Kabar Itah 2012-31(E)

K a b a r I t a h
Edition 31 : January - March 2012
Editorial
Successful Start-up in East Kalimantan
Connecting with outside organisations
often provides useful food for thought.
In Toronto in early March, YTS
attended two days of presentations
on Corporate Social Responsibility
issues at the annual Prospectors and
Developers Association of Canada
gathering.
Recently in London, we took part
in a roundtable discussion about
extractive companies and great
ape conservation. Basically the
same issues were on the table in
both events, namely how to engage
responsibly with communities that
are likely to be impacted by the
development of mineral resources,
in order to enhance benefits and
minimise negative effects.
Globally, companies in the mineral
sector are facing similar challenges in
engaging with local people and local
governments. Both of these events
provided opportunities to hear from
people working in other parts of the
world about the ways they are finding
to address these challenges.
Two areas that YTS will begin focusing
on this year are: minimizing impact
on sensitive biodiversity; and making
sure that local villagers are fully aware
of and in agreement with exploration
activities that will be taking place in
remote traditional hunting grounds.
We intend to commission a biodiversity
baseline study so that we will really
know and understand the reality of the
biodiversity situation in the exploration
areas. We also will begin providing
full disclosure to communities about
exploration plans so we can see if
there are any concerns about the
areas slated for exploration.
We expect that these measures will
alert us to any potential concerns in
these two areas.
Bardolf Paul
Executive Director
Anna (left), YTS Project Coordinator in Jelai, visits with Yuspin (right), a member of the Fish Livelihood Group, to
discuss his current experience and concerns about fish farming
Activities in Jelai in East
Kalimantan are now well underway.
Our new team, consisting of
Annaliza and Willem Molle, has
been working hard since mid-
January to re-engage with local
communities and local government.
They were successful in starting
up new relationships in three
villages – Terindak, Bunau and
Tenggiling; and provided support in
all three during the annual planning
process (Musrenbang) that began
at village level in late January. The
Musrenbang work continued in
February at subdistrict level.
The Musrenbang process enabled
Anna and Willem to engage
with local government officials
in the planning and technical
departments from district and
subdistrict. Everyone was pleased
to hear that YTS had returned to
continue support for community
development efforts. They
were especially happy with the
cooperative spirit of collaboration
that YTS promotes. Discussions
have already been ongoing with
several technical departments
about helping to link their programs
to the villages.
During this same period, Anna
and Willem helped identify key
livelihood issues that these
communities wanted support for
in 2012 – mainly rubber and fish
ponds. Anna and Willem were able
to find local technical specialists
in each of these disciplines, and
the technical support program for
these two livelihoods is starting up
in April.
Altogether is has been an
auspicious new beginning in the
Jelai Project that we expect will
continue to strengthen over the rest
of the year.

Subdistrict Musrenbang in Kahayan
This year government officials became more actively involved in annual musrenbang planning in Damang Batu Subdistrict in
Kahayan Project
Progress of the 2012 Subdistrict Musrenbang annual
planning in the Kahayan has been encouraging, proof of
the success of YTS’s approach in Central Kalimantan. The
new Governance Strengthening Program, started January,
has greatly influenced the Musrenbang and has brought
significant progress to the overall community development
program. Indeed, as the governance support program aims
at strengthening the government’s capacities, increased
participation of the latter in enhancing local development
has aroused the curiosity and interest of local communities
in the Musrenbang and consequently, it has also increased
the number of participants. Such a positive outcome
illustrates how bridging the communication gap between
the government and local communities benefits local
development.
The governmental measure that most attracted local
community members to the Musrenbang this year is the
brand new Indicative Budget Ceiling Method: The method
is a breakthrough created this year
by the Gunung Mas government in
order to improve the process and
outcomes of annual development
planning. The indicative budget
ceiling presents clearly the budget
the government can allocate
for development at village level.
Thanks to this, communities are
now better able to adjust their
requests to the government
and improve their prioritization
process. Indeed, before the
Indicative Budget Ceiling Method
was implemented, communities
would submit a lengthy list of
development proposals and
rarely obtain satisfaction from the
government, as the requests would
not match the budget allocations.
This new process avoids confusion
and optimizes the communities’
chances to obtain government
support for local development. By
promoting this strategy, the government is also hoping
to harmonise development programs and activities
in each village. So far, the method was successfully
applied in the Musrenbang in two subdistricts,
Damang Batu and Kahayan Hulu Utara, and it
has enabled each government agency and village
delegation to agree on development priorities. It is
expected that it will also be extended to Miri Manasa
subdistrict before the end of 2013.
