Author: Herawati Dewi

Menyiangi Rumput

Menyiangi rumput adalah salah satu aktivitas berkebun, rumput dan
tanaman liar lainnya selalu tumbuh di sepanjang tahun, baik musim panas
maupun musim hujan. Rumput dan tanaman liar disebut gulma ini kalau
tidak disiangi akan mengambil nutrisi tanah, sehingga pohon tidak bisa
tumbuh maksimal.
Ketika musim hujan, pekerjaan menjadi lebih berat dan sulit karena rumput
tumbuh lebih cepat dan tanah menjadi licin. Musim panas biasanya mulai
bulan Juni, walaupun bulan July sudah hampir habis, hujan masih turun dua
atau tiga kali seminggu.

Cara yang paling mudah untuk menyiangi rumput adalah dengan pemberian
Rounup, tetapi sebenarnya Roundup tidak diperkenankan lagi pemakaiannya
untuk perkebunan. Goldteak sendiri masih mengandalkan tenaga pekerja
untuk menyiangi rumput, khususnya di daerah atau lokasi yang terbuka di
mana tempat itu mendapatkan lebih banyak curah hujan dan sinar matahari
sehingga rumput-rumput liar tumbuh dengan subur di sana. Supaya pohon
tumbuh dengan baik, kita perlu menyiangi kebun secara teratur dan
menghindari pemakaian bahan-bahan kimia.
“Saya selalu memikirkan hal-halyang terbaik ketika sedang menyabuti
rumput”. (Martha Smith)

Bumisari

Local teaks in Bumisari Plantation

Post author By Herawati Dewi
Post date May 16, 2016
No Comments on Local teaks in Bumisari Plantation

About two hectares land was planted with teaks, mostly from Java, and combined with teaks from Thailand,

Malaysia, India, Philippine and Myanmar.

The Asian teak has some characteristics:

heartwood is brownies red in color. It darkens as it ages. Sometimes there are dark patches on it.
it has a strange scent in newly cut wood.
wood texture is hard and ring porous.
density is 720 kg/meter cube.

Teak is high oil content, high tensile strength and tight grain make it particularly suitable where weather resistance is desired.

It is used in manufacture of outdoor furniture, indoor flooring, boat deck, cutting boards or veneer.

In Indonesia, teak is mostly used for furniture, window or door frames.

” Reversing deforestation is complicated; planting a tree is simple ” (Martin O’Melley)

Bumisari Kunjungan Lapangan

Jati lokal di kebun Bumisari

Post author By Herawati Dewi
Post date May 16, 2016
No Comments on Jati lokal di kebun Bumisari

Sekitar dua hektar lahan di Bumisari ditanami Jati lokal dengan sedikit
kombinasi Jati dari Thailand, Malaysia, India, Filipina and Myanmar.

Jati Asia memiliki beberapa karakteristik:
– hati kayu berwarna merah kecoklatan, bertambah gelap mengikuti umur
– ada aroma menyengat ketika baru dipotong
– lingkar tahunnya berwarna kuning muda keputih-putihan, jadi bisa
dibedakan dengan hati kayu yang berwarna gelap
– jaringan kayunya keras dan melingkar dengan pori-pori
– kelembaban kayu jati lokal adalah 720 kg/M3

Jati adalah kayu dengan kandungan minyak yang tinggi, dan keregangannya
juga tinggi dengan butiran yang padat sehingga cocok untuk dayatahan
cuaca tropis. Biasanya kayu jati lokal dipakai untuk industri mebel luar
rumah, lantai dalam rumah, dek kapal, papan potong atau kayu lapis sebagai
bahan dekoratif.

Di Indonesia, jati kebanyakan dipakai untuk mebel, bingkai jendela dan
pintu.

