Clouded by infrastructural problems for years, Bantian Village has finally begun road improvements and numerous development programs with help from Katingan Mentaya Project.

For years the villagers and farmers of Bantian Village in the Sub-District of Pulau Hanaut, Kotawaringin Timur, had hoped for better access to farm areas. The available roads, at the time, were of low quality and had begun to slow down the workflow of local farmers. It then started to change when in February 2021, with aid from Katingan Mentaya Project, village officials finally began road improvements throughout the village.

H. Amadi, Head of Bantian Village, stated that the agricultural road improvements were done in order to better facilitate and accelerate villagers’ economy, especially in the agricultural sector. Regarding the cost, Amadi reiterates, “We budgeted the improvement of our agricultural roads based on the amount of grant we received from Katingan Mentaya Project in 2020”.

The grant is then distributed between the village’s 3 areas, Sei.Rungun, Sei.Bantian, and Sei.Gerombol. “We budgeted funds for Sei.Rungun’s local plant cultivation. We allocated funds to cement agricultural roads in Sei.Bantian and, lastly, we also allocated to Sei.Gerombol in order to divert local plant cultivation towards the pier,” Amadi explained.

In addition to solving the villagers’ problem, in the long term, the grant has also aided a variety of development programs for the village that might otherwise not have been able to be held due to budget limitations.

Entering 2021, Amadi maintains his optimism. “For the 2021 grant, we are planning to allocate it to the improvement of business roads in Sei.Gerombol and the renovation of our village hall,” Amadi continued, “We will also propose coffee seed assistance for farmers to Katingan Mentaya Project.”