Potatoes blight beauty of Dieng plateau

Potatoes blight beauty of Dieng plateau

Text and photos by P.J. Leo

DIENG, Central Java (JP): White mists, the slaves of the wind,
meander to and fro in the morning and afternoon and envelop the
hills through which the winding road passes, adding to the charm
of the Dieng plateau, a cool, nay, cold and mysterious area.

With temperatures averaging about 15 degrees Celsius during
the day and falling to 10 degrees Celsius at night, the Dieng
plateau resembles Peru or Tibet more than tropical Java. In June,
July and August, the temperature can sometimes plummet to below
zero at night.

The charm of the plateau is provided by steaming craters which
add to the site's magical and scientific value, small temples
dating from the Hindu era many centuries ago, lakes, and the
green carpet of foliage covering the Dieng mountain range
towering up to 2,093 meters above sea level.

The name Dieng is derived from the Sanskrit word compound
dihyang, meaning a location high up in the mountains where the
gods have their abode, a reflection of the magical world of Hindu
belief which explains the presence of the many temples in the
area.

Home to outstanding natural beauty and a myriad of wonders,
Dieng has yet to be professionally managed as a tourist
destination. It is much less well-known in the international
arena than other tourist attractions in Java, such as Bromo,
Merapi, Borobudur and Prambanan, as it has yet to be seriously
promoted.

"Nature seems to be discriminatory if a comparison is made
between the Dieng plateau and Mount Merapi (2,968 meters) in
terms of tourism," said Pudjonggo Kristiawan, head of the
Wonosobo tourist office.

"Tourists, especially those from abroad, keep coming to Mount
Merapi even though the volcano is currently active.
Unfortunately, here the tourists seem to take to their heels the
moment they hear that there is a crater on the Dieng plateau that
emits potentially dangerous mud and gasses. As a result,
beautiful Dieng has failed to attract tourists," said Pudjonggo
jokingly at a food stall in Dieng. "Tourists should not miss out
on visiting Dieng if they are in Central Java because of its
great charm and beauty," Pudjonggo added.

Located on the border between Wonosobo and Banjarnegara
districts, Central Java, Dieng is exhaustively exploited by the
locals, most of whom grow potatoes.

As a result, locals now grow potatoes very close to the
location of the temples. In some places, out-of-keeping
structures have been built, including a number of auxiliary
installations for a geothermal power plant.

Gone is the wonder of Telaga Warna (the colored lake), which
used to have crystal clear water that presented a kaleidoscope of
colors when seen from afar. Today, Telaga Warna and some of the
other lakes in the area, which, it was believed, fairies used to
bathe in, are now muddy brown as the potato growers pump the
water from the lakes to irrigate their potato plots, potatoes
today being the main commodity produced on the Dieng plateau.

"Isn't the Indonesian government really serious about taking
care of these temples, which were built so many centuries ago,
and why are these farmers allowed to use the land for growing
their potatoes so close to the temples? Don't these activities
disturb the tourists?" Carlos Bobby Dharan, a Malaysian tourist
asked the Post. "The Dieng panorama is really wonderful. The air
is clean and cool, but why aren't there any mature trees on those
hills? Aren't you afraid of erosion," he asked again, adding that
he could not understand why the lake was so turbid.

Meanwhile, Sylvi Dharan, Bobby's wife, expressed her worries,
mixed with admiration, while observing the potato growers move
nimbly along the steep slopes of the hills. "Look ... how agilely
they move along those steep slopes. Aren't they afraid of
falling? she said, apparently mesmerized by the movement of the
potato growers scaling the hills with sacks of manure on their
shoulders.

"The scenery here is really amazing. The farmers now grow
potatoes in terraces down the slopes of the hills. Unfortunately,
because of the potato growing, the hills in Dieng are completely
denuded of trees," she added.

It was in the 1980s that the beautiful Dieng plateau began to
change its face. The local people, who until then only grew some
vegetables, corn and, once in a while, tobacco, began to
cultivate potatoes, following the example set by many other West
Java farmers.

Tourists revisiting Dieng after a few years can easily notice
the changes in the area. In addition to the disappearance of the
mature trees and colorful flowers, a foul odor now pervades the
plateau.

Potato growers spread manure on their crops right along the
roadside. Because of the smell, many tourists prefer not to lower
their car windows, or even step out of their cars.

"Dieng has completely changed now, especially because of the
bad smell from the manure," agreed Yati and Titi, two tourists
from Jakarta. "The place is now filthy and evil-smelling, not
like it was a few years ago," they added.

"Many tourists have complained about the manure but the
egotism of the local people is great that they won't even talk
about the problem," said Susmono, an elementary school teacher
hailing from Muntilan, Central Java, who has lived for 18 years
in Dieng.

"If the locals could nurture some kind of local pride, Dieng
would be visited by a lot of foreign and domestic tourists, just
like other tourist destinations across the country," added
Susmono, a food stall owner.

To the potato growers, Dieng is their dream land. They are
ready to do anything to keep this land to themselves for potato
growing. That's why the forest has been cleared, trees felled,
and the land turned into horticultural land for potato growing.

Wonosobo, some 30 kilometers to the southwest, is the nearest
major town where you can catch a bus to Dieng. You can also
travel to the cool plateau by bus from Purwokerto, about 100
kilometers to the southwest.