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Climate Crisis and the Mului People, Forest is Mother's Milk

Name: Climate Crisis and the Mului People, Forest is Mother's Milk
Uploaded: 2023-12-12T02:55:10Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: The Mului indigenous community in East Kalimantan is haunted by the threat of the climate crisis. However, they believe that forests are like mother's milk.

The Mului indigenous community in East Kalimantan is haunted by the threat of the climate crisis. However, they believe that forests are like mother's milk.

This article has been translated using AI. See Original .

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· 7 minutes read

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Krisis Iklim dan Orang Mului, Hutan adalah Air Susu Ibu

While wiping sweat, Muliyadi (29) grumbled under the tarpaulin. This resident of Mului Village, Swan Slotung Village, Muara Komam District, Paser Regency, in East Kalimantan, puts his hands on his hips while looking at his family's fields. The climate crisis makes the days of him and other Mului residents uneasy.

The sloping land is located amidst hills. Wild grass grows on it. Scattered tree branches make the land look untidy.

The situation clearly presents a tough task for Muliyadi and his family. The grass and branches scattered across the nearly 1-hectare land have to be cleared by five people.

Also read: Mului, a Hunter-Gatherer Who Has Been Eroded by Time

Armed with a machete, branches or tree branches are cut. Grass is pulled out one by one and piled together with the branches, then burned.

It may seem simple, but it is not an easy matter to work on it. That afternoon, the sun was scorching hot. The air temperature reached 33 degrees Celsius.

The far-from-ideal condition of the farm was exacerbated by a long drought since mid-2023. After opening the farm in July 2023, rain would usually start in August in Muliyadi village. The rainwater helps the dry soil become moist. This condition is suitable for planting hill rice.

However, this year the rain came late. The dry season and heat made the residents leave their land for three more months. The rain did fall a few times, but not regularly and with a duration of less than an hour. As a result, the farmland remained hard and unsuitable for planting mountain rice.

“Rain has only started to fall several times this month (November). So, we manduk (clean the fields). "If it's clean, then put it away," said the man who is familiarly called Mul, Monday (20/11/2023).

Menugal is a traditional way of planting rice that is practiced by Mul and the villagers of his village. The method involves making holes in the soil using wooden sticks. It is in these holes that mountain rice seedlings are planted.

With the shifting planting season due to the prolonged heat this year, Mul is concerned that the harvest from the previous year may not be sufficient to meet their needs until the next harvest season.

Usually they plant rice in September-October and harvest in February-March. Because they only planted in November 2023 this year, they will harvest mountain rice around April-May. That's a delay of two months. It could be a disaster.

Threatened with tearing

Mul is a member of the Mului customary law society. They live in Mului village, a remote area amidst the dense forests of East Kalimantan.

Getting there is far from easy. Mului is located approximately 300 kilometers from Samarinda, the center of government in East Kalimantan.

Access to the village is steep, up and down hills, and passing through muddy roads when it rains. The safest way to reach the village is by using a double-wheeled vehicle.

Don't expect to enjoy surfing the virtual world. There is no internet or phone signal.

It may feel oppressive for city dwellers, but not for Mului residents. In fact, they have plenty of time to interact with the forest. Their relationship is close, like family.

”Janes tete ineh,” said Traditional Chief Mului Jidan (61) in Mului language. This means that the forest is mother's milk.

Also read: The Long Wait in the Talun Sakti Traditional Forest

More than just a metaphor, the relationship is real. Far from the market and other villages, residents rely on farming and the forest for their food needs for a full year.

Forest products are everything. However, in recent years, this close relationship is threatened to be torn apart. Weather anomalies triggered it.

The weather anomaly has actually been felt by a number of residents since several years ago. It's just that the intensity varies.

In 2022, for example, Kampung Mului is more often showered with rain. The field becomes more humid. This becomes a disaster when the rice starts to bear fruit. Brown planthoppers rapidly thrive and attack mountain rice.

