Oxfam GB in Indonesia In Action

I received an invitation to attend an event and gathering in Jogjakarta from one of Oxfam Partner, SBIB. Finally they’ve made it after months of planning and a long time discussion! The event was part of SBIB campaigns to make international trade fair.

On the Invitation paper, Its written: “Week of Rice Action”. This title is really appealing to me and I quickly decided to fly to Jogjakarta to attend this occasion.

Why Week of Rice Action?

I love rice and always eat rice whenever I go. I can’t even live without it. However, I never really pay enough attention to get to know the story behind the rice I eat everyday.

I only eat it without realising how rice plays an important part of food supply for half of the world. The rice are consumed by billions people in the world, and it is a staple food for Asian, especially for Indonesians. Rice has a unique  place in the life and the customs of people. Rice and its culture have proven to give lives for billions of people since hundred or even thousand years ago.  For that reason, over billions of lives relied and depend on rice, including me.

I jumped into taxi and went to Mandungan, a village where Oxfam together with partners, SBIB and KRKP held the “Week of Rice Action” celebration.  Once I arrived at Mendungan, I joined a discussion on rice and its culture.  I amazed by the rice philosophy that explained by one of Oxfam supporter, a philosophy proffesor of University of Gajahmada, Yogyakarta.   Prof. Damarjati Suparjo says, “Farmers not only cultivate the soil, but also their souls.”   Furthermore, he also said that the farmers have a spiritual relationshiip with the land and with the rice, and that is why indigenous knowledge in agriculture should be protected and upheld.

The WORA 2007 featured activities such as seminars on rice culture, art competition, cooking contest, cultural presentations on rice, a film show, and also “andong” march (march of the horse carriages”.  During the WORA , Oxfam worked through its partners to gather people from various background and organisation to celebrate, exchange ideas & learning and also to support rice traditions, indigenous knowledge and friendly agricultural environment

At the end of the week of the celebration, I joined an “Andong March”.   The march attracted a lot of attention from public and media. People waved and smiled to us.

The march carried all of us (around 150 people) to meet up with the Deputy Governor of Jogjakarta, Sri Paduka Pakualaman IX.  During the meeting, Oxfam’s partner, KRKP and SBIB, together with the farmers are given the opportunity to express concerns and urge the government to respect the value of rice culture and the indigenous knowledge of farmer in agriculture and advise government to support ecological farming practices in the communities.

Witoro of Koalisi Rakyat untuk Kedaulatan Pangan (KRKP), said,”If the government ignore the agricultural sector, the poverty in Indonesia will not be solved.  People will leave the villages and will be left with no option but to migrate to the cities and take on unskilled jobs”.

The meeting finished at midday. The andong marched back to Mandungan village.

I sat quietly beside one farmer from Malang during our trip back to the village. Suddenly, he sighed and said to himself, “I wish this celebration would never end, it is so inspiring for me, don’t you think?”

I smiled and nodded back to him. I am so happy to be able to take part in making differences in people life, in this case, the farmer’s life.