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Sue traveled to Lombok for a vist with SADI to one of their farming activities. This time KGI visited the
cows! Sue also made time for a full day workshop for teachers with LAPIS-ELTIS.
Here's Sue's Report -
It was a bunch of “firsts” for me on my most recent trip to Lombok.
First, I flew on the new Garuda flight which just started operating two days earlier.
The plane was full and the staff barely had enough time to serve everyone with a boxed drink before we began
our descent.
Then I stayed at a different hotel. Usually I stay in a hotel in Mataram town but this time I was going to
stay at the beach. (I thought I was going to have some extra time to take walks along the beach.)
And finally I didn’t just meet teachers and conduct a KGI workshop but I interviewed some farmers and
met their cows! I think this is the first time KGI has done an interview in a cowshed!
On Friday morning Ibu Rini Indrayanti (from the AusAID's SADI
project based in Makassar) and Pak Giri from the picked me up for our trip out to the field. SADI, working
with ACIAR (the Australian Center for International
Research) CSIRO (Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organisation),
the University of Mataram, BPTP NTB and Dinas Peternakan are working
with farmers on several projects in Lombok. We were going to visit two farms involved in the cattle project.
First we visited Kantor Lapangan Penelitian Stratgi Pengembangsan Sapi Bali di Pulau Lombok where we met members
of staff connected to the project in Lombok. There was Pk Yussuf and Pk from the University of Mataram, twelve ‘ground
staff’ from the project and other Government extension staff. Currently each of the ground staff – mostly
new graduates from the University of Mataram are responsible for two farmers groups each. They meet every
Saturday for training and to discuss problems. Then they work with their farmer groups for the week. Each
has been given a motorcycle and a mobile phone to enable them to travel to the farms and keep in touch with
each other.
Then we jumped in the car and drove around the corner. There we were introduced to the Kepala Dinas PP Pk
Lalu Supari. Rini and I were a little worried as we weren’t dressed for an official visit but Pak Supari
was very welcoming and keen to practice his English – he wasn’t worried about how we were dressed.
There was a question and answer session for some of the ground staff and Ibu Rini from SADI answered their
questions. Then it was time to break for Friday prayer. The men headed to the mosque and the women to the
restaurant! After a delicious lunch the men joined us, ate quickly and we all set off to visit the farms.
The first farm we visited belonged to Ibu Ina Dedi. We also met her brother Mutawali who is the head of the
Beriuk Girang group. Ibu Dedi proudly showed us her prize bull. This group has the most productive bulls in
the program. Pak Supari talked to the farmers too. He wanted to know their problems and successes. He told
KGI that both the provincial and district Governments fully supported this AusAID program and provided each
farmers group with a bull.
Next we drove to the Jaya Gembala group, the first group to join the program. This is the biggest group with
45 farmers and the largest contributor to the program. Each farmer has an equal space in the large cowshed
and every night the cows sleep here. Seven farmers on a rota system also sleep here to guard them. The cow
shed has been built on land owned by one member of the group. The other farmers pay him 25 kilos of rice a
year in rent. During our visit I interviewed two of the farmers in the cowshed as we sheltered from the rain
including Pak Arna Paryatin the head of the group. I think this is the first time KGI has conducted an interview
with the sound of cowbells in the background! The farmers are being advised on different grasses and legumes
they can grow and feed to their cattle to improve the stock. In fact Pak Supari pointed out one cow which
had recently won a medal for its good general appearance and healthy coat.
As we were talking in the cowshed children from the nearby village came to see what was happening. One of
the younger toddlers was very wary of me. I was quite surprised to be told that I was the first foreigner
this youngster had ever seen – yet we were only an hour away from the tourist center of Senggigi.
When the rain stopped we climbed back into our cars and drove back down to the coast. On the way we called
into a Garuda Food peanut factory and met Pak Budiono Sukadri and some of his staff. Improving the yield of
peanut growing farmers is also a SADI program in Lombok. At this factory the peanuts are graded, washed and
dried. Then they are packed into sacks and taken to Java where the process of is completed. It is hoped that
in the future the final roasting and packaging of the nuts will be done in Lombok. Some of the staff will
soon go to Australia for a week to learn about the technical side of things. It was still raining when we
left the peanut factory and by the time we reached Senggigi it had almost stopped. But it was already 6:15
and by the time I had showered and changed it was too dark to go for a walk on the beach. So I walked up to
the main road and read the Peanut newsletter while I had my dinner.
The next morning I packed most of my things before catching a taxi to the ELTIS office. Kang Guru was conducting
a workshop for the two classes in the Aisha group. These groups have already attended 3 English language upgrading
levels and were now attending the third in a series of five methodology training sessions. Each Celt 3 group
in the ELTIS program has a workshop with Kang Guru at the end of the week’s training. We began at 8
and worked till 12:15 when we stopped for lunch. They were quite a lively group and some of them stayed and
chatted over lunch. We began promptly at 1:15 and continued till 3:30. the final session was a KG quiz in
teams. Everyone really enjoyed the day and the teachers all went home with KGI SMP packs and souvenirs.
I had requested a late check out at the hotel and so I just had time to shower and change before paying my
bill. Then I had two hours to kill! So I went down to beach and relaxed with a coffee and then, at last, I
went for a short walk on the beach – just before the rain started! I caught a taxi to the airport and
was back in Bali earlier than the schedule said! It’s great to go away and meet lots of new people but
it’s always nice to come home too!
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