The story of a village that was hit by drought, disease, and water difficulty, turned into a healthy village with abundant clean water. Water has made them achieve many things. Surprisingly, who became pioneer are children.
The rainy season should have been passed in Lembata and the sun shining properly burns the skin. But Dikesare, a small village 27 kilometres north of Lewoleba, Lembata, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), shady anyway by trembesi and neem trees that trap sea breeze. The ground looked wet although it was not rained down months, and among the trees the air feels cool. Unexpectedly, even in the middle of the savanna and arid hills in the Valley, the village became the first in the Lembata which reached the target of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS)/Community-Based Total Sanitation (STBM), a national program to nourish the community.
Ten years ago, almost unimaginable there are green trees that still stand upright during the dry season at Dikesare. Summer comes every the beginning of 8th month, the village was dry and deciduous trees, such as the surrounding villages. All became thorn field on the sidelines of the savanna stretching as long as the eye can see, and only palm trees that survive grow tall. “House yard into a dusty and plants become brownish yellow,” Paul Demo said, a resident. Because of the high temperatures, the roof burns out on its own. Long drought each year also drain the fields and turn off the corn that is a source of income for the people.
The harsh natural conditions was supported by the research results from the Faculty of Science and Technology of the Terrestrial, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 2012, classified Lembata as a drought disaster-prone area, with the characteristics of the region that is difficult to get clean water, there are seasonal disasters such as fire and flooding when the rainy season and erosion that followed.
However, Dikesare would seem to be an exception to Lembata. The village is about 15 square km and has a population of 447 inhabitants, this began to change since 2006 when they were determined to follow the program STBM. There are five targets to be met by each village, i.e. stop defecating carelessly, handwashing, food/drinking water management of the household, waste management, and the management of household liquid waste household. And, it’s impossible to do in Dikesare.
The Key is Water.
Dikesare’s ambition to become a village with good sanitation, hindered by one very important condition is the availability of clean water. The village is near the beach, but it is already clear that salty water could not replace clean water. The village is actually hit by drought every year, and when it goes on a bit long so fire land and shrubs will follow. The difficulty of clean water cause the villagers rarely wash clothes, defecation carelessly, as told the Dikesare village chief Rafael Suban Ikun.
Water difficulty takes a victim when five children die of diarrhea in 2005, a year that was filled by hundreds of patients with diarrhea and vomiting that hospitalization in various clinics and hospitals.
The springs receded quickly so there is almost no longer supplies clean water except for a drink. “We have to compete with cattle for very little water,” said Ignatius Nuho or Igen, other citizens. “We want to achieve the sanitation target, so we are healthy, but no water.” said Suban. “Our corn yields very less if the dry season, only we ate, or pounded and fried for chips,” he said. That day we were chatting with a plate of corn chips and two glasses of hot tea.
The only way to get clean water is moved directly from the spring above the hills of the Atadei in the East Village that is steep and dry. There are three springs on a hilltop that is two hours from the village, but only two are watery, even it can’t meet the needs of the whole village since it almost dries up during the dry season. “As I recall, by the sixth or seventh month, water began to dry up and almost no longer exists when the dry season,” said Suban Ikun. Just drink is hard, moreover, water for washing clothes and kitchen utensils.
In the early 2000s, the people of Dikesare have agreed to accept the idea to drain water to the village with bamboo. Then, from a small bamboo that water flowed into homes with plastic hose.
A second problem to be solved by the people of Dikesare is how to make that spring filled throughout the year. The trouble apparently heard by Plan Indonesia, a non-governmental organization that focuses on children’s issues. They gave 8,000 stems seeds of hard woody to reforestation, the requirement is all people must be participated in the planting.
Mid-2006, the greening spring started and controlled on a regular basis by the villagers. Our first Program was the invited kids to love the environment, and it starts with green wash of springs and their own villages often drought, said the Coordinator of the Plan of Lembata, Vransisiku Saverius.
