Permaculture takes root in Aceh

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Lamsujen used to be the frontline of Aceh's 30-year conflict. But since the tsunami, Aceh has been at peace, and with Oxfam support, this fertile, tranquil spot has become home to the province's only permaculture school.

Deep in the valley a short drive north of Lhoong along a pot-holed dirt track is a large green field. This, wedged between some of Indonesia's oldest rainforest and a glass-clear river, is Lamsujen.  

It used to be the frontline of the 30-year independence war between government soldiers and Acehnese separatist fighters. But since peace broke out after the tsunami, this fertile, tranquil land has become home to Aceh's only permaculture school.

“Where we are standing used to be a battlefield,” says Roberto Hutabarat, 36, a former human rights worker from Medan who established the GreenHand project in 2005.

Started in the 1970s, permaculture, is an alternative to industrial agriculture, which some experts believe pollutes the environment and the food chain with chemical insecticides and pesticides. It aims to work with nature to improve living standards by using only local natural resources to provide organic healthy food, as well as creating sustainable livelihoods that protect the planet's resources like rivers and rainforests.

But most importantly, in Aceh it's about food security. “Because of the tsunami, nutrition levels have fallen,” says Roberto, the coordinator of the Indonesian Development of Education and Permaculture Foundation (Yayasan IDEP) in Aceh.

The province, however, is blessed with an abundance of natural resources. Yet, according to Roberto, people don't know how to work the land to provide healthy, chemical-free food. “Here we teach tsunami-affected people how they can provide food for themselves.”

Sharing knowledge

The GreenHand project welcomes people from all walks of life. But priority goes to ex-combatants, tsunami survivors and illegal loggers, like Muhammad Rahmi, aged 23.  

He was lucky: he survived the tsunami. Most his family did not. “I lost my mother, father, two sisters and two brothers. Only my little brother Armia survived.” Muhammad didn't know logging damaged the environment. And knowing would not have stopped him. “It's very hard to get another job but logging. There's no alternative.”

Three years on, Muhammad is a permaculture convert. In 2006 he attended GreenHand's nine-day residential Permaculture Design Course. Graduating near top of his class, Roberto encouraged him to undergo three months of intensive teaching training at the school.

“I told him: ”˜you have an obligation to share this knowledge with other tsunami survivors,” Roberto says.

Today, Muhammad is a specialist in recycling used household water. GreenHand pays him US$200 a month, more than twice what he could earn in a city. “This is better than logging.  I share the money with my younger brother for his education,” he says.

Sustainable agriculture

Since the school opened, 800 tsunami-affected people have completed the nine-day course. Another 200 have trained as teachers. In the first instance students learn basic skills like how to construct a grey water system or produce organic food using local seeds.

There are also lessons on soil rehabilitation, as well as livelihoods training in skills such as such as mat-weaving and carpentry. “We teach the ethics and principles of permaculture and make them understand the problems caused by not protecting the environment,” explains Roberto.

It costs each student 2 million rupiah ($220) to attend the residential course. The fee covers accommodation, three meals a day, training and manuals, seeds and tools. Demand is high, but the price is more than many can afford.  

To cover the fees of hundreds more tsunami-affected people, village outreach projects and materials to promote permaculture, Oxfam awarded GreenHand a 4 billion rupiah ($445,000) grant for eight months to March 2008. “The funding from Oxfam was a like an infusion of fresh blood. It's a new spirit for us,' smiles Roberto. It also means the school, which can accommodate 30 to 35 students at a time, can reach its target of 60 by the end of the year.

Helping tsunami-affected people wean themselves off agricultural practices that harm the environment and their health made GreenHand an obvious funding choice.

“Permaculture is a very good answer to creating livelihoods in Aceh,” explains Oxfam Partnership Program Manager, Liesbeth Van Der Hoogte. “And because it attracts people from all over the province, we are helping to create a critical mass of trainers and farmers to make sustainable agriculture thrive.”

Nurbaiti, 24, a graduate of agriculture from Kreung Kala had never heard of permaculture until friends told her about GreenHand.  She could not afford the course fees, so she attended thanks to an Oxfam scholarship.  Half-way through the nine day course, she's amazed it was never taught at university.  

“I am still shocked to know there's another way other than chemical agriculture,” she says.

Nurbaiti plans to return to her village and share the knowledge. “If there is a village meeting I will inform them about permaculture. People need to be aware and make their lives sustainable for the long-term.”

”˜I am very happy that Oxfam provided me with a scholarship to come here. If it were not for GreenHand and Oxfam, I would be trapped in the agrichemical business,” says Nurbaiti, clasping her hands together.

by Ian Woolverton, Oxfam