Bardi, committed regreening activist

Bardi, committed regreening activist

Bambang Muryanto, Contributor, Yogyakarta

People just call him Bardi. As a field forestry counselor, he has
an impressive record of achievement as an environmentalist under
his belt.

Since he was first assigned to Sedayu district, Bantul,
Yogyakarta, in 1988, he has successfully regreened 382 hectares
of barren, hilly land in four villages: Argodadi, Argorejo,
Argomulyo and Argosari.

This has now become a forest that produces economic benefit
for local people. He has done much else to improve the
environment. That is why he received the Kalpataru, the highest
award for environmentalists in Indonesia.

"I really appreciate this," he said about the award he
received personally from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at
Cipanas Palace, West Java, on June 6. For Bardi, 48, the award
was encouragement to do more to improve the environment. "In
future, I must try to regreen areas outside Sedayu district," he
added.

As Bardi's home village, Dingkikan, Sedayu district, is an
arid place, his father, then the head of a farmers' group, was
assigned to regreen the hilly parts of the barren village. Bardi,
then a teenager, helped his father in the regreening drive. He
took seedlings and planted them there.

Regreening seems to have become a challenge that Bardi has
taken on in life. After completing his studies at a technical
senior high school in 1981, he enrolled as a regreening field
officer and was accepted.

After the completion of training, he began to work, moving
from one district to another in Bantul regency. In 1988 he was
transferred to Sedayu district, his home village, and has since
been assigned there.

Bardi's enthusiasm to regreen his home village grew because of
the many critical plots of land there. "What my dad did in the
past always inspired me in my regreening activities," he said.

As a field officer, Bardi goes round the village. He meets
farmers working in their paddy fields or attends meetings
organized by groups of farmers, each time providing them with
information about the importance of terracing and the benefits of
regreening.

He never talks down to them; instead, he simply encourages
them to undertake regreening. He employs a counseling method that
encourages participation of the groups of farmers, who eventually
draw up their own work plans.

Of course, Bardi has had to work extra-hard to bring the
farmers round to his regreening ideas. The meetings are usually
held at night because during the day villagers work either as
farmers or on construction sites.

Dedication bears fruit

Very often, therefore, Bardi has to work overtime.

Unfortunately, there is no overtime pay. "As this is part of
my job, I have to set aside time in the evening to attend these
meetings," he said.

Bardi also needs to use his own money to do his job properly.
He travels around the village on an office motorcycle. As this
has a two-stroke engine, it consumes a lot of gasoline.

Unfortunately for him as he is a low-ranking civil servant, he
has to buy his own gasoline and pay the vehicle tax. Bardi is the
only field forestry officer in Sedayu, a district of more than
3,000 hectares.

Thanks to his great enthusiasm and dedication, the arid areas
in Sedayu have gradually turned green, as mahogany, sengon, teak,
coconut, Gnetum gnemon trees, acacias and many other tree species
have grown well there.

Locals can sell the wood from some of these trees. "Pak Bardi
has done much for the locals," said Abdul Fatah Maksum, chairman
of the Ginanjar group of farmers from Kepuhan village, Argorejo,
Sedayu. Maksum also said that it was Bardi who had brought the
Kepuhan villagers mahogany seedlings.

Apart from his success in regreening critical plots of land,
Bardi has also successfully encouraged locals to preserve a kind
of edible tuber. Back in 1985, the New Order government urged
that locals replace this plant with other more useful plants,
causing it almost to disappear.

To ensure that the plots of land would again be effective,
Bardi encouraged locals to replant garut (a kind of tuber). This
plant is suitable for regreening purposes as it can grow well
under other trees planted in the reforestation program.

Sedayu now boasts 75 hectares where garut grows. The plant has
turned out to be economically beneficial to locals. Atmo Suyud, a
farmer in Kadibeso village, Argodadi, Sedayu, said in a year he
could harvest 150 kilograms of garut. When processed into emping
(deep-fried chips), every five kg of garut could produce one kg
of emping.

This means that Atmo can produce 30 kg per year from his garut
harvest. One kg can be sold for Rp 16,000. Each harvest, Atmo can
earn about Rp 480,000.

Garut is also a prime product for the Mekar Sari group in
Songapan village, Argodadi, Sedayu. The group produces food made
from garut, which is then sold in big shops.

A[art from regreening barren, hilly areas, Bardi has also
encouraged villagers to preserve water resources in the district
where he works.

He successfully mobilized villagers to regreen the area around
a cave where there is a water resource in Argorejo village. Bardi
and the villagers have also sunk five absorption wells and built
a water control dam.

Despite his many achievements, Bardi has never said they are
the result of his own hard work. "I have not done all this by
myself. I have achieved these things in cooperation with my
farmer group colleagues," he said, modestly.

Bardi can be seen as a role model for civil servants across
Indonesia. Low pay does not necessarily mean working as little as
possible: Bardi's achievements in the community for which he
works are living proof of that.