From Logging to Cultivating Cajuput Trees
Ishak chairs the Kofarwis Farmers Group, which focuses on cultivating cajuput trees. Twenty villagers are members of the Kofarwis Farmers Group.
Ishak Warnares
Ishak Warnares has been encouraging the local cultivation of cajuput trees since 2015 in Rimba Jaya village, Biak Numfor regency, Papua. The effort has effectively prevents illegal logging in the protected forests of Biak.
Ishak was descending a hill while carrying a bundle of cajuput branches when we met him at the end of April 2021. His face and body were sweating profusely.
Along with six other villagers, he was harvesting the wood while cleaning up the cajuput tree plantation in Rimba Jaya village of East Biak district, Biak Numfor regency. The group had started at 10 a.m. Eastern Indonesia Time (WIT).
The father of six took the cajuput logs to an open-walled hut with a zinc roof and wooden floor. Three other villagers were there plucking leaves from the branches and then cooking them in water to distill cajuput oil.
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The oil was being distilled at Ishak’s house, located around 1 kilometer from the cajuput plantation. A total of 100 kilograms of cajuput leaves distilled in 120 liters of water produced just 1.3 liters of cajuput oil.
Ishak chairs the Kofarwis Farmers Group, which focuses on cultivating cajuput trees. Twenty villagers are members of the Kofarwis Farmers Group.
The group’s cajuput tree plantation covers 5 hectares. Up until this year, the group has planted 15,000 trees. “We set a goal of cultivating 25,000 trees on this 5-hectare site. However, we need new members to achieve this goal,” said Ishak.
Skeptical response
Ishak began planting cajuput trees in 2015 with Moses Runggeari, a friend as well as a colleague in the Rimba Jaya village administration. Aris Aap, who was the head of the Biak Protected Forest Management Unit (KPHL) at the time, initiated a non-wood forest product management program to prevent illegal logging in the region’s protected forests.
Rimba Jaya village is located in a protected forest area that is prone to illegal logging of damar and merbau trees, locally called ironwood. The Biak KPHL then sent the Rimba Jaya village head, Jacob Morin, to observe cajuput oil production at the Center for Biotechnological Research and Development and Forest Plant Cultivation in Yogyakarta.
Ishak Warnares
Jacob was impressed with the commodity. On returning to his village, Jacob appointed Ishak and Moses to start a cajuput tree planting program.
So, the Biotechnological Research and Development and Forest Plant Cultivation Center provided high-yielding cajuput seedlings from Maluku.
“He chose me and Moses because we always complete our jobs properly. For 1.5 years we slept at the plantation to make sure that the cajuput trees grew well,” said the 53-year-old man.
During the early process of planting the cajuput trees, many residents of Rimba Jaya were skeptical about the Ishak and Moses’ endeavors. They regarded the task as futile, because the same plant did not sell on the Jayapura and Merauke markets.
In the local language, farkin means environmental conservation.
Ishak and his seven colleagues kept going. They worked patiently until they produced their maiden harvest at the end of 2017. Moreover, the Biak KPHL helped with the marketing and direct sales of the cajuput oil produced in Rimba Jaya village, which was branded Farkin. In the local language, farkin means environmental conservation.
Every week, the Kofarwis Farmers Group can produce up to 6 liters of cajuput oil. It is price at Rp 250,000 per liter.
“Now our members no longer cut down trees. By selling cajuput oil, we can make an income of around Rp 4 million per month,” Ishak said.
The residents of several other villages were attracted to the success story of Ishak and the cajuput tree growers in Rimba Jaya. They flocked to the Biak KPHL to obtain cajuput seedlings.
Place of learning
Before starting the program, Ishak had frequently cut down merbau trees in the protected forest for selling to local companies. One cubic meter of wood fetched a price of Rp 1.5 million.
As a consequence, Rimba Jaya village was prone to flooding and landslides due to the loss of its water absorption area.
Ishak realized that logging could damage the environment. As a consequence, Rimba Jaya village was prone to flooding and landslides due to the loss of its water absorption area.
The impacts of logging motivated Ishak to persevere in cultivating cajuput trees in Rimba Jaya. He now also enjoys a fairly big profit every month to meet his family’s daily needs and to pay for his children’s schooling.
Ishak still continues to invite the residents of Rimba Jaya to cultivate cajuput trees, even though he has seemingly been “left alone”. His colleague Moses passed away in 2020.
Rimba Jaya has become not only the first site to cultivate cajuput trees in Biak Numfor, but also a center of learning about the cultivation of cajuput trees. Many people from different walks of life, including university students and school pupils, as well as researchers, come and visit Rimba Jaya. They are eager to learn the methods of cultivating and harvesting cajuput trees through to the selling stage.
Ishak Warnares
“In total, I have taught about 200 people in the last three years. I’m very happy and proud of being able to share my knowledge with the public,” said Ishak.
Thanks to his hard work, Ishak has inspired many people in Rimba Jaya to protect their forests by switching to cultivating cajuput trees.
Ishak Warnares
Born: 6 March 1968, Biak Numfor
Education:Package C, SMAN 1 Biak senior high school
Wife: Agustina Rumpaidus
Children:
- Soleman Warnares
- Yosiana Warnares
- Laurens Warnares
- Rosiano Warnares
- Elsina Warnares
- Jakob Warnares
(This article was translated by Aris Prawira).
