Cultivating Gray Sedge to Improve Public Prosperity

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Suparedy

Not wanting his village to again be gutted by wildfires, Suparedy, 60, has been encouraging its residents to cultivate purun (gray sedge). In switching to cultivating purun as their economic base, he is indirectly encouraging the villagers to protect peat, their main source of livelihood.

Suparedy is the village head of Menang Raya in Pedamaran district, Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra. He was excited to tour the peat product exhibition on Friday (11/9/2020) at the South Sumatra Peat Restoration Agency in Palembang, South Sumatra.

He has a unique appearance that makes him stand out among the other visitors, in his colorful cap made of woven purun. Purun (Lepironia articulata), or gray sedge, is a type of grass-like plant that grows in peat swamp forests.

The mask he wore bore a jumputan (tie-dye) pattern with woven sedge along the right and left edges.

He occasionally burst into an enthusiastic explanation of the products he had brought with him, woven sedge handicraft products of various types, including carpets, vests, sandals, tissue boxes, bottle holders, and hats. He even knew the price of each product by heart.

Suparedy was very excited to introduce the sedge weaving from his village to everyone. Menang Raya village has 2,115 families, most of whom are sedge weavers, especially the village’s women and children.

"Being a purun craftsman is a cultural tradition [inherited] from our ancestors," he said.

Menang Raya village is located in a peatland that has a lake where purun grows well.

The gray sedge has provided a source of income for the village’s families over the generations. This is because gray sedge grows in abundance there. Menang Raya village is located in a peatland that has a lake where purun grows well.

To harvest the plant, however, the villagers must use a boat or wade into the lake to pull it out by the roots.

"It can even take up to four hours by boat to get to the area that has the largest amount of purun," said Suparedy.

Before weaving, the sedge leaves must be sun-dried. If the weather is hot and dry, the process takes about two days. After drying, the sedge leaves are flattened, boiled and then colored with textile dyes.

"After coloring it, then it is weaved as desired," Suparedy said.

Fire disaster

A disaster happened in 2015 when the peat swamp forest in Menang Raya caught fire. Since the fire, the villagers found it difficult to harvest any purun for five to seven months.

Even if they were able to gather some purun, the sedge did not produce optimum results. The sedge leaves were small because of the receding water in the peat swamps.

"Usually the height of purun adjusts to the water level in the peat swamps. So when the peat swamps are dry, their growth is hampered," said Suparedy. The disaster incurred a great loss for the villagers.

Not wanting a repeat of the horrific disaster, Suparedy, who has been the village head since 2016, made various efforts to prevent wildfires from erupting and gutting the peat swamps.

One of these was by maximizing the potential of purun to improve the village economy. If the villagers focused on developing gray sedge, they would also be contributing to sustaining the peatland environment.

In 2018, Suparedy established the Mawar Group of the village’s purun craftsmen. The following year, he collaborated with the local peat restoration agency to develop woven sedge handicraft beyond making mats and baskets, and into other value-added products.

Five members of the Mawar Group were sent to Yogyakarta to attend a workshop on handicraft production. There, the craftsmen received training in turning the woven sedge into a variety of products, including tissue boxes, bags, vests and sandals.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Suparedy

They also received other knowledge and skills. Apart from producing a number of new products, the craftsmen also learned how to make the finished products durable and resistant to termites.

"We varnish them. Apart from perfecting the color, [varnish] can also prevent the handicraft products from being destroyed by termites," said Suparedy.

Expanding the variety of products also elevated woven purun into "a higher class", which has had a positive impact on the village economy. The craftsmen\'s incomes increased dramatically from just Rp 10,000 per day on average to Rp 40,000 per day.

According to Suparedy, if the craftsmen produced only mats from the woven sedge, they would earn a profit of only Rp 10,000-Rp 20,000 per day. While one purun mat could sell for Rp 200,000, it could take the craftsmen up to a week to make it.

The result is far different if the mat is then used to make other products, like tissue boxes. One woven mat can be used to make 10 tissue boxes, with each box selling for Rp 50,000.

Sharing knowledge

A year later, the handicrafts started attracting consumers, with many buyers in other cities such as Jambi, Lampung, Bogor, Bandung and Surabaya, as well as a number of cities in Kalimantan.

"We want to expand the [purun] market overseas. However, we have to develop our knowledge first," said Suparedy.

Several university students doing their field studies in Menang Raya have also learned how to turn purun into valuable products.

Several university students doing their field studies in Menang Raya have also learned how to turn purun into valuable products.

For Suparedy, cultivating purun is not only about improving the village economy, but also about protecting the environment and sustaining the village.

Suparedy

Born: Pedamaran, 7 April 1960

Education:

- SD 5 Pedamaran elementary school (1973)

- SMP Persatuan Pedamaran junior high school (1976)

- SMA Negeri 1 Kayu Agung senior high school (1978)

- Diploma 1 in Mathematics, Sriwijaya University (1980)

- Diploma 3, Open University of Indonesia–Palembang (1995)

Occupation:

- Education head, Regional Technical Implementation Unit (UPTD), Pedamaran (1983-2013)

- Menang Raya village chief (2016-present)