‘Ngenger’ Program Explores Self and Nature

The Wangsakerta Nature School in Cirebon, has introduced “Ngenger”, an internship program to equip students with agricultural knowledge and farming skills by capitalizing on their self-potential and nature’s potentials.

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

Taryati shows the tomatoes harvested at the Wangsakerta Nature School, Karangdawa Hamlet, Setupatok Village, Mundu District, Cirebon Regency, West Java, Monday (6/2/2023). Wangsakerta Nature School cultivates plants in an environmentally friendly manner, such as using organic fertilizers.

Using a sickle, Taryati (18) cut pakchong (super Napier) grass, arranging it into piles before putting the cut grass into a chopping machine, on Monday (6/2/2023) in Karangdawa hamlet, Setupatok village, of Mundu district, Cirebon, West Java.

"If it's not chopped up, the goats’ lips can be injured from the bladed edges of the grass," said the young woman, who goes by the nickname Ati. She mixed it with indigofera for protein to feed the livestock.

She was simply practicing the knowledge she had acquired through Ngenget program at the Wangsakerta Nature School.

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Ngenger is a three-month internship program at the school in Karangdawa, during which participants learn organic farming, animal husbandry, and community management. Founded in September 2021, the program prioritizes giving free training to school dropouts.

Ati had to discontinue going to senior high school because of economic problems. Hailing from Tinumpuk village, Juntinyuat district, neighboring Indramayu regency, Ati joined the internship after she learned about it from classmate Mutia, who lived in the same village and graduated from their school in May 2022.

"I did not go to school. I was idle at home. I was not productive. So, I just went off," she said. At the time, Ati was living with an aunt after her parents had divorced. Her mother was once a migrant worker in the Middle East.

"At first, I thought we were going to make herbal medicine because Sis Mutia said that Wangsakerta produced herbs," she said, breaking into laughter.

The school garden indeed houses various medicinal plants, such as turmeric, ginger, and kelor (Moringa oleifera)

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

Hamid harvests eggplants at the Wangsakerta Nature School, Karangdawa Hamlet, Setupatok Village, Mundu District, Cirebon Regency, West Java, Monday (6/2/2023).

At the Wangsakerta school, Ati learned not only about medicinal plants and herbs, but also animal farming, agriculture, and interacting with the local community. She appeared to be grateful that she was able to socialize.

“My companion at home used to be a HP [mobile phone]. As for my neighbors, we hardly greeted each other. Here, I can also cook,” she said.

"But [you] used too much," quipped fellow intern Haamid (23), who overheard her, while eating a dish with an eggplant sauce Ati had cooked.

Ati chuckled. The chilies and eggplants were grown using organic fertilizers at the school, where Haamid is part of its third batch of trainees.

Joining the internship program means being resigned to getting dirty with fellow interns, even dealing with goat droppings. Ati had no regrets, saying she felt at home in the program.

I'm a resident of Tengah Tani [literally, “farmers’ center”] in Cirebon, but I didn't know about farming. So, here I am.

She has been at the school for nine months now. While her family supports her participation, she seems determined to finish the Package C education equivalency program facilitated by the Wangsakerta school.

Haamid, a student at the Sheikh Nurjati State Islamic Institute (IAIN) in Cirebon, West Java, also appears to be enthusiastic about the internship program. "I'm a resident of Tengah Tani [literally, “farmers’ center”] in Cirebon, but I didn't know about farming. So, here I am," he said. After a month at Wangsakerta, he now knows how to make eco enzyme, a multipurpose liquid produced from organic waste, such as vegetables, fermented with sugar.

Haamid is also learning to raise ducks, for which he has to scour local shops and markets for vegetable waste to be turned into duck feed. He said 40 kilograms of bran (feed made from pulverized rice husks) at Rp 4,000 per kg were needed to feed 120 ducks per week. By incorporating vegetable waste, he said, the need for bran could be reduced by 15 percent.

A student of Islamic theology and philosophy, Haamid said joining the internship at the Wangsakerta Nature School allowed him to delve into nature and interact with the local residents.

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

Wakhit Hasim and Farida Mahri

Eat what you grow

Wangsakerta cofounder Wakhit Hasim said that the Javanese word ngenger meant “to follow someone”. “Here, the goal [of following the school] is to get to know oneself and nature. Nature is closest [in relation to] food," he said.

As part of the internship’s introductory session, Wakhit said, the teachers asked the participants to write down what they ate and to try and look further into their list. “Almost all students buy food from markets and supermarkets. In fact, they can gather plenty of food [from nature],” he said.

He said the lack of land and knowledge about how food was grown prevented people from cultivating their own food. Capitalism, he said, further exploited the condition by penetrating the ready-to-serve food market. “On the other hand, people are becoming more familiar with instant seasoning brands than herbal plants.”

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The Ngenger program tries to encourage members of the public to get to know themselves as well as nature. The interns learn about what crops and how to grow them to produce ready food, and the program incorporates both theory and practice.

“That way, people respect farmers and they become willing to grow plants. This awareness requires time and effort," said Wakhit, who is also a lecturer at the Syekh Nurjati Cirebon State Islamic Institute (IAIN). He said it only took three months for interns to develop their farming skills and awareness.

Since its inception in September 2021, the Ngenger program has had three batches of interns, respectively involving three, seven, and six participants. They came from Cirebon, Indramayu, Bandung, Sukabumi, all in West Java, and from Luwu in South Sulawesi.

Haamid has used organic farming methods to grow butterfly peas and chili peppers.

Ati, who has also picked up public speaking skills, now dreams of becoming a village head. She knows very well that she has to work hard, study seriously, enjoy learning, and develop her self-determination to fulfill her dream.

This article was translated by Musthofid.