Sharing Inspiration with Farming

KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

Icang Aini.

Being a religious studies teacher in a remote village is not enough for Icang Aini (26). She also followed in the footsteps of her parents, who are farmers. The great enthusiasm of this woman has inspired many young people who nearly dropped out of school and ended up in illegal mines.

Icang does have limitations. She is smaller than the average person her age. However, her passion and dreams are big. Icang, the name she goes by, Tuesday (10/11/2020) at around 06.00 WIB, was ready. She left the house and headed for school.

Her steps were small, but fast. She carried some of the textbooks in her hands, while some were in her backpack. A mask adorned her face, hand sanitizer was hanging on her backpack. In less than 15 minutes on foot, a fellow teacher approached her and offered her a ride on a motorbike.

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About 2 kilometers from home is the school where Icang teaches, SMK Purnama Hurung Bunut, a vocational school engaged in agriculture, in Hurung Bunut Village, Kurun District, Gunung Mas Regency, Central Kalimantan.

There are not many students, only 25 people, from class of year X to XII. However, that did not discourage Icang. "This is just like private lessons, so lessons are also more effectively delivered to students," she said.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, instruction at these schools is limited. Normally, Icang teaches until 13.00, but now she only teaches from 07.00 to 09.00.

KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

Icang Aini

While teaching, Icang\'s body almost sank between the tables, chairs and blackboard. However, she got around this by climbing up a chair to jot down teaching materials on the blackboard. Her voice was loud and filled a room that is used by all classes.

SMK Purnama does not have a building yet, so it borrows a classroom at Hurung Bunut state junior high school. Each class is only partitioned by a board.

That afternoon, after giving assignments to the year XII students, she called the year XI students to go to a plot of land next to the school to teach them how to harvest vegetables.

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Icing is a graduate of the State Christian College (STAKN) Palangkaraya, but she also helps by becoming a teacher of agricultural practice at SMK Purnama. The school only has two agriculture teachers, so like it or not, Icang helps with her knowledge about farming.

The school where she teaches is indeed far from any facilities. Agricultural practices have been taught by only relying on manual equipment in traditional ways. That is why Icang can help with the knowledge she learned from her mother and grandmother about farming.

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"Starting from preparing the land, preparing the seeds, until harvesting. In addition, yes, we are now starting to study organic farming, even hydroponics,” she said.

Icang is also self-taught in modern farming theories that she learned from books or online sources. Although not as perfect as an agricultural teacher, her energy and mind are desperately needed at this time.

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KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

Icang Aini

Illegal miners

Icang was previously a contract teacher at the vocational school after graduating from college. In the past year, she passed the contract teacher test for the Central Kalimantan province. Even though she is not yet a civil servant, her wages have increased slightly from the honorary teacher\'s salary of Rp 250,000 (US$17.60) per month.

However, Icang\'s choice of path is not just a matter of wages. She can apply to other schools outside her village that can provide a higher salary. However, she chose to come back home because she had her own mission.

She also said that she was one of the few children in her village who was able to get education up to university. Most of the youths in her village are stuck being illegal gold miners, oil palm laborers, or illegal loggers.

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When Kompas was tracing the Hurung Bunut Village, dozens of gold suction dredging equipment were seen on the banks of the river or in the middle of the garden with gaping holes here and there. They call these tools with the term kato angkat.

Icang knows very well that mining destroys nature, narrows agricultural land, and can bring disease. Suction dredgers cannot pick up gold without emitting mercury, and mercury is very dangerous to health.

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The amount of damage in her village, as well as the many children who could not afford to leave the village to go to school then ended up in the mining fields, motivated Icang to change it. She left the village to go to college and promised herself to come back and invite as many young people as possible to go to school.

Agriculture is one of the factors attracting the children\'s interests to return to school. She uses her parents\' garden as a place for her students to practice farming. She also made sure that they used different land for their practice. "There are parents of students who are finally willing [to have their garden used] because this is agricultural vocational schools, so they have to practice more," she said.

KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

Icang Aini, guru yang juga bertani

One of her students is named Elyn (15). The father of the girl who attends year X class is a wage laborer in an illegal mine. Elyn almost gave up on going to high school. To enter high school, she would have to leave the village and that costs a lot of money.

The presence of Icang and a vocational school in her village brings new hope. Elyn is happy to get to know farming the right way. She also admitted that she was inspired by the figure of Icang, who with physical limitations, is still tenacious in farming, as well as passionate in teaching. "It turns out that farming school is fun. Harvesting the results of our own planting brings tremendous joy,” she said.

Another story is that of Nobi Saputra’s (17), a year XII student. Previously, he went to school in Kuala Kurun, about 30 minutes from his village, but then decided to move to SMK Hurung Bunut because he does not have a vehicle. "I thought that going to vocational school means you cannot go to college, but it turned out that it is not the case," said Nobi, who like Elyn, also received encouragement from Icang.

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Nobi is determined to continue studying agriculture after graduating from the vocational school. "In Central Kalimantan, there is still a high need for agricultural graduates," he said.

In the midst of various limitations, Icang has succeeded in bringing change to her village.

Icang Aini, SPdK

Place, DOB: Hurung Bunut, June 8, 1994

Education:

- Bachelor’s Degree (S-1) from Palangkaraya state Christian college (STAKN)

- Kuala Kurun I vocational school (SMK I Kuala Kurun)

- Kurun 3 junior high school (SMP 3 Kurun)

- Hurung Bunut 2 state elementary school (SDN 2 Hurung Bunut)