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!

ACIAR’s Social Forestry Research Findings

Forestry is a vital component of the livelihoods of about 80 million people across Indonesia. Many millions of small-scale farmers (smallholders) also cultivate trees as an integral part of their farming systems. However, most smallholders fail to realize the full commercial potential of the trees they plant – leading to difficulty to find a fair channel to the market. The changing dynamics of rural economies make it difficult for smallholders to understand the commercial value of forestry compared to other land-uses, so often they under-invest in their forest enterprises.

Smallholders are often grow a mixture of crops for both cash and self-sufficiency. They were common places in the Global South because the land has low associated costs, can provide food and resources for families, and it’s adaptable to varying market demands. Unlike largescale industrial farming, smallholdings were not reliant on industrial inputs, making them much more self sufficient. They were focusing on governments as we shift towards a more sustainable future and aim to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Indonesian government policies encourage its forest industries to source supplies from sustainably managed plantations and Community-Based Commercial Forestry (CBCF). ACIAR (Australian Center for International Agricultural Research) the Indonesian Government and several leading forestry research institutions made a collaborative research project to study and improve the outcomes for community forests, they were:

  • University of Sunshine Coast (USC), Queensland, Australia
  • Australian Agroforestry Foundation (AAF), Victoria, Australia.
  • Centre for Research and Development on Social, Economy, Policy and Climate Change (FOERDIA Bogor)
  • Environment and Forestry Research and Development Unit Makassar (FOERDIA Makassar)
  • University of Gadjah Mada (UGM), Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • University of Mataram (Unram), Mataram, Indonesia
  • Trees4Trees (Bumi Hijau Lestari Foundation), Semarang, Indonesia

This project sites were in Bulukumba (South Sulawesi), Gunungkidul (Yogyakarta), Pati (Central Java), South Lampung (Lampung), and Boalemo (Gorontalo). The general objective of this project is to properly understand how smallholders manage their land, ensuring CBCF will be successful to increase smallholders’ income, and making sure national policies can be adapted and implemented effectively across the whole nation.

It was a five-and-a-half-year study that was built upon 10 years of an earlier research project. Overall, over 15 years of study went into the final result. The result was showing that a small forest of sengon (Paraseriathes falcataria) could generate return of 20% and a small forest of teak (Tectona grandis) could generate return of 15%, if well managed. By investing in education for farmers and the value chains used when selling their forest products, smallholders can be much better prepared and adaptable for the future. By supporting these smallholders through courses which not only develop farming and silviculture techniques, but also personal skills, it gives them the knowledge they need to be able to adapt to a changing world and optimise both on- and off-farm ventures.

The project was beneficial for smallholders as it gives valuable insights. As we all know, sustainable forestry means a healthier environment for everyone. With these developments, and the streamlining of bureaucracy through improvement of government agencies, the Indonesian timber value-chains can flow smoothly and add value for everyone involved, making CBCF a flourishing and profitable enterprise.