Following Devastating Fire, Sade Traditional Village Chooses to Rise Again
The fire that struck the traditional settlement area of Sade Village in Sade Hamlet, Rambitan Village, Pujut District, Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), still leaves behind profound grief. However, the residents of Sade are slowly rising again.
The fire in Sade Village occurred on Saturday (22/8) night at approximately 20:30 WITA. Almost the entire traditional settlement area and the residents’ belongings in the traditional village were razed by the flames.
Yet, amidst the blackened wood left by the fire, residents are working together to rebuild their homes. Dito, a resident of Sade, shared that the villagers have chosen to persevere. The reconstruction process has now begun through self-help and mutual cooperation (gotong-royong) by the local community.
Itok Sanadi, 38, a resident of Sade Hamlet, explained that the rebuilding of the residential area has entered the physical reconstruction stage. According to him, the construction process is estimated to take a maximum of about two months.
“God willing, this should be finished in two months at the latest because the foundations are still there and the timber has been prepared from below. We just need to lift them into place,” said Fitok when met at the construction site recently.
Nevertheless, Fitok revealed that there are technical obstacles during reconstruction regarding the construction of roofs using traditional Alang-alang (thatch) materials. This is because the production of Alang-alang roofing requires a relatively longer period.
“The part that is somewhat slow is the production of the Alang-alang roofs. Because residents are busy building their own houses, that is what makes the roofing take a bit more time. We are using Alang-alang thatch,” he added.
Based on field data, the fire disaster in Sade Village damaged at least 78 buildings. The entire process of rebuilding this traditional settlement is being carried out by the people of Sade Hamlet with a spirit of togetherness.