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An illegal logger took a new path in life for the sake of his children and his home, the forest
Formerly an illegal logger , Alianur – Ian to his friends - now plays an important role in the conservation of the forest that he once exploited. He is now relying on the sustainability of the environment to have a better life.
Ian still remembers well how he used to go into the forest, equipped with tools to cut down trees. He and his friends would cut down trees whose timbers are of high demand, such as meranti, ramin, katiau and pakung. In two to four weeks, they would cut down around 60 trees , consciously aware of the safety and security risks they were facing.
For 17 years since he was a teenager, Ian – who lives in Satiruk Village in Katingan, Central Kalimantan - spent most of his time in the forest. In parties of four or five, Ian and his friends would go into the depth of the dense peat forests in Katingan to search and illegally cut down trees whose timbers would sell in the market. To transport the huge logs, they would bind them together like a raft and float them downstream through Katingan river. The whole process of cutting down the trees to transporting the logs along the river would take nearly one month.
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Other than the strenuous physical works, this ‘job’ left Ian with no peace of mind, knowing that what he did was illegal and that he could be detained and caught by the police any time. Also, safety risk was high. Ian saw with his own eyes how one of his friend almost died as one of the trees they cut down fell on him. All of these made him rethink whether he would want to spend the rest of his life being an illegal logger. In 2015, Ian tried his luck to become a coconut farmer, as he realized that there was a local demand for coconut sugar. However, the process did not go smoothly. His first attempt to produce coconut sugar failed as he ended up with rock-hard crystalised sugar.
In 2018, Ian joined coconut sugar training, a program initiated by Katingan Mentaya Project (KMP), targeted at loggers and other people in the village. He joined the training for two weeks, followed by mentoring for a few months after that.
Now, making and selling coconut sugar is Ian’s main source of income. In one single day, he can produce around 16 kilogram of coconut sugar from 125 coconut trees that he has cultivated. The selling price is about Rp 15,000 per kilogram – giving him higher income than his former profession as logger.
Rimba Makmur Utama through Katingan Mentaya Project helps the local communities by providing alternative, more sustainable livelihood. Beside providing coconut sugar training , RMU/KMP also provide other assistance, including providing plant seedlings such as vanilla and cattles.
Currently, other than coconut trees, Ian also plant many other type of crops, including durian, jengkol (a type of stinky beans popular in local cuisine), vanilla and pepper. He implemented sustainable agriculture method, with no slash and burn, and no chemical fertilizers nor insecticides. All of those he does for the sake of the sustainability of the environment, and to give his daughter, Siti, a better future.
“I dropped out of school a long time ago, and now I want my daughter to get good education,” said Ian. Better education and better environment, which he is now working for, give brighter hope for Siti and other children of the future generation.
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