(OISCA Representative Office, 25 January 2022)
OISCA Karanganyar Chapter and OISCA Representative Office in Indonesia carried out CFP Tree Planting at a site at Mt. Lawu’s breast on 14 November 2019 in cooperation with Prohutani, a community-driven nature conservation group under LMDH (Lembaga Masyarakat Desa Hutan) or the Government-run Corporation for Forestry. The forestation materialized with financial assistance from Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund (Keidanren is the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations). The planting took place at Kalisolo Village in Karanganyar.
The organizer set the targets as follows:
To rebuild biodiversity by planting diverse species to subdue rampant insects that damage trees,
To enhance the soil’s water retention capacity and natural disaster mitigation,
To provide feeds for wild animals like monkeys to reduce damages to crops caused by them,
To help develop additional livelihoods with materials from forests,
To provide practical education for children by enriching nature.
Six hundred seventy-five community members and schoolchildren planted about 11,000 tree saplings on 11 ha of the mountain slope. The species included Damar (Agathis dammara), Puspa (Schima wallichii), Pinus (Pinus merkusii), Surian (Toona sureni), Cemara Angin (Casuarina equisetifolia), Alpukat (Persea Americana), Durian (Durio zibethinus), Sirsak (Annona muricata), Jambu Biji (Psidium guajava), Jambu Mete (Anacardium occidentale), Nangka (Artocarpus heterophyllus or Jackfruit), Sawo Tanjung (Mimusops elengi), Kayu Manis (Cinnamomum Verum), and Kopi (Coffea arabica).
Members of the OISCA Representative Office visited the site on 24 January 2022 to find planted trees growing well. Some trees grow slowly due to shades under other trees, but most survive well. The OISCA representatives met with several members of Prohutani, who had been taking care of the planted trees. Prohutani has about 40 active members, and five representatives gathered on 24 January 2022 to report on their livelihood development through forestation. The 1,750 coffee trees planted at the end of 2019 now start bearing fruits, and in two years, they will give more products. The assistance from Keidanren included the purchase of two coffee bean de-husking machines.
Aside from the coffee production, they planted bananas, clove trees, and citruses on their own. Incomes from this livelihood program will support their privately arranged education for their children. The members are enthusiastic about undertaking home-schooling. They want to provide various skills to children to make their rural life more inventive and vigorous.
The mono-culture forest with pine trees turned into a diverse forest of 11 hectares with resilience, providing feeds for wild animals and materials conducing towards community people’s livelihoods. Many monkeys (Javan Lutung / Trachypithecus auratus) inhabit this forest. The village people are yet to see all the effects of the planting but expect to see them as the trees grow and bear fruits in a few years.
