Resilience and Recovery in Sitirejo

KOMPAS/DAHLIA IRAWATI

Purwadi\'s coconut bonsai business, a resident of Sitirejo Village, Wagir, Malang Regency. This business is one of his efforts to pass the time during the pandemic, Thursday (11/2/2021).

For almost a year, we have been hit by the pandemic. During that time, stories were not only about grief. There was good news too. Residents of Sitirejo village in Malang, East Java, for example, have a way to recover from misfortune. It is evidence that we have high resilience in the face of pressure.

Resilience is a system to return back to the original condition; and the village people have proven it. They are trying to recover from the adversity due to the pandemic.

Gortberg (1995) argues that there are three sources of resilience, namely I am (personal attitudes and self-confidence), I can (something that can be done to solve problems) and I have (support from the surrounding). The three sources exist in the village.

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In Sitirejo village, Wagir district, Malang regency, a group of local residents who were laid off did not want to give up. They grouped together and built a joint business to continue their life. Luckily, the village administration supported their enthusiasm to rise.

Arifin (48) and his son were among those affected by the pandemic who did not want to give up. Previously, Arifin had a sound system rental business. However, the pandemic resulted in all activities that gather crowds being prohibited. As a result, Arifin\'s income was lost. Arifin\'s son also suffered the same fate. He was laid off from a plywood factory. Again, the reason was, during the pandemic, factories took efficiency measures.

"If I just do nothing, how can I feed my wife and children? I then asked my son to start a catfish and tilapia farm business. We then started working together with other catfish and tilapia farmers in this village to fulfill the demands of buyers that are not small and to the extent that we cannot fulfill many of them," said Arifin.

If I just do nothing, how can I feed my wife and children?

In Sitirejo village, there are three groups of catfish and tilapia farmers such as Arifin. Arifin and his son\'s business is quite successful because they now have 10 ponds that produce 1-2.5 quintals each pond. They have harvested four times. "There are so many tilapia buyers. Stalls and restaurants have even paid in advance. We even turn down [their orders] because we could not meet the high demand," said Arifin.

KOMPAS/DAHLIA IRAWATI

The catfish business is owned by Arifin, a resident of Sitirejo Village, Wagir, Malang Regency, East Java. This business is one of the efforts to rise from the pandemic, Thursday (11/02/2021).

Buyers visit Arifin every three days with purchases of up to 70 kilograms. Catfish and tilapia are sold at a price range of Rp 16,000 to Rp 27,000 per kilogram.

The catfish and tilapia farm business in Sitirejo started from the complaints of local villagers who had been laid off. The complaints were heard by the village head. "They initially had a discussion and complained about being laid off. Gradually, they decided to make their own business and we as the village administration support this good intention,” said Buwang Suharja (49), the head of Sitirejo village.

The village administration supported the initiative by injecting business development funds and finding fish seeds at the start of the farm business. The village administration’s support is one of the keys to the success of the community\'s efforts to recover. Here, the resilience aspect of “I have” (support capacity) appears to be working.

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Besides fish farming, Sitirejo residents have also developed creativity by growing coconut bonsai. Purwadi (43), for example, grows coconut bonsai to sustain life. As a result of the pandemic, his work as a school van driver for students was stopped because the students were studying at home.

In a separate location, precisely in Pandanlandung village, Wagir district, residents of RT (neighborhood unit) 013 in RW (community unit) 003 have made the pandemic a moment of bonding between neighbors and building joint businesses. They worked together to build a catfish farm. The neighborhood administrators donated funds to buy tarpaulins, youth communities contributed funds to buy seeds and feed and other residents lent plots of land.

Those involved in the farming activities came from various backgrounds, some were casual workers, students and village youth. Some people known as thugs also helped make this business happen. "From this business, the most important thing is the change in people\'s attitudes. Residents become more sensitive to their neighbors who face problems. This farm is a magnet that glues the relationship between residents," said Iman, one of the activists of the joint venture.

From this business, the most important thing is the change in people\'s attitudes.

Now the farm has been running for almost a month. In two to three months the residents will harvest. They are ready to learn more about marketing and postharvest processing. The residents showed that they could work together to build a joint business for good. Here, the resilience aspect of “I can” is evident.

KOMPAS/DAHLIA IRAWATI

Sitirejo Village Office, Wagir, Malang Regency, East Java, Thursday (11/02/2021).

Village funds

The residents of Tlangoh village, Tangjungbumi district, Bangkalan regency, have recovered by developing business to support Tlangoh Beach tourism, which has recently been busy with visitors. The village administration supports it by building facilities. According to Tlangoh village head Kudratol Hidayat, the coastal road and canal along the 2 kilometers were built with village funds to strengthen the tourism facility.

With an allocation of Rp 72 trillion of the total Rp 120 trillion in the 2021 Village Budget (APBDes), the portion of village funds reaches 58 percent, as a budget allocation for 74,961 villages throughout Indonesia. Clearly, the role of village funds is crucial for the village economy. In a pandemic situation, village funds are relied on to restore the economy.

According to Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Minister Abdul Halim Iskandar, the assets in rural areas, such as agricultural land, plantations and natural beauty, become the capital to drive the village economy. The culture and tradition of mutual cooperation, which is still strong, has also eased the implementation of the labor-intensive work program (PKTD) in the village. Of the Rp 72 trillion in village funds this year, the allocation for PKTD will reach Rp 37.08 trillion with a target of absorbing a workforce of 4.2 million people.

Also read: Empowered by Village Funds

The labor-intensive work program is considered effective in reducing unemployment in the village. Statistics Indonesia (BPS) noted that the unemployment rate in rural areas increased 0.79 percent in August 2020, much lower than the increase in the unemployment rate in urban areas which reached 2.69 percent.

"Village funds are also used as part of the social security program through the distribution of direct cash assistance [BLT]. Throughout 2020, BLT village funds of Rp 23.6 trillion have been distributed to more than 8 million beneficiary families," said Abdul Halim.

Apart from the role of village funds, resilience as shown by residents of Sitirejo village is the key to recovering from the downturn due to the pandemic. This resilience exists not only Sitirejo, but also in Pandanlandung, Tlangoh and thousands of other villages in the country.

This article was translated by Kurniawan H. Siswoko.