Sri Edan (38), Mul's neighbor, only planted half a hectare of mountain rice that year. It was for the annual needs of four family members. However, due to the abundance of pests, the rice harvest decreased because many of the grains were empty, meaning they had no contents.

”No we can get rid of the stink bugs. "Now we have bought rice just in case the rice from the fields runs out," said the burly man.

"They don't use refrigerators or cars. The residents also do not deforest to mine coal. The number of motorcycles does not even reach 30 in the village inhabited by 38 families. There is also no electricity from fossil fuels."

Once they go grocery shopping for rice, Sri and other residents have to go to the district center. The travel time takes around three hours on a motorbike through steep and muddy hills.

Translation: Once she went shopping, Sri spent Rp 160,000 for 10 kilograms of rice. That cost did not include 4 liters of gasoline costing Rp 68,000 for the round trip. In Kampung Mului, only retail Pertalite is available for Rp 17,000 per liter.

From that experience, residents of Kampung Mului work with unpredictable weather. In addition to planting mountain rice, they also plant cassava and sweet potatoes in their fields.

Also read: Hoping for Peace to Never Disappear from Mului

Cassava is harvested almost at the same time as rice, about six months after being planted. Sweet potatoes are faster, they can be harvested in three months.

That afternoon, another Mului resident, Samon (49), had begun planting cassava stems in his field. He also provided some harvested sweet potatoes in his hut. During high physical activity in the field, he didn't always add four or five spoonfuls of rice like he usually does.

"If it's now, three scoops of rice are enough. Later, I'll eat sweet potato if I'm still hungry. Saving rice," he laughed.

Forest ranger

Mul, Sri, Samon, and Jidan are part of the Mului indigenous community that has been recognized by the government since 2018. They also manage a 7,722-hectare customary forest that has been recognized by the government through the Minister of Environment and Forestry Decree. The regulation was issued on October 1, 2020.

They have customary rules that prohibit tree logging in the customary forest. Logging can only be carried out for communal needs, such as building houses for residents or constructing bridges.

The felling must not exceed more than 10 trees per year. The diameter of the felled tree must be no less than 60 centimeters.

They believe that a wise and measured tree removal will keep the customary forest sustainable and allow time for nature to rejuvenate itself. They do this because they are well aware that the forest is a source of life.

Forests are a place to search for rattan, hunt, provide a source of water for the village, and a fertile ground for forest fruits. Forest fruits are often sold for income or consumed together.

In fact, they have a mori area or prohibited area. There not a single tree can be cut down there. If it is violated, they believe disaster will come to the village. Even though they have lots of signs, they still don't understand the causes of the changing and unpredictable weather in their village.

Quoting a number of experts, human activity has become the main driver of climate change―some experts refer to it as a climate crisis. Some of the causes are due to the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas. In addition, it is also due to the high rate of deforestation.

However, the Mului community is unfamiliar with those terms and ways of life. They do not use refrigerators or cars. Residents also do not deforest to mine coal. The number of motorbikes is less than 30 in the village, which is inhabited by 38 families. There is no electricity from fossil fuels either.

Previously, they only relied on electricity from the village generator, which was not regularly turned on. Since October 2023, they have been using solar power generators to meet their electricity needs, with assistance from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

With that way of living, they are still affected by the urban human activities that exacerbate the climate crisis: relying on private vehicles to go anywhere, mining the forest for coal, and so on.

Without blaming anyone or holding a world conference, the people of Mului have adapted their behavior while preserving their homes - a village surrounded by forests whose benefits are enjoyed by people around the world.

Also read: In the hands of millennials, we inherit customary forests

(This coverage was supported by the Rainforest Journalism Fund in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center)

Editor:

CORNELIUS HELMY HERLAMBANG

Climate Crisis and the Mului People, Forest is Mother's Milk

About AI Translated Article

Threatened with tearing

Forest ranger