AusAID Minister Counsellor for Indonesia, Jacqui De Lacy visited East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on 10 – 12 February 2010 to get a closer look at Australia’s development partnership in the provinnce. This is her first field visit after being posted to Indonesia. She was accompanied by Victoria Coakley, AusAID’s Councellor for Governance and Policy Coordination and Danielle Heinecke, Director of Indonesia Policy and Analysis from Canberra, Australia.

Mrs De Lacy and her team visited poor communities in the village of Fafinesu-A and Nibaaf at Kefamenanu, in Timur Tengah Utara district, as well as Tuapanaf village at Takari in the district of Kupang to see AusAID’s work first hand.

The Minister Counsellor also had the opportunity to meet with the Governor of East Nusa Tenggara, Mr Frans Lebu Raya at his residence. In the meeting, the Governor valued the 25 years of partnership between Australia and  the Government of East Nusa Tenggara. This partnership reflects a strong commitment between the two governments to reduce poverty and improve people’s wellbeing in the region.

“We thank and certainly welcome Mrs De Lacy and her team to East Nusa Tenggara. Australia has not only been a good neighbour but also a friend and family to us,” the Governor said. “Our partnership has helped improve the life of many people in the province.”

In the meeting with the Governor, Mrs De Lacy reiterrated Australia’s commitment to East Nusa Tenggara. AusAID’s cooperation with the province includes support for governance, decentralisation, health, education and food security.

We are honoured to have you in Fafinesu!

When Mrs De Lacy and her team arrived at Fafinesu village, they were welcomed with a traditional dance by the villagers. Traditionally, the dance is performed for a king and queen.

“ She is our queen today, so we are more than happy to perform our traditional dance for her to express our great gratitude,” said Johanis Naimnule-head of Fafinesu. The villagers also presented the women with traditional clothing.

“Frankly speaking, we have never had VIPs visiting our village, and more surprisingly they are all women!” said one of the women in the crowd.

There were gongs, drums and singing of the local language and style (natoni) filling the air with the festive spirit before tasty lunch was served with a local menu and flavour.

Mrs De Lacy and her team later had a chance to chat with locals. It was a great way to witness a lively discussion that was dominated by women.

“Today I can express my idea in public and I’m very confident in doing so. This is because I know that as a woman I can do it and now I know how to do it properly. I’ve been participating in the saving and lending group for almost two years and in the group I learnt how to manage my harvest and improve my family income. For this, I thank Australia for helping us!” declared Mama Yakoba, one of the UBSP members.

“Before joining the saving and lending group, I used to go to money lenders to borrow money for my children’s education and health. When I failed to return the money in time,  the lenders would come and beat me. Now I have savings and I’m able to manage it based on my family’s priorities,” added another woman during the discussion.

The community and women’s group of Fafinesu are beneficiaries of an AusAID funded program called ANTARA (Australia-Nusa Tenggara Assistance for Regional Autonomy). The program commenced in September 2007 and has since assisted 4,500 farming families (40% women) in 35 villages.

After the discussion, Mrs De Lacy and her team went to a nearby farm to look at an integrated farming system. Such farming systems encourages farmers to conserve soil and water through terracing and to change agriculture systems from shifted cultivation to sedentary farming.

Fish pond for food security and nutrition in Nibaaf

From Fafinesu the team travelled to Nibaaf village in Noemuti Sub District, where they enjoyed a demonstration of fish harvesting, directly from community ponds.

“You may not believe that it is rare for us having meat or fish with our meals. We only eat them when we have big parties, maybe  once or twice a year!” said Mama Yakoba. “Now we work in groups and enjoy our fish ponds. We can now provide nutricious food for our children.”

The head of the village-Anton Neko also added that the nutritional status of children in his village has slowly improved during the year, based on the results of a survey conducted in 2009. Measurements taken in November 2008 and then later in November 2009 showed that out of 903 children under five, those categorised as suffering from severe malnutrition decreased from 14% to 11%, while those who were malnourished decreased from 25% to 16%. Children with healthy nutrition levels also improved from 61% to 73%. Parent’s improved knowledge of how to prepare healthy food and promote good nutritional values to children has contributed to bringing about positive change in the nutritional status of children in the village.

ANTARA has funded this activity since April 2008 to improve household food security through increased income and improved access to food. To ensure its sustainability, the activity has a strong link with PNPM (National Government Program for Community Empowerment). “We have been providing a conditional cash transfer and technical support for food security through this activity in this community” said a PNPM official [MS1].

“We are happy that our village was selected for the program. We feel absolutely honored!” said a young mother who was carying her eleven-month old baby.

 

Dinner with Head of District of TTS and visit to Tuapanaf

“We have been development partners for many years.”, said the Head of District of  Timor Tengah Selatan (TTS) Ir. Paul V. R Mella. MSi.  “It is a great honour to have you here with us tonight” he added.

The bupati made a short presentation about AusAID’s on-going support for his district. “We worked together in various sectors such as education, health, water & sanitation and most importantly in the governance sector through ANTARA in supporting our Public Finance Management.” he explained.