Children of elementary school and junior high are indeed invited since it first held a spring programme of green wash. In addition near the springs, the children also do reforestation various locations such as near schools and the coast with neem tree, trembesi, coconut, and mangroves to prevent abrasion of the beach. “We plant trees longevity, deliberately to become resistant to drought and shade to village,” Vrans said.
It was not until one year, hardwood tree seedlings such as Cypress, trembesi, durian, rambutan, and began to grow around springs and was able to withstand the rainy season when the water rate. The next three years, all the springs that apparently still full even when the dry season. People replace the plastic hose with a bamboo and iron pipe, in order to hold it longer.
Villagers in Dikesare then build water tub, a tub with about 1,500-2,000 litres for every 5-10 households. The Government comes later and help build up some water tub through the National Program for Community Empowerment (PNPM), which to this day is still used and cared properly. From that tubs, water was distributed to every household. The first task was fulfilled.
Dues to be independent. In order to keep the water clean and enjoyed by citizens, then everyone has to pay the dues Rp 5.000 or around US$ 3 per month as maintenance money. Dues collected are usually about Rp 2.7 million (US$ 230) each month and is managed by Water Management Organization (OPAM) appointed by the meeting of the village. “If we want to close the leaking pipes or build water tub, using OPAM money, no more government assistance,” said village chief.
Water began to flow throughout the day, but a sump only open morning and afternoon, in order to save it. Then, the people discuss again to achieve STBM target. The first step that agreed by the meeting of the village are greening the whole side of house yard and village roads. The reason, that, village more shade as the drought, not dusty, and slow down fire when a fire.
Lembata is indeed unique because in this drought-prone districts, there are hunting tourism area Hadekawa-Labelakang. In this area, the traditional hunts come each September to hunt deer or boar with arrows and spears. Their habits to burn bush so that a hunted animal out from concealment. As a result, Dikesare and other villages in the hills affected by the fire and each year always there is always a house that burns. Greening with various kinds of plant will be able to inhibit the fire, even to turn it off because the green and wet plants inedible fire longer.
“Greening can also absorb carbon dioxide from the air, and the other value is fruit and vegetable crops in the courtyard can be used as a spice in the kitchen, so as to reduce expenses,” said Igen. Speaking about the impact of climate change, Igen did well because he had been a champion of the speech competition about climate change in district level. Chili Peppers, oranges, guava, eggplant, turmeric, betel nut, is a type of kitchen herbs and fruit ingredients which are now commonly found on the house yard at Dikesare. Tree of wooden like rambutan and durian also many.
In 2008 they started constructing drains and sewers in the village beside the road to drain the overflows that often floods during the rainy season. Once again, initially all done in a self-help, and then in the middle of a project, come help from PNPM. Now, all the main roads in the village are already equipped by one meter deep sewers.
After successfully bringing clean water and reduce the threat of fire and flood, it’s time for the villagers ended defecation habits in the yard or garden, as a source of diseases such as diarrhea and vomiting. “In the past, often there are vomiting outbreaks in the village since many people defecate carelessly, then it brought by the flies,” said Igen. Due to defecation carelessly, Labatukan subdistrict clinic have always noted the remarkable vomiting events each year, and also always followed by two to three person inpatients each day.
The availability of clean water makes villagers excited eager to build toilet. Plan of Lembata and the local government helped them how to choose the right location and designing simple toilet. “We donate our energy and bamboo, wood, and stone commonly found in the village, while the cement, sand, and other materials helped by Plan Indonesia,” Ikun said. That toilet covered by the bamboo or board with a model of drop toilet which covered by wooden slats, to reduce odors and the influx of animals such as a fly or cockroach. A full bucket of clean water always provided in each toilet.
The toilets have a positive correlation with the people’s health in Dikesare. Data from STBM shows there was a drastic reduction of vomiting patient in district Lebatukan, Lembata, from 175 people in 2009, down to 77 in 2010 and only 21 people in 2011. According to the Plan of Indonesia, that number declined from 300 patients with diarrhea in 2010 to 100 people in 2011. Even Ikun ensures that this year only two of the affected by vomiting. It also does not need hospitalized,” he said.
