chased them away, they would have continued," Muhlis said of the work of leveling the land on the land where the pens were being built.
The barn is planned to become an educational center for Bola Sanroa youth regarding cattle management and biogas production. Previously composted or simply discarded, the cattle waste will be recycled into enough energy to meet the education center's electricity needs. The barn will serve as a starting point for future good practices in natural farming by the Bola Sanroa youth. They are also open to anyone interested in learning about good cattle management and biogas. Muhlis said the building has attracted the attention of the local community. Although it is still just a framework, the design, concept, and even the size of the building, which is quite large for a rural barn, are new in the area. Therefore, they plan to turn the barn into a tourist attraction with a livestock concept and renewable energy production for household use. They also hope that the barn will become a central hub for learning about bio-agricultural practices in the area. The Bola Sanroa youth will store bio-fertilizers and pesticides there, so the community can use them free of charge.
"We'll build a bedroom up there. There's already a parking area for cars behind it. All that's left is to build a storage tank for the livestock manure, which will be processed into biogas," he explained.
"They [the community] said the cage was like a villa," he added.
Life in the village remains strongly familial. Upon witnessing the construction of the barn, local residents donated materials. This demonstrates the community's support for the work undertaken by the young people of Bola Sanroa.
Education in Bola Sanroa
Muhlis admitted to being selective about young people interested in joining Bola Sanroa. It's not that he doesn't want to develop the youth group, but rather that he wants to maintain the already strong cohesiveness. Muhlis always looks at the motives behind young people's desire to join, whether they want to improve and be useful to the group or simply fulfill personal interests. He also considers educational background. Because many Bola Sanroa members have not graduated from elementary school, Muhlis has set educational level limits for anyone wishing to join.
"It's not that I'm selecting or prohibiting graduates from joining my group. Because when graduates join, they feel inferior." Muhlis is quite well-known in the Gowa region. As the former Chairman of the Regional Executive Board (PD) of the Indigenous Peoples' Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) Gowa, Muhlis is quite well-known in his area. Many people try to approach him.
"You have your space. I told the graduate students, 'Don't join my group yet, because you'll be the boss there.' They'll be a bit authoritarian, because they're proud of their graduate status and become bossy," Muhlis explained.
When it comes to education, Muhlis is a tough guy. He's always outspoken and likes to speak frankly. He doesn't hesitate to point out a young man's mistakes in front of his friends. He also uses harsh language and often mocks the young men. In short, he uses methods that modern education or urban society often avoids when it comes to educating young people. However, this violence is only verbal. Muhlis claims to have never once resorted to physical violence against the Bola Sanroa youths.
“If I weren’t tough, they wouldn’t be people,” he said earnestly.
Muhlis's defense of his educational methods is well-founded. For example, Muhlis admitted to treating the youth from Bulu-Bulu Village harsher than those from other villages. He argued that the youth from Bulu-Bulu have faced land and living space seizures, both by local government policies and corporate interests. A rigorous education system will accustom the Bulu-Bulu youth to understanding violence and how to deal with it. Their mentality is shaped by Bola Sanroa education, so that when they encounter violence in real life, they will not be afraid.
When they first joined, the Bulu-Bulu youth seemed withdrawn, hanging out with other, quieter Bulu-Bulu youth. They were young people who had been victims of social discrimination. They were often mocked by other villagers, calling them "forest people" because their village was located within the customary forest. They were also often called primitive. Due to this constant discrimination, the youth felt isolated and had low self-esteem.
But today, that situation has changed drastically. While working on the barn, the Bulu-Bulu youths are able to mingle with youth from other villages. Their faces are cheerful and they often joke around with their friends. They share roles in the collaborative work. Some measure the barn's space, others cut the rebar. Other youths help carry sand from below, and above, a young man is in charge of mixing the cement and sand mixture.
“I’m a durian, so I’m free,” Randi exclaimed after pouring out sand from the wheelbarrow.
Duren is an abbreviation for "cool widower." Randi is a young man who experienced a child marriage. He married at the age of 15 and has a child. Now, at 21, he is divorced. His wife left him and returned to her parents, taking their child with her.
"Yes, that's how Randi hangs out with his friends," said Muhlis in response to Randi's joke.
According to Muhlis, child marriages are common in the Gowa region. In the Team's investigation, Dana NusantaraThe government only has data on the proportion of women aged 20-24 who were married or cohabiting before the age of 18 by province in 2024. The data is presented as a percentage and by province. This means there is no data on child marriage specifically or by district, sub-district, or village. The data also does not reflect child marriage rates for males. However, Muhlis claims to be constantly informed. By the end of October 2025, he had received information on six cases of child marriage in the Gowa region that month.
