Fieldnote: Challenges for Traditional Values and Giving Aid in Disaster Relief (May 21st, 2019)

After nearly two months in Bayan Village, I have participated in several traditional activities. This morning I had to help Ina (mother) at a neighbor's house who had just passed away. In Bayan Village, the death ceremony is held for a long time. The first process is tujuh harian, where every day for a week, we have to help families provide food and drinks for guests. It will continue until a thousand days ceremony.

Villagers of Bayan wash the rice in the context of traditional ceremonies, 2019

The ceremony was held at the traditional house. This traditional house is local wisdom that they really want to re-apply after the earthquake disaster destroyed their houses. But this desire has serious challenges: limited natural resources and a growing number of human populations. The price of thatch can reach IDR 30.000/bunch, whereas to build one house alone requires more than one hundred bunch of weeds. Then there are also stereotypes that have been labeled by the government since the New Order that wooden houses are slums and are not suitable for living.

The traditional ceremony at a traditional house, 2019

The construction of public facilities post-earthquake disaster in North Lombok uses a large contractor, PT Adidaya from Jakarta. The two construction laborers I met in the traditional ceremony came from Central Java. According to them, almost all the workers assigned were from outside the area. Javanese construction laborers are considered better than local laborers when working on large projects. They are used to working on projects initiated by the Japanese. Usually, they work from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. If overtime, they can work until 10 at night with more wages. This is contrary to the commitment of the Community Based Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program (REKOMPAK) which prohibits builders from outside the area to enter as a form of community rehabilitation itself. Affected communities are taught to build their own houses so that they are independent and can have new skills to work in the future.

When I was interviewing villagers about the REKOMPAK Program, 2019

The weakness of REKOMPAK is the complexity of the administration process. According to the REKOMPAK facilitator, the development process in Bayan Village had been delayed. The team was overwhelmed by collecting data from Community Groups (Pokmas). There are four conditions that are actually simple: KTP, KK, land certificate, and house certificate. However, due to the low literacy and the lack of data collection, the Bayan community has difficulty granting these conditions. Administrative requirements have only been completed after almost two months, making Bayan Village late in the process of receiving the REKOMPAK program in North Lombok Regency.

When the traditional ceremony was over, Mr. Tatang and I went to Montong Baru district. We headed to Mr. Jumadi’s house, a farmer who got the aid. Today he will receive material from the REKOMPAK Program. His house is in the middle of rice fields, there are no roads that can be passed by cars. Concrete stone carrier trucks must stop in the middle of the road. Most of the concrete stones were unloaded from the truck so that the truck could head to the front of Mr. Jumadi's rice field. The driver did not cooperative with us, he does not want to take risks. So I, Mr. Tatang, Mr. Man, and Mr. Gablon had to transport the remaining concrete stones using a motorcycle. We transport the concrete stones up to 10 rounds on a motorcycle.

RISHA concrete material arrived at a resident's house, 2019

The problem did not end there. When the concrete stones were already on the side of the road, we had to independently lift the concrete stones into Mr. Jumadi's house as far as 750 meters. It took 3 days to finish carrying material into his house in the middle of the rice fields. No one else can be asked for help besides Mr. Jumadi's relatives and the REKOMPAK facilitators. When the material arrives, we contacted the builder and report that the house is ready to be built in the near future.

Mr. Tatang is helping Mr. Jumadi carry materials to his house in the middle of rice fields, 2019

Indonesian translation:

Setelah hampir dua bulan berada di Desa Bayan, akhirnya material untuk membangun rumah tiba juga dari Mataram. Pagi ini saya harus membantu ina (ibu) di rumah tetangga yang baru saja meninggal. Di Desa Bayan, upacara kematian dilaksanakan dalam jangka waktu panjang. Proses pertama adalah tujuh harian, di mana setiap hari kami harus membantu keluarga menyediakan makanan dan minuman bagi para tamu.

