Cikadu cultivates a more trained community

Cikadu cultivates a more trained community

CIKADU, Banten, West Java (JP): It has been three years since
a group called the Group for Developing South Bantenese began a
project to improve the living standards of the population in
Cikadu Kampong, Tanjungjaya village, Pandeglang, West Java.

At that time, the group's focus was to support local people
living at a new location in the Kampong. Their various activities
included constructing basic infrastructure such as modest housing
and nonphysical development on how to improve the people's
socioeconomic condition.

In the process, the group's activities became more complicated
in terms of quantity and quality. A more legalized, organized
body was necessary, so the group evolved into the South Bantenese
Development Foundation (SBDF).

The foundation's chairman, Purnomo S.P., said that SBDF had
set programs and targets. "It was important to make us a
nonprofit, independent organization, though the foundation was
initiated by a company which develops a tourist project in the
area called Tanjung Lesung," he said. SBDF was officially set up
in August this year.

SBDF's activities now include education/vocation, health care,
art and culture and socioeconomic improvement, he said.

"In art and culture, SBDF set a program nourishing and
preserving the local (Banten) cultural aspects which have selling
points. By mastering traditional art and cultural performances,
the people can perform for tourists and earn additional income.
In turn, Banten will be seen as going international," he said.

In health, SBDF has helped local people build toilets,
introduced plants useful for medicines and established a clinic
as well as providing paramedics and medicines, Purnomo said.

"To improve socioeconomic areas, we conduct several programs
to make the people self-reliant and give them permanent incomes.
These include establishing a traditional market, constructing
roads, clean water access, cooking training and recognizing
marketing and distribution," he said.

He said that a five-kilometer road had been constructed to
link the kampong with other areas to open an economic route.

He said that the foundation had help the people resettled in a
new residential location by providing land certificates to 450
families.

"Previously, they live widely separated from each other. We
also extended financial aid of Rp 2 million (US$250) to each
family. They can repay when they have permanent jobs," he said.

A member of the foundation's advisory board, F. Rahardi, said
that previously the people had low income by working as farmers
with poor traditional systems or as fishermen with simple tools.

"Some of them live by planting bananas, coconuts and rice.
It's already the character of most Indonesians, however, that
they are reluctant to work seriously at this as the soil is very
fertile," he said.

He said that SBDF aimed to expand its programs to develop
other kampongs in Tanjungjaya. "There are 352 villages in
Pandeglang, 192 of which are categorized as underdeveloped."

SBDF's main barrier was a common one: lack of volunteers and
funds.

"From the people's point of view, we are welcome. The local
authority has also supported us. But we don't have much funds or
personnel. Meanwhile, a lot of programs must be set up to develop
the community," Rahardi said. (icn)