“Advice from a tree; Stand Tall and Proud, Go out on a limb, Remember
your Roots, Drink plenty of Water, Be content with your Natural beauty,
Enjoy the View” (Woodland Trust)

Expanding Gold Teak

Poem from Cibening Village

Post author By Herawati Dewi
Post date April 17, 2016
No Comments on Poem from Cibening Village

Tanah Sunda (Ajib Rosidi)

Hejo pagunungan

Paul lautan

Hejo

Paul

Langit, na hate, kuring

Masing dimana kuring nangtung

Masing kamana kuring leumpang

Tanah lembok, tempat bumetah

Angin nyeot, nyiuman tarang

Masing dimana anjeun nunjuk

Masing iraha, anjeun cumeluk

Kuring mo mumpang, kuring rek datang

Neueulkeun tarang, neueulkeun jantung

Kuring tungtung teuteupan

Kuring tungtung

Teuteupan

Tungtung bedil

Ngincer dada

Kuring geus nyaksian, getih ngabayabah

Getih maranehanan, nu mikacinta, anjeun

Kuring geus nyaksian, panon carelong tanggah

Jasad nu rusak, ngalangsur na dada, anjeun

Hejo pagunungan, paul lautan

Taya kamarasan, ngan, katugenahan

Hejo pagunungan paul lautan

Taya katengtreman, ngan, ancaman

Cibening Kunjungan Lapangan

Petani desa Cibening

Walaupun Indonesia adalah penghasil beras nomor tiga terbesar dunia,
Indonesia masih menjadi pengimpor beras. Keadaan ini disebabkan oleh
perhitungan yang tidak sama antara produksi beras dan besaran konsumsi
beras. Penduduk Indonesia mengonsumsi 140 kilogram beras per orang per tahun.

Memasuki desa Cibening, kita masih bisa melihat sawah dan kebun singkong
di kiri dan kanan jalan. Sayangnya, hasil panen beras dan singkong itu
bukanlah milik petani semuanya, tetapi mereka harus membagi dua hasil
panennya untuk pemilik lahan. Semoga, pemilik lahan-lahan itu tetap
mengijinkan para petani menanam padi dan singkong dan tidak membiarkan
lahannya dipakai untuk industri peternakan ayam atau bahkan membangun perumahan.

Untuk rencana setahun, tanamlah padi;
untuk rencana sepuluh tahun, tanamlah pohon;
untuk rencana seumur hidup, didiklah orang-orang. (Peribahasa Cina)

Cibening News From The Field

Rice Farmers in Cibening Village

Post author By Herawati Dewi
Post date March 31, 2016
No Comments on Rice Farmers in Cibening Village

Although Indonesia is the third-largest country regarding global rice
production, it is still a rice importer. This situation is caused by
farmers’use of non-optimal production technique in combination with
large per capita rice consumption (by a large population).
In fact, Indonesia has the largest per capita rice consumption in
the world with Indonesians consuming around 140 kilogram of rice
per person per year.

Entering Cibening village, we still find rice field and cassaa
plantation on the right and left sides. Unfortunately the rice and
the cassava are not consumed by themselves. They lease the land to plant
rice and cassava and share half for the land lord when they harvest.
Hopefully, the land lords will still keep the land for the rice farming
not change it to other purpose like for rise chicken or housing area.

If you are planning for a year, sow rice;

if you are planning for a decade, plant trees;

if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people. (Chinese Proverbs)

Pengembangan GoldTeak

Buku, Permen dan Biskuit

Anak-anak dari desa biasanya tidak punya tempat belajar dan bermain
yang layak atau pantas. Mereka tidak terhubung dengan Teknologi dan
Informasi, kebanyakan dari mereka belajar di sekolah dan rumah yang
sangat sederhana tanpa listrik, dengan buku-buku yang sangat terbatas.
Hampir semua desa tidak mempunyai taman bermain dan sekolah
juga jarang mempunyai halaman yang luas, jadi kalau anak-anak mau
bermain bola, mereka harus ke desa tetangga. Anak – anak berenang
di sungai ketika musim hujan tiba, karena air berlimpah, mereka juga
berhujan-hujanan sepulang sekolah. Mereka bermain kelereng atau layangan
ketika banyak angin, atau mereka pergi ke sawah yang belum ditanami untuk
mencari telur bebek atau keong sawah.