Mrs De Lacy is also happy about the ongoing partnership with the local government and will continue the partnership at both the provincial and district level through a new program called the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Decentralization (AIPD) starting in June 2010.

The following morning, before driving back to Kupang, the team visited Tuapanaf village in Kupang district, where there’s a Smallholder Agribusiness Development Initiative (SADI) pillot project . SADI helps farmers of Tuapanaf and Oebola to plant maize and harvest cattle through innovations such as maize intesificaiton, corn post harvest technology, livestock ownership and improved husbandry.

Sampai bertemu lagi! (until we meet again!)

It was a very brief visit to have a comprehensive insight into the life of rural West Timorese, but the people were delighted to meet with Mrs De Lacy and her team in person.

“It is great to see what happens in the field. The trip helps me understand our work better,” said Mrs De Lacy on her way back to Jakarta.

“I feel like I have a new energy and perspective to bring back to the Canberra end. I reckon five days in-country equals one year in learning here” said  Mrs Heinecke.

Until we meet again! Sampai Jumpa!

 

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Sent by: Syalomi Natalia, Communications Officer – Australia-Nusa Tenggara Assistance for Regional Autonomy (ANTARA)

Photos by: Sugeng Prayudi

By Ely Taylor

I was told when first coming to Indonesia three years ago that if I wanted to understand the language and culture of this vast land then I had to visit the Kampungs, only there would I see and learn about the Indonesian customs and ways of life that I craved to understand. Little did I know, at the time, just how different every island in Indonesia is. I had never been to Timor before and although I had often heard about its easten neighbour, I knew very little about this part of Indonesia with its wonderful people and extensive natural beauty.

I had arranged to visit Yayasan Mitra Tani Mandiri (YMTM), a local NGO funded through the Australia Nusa Tenggara Assistance for Regional Autonomy (ANTARA) program. I stayed in Manusasi and Fatesene villages and Kefamenanu-District of Timor Tengah Utara (TTU). I must admit that when first arriving in Kupang, I had little understanding of the amazing work that they are doing.I knew ANTARA helped people improve their livelihoods but what I did not appreciate was the strong partnership that the program had with local Indonesian NGOs.

YMTM is working in Flores and West Timor. They have over 40 staff and pride themselves on delivering their programs by being integrated into the village community. I was impressed with just how respected and influencial they were in the villages. People saw them as an opening to the wider world. I was told a few times by different people

that only since YMTM came into their village would I have had the opportunity to come and stay. Before this, they hardly knew or saw anything of the rest of Indonesia and the world. Not only are YMTM helping to develop and sustain the villiage ecomomy, they have given people a voice, and let them know that people outside the village are listening to their needs.

YMTM introduced the klompok (group) system of supporting villagers to bind as a group and work together to improve many areas of their lives. These klomploks provide a strong sense of community. They meet regularly and are well organised with leaders and secretaries. The klompoks usually consist of 10-25 families. One of the klompok activities is having a communal farm. The people work together to grow enough produce to sell and also to feed their families. Before the klompok system was introduced, farmers used the traditional methods of burning off a different piece of land and then planting on the new land every season. This was very inefficient and was also rapidly destroying the natural forests of Timor. YMTM has also developed many training programs to teach farmers economical farming methods such as terracing and planting perennial crops.

One of the best and most important features of the YMTM work I found when staying in the villages was having a YMTM field worker living in the village for a number of years and integrating into the community. They then have direct access to the troubles and opinions of the people and can respond and help at the source of these problems. Each month (or as regularly as needed), a meeting is held in the village where new techniques are introduced or plans are made for the coming month. The people in the village feel very comfortable with their klompoks and often are very forward in letting their opinions be known. Honesty is an important factor in the communities and is a major aspect of keeping harmony within the villages.

YMTM has taught people in the villages a number of new skills with which to make money. Some of these are making traditional medicines, drinks and foods from local and affordable sources to sell at the markets. They have also learnt how to make suppliments for their live stock to maintain their health (and to also fatten them up) before selling them on. These techiques and new skills have been openly and happily accepted by the members of these communities as they offer a new way to extend their livelihoods.

Friendly welcome

When first entering Manusasi village, I saw a ceremony taking place. People were dancing and were dressed in traditional clothes. I felt embarrassed that I was disturbing a wedding or a funeral. It took me a little while to realise that the event was for me. There were bells, gongs and drums filling the air with a festive spirit. Feeling very honoured and not knowing the words to explain the way I felt, I just smiled and noded. (How should one react?) The village elders greeted me in their local language and once again I smiled, noded, said Terima Kasih and hoped that I was not being rude in any way. I was then presented with a beautiful local ikat scarf which looked as if it would have taken months to make. We all then walked in a procession down through the top of the village to the meeting place and the home of the family I was to stay with. I was given a seat of honor, sweet jamu and local peanuts. I felt totally overwhelmed in the first 5 minutes and that feeling remained with me for my entire visit. I don’t know what I expected before I entered into these peoples lives but the kindness, generocity and huge bettal nut smiles will stay with me for many years.