Overall, YTS has witnessed great progress in the
Musrenbang this year, mainly related to the increase
of the local government participation in the process
and to the increase of communication between local
communities and local government. However, the next
point that YTS will be working on is to ensure that
increased government participation in the Musrenbang
does not alter the community members’ internal
decision-making potential.
“This year the musrenbang process is better than before.
I feel that the process was properly prepared, and for me
personally this is a historical moment as I had the chance
to see the representatives from hamlet I and hamlet II
come together to attend the meeting, almost with the same
number of people. Previously, the villagers from hamlet II,
the original villagers of Mangkuhung, tended to refuse to
blend with villagers from the other hamlet and outsiders.
Thanks to the approach from YTS facilitators, who made
it possible. Looking at the implementation process,
musrenbang this year ran smoothly and in good order,
right until the decision making process.
Surya Bestary, Head of VMG, Mangkuhung-Miri Manasa
”
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Kabar Itah - Edition 31

Mercury Prevention: the Best Cure
‘Growing-Up Healthy’ is the slogan for our new media
campaign: bringing new awareness to communities
threatened by mercury pollution. This year, we have
created materials that are designed specifically to inform
women and children about the threat of mercury, as they
are more likely to experience the health impacts than men.
We are now starting our media campaign across Central
Kalimantan, targeting mercury users
in particular, as well as the wider
community. In fact, our media is
designed to be taken across Indonesia,
and can be used equally well in Sulawesi,
Java, or Lombok.
Our recent health seminar, held at the
UN REDD+ facility in Palangka Raya,
brought together government and community
– giving them new knowledge
to impart to others, as well as a range
of media materials. There were three
presentations made: Sumali Agrawal
explained our field approach; our guest
speaker, Dr Rachmadhi Purwana from
the University of Indonesia, gave an
in-depth presentation about the health
impacts of mercury; and Kartie Vitamerry
explained how to deliver the media and
messages to communities. As most of
the participants work in the health and
education sectors, we hope that they will
Filming Fieldwork
now be able to spread the message through schools
and clinics, and other government institutions.
We feel it is very important to communicate this health
message as widely as possible, as methyl-mercury
gradually accumulates in the environment, and many
parts of Indonesia could soon be threatened by mercury-related
disease, if no effort is made to prevent it.
Health practitioners from various department agencies share experience and knowledge
during the Health Awareness Seminar about Mercury in Palangka Raya
In 2009, YTS made a film entitled “Mercury: The Burning
Issue” showing how air pollution from burning gold
amalgam can be prevented using simple condenser
technology. The film can be downloaded free from
YouTube. Soon, we hope to produce a sequel on the
problem of how to prevent mercury contamination of
soil and water from small scale gold mining.
Rob Gould from UNEP in action, documenting gold processing activities in Mt Muro
It is difficult to imagine the life of a small miner – the
work is hard and brings many dangers with it, including
the use of toxic chemicals. YTS is currently demonstrating
mercury-free processing alternatives to miners,
including the use of higher technology, such as shaking
tables and centrifuges. Our hope is that these miners
can go back to using water and gravity, making their
environment, and ours, a much safer place.
Communicating what goes on in a small upriver mining
shed to the rest of the world, is made easier if the audience
can visualize it clearly. For this reason, we were
pleased when UNEP chose to feature our fieldwork in a
short film that documents the efforts the organization is
making to reduce mercury use worldwide.
UNEP’s global advocacy for new policy on mercury
has already brought about a ban on mercury trading in
many countries. This has had the beneficial effect of
driving the price up across the region, making it more
difficult for wasteful practices and pollution to occur.
Thus, it is the right time to demonstrate alternative
processing techniques to miners, as they are also
looking for ways to stop using mercury.
We welcomed the opportunity to put the spotlight
on our work in Central Kalimantan, as it is important
for us to communicate our way of working to others.
Indeed, through training, and through film and print
media, we are making special efforts to educate other
stakeholders how to conduct interventions, so we can
all put a stop to mercury use wherever it occurs.
Kabar Itah - Edition 31 3

Biochar in Bukit Batu
This year, YTS is bringing new agricultural
methods to the attention of farmers in Bukit
Batu by showing them how to make and apply
two new products: Biochar and Bokashi. We
began to introduce our communities to these
new organic agricultural practices by holding
an introductory training day at the YUM
demonstration farm in Banturung.
We then went on to form farmer’s interest
groups in ten village locations, and to supply
each of them with a stainless steel chimney.