Deep Trauma
In the evening, we held a documentation session. The subjects of the documentation were the young people of Bola Sanroa. This documentation was part of the monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) implementation framework. Dana Nusantara related to programs implemented by the Main Partners. Our goal is to learn about or obtain information about program implementation directly from the participants, namely the young people of Bola Sanroa.
We asked several questions during the documentation session. These included their motivations for joining Bola Sanroa, activities during the program, challenges faced, hopes and plans for the future, and their perspectives on child marriage. We even inquired about the young men's personal views on their education and the character of Muhlis, their mentor.
During the documentation and MEL sessions, Muhlis informed us from the outset that he would be passive so that the Bola Sanroa youth could answer our questions directly. Muhlis would only assist in translating the youths' meanings. As previously explained, most Bola Sanroa members did not graduate from elementary school and communicate in their local languages. During the documentation, several youths appeared to stutter or be confused when answering. Their confusion wasn't due to the questions or their current activities. Rather, they were struggling to convey their meanings in Indonesian.
What's interesting is that when the young men were asked about their small weddings, they responded that they enjoyed joining Bola Sanroa. They reasoned that not only did they gain a place to be creative and meet young men from other villages, but by joining Bola Sanroa, they felt they had avoided the temptations of small weddings and were enjoying their youth.
In Gowa, and perhaps in South Sulawesi in general, the temptation to have a small marriage is very great. This temptation comes from the environment, social interactions with friends, and family. Furthermore, in Bugis-Makassar society, there is also the Siri' tradition, which is associated with honor, self-respect, and dignity, which indirectly reinforces the social rationale for small marriages.
For example, when we visited Taufik's rice fields, his uncle happened to be there too. For some reason, Uncle Taufik spoke to Taufik in Konjo. Muhlis translated for us that Uncle Taufik had asked Taufik to speak to his parents and ask for his hand in marriage.
As the evening progressed, our documentation session deepened, even touching on the personal experiences of the Bola Sanroa youth. When it was Randi's turn, we modified the questions about small marriages to be more in-depth. We had told him he could not answer if he felt the question was offensive or if the answer was private. We also asked Randi's permission to publish his personal experiences regarding small marriages in a publication. Dana NusantaraWe also did the same thing for Muhlis as the program's assistant.
"I was introduced to her by my uncle," Randi said. Randi explained that it was his uncle who introduced him to the woman who would become his wife. At the time, his wife was a year younger than Randi, 14. It wasn't long before Randi's uncle invited him to visit the young woman's home to speak with her parents.
"At that time, her parents also wanted us to get married soon, because they were embarrassed that their daughter was already an adult," explained Randi.
"My parents had to sell their cattle for our wedding," Randi explained about his parents' efforts to finance his nuptials. At the time, his family paid panai amounting to 50 million rupiah.
After marrying, Randi wasn't idle. At a very young age, a 15-year-old boy named Randi had to work to support his new family. He cultivated his allotted rice paddy, sold his harvest, and saved money to build a house and meet his family's needs. However, marrying at a young age presented many challenges, particularly regarding managing emotions within the household. His wife wanted a comfortable life and constantly questioned their financial situation. Argument after argument plagued their marriage. Eventually, his wife decided to leave Randi and return to her parents' home. At the time, she was pregnant.
“Sadistic.” Randi described his feelings at that time.
"He meant he was frustrated when his wife left him," Muhlis firmly explained Randi's intentions.
"Finally, I returned her [wife] to her parents amicably. It was the same time I asked her to marry me," Randi said.
Now, his son has been born. However, Randi said he never visited him, despite desperately wanting to. He admitted to feeling ashamed. Whether the shame stemmed from feeling like he failed to maintain his family or the shame of a father who wasn't there for his child from pregnancy to birth, Randi didn't elaborate.
When asked how Randi's parents viewed his marriage, Randi replied that they regretted having him marry so young. His eyes, which had been welling with tears for a long time, could no longer hold back the tears. He wiped the corners of his eyes. Then, when asked about his future plans for starting a family with another woman, he shook his head.
“It hurts.” Randi emphasized that he didn’t want to be hurt or feel pain anymore.