Being in Timor has reinforced my belief that wealth comes in many ways. A lot of the people I met on my journey through West Timor are struggling to make enough money to feed their families. Many of the children are suffering from mulnutrition and some of the adults are coping with illness. Yet however tough the circumstances, the village people seem genuinely happy. They are so grateful for everything they have and although they are aware of their hard circumstances, many prefer to live in the village and help one another. It was so refreshing to see. I feel that this same simple happiness is often lost in the cities that many people are dreaming of moving to.
I was taken around to see some of the farms in Fatusene and Manusasi. Each farmer was proud and happy to show me their new crops and tell me of the new methods they have learnt to maintain them. Lack of water is still a big problemi in Timor and results in many people being unable to farm in the dry season. A previous project (funded by AusAID and Care) put in a pipe a few years ago, but the pipe only reaches a handful of houses in the village. People walk up to 4km to get water. I asked the villigers how can this problem be solved? “If the pipe and pumps could be extended” they said. But that is a big job and Manusasi is only one of many villages in the region with similar problems.

Most of the villages around this region have schools for children up to age 12. After that children either move to the closest town and stay in cheap share accomodation, travel long distances (usually by foot) or simply don’t go to school. Fortunetly since YMTM have started working in the villages more families have been able to send their children to highschool, but not all. Transportation is also a major problem in these areas as the roads are not maintained and even motorbike entry is difficult. The villagers tell stories of mini buses falling on their sides and many motorbike accidents. This is also a problem for selling goods, as people are unable to get their goods to the markets. Motorbikes are often stacked high with a weeks worth of produce that people are hoping will not fall off on the way to the market and get ruined.

My travels throughout Indonesia have taken me to some remote areas and yet I was always kept at a safe distance by hotel rooms and guide books. I had never thought that I would be able to experience the life of Indonesians living in remote rural areas and be able to relate to people from such a different path of life. This experience has changed the way that I see the world and I am grateful to all the people who have helped me open my eyes.

Following the ongoing success of Australia-Nusa Tenggara Assistance for Regional Autonomy Program (ANTARA) in Nusa Tenggara Timur, ANTARA has recently launched its Office in Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) on Wednesday, May 6, 2009. The official opening was attended by NTB Governor, TGH M Zainul Majdi, MA, Australia Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, The Hon. Bob McMullan, Australia Ambassador, HE. Bill Farmer, Head of Provincial Development & Planning Agency (BAPPEDA) of NTB, Dr. Ir. Rosiady Sayuti, MSc, Head of Districts (Bupati), Head of Cities (Walikota) and Head of District BAPPEDA accross NTB Province. The office is located in Provincial Development and Planning Agency (BAPPEDA) building.

After unveiling ANTARA signboard, the Parliamentary Secretary stated that following the success of ANTARA in Nusa Tenggara Timur, he hoped that that there would be now a mutual learning process between NTT and NTB provinces

At the same time, the Governor of NTB, TGH M Zainul Majdi, MA, stated that the presence of ANTARA office in NTB has indicated sustainability of strong bilateral relationship between the Government of Indonesia and Australia, he further hoped that ANTARA can also contribute to NTB Government’s efforts to improve Human Development Index (HDI) and to reduce poverty in Nusa Tenggara Barat.

There were also two events marking the launching of ANTARA NTB’s Office; firstly, a presentataion and followed by discussion of Public Expenditure Analysis and Capacity Enhancement (PEACH) by World Bank Consultant Adrianus Hendrawan and secondly, a presentation and discussion on on Migrant Worker Empowerment program by the Head of BNP2TKI, Moh. Jumhur Hidayat.

Jumhur stated that Australia and Japan have supported financial contribution to Indonesia’s Migrant Workers Empowerment program in four provincies namely Jawa Barat, Jawa Timur, Nusa Tenggara Barat(NTB) and Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT). The empowernment program for migrant workers and their family in both NTB and NTT amounts to 5.5 billion Rupiah and will be implemented for one year activity from year 2009 to 2010.

In 2008, HDI in NTB is ranked on the 32nd out of 33 provinces in Indonesia, and approximately 27% of its population are classified as very poor. The literacy rate is 78% and the average of school years is 6.4 years, or equal to secondary school. NTB is also one of the biggest sending area of migrant workers (TKI). In 2008 number of NTB migrant workers abroad is up to 52,754 people, however, the protection and the placement of the workers is still a challenging area.

The launch of ANTARA program in NTB started with the implemention of Public Expenditure Analysis and Capacity Enhancement (PEACH) activity. Government of NTB issued a Governor Decree no 76 year 2009 dated February 4, 2009 forming a Provincial Program Management Committee (PMC) for Public Expenditure Analysis in NTB. This decree shows a strong commitment and effort of the local government to start improve its local public expenditure for better service delivery.

Australia-Nusa Tenggara Assistance for Regional Autonomy (ANTARA), is a collaborative program between the Government of Australia (through AusAID) and Government of Indonesia (DEPDAGRI – Ministry of Home Affairs). This program has been operating in NTT and now expanding to NTB. The program has three objectives; (i) improve provincial and district governance (ii) improve incomes for women and men, and (iii) improve access to and quality of basic services for women and men.

Written by: Syalomi Natalia, Communication Officer-ANTARA