Meet Grandpa Tameja : The Oldest Farmer Who Joined Our Program And This Is His Story.

Meet Grandpa Tameja : The Oldest Farmer Who Joined Our Program And This Is His Story.

Tameja is one of our farmers since 2019, and he has shared his life story as a farmer with us. Let’s read his story!

Tameja (72 years old) was born in Karangreja Village in Central Java, Indonesia and still lives there with his wife and 5 children. He became a farmer at a young age and helped his father work in the fields. 

“Being a farmer has been my way of life”, he said. 

“My father was a farmer too, I am proud to be able to continue his way until now”.

He told us about his concern, none of his children want to be a farmer like him. It means Tameja must take care of the field alone with his wife. He has many questions that keep popping up in his mind, like; Who’s going to continue my spirit to keep my field growing and green after me? What will happen to the trees I planted? He recalls that he planned to stop farming and empty his field because he’s too old to continue, but then someone from Trees4Trees offered seedlings and asked him to join their program.

“I remember when they reached out to me and said; “Congratulations, Grandpa Tameja, you are chosen to get seedlings from our donor”. 

“I think I will plant trees for the rest of my life”, he smiles.

Tameja has his own farming method. He grows coffee trees with an agroforestry system, where he combines other trees and spice plants in one field. He believes by implementing this method, farmers will benefit both environmentally and economically. He also likes it when his land is full of plants.

“In my experience it’s better to optimize the field, the denser the better”. 

We asked him which trees benefit him more, and he took us to his coffee tree field – showing off the coffee beans.

“I like to plant coffee trees because they do not require intensive care and do not take too long time to harvest so it’s profitable for an old farmer like me”, he said.

Thank you Grandpa Tameja for sharing your story! We are relieved that we are able to help and motivate you to make your field greener. We wish you the best of health and happiness!

Karyadi’s Biggest Dream Is….

Karyadi’s Biggest Dream Is….

Meet Karyadi, one of our farmers since 2019. He’s very cheerful and likes to talk a lot, but the most interesting story is when he talks about his dreams.

Karyadi is a father of 2 children, a daughter (20 years old) and a son (9 years old ). He lives in a small house on a hill near his field with his wife and his son. His daughter is now working and living in Jakarta. When he starts talking about his children, you can see his eyes sparkling with pride.

“My daughter is now working in a big city, Jakarta”, he says proudly. “I pray for her every day… I wish her success”.

He told us that his only concern now is to raise his children. He wants them to have a better life and he’s always working hard for that.

“My wife and I have hopes for our children. We wish our children success in the future and to help build their village”.

“Kalibening village is our home, we were born and raised here. Somebody has to develop this village and protect it, that’s my dream”, he continues.

He works as a farmer as his main source of daily income but that’s not enough to cover his economy, so he decided to participate in our planting program sponsored by ‘Plant for the Planet’ in 2019 and received various trees – especially fruit trees.

“Thank you for the seedlings! Trees4Trees has helped me through tree planting and it has surely benefitted me economically. Before that, I only worked as a cassava farmer which only harvests annually”, he laughs.

He has a request for us in the future. He hopes there will be more planting programs and help more farmers like him. His dream is our dream as well, and we wish Pak Karyadi for the best. Thank you for sharing your dream. You are doing a great job!

CURIOUS KIDS: TREES THROUGH KID’S EYES

Curious Kids : Trees Through Kid’s Eyes

We had the opportunity to visit a private kindergarten, Yayasan Annisa in the Mijen area, Central Java, Indonesia. We’ve heard and learned what kids have to say and what they want to know about trees from their perspectives.

“Our activities are not always to be in the classroom, but a closer introduction to the natural environment will help the process of achieving educational targets. Children have the ability to easily absorb and understand information, in a more fun and engaging way.”, Said Nuning – The Headmaster

Of course, outdoor activity brought up many interesting questions from the kids and they shared some questions that we thought were worth sharing and addressing.

“Why trees are so important?” – Cinta, 6-year-old

A great question! Trees are to earth – and our survival – as lungs are to the human body. They produce oxygen for us to breathe, as well as improve air quality. Many wildlife species also depend on forests for their habitat, since trees provide shelter, food, and protection. Another important quality is that they reduce erosion, which helps keep waterways clean and prevents flooding. In addition, trees remove large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, which is a key component to tackling climate change. 

“Who lives in the trees?” –Aisyah, -5-year-old

I think we should find out who lives in the trees, we can take a walk to look at the trees around our school and we collect materials that might tell us something about who is living in and around trees. Maybe we can find ants, maybe bugs and maybe we can find feathers, which means birds are living in the tree.

“Why do leaves fall off trees?” –Rasyid, 6-year-old

Great question! The short answer is that leaves fall off trees when they are not doing their job anymore. A leaf’s job is to turn sunlight into food for the tree. To do this, the leaf needs water. This water comes from the soil, and is sucked up through pipes in the trunk and branches to the leaves – this can be a very long way for tall trees! If there isn’t enough water, the leaf can be damaged and stop working, which becomes a dead leaf. The tree doesn’t want to waste all the good things in the leaf, so it takes the nutrients from the leaf back into the stems and roots. This way, they can be recycled. When the leaf is empty, the tree stops holding onto it and it falls to the ground or blows away in a gust of wind.

“Why do trees grow fruit?” – Hafidz, 6-year-old

Some trees produce flowers and some produce fruit to help with seed dispersal. Animals and birds eat the fruit and then poop out the seeds at another location, thereby dispersing the seeds, and produce trees – which can take a while to grow.

Now, do you ever wonder how kids all over the world draw the same picture: the two mountains, a river, the sun, the birds, and some trees? Do they understand nature and trees? 

Well, it has two reasons: first, the one is because they are naturally connected with the environment. They love looking and being in nature and learn from them. They are always curious and excited to know and study about the environment and get more knowledge practically. The second thing is a beautiful nature drawing with all these elements of nature are the easiest topic to draw in a drawing because we are surrounded by it and therefore can draw it naturally.

We want to thank kids from Yayasan Annisa for their amazing questions. It’s always wonderful to hear how people connect with a tree, especially kids because they are our next Gen-Z generation to protect our earth and their future.