They have now just completed our initial
training in making Biochar, using the chimney
method. This allows three sacks of sawdust
to be made into one sack of Biochar that can
either be sold or used on the farm in a variety
of interesting ways. Farmers are pleased that
they can make a new product so easily using
waste materials.
All kinds of biomass can be burned, using oil
drums as simple kilns, or even just by digging
a pit in the earth. The secret to making Biochar
lies in burning the fuel slowly. This allows the flammable
gases inside the wood to escape and ignite, rather than
burning the wood itself. This process is known as pyrolysis
and it creates a high-quality charcoal that retains up
to 70% of the carbon after burning the fuel.
Mixed into the soil or sprinkled on top of the field, Biochar
promotes the growth of living micro-organisms, and
thus improves the cation-exchange capacity of the soil,
and the plants’ ability to uptake nutrients. Biochar also
improves water retention and helps to neutralize soil
Capacity Building for YTS Staff
Program Officers (POs) play an essential role in YTS:
The quality of their assistance and support to the local
communities is a guarantee of the positive impact
of YTS’s projects. Regularly improving their capacity
to manage and carry out development projects is a
fundamental part of YTS’s commitment to the communities.
YTS therefore conducted a PO Capacity Building
Workshop on March 7th 2012 in Palangka Raya, using
a participative method so all staff could share their
experiences, learn from one another and develop new
management skills. The main objective of the workshop
was for the POs to improve their
knowledge of YTS’s history, philosophy
and ethics. YTS insists that all staff take
a certain approach towards community
development in their daily work, through
open-minded management, listening
and communication skills, and deep
respect for local communities’ values
and traditions.
All YTS Program Officers participated
in the workshop, through the simulation
of practical situations encountered in
the field. The group was successively
divided into an audience and a group
of actors, who then witnessed the
challenges faced and took part in
solving the simulated case. Participants
In Banturung, a group of women belong to the Biochar Interest Group learn the simple process of making
biochar to improve the quality of soil for farming purposes
pH, both important attributes that can improve growing
conditions in sand and peat soils.
We all want to do everything we can to avoid the
disastrous consequences of global climate change.
Biochar provides an immense opportunity to make a
difference by feeding carbon back into the earth, and
this is highly beneficial for living soils as well as the
atmosphere. The application of Biochar to the soil brings
the prospect of long term carbon sequestration with it,
in a cheap and simple way that can also bring multiple
benefits for farmers.
learnt how to apply best practice methods while
respecting YTS’s ethics. Both the more experienced
staff and the new staff members were able to share
their personal experiences in a friendly and dynamic
environment, which encouraged all participants to give
feedback, and exchange comments and perspectives
on the outcomes of the role play. As all participants
expressed their satisfaction with such an enjoyable
and enriching training, YTS is hoping the POs will now
perform better in the field and in the office, applying
lessons learnt during the workshop.
YTS new program officers, Ersland (far left) and Hendra (second from left) share with other staf, Lia (second from
right) and Horma (far right) during a session in the Capacity Building training in Palangka Raya
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Kabar Itah - Edition 31

Indicative Budget Ceiling Launched in Gunung Mas
Villagers in our areas of work are likely to see more
development realization in the coming year, thanks
to the newly-introduced indicative budget ceiling
policy. The launch of this policy was fundamental
to the progress of our governance strengthening
project, as it allows the village to adjust their
proposals to match the available budget from
the government. This means that development
proposals have greater possibility of realization than
before.
Some ideas and initiatives have been hanging
around for some time about the importance of informing
communities about the budget ceiling. However,
no action had been taken until early this year.
In January, Bappeda, the Gunung Mas planning
and development agency, launched the indicative
budget ceiling, prior to the run of the Musrenbang
cycle at all government levels. The head of
Bappeda, Yansiterson, confirmed that he was
strongly motivated to realize the initiative after the
workshop with YTS last year. He is confident that
the new policy will bring significant changes to
development settings in Gunung Mas.
This policy, however, does not come without some
consequences. Village government has to have the
capacity to facilitate and process its own planning
and budgeting activities. If not, then this policy will
not provide optimum benefits to the community. The
quality of their planning and budgeting will greatly
determine the ability of rural villages to access
funds from the government agencies.
Two of the three subdistricts where YTS is working
have used the indicative budget ceiling as reference
for their plan, resulting in very efficient development
proposals. However, homework for the project is
how to promote and sustain the initiative, while at the
same time strengthening the capacity and ability to absorb
the new changes.