The sight was a bit of a surprise to us. Since our first meeting, we had seen Randi as a friendly young man. sociable, funny, and always cheerful. His friends, other members of Bola Sanroa, also admitted that this was the first time they learned of Randi's sad story. They knew Randi more as a young widower who was always cheerful and mischievous even after his wife and child left him. In reality, Randi had kept his pain to himself.
Children Are Not a Burden
“Regarding child marriage in society, especially on a small scale in Gowa, parents wrongly consider children as a burden, a source of shame, a source of Syria' "When a young person is not married off, the parents work hard, earn money, and work hard day and night to get their child married off," Muhlis explained regarding the societal perspective.
Muhlis explained that, in society's view, marrying off children is a solution to relieve the burden of child support. A married child will naturally earn a living to support his or her family. Therefore, both the groom's and the bride's parents no longer have to worry about supporting the child's needs.
The environment also influences parents' decisions to marry off their children. Neighbors jokingly accuse them of marrying off their children because their neighbors have already married off their own children indirectly triggers this. Parents then feel ashamed and offended because their children haven't been married off like their neighbors' children. Ultimately, parents force their children's will and sell their possessions, including rice paddies, livestock, and gardens, to finance their children's marriages. However, they are completely unprepared for the eventual failure of the marriage.
"Married, they have problems. The children are stressed one, the parents are stressed three. Because their assets are gone," said Muhlis.
Plus the tradition of money panaidowry, dowry. Money panai prevailing in society triggers competition between families. What this means is if family A gets or gives panai 50 million rupiah, then other families in the surrounding area must at least match or even accept or give panai more than that. There is indeed a negotiation process between families in determining panai, but each family has its own standards. With such unwritten standards, for couples who are unable to pay off their debts panai sometimes decide to elope.
A failed marriage impacts the child's mental health. According to Muhlis, he has seen children of failed marriages experiencing mental health problems. Some have even committed suicide. Randi also experienced a similar mental state, specifically after his wife and child left him.
"It's like wanting to die," Randi said. "That feeling arises because I have children and my wife left me. There's no point in living if... only Alone."
"It's rare for a man to dare to express something like that [Randi]," said Muhlis.
According to Muhlis, many men suffer to the point of suicide due to the intense pressure placed on them by culture and traditional values. This is also compounded by societal pressure regarding their role as family leaders. The principle that men should never cry and should never be ashamed actually becomes a killer from within. Failure to manage emotions is tantamount to failing to find catharsis in a disaster. Men hide their grief from the public. Outwardly, they appear healthy, but internally, they are very fragile.
"I always wanted to leave the house because I couldn't bear to be with my parents," said Randi.
Legally, child marriages are not registered in the civil registry. Therefore, children born from such marriages are also classified as children from non-marital affairs. The child can still obtain a birth certificate, as is their right, but only the mother's name should be listed, leaving the father's name blank. However, in practice, the situation sometimes differs. The Population and Civil Registration Office (Disdukcapil) sometimes refuses to process the child's registration, citing the marriage as unofficial or for moral reasons.
To address the issue of child marriage in his region, Muhlis employs a two-pronged approach, focusing on both the child and the parent. He approaches the child, as in Bola Sanroa, by encouraging them to deepen their understanding. He also approaches the parents to change their perspective on their children. Muhlis encourages parents to help their children develop their character and careers rather than rushing them into marriage. His approach is also based on traditional values and teachings, which align with his organization. AMAN.
"So the vision and mission AMAN "Economic independence, cultural dignity, and political sovereignty can indeed be linked to early marriage. Talking about culture and tradition means creating leaders who are cultured, cultured, and independent, because they must be born from seeds and values," explained Muhlis.
According to Muhlis, AMAN As an organization, we have strived to cultivate a generation of future leaders who uphold traditional values by providing education to eradicate illiteracy and prevent child marriage in Indigenous Communities. These efforts also aim to strengthen traditional institutions as a gateway to change within Indigenous Communities. AMAN Advocacy efforts at the traditional village level to change the perceptions of traditional leaders by providing an understanding that traditional values and traditions are universal and adapt to the times. Therefore, AMAN supporting changes that advance the younger generation in Bola Sanroa and encouraging natural farming practices and the use of livestock manure for biogas.
Condition of livestock pens after the storm, Photo Source: Bola Sanroa Community
*Latest news, the pen that had been built by the Bola Sanroa youth collapsed due to strong winds on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. The livestock that were kept in the pen were successfully saved.n.The members of Bola Sanroa are now planning to go into self-help and rebuild the cage.