Peer Counselors.
When Dikesare decided to start improving the quality of its sanitation, they call the children. Apparently, the Plan Indonesia has managed to educate children with activities to love the environment and reduce the impact of climate change. Even, some children sent to bali to practice making organic fertilizers, fertilizer liquid, infusion plants, and recycled paper. Back from bali, the children be a forerunner Peer Counselor, the group consists of 15 children of primary and Secondary School level is the first that has provided a simple matter of sanitation skills. Every hamlets in Dikesare village is represented by one Peer Counselors or about 45 schools children joined from three hamlets.
The main activity of the Counselor was touring the village helps elderly people, such as widows and the elderly, make clothesline clothes, little culverts around the house to drain the waste water, dish washing trays from bamboo so that it cannot tarnish and dirty by the dirt, or simply a clothesline clothing is made of a plastic strap that is connected between two trees or make a bamboo pole. About familiarise of hand-washing with soap, apparently not difficult delivered to villagers because they realize clean hand very important. “However, older people still often forget wash their hands before eating maybe because habits,” Elisabeth Jawa said, 14, grade 7th of Lebatukan 1 junior high school that is one of the counselor.
Elisabeth continued that she and her group until now continue to help some elders make clothesline and the sink. “We can use raffia rope or wire, so that the clothes dry when worn. If the clothes wet could become mosquitos nest and smells,” she said. Her group also often planted flowers and plants in the yard, as well as help clean up trash. “We piled up garbage and making biopori holes,” she said. Since this about water and sanitation, this counselor also called as Water Counselor or Sanitary Counselor.
When Ekuatorial visited, Elisabeth’S house and some neighbouring indeed luxuriance with flowers added.
Peer counselor’s stories are justified by Tatriela Mura, 15, grade 10th of Lewoleba high school, former counselor. According to her testimony, when she was at the grade 7th of Lebatukan junior high school, her group helped elders in the village to make waste water channels, especially for water from the kitchen and wash. The trick is simple, “Do a little hoe, and then flowed into the sewers, once it right later flows into the sea,” she said. The sewer was built quite close with the houses in the village, plus the slope of the land in Dikesare, then the water will flow to the sea that its distance from the village centre was nothing more than 50 meters.
However, there is still a problem. Plastic garbage remain piled up behind the House and rarely recycled because its volume is very small, furthermore there is no garbage truck came to Dikesare to carry them away. “We rarely burn garbage because it could release carbon dioxide into the air,” said Elisabeth, “If the dry season and the big wind, the fire could be great as well,” she added. Trash leaves partially used fill in holes that are also made by biopori the peer counsellors, and useful as a water absorption.
Beyond The Target.
If the sanitation program had five pillars, then in Dikesare becomes six, namely impound cattle program. First, all cattle like a pig and cow be allowed to loiter in lawns house or bound in a tree, So dung cause to smell and carry disease.
Now none of the animals roam in the yard, all in the stall, except the dog and some chickens are indeed becoming a pet around the House. All cattle in their owner private garden, but there are also people who borrows neighbour’s fields without pay.
First cattle be left loose around the house, said Ikun, to ease give him drink during summer. “Now we stalled outside because the water is always there and can be transported to cage. Cattle also can graze in the fields,” he said.
When visiting Dikesare today, don’t hesitate when stepping into the house yard, for fear of stepping on animal waste. “Now our House is so clean, no dust flies carry dirt and disease everywhere,” said Tatriela. All the efforts were successful. In a ceremony at the capital of the regency in March 2009, Regent of Lembata set Dikesare as one of the first villages in the regency that the sanitation has been completed, even beyond it. “We are so proud, especially as the children who became the pioneer of sanitary,” Ikun said. IGG Maha Adi (Lembata).