How Planting Trees Help Grandpa Dulah Overcome Loneliness

Dulah plants tree

dulah plants trees in kebumen

It is not new for parents living in villages to let their children migrate to big cities to try to improve their lives. Some of their children returned to the village and some are chosen to stay there. Grandpa Dulah (64 years old) from Gunungsari village, Kebumen – Central Java, was no exception, his children were chosen to live overseas.  

For years, his children and grandchildren have not been able to return to the village because of Covid-19 case, it is not easy to meet them on this situation. He explained that usually his grandchildren come home once a year, but now he doesn’t know for sure. He hopes Ramadhan this year the whole family can be together again.  

At first, Granpa Dulah and his wife couldn’t handle how much they missed their daughters and grandchildren and were desperate to visit with them but because of pandemic they had to cancel it (covid-19 restriction). At that time Covid-19 was increased and old people were asked to be more concerned.  

”We miss them”.  

“The house feels lonely without them so I’d rather work even though I’m old,” he added.   

In the past, Grandpa Dulah retired to be a farmer but that made him even more lonely and his longing for his children and grandchildren was unstoppable. He decided to be active again planting on his abandoned land – because there was no one to take care of it. 

Dulah plants trees in kebumen

”If I don’t work, my mind goes all over the place, but then they offered seedlings.” 

 ”I planted a few for the beginning then gradually it continued and now my land is full”, he offers. 

Currently he will continue to plant because by planting he can divert his longing and loneliness. He said he planted for his grandchildren, one day they will harvest it and every time they harvest it they will remember me who was planted the trees.   

Grandpa Dulah said that his grandchildren are very interested in agriculture because from a young age he often took them to the field.  

”I often took them (the grandchildren) to the field, to plant cassavas, corns, look for grasses”.  

”they were happy… and that moment will always be remembered”.  

Then we asked if he still wants seedlings next year knowing his land is already full? And grandpa Dulah hopes that he will be able to plant more trees in the future. He said that even though his land is full, he would plant trees on his neighbour’s arid lands. 

We learn that planting is something that helps Grandpa Dulah overcome with loneliness and build his memory of his loved ones as Grandpa Dulah is getting older and sometimes forgetful.   

Grandpa Dulah has a message for those who still have parents, he says ”don’t forget to ask how your parents are”.   

Sometimes the impact of our program is beyond our expectations and cannot be seen but felt. There’s a quote, who plants a tree, plants a hope, and we’re watching and listening to it right in front of us.  

Maybe if we hadn’t visited Grandpa Dulah and had a chat with him we wouldn’t have known what he’s been through. We were very lucky to have met him, we hope that Grandpa Dulah can be together with his whole family this year. 

 

Masimun is Not Just a Farmer. He’s a Puppet Craftsman!

masimun_kalirejo kebumen_trees4trees_jonas 3

masimun_kalirejo kebumen_trees4trees_jonas 3

Our farmers are extraordinary! Who would have thought that one of them is also a cultural artist. He is Masimun, a farmer from Kalireja village, Kebumen, Central Java. Besides farming, he crafts traditional Javanese puppet or well-known as Wayang.  Yes, he is a farmer and puppet craftsman. Before, he lived from one place to another because of his job. Masimun told us his previous job made his life uneasy. His income from the previous jobs also could not cover his family expenses. Then, he decided to come back to his village and began to learn farming and pursue his passion as a Wayang craftsman at the same time.  

Why Farming and Crafting Wayang?  

He said, he started farming simply because farming can make a living for his family, and he loves to dedicate himself to Javanese traditional culture. 

Becoming a traditional puppet craftsman is a rare profession in this modern day. Not many people are interested in doing this job. However, Masimun thinks that Wayang is an important part of Indonesia cultural heritage, and he is summoned to take part to preserve it.  Now, his main income is coming from farming, while crafting Wayang becomes his part time job.  

masimun_kalirejo kebumen_trees4trees_jonas

When Trees4Trees dan Jonas Philantrophies came to his village and started a tree planting program, he was incredibly happy because this program has not only given him trees to be planted, but also the knowledge and training that he needs to do good farming.   

Masimun has a wife and two children who are still in school. They are his main motivation to keep working harder.  By planting trees, he hopes to get enough money to achieve his dreams; provide his two kids with a good education up to university level. 

”I want them to have a better education than me”. It is my responsibility as a father. To make sure they get  a better education,” he added.  

He was very happy when Trees4Trees and Jonas Philantrophies made a tree planting program in this village. He knew that this tree planting program was also included educating and uniting the community.  

masimun_kalirejo kebumen_trees4trees_jonas

Through tree planting programs, he is also able to gather with the farming community. Here, he’s not only possibly getting support and motivation to start over again, but also has an opportunity to introduce his Wayang masterpiece to the larger community. Masimun admited that by joining this program he has been known by the community as a puppet craftsman and most of his orders come from local people. 

”Life gives me a second chance to live a better life, meet good people,” he said.  

”It used to be difficult to live here again as a farmer… but now I have several goats,” he’s grateful.   

Masimun is very supportive of the tree planting program and he is proud to be a part of it. By this program, he is able to plant various trees and be able to introduce his masterpiece to the community. And maybe later the world will notice his masterpiece too.  

Thank you for being part of our program, keep up your good work! We are very proud of you! 

