Many have asked me that same question. I began to think what
my intention was at first. The intention was to go to the village and to
observe their condition and seek for potential non-timber forest. Then, I would
make a report for an NGO to be used for fundraising – collecting funds from investors
who would want to help preserve the forest. It was pretty challenging; and what
was more challenging was adapting to their lives for three weeks.
Marlon
taught me how to walk on steep muddy area in the middle of the jungle. “Look
straight!!!” he said repeatedly. Benhur taught me how to set up a trap for
moles or boars, and in return I would play soccer and take a shower on his
brook. Mr. Alfred taught me a unique way on how to cut the trunk of the tree
into firewood logs. Mrs. Woloin showed me on how to make sago congee. These are
some people whom I got to know. Sometimes, when there was not much activities
going on, I would lay down under a cassowary tree. For a second, I would think
that it was so nice to learn how to live a life. I would think that there was
no problem with their lives, but there is always a problem when someone tried
to change the way of indigenous people lives.
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| Figure 1 Benhur loves to play soccer |
There were many really surprising things other than seeing
how crazy it is to not have a supportive local government. When me and my
partner did our regular walk to the shop or to visit another village, we would
spend a long time to chat around with the locals. One time, there was an old
woman with machete who stopped us and began telling us a long story of her
family condition. It was really nice for me that people actually chat for
telling their own story. All she wanted was for us to listen to her son’s
condition fighting for the city life. That would make them happy and that’s not
so expensive either. Another time, we would discuss on how long is the wait to
get our road fixed or to get electricity.
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| Figure 2 Mrs. Yohana loves to take care of her small plot of land |
I was also surprised that many women would do anything to go to the market selling their bananas, betel, sago, or any kind of produces that they grow on their small-scale farm, even though sometimes their losing money. A women would sit on a packed taxi cab to sell her $5 worth of Banana to be sold in the market, but the cost of a packed taxi cab was $6 round-trip. She would do it because she wanted to listen hot gossips in the market.
When we were collecting data or
patrolling for non-timber resources, Yustin would tell me the regular as well
as Latin name of plants and also the function or danger of almost everything we
saw in the jungle. In addition, Mr. Kaliele showed me how they used a certain
leaves or roots to survive from malaria, bad stomach and some other diseases.
They told me that there used to be a school where they would teach young man on
how to survive in the jungle in a year and they would come back to the village
as an honored man and could act as a shaman, who was technically a doctor that
can cure diseases and kill evil spirit.
Now, you
probably wondering so what did you actually do? I realized that my project was
more like an anthropologist project. I actually found that there are rattan,
bamboo, sago, and resin sap – those can be cultivated. Why are they not
cultivating it then? “My back hurts when I brought the resin back to our
village” or “We’ve worked our ass off, but we only get so little money”, that’s
what I usually heard. They cannot rely on their own government. They need to be
taught on how to do business with outsiders. They can’t be just relying on
government aid that is making them dependable and inflexible.
So when
I came back to the town, I told the founder of the NGO, “I felt like there’s
nothing to be done there with the current condition unless… Unless we can come
up with a technology that would help them cultivate the resin, and build a
better infrastructure like road and electricity. Also, we need to teach them
how to do business.” The founder of Bentara
Papua replied, “ I know. I want you to see with it by yourself so that you
know what’s the real problem. Sometimes it can be the system, but most of the
time it can be the people.” But this time are both. Villagers who live in Saifi
district are experiencing what I call a transition era from a non-modern
society to a modern society.
I felt like these people were
already pretty advanced society back then. They have a way to communicate. They
have their own school – even it’s only for men. They know which plants to use
to cure diseases. They have abundance source of foods. They were good at
hunting. But the problem was that they were sort of forced to live as “modern
society.”
I wouldn’t say that my project was successful in
term of improving their life. However, I did manage to see non-timber forest
that they have. There’s a lot we can do there if the goal is to generate a huge
stream of revenue, but it would also come at some cost. Right now the people are
living at peace, if there’s an opportunity to get rich, these people would not
mind sleeping under a hut everyday or maybe take over other’s land – something that
needs to be precluded.
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| Figure 3 Left to right, Benhur, Marlon, Wentewe, Terianus |
Reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UMAEXElHZk
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