Pursuing Livelihoods, Imagining Development Smallholders in Highland Lampung, Indonesia
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Pursuing Livelihoods, Imagining Development Smallholders in Highland Lampung, Indonesia Asia-Pacific Environment Monograph 9 Pursuing Livelihoods, Imagining Development Smallholders in Highland Lampung, Indonesia Ahmad Kusworo Published by ANU Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at: http://press.anu.edu.au/ National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Kusworo, Ahmad, author. Title: Pursuing livelihoods, imagining development : smallholders in Highland Lampung, Indonesia / Ahmad Kusworo. ISBN: 9781925021479 (paperback) 9781925021486 (ebook) Subjects: Farms, Small--Indonesia--Lampung. Village communities--Economic aspects--Indonesia--Lampung. Agriculture and state--Indonesia--Lampung. Agriculture--Economic aspects--Indonesia--Lampung. Land use, Rural--Indonesia--Lampung. Lampung (Indonesia)--Social conditions. Lampung (Indonesia)--Social life and customs. Dewey Number: 338.1609598 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design and layout by ANU Press Cover image: A coffee harvester in Gunung Terang village, photo courtesy of the author Printed by Griffin Press This edition © 2014 ANU Press Contents Foreword . ix Acknowledgements . xi Glossary . xiii 1 . Introduction . 1 2 . Lampung in the Twentieth Century: The Making of ‘Little Java’ . 17 3 . Creating a ‘Wealthy Zone’: Sumber Jaya and the Way Tenong Highland . 41 4 . Local Politics: Bringing the State to the Village . 73 5. Resource Control, Conflict, and Collaboration . 93 6 . Gunung Terang: Social Organisation of a Migrants’ Village . 111 7. Social Stratification in Gunung Terang . 139 8 . The Farming Economy in Gunung Terang . 153 9 . Conclusion . 167 References . 177 List of Tables 2-1 Population of Lampung Province, 1930–86 25 2-2 Land use and production data for Lampung Province, 2000 38 2-3 Population density and poor families in Lampung Province 39 3-1 Total villages and ‘left-behind villages’ in Lampung Province 56 3-2 Population, poor households, and ‘left-behind villages’ by 57 sub-district in West Lampung District, 2000 3-3 Area, population, population density, and poor families in 64 Sumber Jaya and Way Tenong sub-districts 3-4 Land ownership in selected hamlets in Sumber Jaya and Way 70 Tenong sub-districts 6-1 Population of hamlets in Gunung Terang village 115 8-1 Coffee garden production in Gunang Terang village, 1998–2002 155 8-2 Inputs and income from a 1-hectare coffee garden, 2002 156 8-3 Inputs and production from a 1-hectare rice field, 2002 157 8-4 Inputs and income from 1500 small chilli plants, 2002 159 8-5 Inputs and income from 2 rante of ‘big’ red chilli, 2001 160 List of Maps 2-1 Lampung Province 21 3-1 Sumber Jaya and Way Tenong 46 5-1 Forest Land Use Plan (TGHK) of Lampung Province, 1990 96 6-1 Gunung Terang village 114 List of Plates 5-1 Members of a community forestry (HKm) group in Rigis Atas 104 6-1 Semendonese houses in Gunung Terang 112 6-2 A house belonging to wealthy Javanese in Bedeng Sari 116 6-3 Houses in Rigis Atas 117 6-4 Residents of Rigis Bawah doing gotong royong 126 6-5 A shop (toko) in Sumber Alam village market 135 7-1 A motorbike taxi (ojek) 142 7-2 Harvesting coffee 144 7-3 Hoeing a rice field 146 7-4 Harvesting chilli 149 8-1 Weeding a coffee garden 154 For Nana, Alia, and Nabila Foreword James J . Fox A strategic perspective is the key to shaping a well-focused ethnography. In this volume, Pursuing Livelihoods, Imagining Development, Ahmad Kusworo has developed a perspective that allows his analysis to shift effectively from province to region to village area, at each stage enhancing the overall argument. At the provincial level, this ethnography presents a superb examination of the transformation of Lampung in Sumatra. Within the context of this historical transformation, the ethnography shifts focus to the specific transformation of a frontier region of Lampung and then concentrates on a fine-grained examination of local rural development – how cultivators of mixed backgrounds flexibly organized in households and attuned to new opportunities manage to pursue a range of livelihood strategies. The result is a sophisticated, nuanced ethnography that provides an exceptional portrait of smallholder production. Lampung is an area of Indonesia that has not been given the attention that it deserves. In the colonial period, Dutch administrators viewed Lampung as an empty land that they could fill with people from Java. The province became the earliest historical target for migration and continued as such through much of the New Order. Over time, there was far more spontaneous migration than assisted transmigration, and the local indigenous