 Author: Yulianisa Dessenita

Sarpin: Planting Trees Are More Important Than Money

Sarpin plants trees not because of money

Sarpin plants trees not because of money

Gunungsari village, Kebumen, Central Java, is famous for its waterfall tourist attraction and the lives of one of our farmers, Sarpin. He owns the land next to waterfalls. In the past, he was just a paddy farmer, but the land he owned was not suitable for that so he switched to planting fruit trees supported by our tree planting program, Trees4Trees. 

Sarpin is one of our best farmers, he joined our program since 2019. There is a reason why he became our best farmer, he’s not only planting regularly, but he also educates young farmers about agriculture and gives them life lessons. 

For him, planting is a joy and a necessity. He doesn’t care how much money he gets from planting. He believes that we will never run out our fortunes as long as we are always grateful. When we asked him why did he choose to be a farmer? he literally could sell his land for tourist attraction and live a prosperous life. But he explained that he was not looking for material happiness. 

”I’m not after money, but money chasing me”, he laughs.  

”It’s true… whoever sows he will reap. You plant a tree, you can eat the fruit, you sell the fruits, the leaves can be used as animal feed.” 

Money is not everything for Sarpin. Having a lot of money does not guarantee him a happy and peaceful life. By planting trees, he was able to support his daily needs and provide adequate education to his children. Even though sometimes he doesn’t get a daily income, he can get vegetables and fruits from the field to cook.  

Read also: Grandpa Wasis and His Dedication to Planting Coffee

So even there is a developing tourist attraction around his land, he will not sell his land and maybe he will just rent it out some of it for small stalls to help the local economy.  

Sarpin then told us about his son who had worked in Korea and returned to the village to continue farming. He is very proud of his son’s decision to choose to return to the village and take care of the land and be active in community activities. 

”The salary is big (in Korea), but he didn’t feel peaceful… that’s why he came back here”.  

”He missed his beautiful, he missed home cook and he missed his parents”. he added.  

Sarpin explained that the villagers of Gunungsari live a simple life and help each other. They support activities that prosper the village and the environment. They are very happy to be involved in planting programs.  

”We don’t ask for money or basic needs”, he explains. ”give us seedlings and we can survive’’. 

We relized,  that the general understanding of most people is that giving money to people in need is a shortcut to help. But actually, the wiser way to help is to teach them to be independent and a chance to try again, they need this kind of support.   

He reminded us to always be grateful and says: if you want to feel rich, plant a tree. If you want a peace, plant a tree.   

We really enjoyed our time with Sarpin and we are very grateful for his contributions and support for our tree planting program. We hope that we will meet him again next year to see his trees grow and to share more stories. 

Author: Yulianisa Dessenita

 

Grandpa Wasis And His Dedication to Planting Coffee

 

In a hamlet called Wonosari in Kalirejo Village, Kebumen – Central Java, there is a small hut far from the settlement, surrounded by coffee trees and there lives an old man named Grandpa Wasis. He lives alone in the hut, inside the hut there’s only one lamp and an old radio. Grandpa Wasis calls it home. Meanwhile, his wife chose to live with her eldest child in the neighboring village. 

That afternoon Grandpa Wasis was waiting for us in front of his house. He made time for us in the middle of his work. He is very friendly and always has a smile -maybe Grandpa Wasis hasn’t been visited by guests in a long time.  

We were impressed with the coffee plantations that he takes care of, they are lush and fruitful. We asked him what is the secret of it? And he answered ”experience” with a little laugh. 

Grandpa Wasis explained that he does not have secret method but just follows the usual ways of taking care of his trees, only that he monitors his plants every day to make sure each tree gets the care it needs. That’s why he chose to stay on his land. 

He shared that he had planted coffee trees when he was very young. He has grown coffee in several areas in Indonesia such as Lampung, Palembang and Central Java. Grandpa Wasis really likes coffee and understands which coffee has good quality. He chose to return to his village because he felt that living in Palembang was not safe for himself and his family. 

”In Palembang… for example, if there was rice in the hut, the rice was gone”. 

”I thought about the safety of my family so I chose to come back here and make my own coffee plantation…. Alhamdullilah, we were offered coffee seedlings from TREE Ltd and Trees4Trees”. 

With such fertile land we are wondering who’s going to manage it in the future? Grandpa Wasis was silent for a moment. He had no idea about it yet, he doesn’t want to force his son to follow his steps, the most important thing is that right now he is happy to take care of his trees. His coffee trees are his only treasure. He hopes that young people will start learning to plant because the number of farmers in the future will decrease.  

He told us that he feels supported by our tree planting program and for that, he thanks the donor TREE Ltd who’s supporting the program and cares about small-scale farmers like him. Grandpa Wasis hopes he is eligible to get more seedlings next year because planting and taking care of the trees are a pleasure for him. Grandpa Wasis admits that the income he gets from his trees are not much because his land area is not very large but he is very grateful. 

“When my land is green, I’m happy… I don’t ask for anything else”. He smiled. 

Doesn’t feel lonely living alone here? We asked. He said he was used to being alone and this was a form of his dedication as a coffee farmer. 

We believe trees that are cared for with love always have the best results and we are sure these trees are in good hands, to the man who dedicates his life to planting. 

We thank Grandpa Wasis for his dedication. Know this Grandpa, you play a very important role in the environment and society. We wish you always health and happiness Grandpa! 

Author: Yulianisa Dessenita