Empowered “Hanjeli” Women from Southern West Java

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

Belasan mahasiswa luar negeri mengikuti program Hybrid Summer Fakultas Teknik Geologi Universitas Padjadjaran di Rumah Hanjeli Indonesia, Desa Waluran Mandiri, Kecamatan Waluran, Kabupaten Sukabumi, Jawa Barat, Kamis (4/8/2022).

Women in Waluran Mandiri village, Sukabumi regency, used to go overseas as migrant workers as they embarked on their livelihood venture for livelihoods. At home, they ended up working in illegal gold-extracting quarries. It was before the cultivation of adlay millet, locally known as hanjeli, which made them thrive to live their lives like “queens” in their own land.

Bracelets, necklaces and prayer beads (or rosaries in Catholicism) are on display at the Hanjeli Accessories House, which is also the residence of Hj (haj) Dedeh Suminar, 52, at Waluran Mandiri village, Waluran District, Sukabumi, West Java. Those handcrafts are made from grains of adlay millet (Coix lacryma-jobi). The perennial tropical plant has two main varieties, with the other producing highly nutritious plants.

Adlay millet is cultivated in house yards or rice fields. The harvested grains are sorted according to the sizes. After being perforated, the grains are assembled into various hand craftsmanship products.

Later known among his peers as the initiator of the Hanjeli Tourism Village, he challenged Dedeh’s creativity of the adlay millet.

That creativity was born out of inspiration of Asep Hidayat Mustopa, 34, three years ago. Later known among his peers as the initiator of the Hanjeli Tourism Village, he challenged Dedeh’s creativity of the adlay millet.

Without going through special training, Dedeh began to try making various crafts, from bracelets to prayer beads. Her venture has made progress. Her accessory house can now produce 50 bracelets a day, sold at between Rp 10,000 (US$0.67) and Rp 25,000 each. "We sell some 100 accessory products in a month," she said on Thursday (Aug. 4).

With a selling price of Rp 15,000 on average, 100 pieces will fetch her around Rp 1.5 million per month. The figure is almost half the 2022 Sukabumi regency minimum wage, which is Rp 3.1 million per month.

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While providing economic boost, adlay craftsmanship, according to Dedeh, earns her immaterial satisfaction that makes her feel empowered. After graduating elementary school, she went to Saudi Arabia in 1995 as a migrant worker due to economic hardship. Returning home, she found her husband had betrayed their spousal relationship.

"[We] finally got divorced. After that, I went [back and forth as a migrant worker] up to eight times,” recalled the mother of one. The last time she left for the Middle East was in 2000.

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

Potret biji hanjeli atau Jali (Coix lacryma-jobi L) yang terpajang di Rumah Hanjeli Indonesia, Desa Waluran Mandiri, Kecamatan Waluran, Kabupaten Sukabumi, Jawa Barat, Kamis (4/8/2022).

"I’d rather stay here [village] than going abroad,” she said, adding that as a migrant worker she had to be resigned to being subservient. “Like this,” she said, while sticking out her index finger to imitate subjugation. “Here, we are free to do whatever we want to," she said.

Fellow villager Oyah, 50, also sees herself as an empowered woman engaging in adlay millet cultivation. As the chair of the Wanita Tani Mekar Mandiri (women’s farmers empowerment group), she has built her knowledge on planting, harvesting and making cracker cakes from adlay cereal.

She sells the grains to Asep between Rp 4,000 and Rp 5,000 per kilogram, which gives her above Rp 8 million in total.

Five years ago, when she was a rice farmer, Oyah came across adlay millet plants at her mother's house. She tried to plant the seeds at her rice field, intercropping with paddy plants. Her efforts have borne fruit. With the planting area of two hectares, Oyah can now harvest about two tonnes of adlay grains every six months. She sells the grains to Asep between Rp 4,000 and Rp 5,000 per kilogram, which gives her above Rp 8 million in total.

Looking to the future

Being empowered, household mothers appear to become more concerned about their children’s future. Sumiyati, 50, for example, has now turned her house veranda into a learning place for children.

MARINA EKATARI

Inilah Desa Wisata Hanjeli yang berada di Desa Waluran Mandiri, Kecamatan Waluran, Kabupaten Sukabumi, Jawa Barat. Desa ini memanfaatkan tanaman hanjeli atau yang dikenal jali sebagai potensi pariwisata.

After Maghrib (Muslim’s sunset prayer time), the veranda measuring 2 by 3 meters becomes a place for Quran recital and classes for children. Almost every night, she spares her time to teach Quran recitals.

"I want the children here to be smart, unlike me," said the woman, who was an elementary school dropout. Like Dedeh, she had tried her venture as a migrant worker for three years. She also used to work at gold quarries.

While being seen as a new hope for living, the adlay millet cultivation, as agricultural lecturer Tati Nurmala said, has shown the world the local women’s potential in producing alternative food. An amount of 100 grams of adlay cereal contains 76.4 percent of carbohydrate, 14.1 percent of protein, 7.9 percent of vegetable fat and 54 milligrams of calcium.

“We have so far depended a lot on rice. In fact, sources of carbohydrates are abundant. One of them is the adlay millet, which can also make a durable reserve,” said Tati, who is professor of agro-technology, Agriculture School, Bandung-based Padjadjaran University (Unpad).

Thursday coincided with the Unpad Hybrid Summer program, aiming to learn stories of adlay millet empowered residents. Attended by visiting students from Malaysia, China and Japan, the event presented Dedeh as a keynote speaker.

In his country, he said, adlay millets are called hatomugi, processed by utilizing modern technology for skin care products.

Ran Takeda, 20, from Akita University, Japan, looked enthusiastic about the traditional adlay millet processing activity at the village. He tried to pound the adlay millet grains until he felt tired. In his country, he said, adlay millets are called hatomugi, processed by utilizing modern technology for skin care products.

Ran seemed amazed when he said he was surprised to learn that their guide, Cum Ahmawati, 47, speaks English well. Wati explained that the benefits of adlay millet plants range from nutritional content to being able to reduce the risk of landslides. She said she had picked up English as a migrant worker in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, having worked there for 16 years.

“I appreciate the efforts of Wati and the other women. They are willing to work hard and they never give up,” Asep said in pride.

KOMPAS/TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

Sutarya (71) mengecek kondisi tanaman hanjeli (jali) di kebunnya di Desa Sukajadi, Kecamatan Wado, Kabupaten Sumedang, Jawa Barat, Minggu (25/2). Hanjeli merupakan salah satu pangan lokal di Jabar yang mulai diberdayakan kembali.

As they presented a demo in front of foreign students, several young villagers joined the crowd. "I am still learning. I just want to see how to process adlay millet,” Nenti, 24, said.

“It seems I’d rather try adlay millet than going abroad for livelihood. Hopefully, I can learn and improve my skills," she added.

Women at Waluran have proven they can empower themselves by taking advantage of the potential local crops. Adlay millet has empowered them and the neighborhood to a prosperous future.

(This article was translated by Musthofid)