Anak-anak yang tinggal di desa Cibening lebih beruntung dari anak-anak
di desa lainnya, karena sekolah mereka punya halaman yang cukup luas,
mereka bisa belajar menanam sayur-sayuran dan hasilnya mereka bisa
membawa pulang untuk keluarganya. Mereka tidak punya perpustakaan sekolah
tetapi mereka selalu menerima buku bacaan dan buku cerita setiap bulan
dari PT Goldteak. Para guru sering membantu murid-murid membuat barang kerajinan
dari daur ulang, lama-kelamaan anak-anak menjadi kreatif menciptakan barang-barang
daur ulang untuk dimanfaatkan sebagai kerajinan atau untuk hidroponik.

Anak-anak desa Cibening tidak bisa menyembunyikan rasa senang mereka
ketika ada tamu yang berkunjung ke SD Cibeureum atau ke Kebun Goldteak,
karena tamu-tamu tersebut selalu membawakan mereka permen, biskuit,
susu atau es krim.

Kebahagiaan itu bukanlah hal yang sudah tersedia,
tetapi harus kau ciptakan. (Dalai Lama)

Expanding Gold Teak

Books, Sweets, Biscuits and Milk

Post author By Herawati Dewi
Post date February 27, 2016
No Comments on Books, Sweets, Biscuits and Milk

The children from the villages do not have proper and decent places
for studying and playing. They do not connect with Information and
Technology, mostly they study in a very simple school building or
houses without electricity, they have very limited books.

The village do not have a playground and the school also do not have
a big yard, so when they need an empty place to play football,
they go to the other village. In rainy season, they can swim in the
river or walking in the rain when they go home after school.
They can play marbles or kites in windy time, or just go to the rice field
to find the ducks’ eggs and freshwater snails.

Children who live in Cibening village are luckier than the children from
other villages. They have a small yard in front of the school and they
can plant some vegetables to share with their parents, they do not have
a library but they always receive many books (story books and science books)
from PT Goldteak. Their teachers also help them to be creative to produce
recycled things.

When there were some guests coming and brought them candy or biscuit or milk
or an ice cream, the children could not hide their smile and their excitement.

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
(Dalai Lama)

Cibening News From The Field

Why trees need pruning

Seasons help trees grow naturally, water and sunlight make the trunks bigger
and have branches and plenty of leaves. When growing trees is a business,
we have to make sure that the trees grow healthy and free from diseases.
One of the regular treatment is pruning, actually pruning a tree is removing
specific branches or stems, especially dead, damaged and diseased branches
and to help prevent insect and decay organism from entering the tree.
The best time to prune is end of rainy season to minimize sap loss, but we can
prune the trees when we see unnecessary branches. Pruning also makes narrower
the canopy, it increases air and sunlight and resulting in fewer disease problems
and gives more nutrition to the soil.

When you see that your branches refuse to grow and produce good fruit,
know that it’s time to your pruning season. (www.fitand finallyfree.com)

Expanding Gold Teak

Learn to Farm

SD Cibeureum does not have a big yard, Goldteak suggested the school
to have a small vegetable garden beside the school, so the students could
learn how to plant the vegetables. Goldteak gave seeds like cucumber,
eggplant, chilly, water spinach or lettuce. Up to now, students still have
the garden in front of their school, they harvest together and they sell
the vegetables to the parents and they buy more seeds to plant again.
Upi is one of pak Parid’s son, he studies at The Junior High School
grade 9 in Cimanggala Village. When he studied at The Elementary School,
he was one of the best student. I still remember, every time I visited
teak plantation, Upi always followed me to go round the plantation to
check the trees. On the weekend, he often accompanies his father at the
vegetable garden in front of their house.

This time, Upi decided to open a very small piece of land, about 10 m2
near his house to plant Water spinach. He wanted to know whether he can
be a farmer like his father and his three brothers, Kusnadi, Aji and Dede.
It seems that he also wants to encourage his friends that farming is a good
activity for their spare time.

“ If the farmer is poor then so is the country “ (Polish Proverb)