population — though swamped by those from outside — took on many of the same economic pursuits as the incoming groups. The result is a complex creation of diverse settlements pursuing multiple livelihoods. The author aptly describes this population as “a multi-ethnic middle peasantry” whose efforts have resulted in successes as well as failures. This volume traces the effects of the erratic national policies and fluctuating commodity prices that have affected opportunities and the way of life in the region. It provides a convincing picture of ‘development’ as it is imagined and experienced in the local context. To do this kind of nuanced research requires time and a solid background in Lampung’s diverse cultural traditions. Ahmad Kusworo received his first degree in agriculture from the University of Lampung and was engaged in research in the province with Friends of Nature and Environment (WATALA), and ICRAF/ World Agroforestry Centre before beginning his degree program at ANU. Almost a decade before he began his fieldwork, he visited the area of his research in the company of friends and activists from various NGOs. Since completing his PhD, Ahmad Kusworo has worked for WFF Indonesia and UNDP Indonesia as well as ix Pursuing Livelihoods, Imagining Development being the Indonesian Research Coordinator for ANU Crawford School’s Australia Indonesia Governance Research Partnership. He is currently a Technical Advisor for the Indonesia Programme at Fauna & Flora International. This is an engaging ethnography that is particularly appropriate for the Asia Pacific Environment Monograph (APEM) series. It is an ethnographic document of a particular place and a particular time but the issues it tackles are perennial and persistent. x Acknowledgements This book is the polished version of my PhD thesis submitted in 2004 at the Department of Anthropology, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS) at The Australian National University. I’d like to thank members of the department: James J. Fox, Andrew Walker, Lesley Potter, and Andrew McWilliam who have supervised, advised, and helped me throughout the process of preparation, fieldwork research, and writing of the thesis. I thank colleagues from the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and Friends of Nature and the Environment (WATALA) for hosting me during the fieldwork research. The Ford Foundation and RSPAS generously provided funds for my PhD program. Michael Dove (Yale), Nancy Peluso (UC Berkeley), and Carol Warren (Murdoch University) have kindly examined the thesis and offered valuable comments and suggestions for the publication of this monograph. I thank James J. Fox for connecting me with people at the Resource Management in Asia-Pacific (RMAP) Program at ANU. Colin Filer, Mary Walta, and Dana Rawls provided support with editing and publishing this monograph. xi Glossary Acronyms ABRI (Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesian Armed Forces Indonesia) babinsa (bintara pembina desa) military personnel posted in village BRN (Biro Rekonstruksi Nasional) National Reconstruction Bureau Corp Tjadangan Nasional (CTN) National Reserve Corp DI/TII (Darul Islam/Tentara Islam the House of Islam/Indonesian Indonesia) Islamic Army DPRD (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Regional House of Representatives Daerah) Golkar (Golongan Karya) Functional Party HKm (Hutan Kemasyarakatan) a version of community/social forestry HTI (hutan tanaman industri) industrial forestry plantation ICRAF International Centre for Research in Agroforestry/ World Agroforestry Centre IDT (Instruksi Presiden Desa Presidential Instructions on Tertinggal) Neglected, Left-Behind Villages Koramil (Komando Rayon Militer) sub-district military post LPMP (Lembaga Pemberdayaan village council for community Masyarakat Pekon) empowerment NGO Non-government organisation ORSTOM Institut Français de Recherche Scientifique pour le Développment en Coopération PBB (Partai Bulan Bintang) Moon Star Party PDIP (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Indonesian Democratic Party of Perjuangan) Struggle PKB (Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa) Nation Awakening Party PKI (Partai Komunis Indonesia) Indonesian Communist Party PPP (Partai Persatuan dan Unity and Development Party Pembangunan) xiii Pursuing Livelihoods, Imagining Development TGHK (Tata Guna Hutan Agreed Forest Land Use Plan Kesepakatan) WATALA (Keluarga Pencinta Alam Friends of Nature and Environment dan Lingkungan Hidup) WALHI (Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesian Forum for Environment Indonesia) YLBHI (Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation Indonesia) Terms Indonesian/local English adat customary practices alang-alang Imperata grassland