In doing so, YTS has organized trainings and workshops
to build the capacity of villagers and government over the
three months in the second quarter of the project. We also
(a & b) Capacity building has helped villagers and village government to be more confident in
dealing with development programs and government officials at the subdistrict level. This confidence
is even stronger because of the newly informed indicative budget ceiling
prepared the key team for a study and work visit to the
districts of Kebumen in Central Java and Tuban in East
Java in April. We hope that the team would learn from
the success of the two district, and apply the same
interventions in their villages and subdistricts.
If so, this new policy will be more than an internal
decision, and will become useful and sustainable for
improving future development planning in Gunung Mas.
a
b
“...YTS’ support in improving the quality of district planning and
budgeting is critical and useful. We are currently concentrating
on the finalization of the subdistrict indicative budget ceiling
policy through learning from the implementation in Kebumen
district. Despite the various challenges in getting this policy
to work, I will not retreat! We should keep the subdistrict
indicative budget ceiling policy rolling...
Yansiterson, Head of Bappeda, during the Joint Technical Agency
Forum meeting on March 14, 2012 in Kuala Kurun, Gunung Mas
”
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Village Profile: Banturung
Located right in the middle of Bukit
Batu subdistrict, Banturung has
all the advantages of a subdistrict
capital. The settlement was finally
acknowledged as a formal village
in 1961, and infrastructure and
economic development took place
since then, ranging from the new
installation of clean water supply,
health facilities and electricity, to
development of institutions such
as a posyandu clinic and women’s
groups.
A large part of Banturung village is occupied by Javanese migrants who make their living as brick manufacturers
The village has good access to
markets and many government
services; the subdistrict official
office is located in this village.
Banturung also has tourism and
recreation sites, and its relative
close distance to Palangka
Raya attracts visitors from the
capital city during weekends and
holidays.
Around 32 kilometers north of the capital city Palangka
Raya, lies the village of Banturung, the centre for the
government of Bukit Batu. Although it was just registered
in 1964, the village had actually existed long before.
Banturung was initially a settlement started by a Dayak
farmer from Tangkiling who moved to the river estuary
with his family, where they started their own community.
The big change in population started in 1961, when a
rash of migrants came from Java to work on the new
road construction in Palangka. Since then, the population
keeps increasing. Today, with a total area of 72 Km2,
Banturung is inhabited by 889 households, most of whom
are migrants from Java, Bali, and Banjar, living alongside
the indigenous Dayak people.
In addition, many villagers in the vicinity send their
children to schools in Banturung, as it has quite good
education facilities. Being relatively close to the capital
city Palangka Raya, Banturung has many advantages in
terms of development of infrastructure and education.
The village also has a wide range of livelihood activities.
Some households make their living from working as rock
laborers, as brick makers, collecting forest products,
fishing, farming rice, and a large majority are vegetable
farmers. The various livelihoods is a result of the mixed
ethnicities in the village. Banturung can provide a good
example of how various people from different cultures
can live alongside one another.
News Flash
Agenda
REDD+ in Kalimantan
In February and March, YTS participated in several meetings
under the REDD+ banner. In mid-February, there was a workshop
focused on the ‘Green Economy’, which featured Pavan Sukhdev,
former Head of UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative. In early March,
YTS shared information on its activities in a coordination workshop
organized by the UNORCID facility.
Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada
In early March, YTS took part in two days of presentations and
discussions in Toronto on the corporate social responsibility of
exploration and mining companies. Many topics relevant to the
work YTS is doing on behalf of PT Kalimantan Surya Kencana were
highlighted at this event.
Extractive Industries and Great Apes
In London, at the end of March, YTS’s executive director attended
a roundtable discussion on extractive industries and great apes,
exploring how industries like mining could help foster conservation of
species, such as orangutan and gibbons.
April
Work Visit to Tuban & Kebumen
Initial visit for training: Rubber Expert
May
CLAP in Tumbang Hamputung
ToT : UNEP - Blacksmith Mercury Program
Training from SDM
June
Monitoring Interest Groups’ activities
Regular meeting: YTS & VMG and village
government
Kabar Itah
Kabar Itah is the quarterly newsletter of Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta
(YTS), an affiliate of PT. Kalimantan Surya Kencana (KSK),
a mineral exploration company.
Published by:
Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta
Jl. Badak VII No. 2 Bukit Tunggal
Palangka Raya 73112
Kalimantan Tengah-Indonesia
Telp. +62 (0536) 3237184
Fax. +62 (0536) 3229187
Email:tambuhaksinta@gmail.com
Website: www.tambuhaksinta.com
Bank Accounts:
Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta
BNI 1946
Palangka Raya Branch
Central Kalimantan
INDONESIA
Number 0114981608
Swift: BNINIDJA
Kabar Itah - Edition 31 6