Upacara dilakukan di rumah adat. Kearifan lokal yang sebenarnya ingin mereka terapkan kembali setelah gempa bumi melanda. Namun keinginan tersebut memiliki tantangan berat: keterbatasan sumber daya alam dan semakin banyak jumlah manusia yang ada. Harga ilalang dapat mencapai Rp30.000/ikat, sedangkan untuk membangun satu rumah saja membutuhkan lebih dari seratus ikat ilalang. Kemudian ada juga stereotype yang dilabelkan oleh berbagai pihak bahwa rumah kayu merupakan rumah kumuh.

Pembangunan fasilitas umum di Lombok Utara menggunakan kontraktor besar yaitu PT Adidaya dari Jakarta. Dua tukang yang saya temui ketika upacara adat berasal dari Jawa Tengah. Menurut mereka, hampir semua tukang yang ditugaskan berasal dari luar daerah. Selain sudah berlangganan, tukang dari Jawa dianggap lebih telaten ketika mengerjakan proyek besar. Mereka sudah biasa mengerjakan sesuatu dengan patokan bos-bos asal Jepang. Biasanya mereka bekerja dari pukul delapan pagi hingga empat sore. Jika lembur, mereka dapat bekerja sampai pukul sepuluh malam dengan bayaran dua kali lipat. Berbeda dengan pembangunan fasilitas umum, Program REKOMPAK melarang tukang dari luar daerah untuk masuk sebagai bentuk rehabilitasi masyarakat itu sendiri. Masyarakat terkena dampak diajarkan untuk membangun rumahnya sendiri agar mandiri dan dapat memiliki keahlian baru sebagai pekerjaan di masa yang akan datang.

Kelemahan program ini adalah rumitnya proses administasi. Menurut fasilitator REKOMPAK, proses pembangunan di Desa Bayan mengalami kelambatan karena sebelum tim ini masuk, sudah ada tim yang lebih dulu membina dua desa sekaligus: Desa Bayan dan Desa Senaru. Tim itu kewalahan mengumpulkan data dari Kelompok Masyarakat. Ada empat syarat yang sebenarnya sederhana: KTP, KK, sertifikat tanah, dan seritifikat kepemilikan rumah. Hanya saja, akibat rendahnya literasi dan sedikitnya pendataan, masyarakat Bayan kesulitan memenuhi syarat tersebut. Akhirnya urusan administrasi baru selesai setelah hampir dua bulan lamanya.

Ketika upacara adat sudah selesai, saya dan Bang Tatang pergi ke Dusun Montong Baru. Kami menuju rumah Pak Jumadi, seorang petani yang mendapat bantuan. Hari ini ia akan menerima material dari Program REKOMPAK. Rumahnya berada di tengah sawah, tidak ada jalan yang dapat dilalui mobil. Truk pembawa beton harus menurunkan sebagian isinya agar kuat menanjak ke depan sawah rumah Pak Jumadi. Sang supir tidak kooperatif dengan kami, ia tidak mau mengambil resiko. Sehingga saya, Bang Tatang, Bang Man, dan Bang Gablon harus mengangkut sisa beton itu menggunakan sepeda motor. Kami mengangkut beton itu hingga 10 kali ronde naik motor.

Masalah tidak selesai sampai disitu. Ketika beton untuk membangun Rumah Instan Sederhana Sehat (RISHA) sudah berada di pinggir jalan. Kami harus secara swadaya mengangkutnya ke dalam rumah Pak Jumadi sejauh 750 meter. Butuh waktu tiga hari untuk selesai mengangkut material ke dalam rumahnya di tengah sawah. Tidak ada orang lain yang dapat diminta bantuan selain kerabat Pak Jumadi dan para fasilitator Program REKOMPAK. Kalau material sudah tiba, kami akan menghubungi tukang dan melaporkan bahwa rumah ini sudah siap dibangun dalam waktu dekat.