<strong>Wet</strong> <strong>rice</strong> <strong>cultivation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Indonesia</strong> Appendix 10 Appendix 10 Schematic overview of a traditional and non-traditional sawah Source: bapak Ugil, bapak Uzu, bapak Radi 96
<strong>Wet</strong> <strong>rice</strong> <strong>cultivation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Indonesia</strong> Appendix 11 Appendix 11 Summary of the <strong>in</strong>ternship report The <strong>in</strong>teraction between local authorities and the Kasepuhan In relation to the utilisation and management of traditional wet <strong>rice</strong> <strong>cultivation</strong> In the southern area of National Park Gunung Halimun, West-Java, a traditional rural community called the Kasepuhan still practises traditional wet <strong>rice</strong> <strong>cultivation</strong>. This can be characterised by only one harvest per year, the utilisation of specific tools, and production for self-sufficiency only. However, the <strong>Indonesia</strong>n government has been ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g a strong modernisation policy <strong>in</strong> relation to wet <strong>rice</strong> <strong>cultivation</strong> dur<strong>in</strong>g the last decades. The report focuses on the question if this policy altered the traditional <strong>rice</strong> <strong>cultivation</strong> of the Kasepuhan. If so, what aspects of the <strong>cultivation</strong> process have changed and how where these changes set <strong>in</strong> motion by the government? Is there a certa<strong>in</strong> pressure on the way <strong>in</strong> which the people of the Kasepuhan cultivate their fields, caused by local official authorities on the one hand, and the traditional authorities on the other hand? The highest traditional leader of the Kasepuhan is granted with an almost unlimited legitimacy with regard to his leadership and policy. The people of the Kasepuhan accept this leadership <strong>in</strong> the perception that their highest leader is chosen by their ancestors, and that his policy is <strong>in</strong>directly determ<strong>in</strong>ed by the same ancestors. For the survival of the traditional way of life of the Kasepuhan <strong>in</strong> general, and for the subsistence of him as the leader, it is of crucial importance that the people Kasepuhan cont<strong>in</strong>ue their traditional way of cultivat<strong>in</strong>g sawahs. The Agricultural Service Office, a local department of the M<strong>in</strong>istry of Agriculture, is still practic<strong>in</strong>g their policy of chang<strong>in</strong>g the traditional <strong>cultivation</strong> of self-sufficiency towards <strong>rice</strong> as a commodity product. In the era of Suharto this happened <strong>in</strong> a very structured and rigorous manner. All aspects of traditional sawah <strong>cultivation</strong> were to be changed. S<strong>in</strong>ce the fall of the regime, decentralisation is commonly used as a tool to transfer responsibility from higher levels of government to lower levels. The Service Office still tries to <strong>in</strong>fluence the traditional methods and techniques used by the Kasepuhan. As a consequence of decentralisation, the Kasepuhan are confronted more often with the Service Office. The Service Office tries to make clear to the Kasepuhan and their leaders what the advantages are of switch<strong>in</strong>g to two or even three harvests per year. This is specifically done by attempts to <strong>in</strong>troduce high-yield<strong>in</strong>g <strong>rice</strong> varieties and the <strong>in</strong>troduction of chemical fertilisers. Switch<strong>in</strong>g to a commodity system of <strong>rice</strong> <strong>cultivation</strong> by Kasepuhan farmers does happen. But it implies a permanent renouncement of all Kasepuhan traditions. In this case a farmer is not allowed to live with<strong>in</strong> the territory of the Kasepuhan. The surplus of the harvest can be sold though, which might imply the generat<strong>in</strong>g of some money and a better way of life <strong>in</strong> a f<strong>in</strong>ancial sense. On the other hand, if a harvest fails, there is no support of the traditional leader or the Kasepuhan community. Moreover, leav<strong>in</strong>g the Kasepuhan community also means liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the lower areas of the mounta<strong>in</strong>s, and thus less access to irrigation water. With<strong>in</strong> the community, there is far more cooperation between Kasepuhan farmers consider<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>cultivation</strong> of sawahs. It seems right to conclude that the people of the Kasepuhan are squeezed between their tradition and adat on one side, and the attractiveness of more f<strong>in</strong>ancial welfare on the other side. This might be <strong>in</strong>fluenced by the effects of decentralisation of governmental departments l<strong>in</strong>ked with the M<strong>in</strong>istry of Agriculture. Official <strong>in</strong>stitutions such as the Agricultural Service Office are possibly focused too much on the economical perspective – although with well-meant <strong>in</strong>tentions – and too less on the 97
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