Vegetable gardens float in Yoboi village<\/p>\n
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura<\/p>\n
Don't be discouraged, even if your garden is a swamp -- literally
\n-- you can still grow vegetables.<\/p>\n
Floating vegetable gardens are not an unusual sight for the
\nwomen of Yoboi village, Sentani, which is located in the coastal
\narea of Lake Sentani, Papua's largest lake. The area is 80,188
\nhectares in total, including 9,285 hectares of water.<\/p>\n
Old boats are filled with soil and vegetables are grown in
\nthem, a practice that has been going on for years.<\/p>\n
Yoboi village is accessible only by boat, as it is located by
\nthe side of the lake, swampy land where many sago trees grow.<\/p>\n
If you take a Johnson boat from Yahim harbor, paying Rp 1,000
\nfor the trip, you will get there in around 15 minutes.<\/p>\n
Yahim harbor is about two kilometers from Sentani, a town
\nabout 45 kilometers away from Jayapura, the capital of Papua
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
Yoboi village is located to the east of Yobe and Ifale, two
\nneighboring villages with church buildings that look imposing
\nfrom afar.<\/p>\n
One bright morning, The Jakarta Post, accompanied by Herlina
\nTokoro, a staff member of the Jayapura Development Planning
\nBoard, who is a native of Yoboi, and Udin, who is an employee of
\nthe Sentani administration, took a boat tour around Lake Sentani
\nto observe the floating vegetable gardens.<\/p>\n
\"It's nice weather. The lake is calm so we can sit comfortably
\nin our boat,\" said Herlina, who obtained her masters degree from
\nHasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Several bulbul flew low close to the surface of the lake. Fish
\nwent by, as well as boats transporting busy fishermen and manned
\nby some playful local children.<\/p>\n
Close to Yoboi village, we could clearly see green plots of
\nvegetables.<\/p>\n
When we got to the wooden bridge -- the only way of moving
\naround the floating village, other than on water -- we could see
\nthat some of the vegetables were ready for harvest, while, in
\nother areas, seeds had just been sown.<\/p>\n
Most of the vegetable gardens are directly in front of the
\nlocals' simple houses. The walls are generally made of sago stems
\nand midribs. The roofs of some houses are made of sago palm,
\nwhile other roofs are made of sheets of corrugated iron.<\/p>\n
The plants -- mustard greens, water spinach, spinach,
\ntomatoes, chili peppers and papaya -- are grown in garden boxes
\nmade of sago stems and midribs.<\/p>\n
About four or five stems and midribs are arranged to form a
\nsquare or rectangle and then soil and natural fertilizer is laid
\ndown. A few garden beds, however, are contained by boards.<\/p>\n
\"When we use sago stems and midribs we can easily collect them
\nfrom the sago trees around our village. If we use boards, we have
\nto buy them,\" said Ibu Selvi Puraro.<\/p>\n
At first, only one or two families grew vegetables. Later, in
\n1990, when Ibu Bas Suebu was chairperson of the family welfare
\nmotivation team for Papua province, floating vegetable planting
\nbecame the activity of all rural women.<\/p>\n
\"The family welfare program manages dozens of projects and one
\nof them is a gardening project. We do not have yards in Yoboi
\nvillage. So, Ibu Suebu got the idea of introducing and developing
\nfloating vegetable gardens,\" said Chris Tokoro, chief of Sentani
\ndistrict.<\/p>\n
In 2002, thanks to its floating vegetable garden, Yoboi
\nvillage won first prize in a contest for family welfare
\nactivities in Jayapura.<\/p>\n
The vegetables from Yoboi village are free from pests and are
\ngrown with organic fertilizer.<\/p>\n
\"Although scientific research is yet to be done on sago mulch,
\nthe villagers are convinced it contains a substance that kills
\npests. They also believe that dried algae and water hyacinth can
\nbe used as fertilizer for their plants.
\n When the Post arrived at the village, a group of women were
\nbusy collecting algae from the lake, precisely from under the
\nfloating gardens.<\/p>\n
\"We dry this algae and then mix it with soil and sago mulch in
\nthe beds. After a few days, we can begin to grow vegetable plants
\nthere,\" said Ibu Terina Sokoy.<\/p>\n
Yoboi villagers do not sell their vegetables, but growing them
\nmeans a savings of Rp 10,000 to Rp 15,000 a day. \"We don't need
\nto buy vegetables from the market,\" said Agus Waly, chief of the
\nlocal neighborhood community.<\/p>\n
About 250 people, or 47 families, live in Yoboi village and
\nmost earn their livings as fishermen. In general, life in this
\nvillage is just like life in any other coastal village.<\/p>\n
When you are there, besides the floating vegetable gardens,
\nyou may also be interested in the church. It is the largest
\nbuilding in the village.<\/p>\n
The walls of the church are made of wood that is made to look
\nlike red bricks. The floor is made of planks, while the roof is
\nmade of iron sheets.<\/p>\n
The lake is very important to the villagers. They bathe and
\nwash their clothes there. They also use it as a toilet, and a
\nsource of clean water.<\/p>\n
In the past, locals collected water from the center of the
\nlake. However, when research suggested the water contained e-coli
\nbacteria -- the cause of diarrhea -- the Jayapura administration
\nprovided the villagers with four water pumps to fulfill their
\nneed for clean water.<\/p>\n
The regental administration has also provided the village with
\na power generator, so that the villagers can enjoy electricity.<\/p>\n
Thanks to the power generator, locals can now watch TV and
\nlisten to the radio. \"Locals usually gather in front of their
\nhouses to watch the news or a live broadcast of a soccer match,\"
\nsaid Toni Wally.<\/p>\n
The children of the village are not afraid of water. They
\nlearn how to swim at a very young age. \"Water is their
\nplayground; that's why virtually every child can swim,\" said
\nHerlina.<\/p>\n
Now efforts are being made to increase the productivity of the
\nfloating vegetable gardens, to raise the income of the locals.<\/p>\n
\"We are planning to sell the vegetables to supermarkets. In
\nthat way, floating gardening will become a source of income for
\nthem. Very soon, Yoboi village will be a major vegetable
\nsupplier,\" said Chris Tokoro, hopefully.<\/p>",
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