Category: Cibening

October has turned to November, summer is over and the rainy season has started. Almost every day it rains in Cibening village and the hill looks green now.

The land has changed color, is not dry brown but it is green because covered by grass. The leaves have also begun to change, dry yellow and brown to a refreshing green.

The morning air is fresh and the whole day is not hot, the wind blow lightly. Overcast comes late in the afternoon followed by rain, even though the rain for only a few hours but is has made the soil wet and moist.

The workers began to inspect the area where water often pass from the top of the hill, they made bamboo barriers so that the water did not erode the tree roots. Up to now, there was no land slide along the critical areas, the trees are safe.

Since the beginning of the year, when the Covid-19 Virus began to spread and claim victims, the residents of Cibening village were not as worried as people in the city. Cibening as a small village has less people and far from big cities, will have less impact of being infected with the Corona virus.

But considering that many villagers work in cities and big cities, village officials appeal to villagers to be careful and always follow government recommendations to always maintain health and implement health protocols during a pandemic.

PT Goldteak also supports the guardians and their families to apply health protocols, whether they live in Cibening village or live in different villages.

Workers always wear cloth masks while working as well as when they are outside the home,they also keep distance during work, they also maintain cleanliness to immediately shower when they arrive home after work. Until now, no worker or family member has been affected by Covid-19 virus.

With great sadness, we share the news that Andri, one of the children from the GoldTeak team has passed away due to Leukemia. Andri was very talented in painting and won a painting competition. Rest in peace, Andri.

Andri (the third from the left), gathering with his elementary school friends.

Andri (center), playing with friends after the rain

Andri (in the middle, giving a thumbs-up) doing some gardening with friends

Entering the summer season, Cibening village starts to run out of water for cooking and drinking. The wells still contain water but only half, but only for bathing and washing. Some springs still emit water, not much but still help people get water until end of hot season.

Since two months ago, the workers have cleaned the wells in the plantation and dug deeper the springs/reservoirs up the hill to collect more water.

Every summer or dry season, Zaini, the garden manager, always brings water from his area in Cicurug regent to Cibening village. He distributed water for Goldteak’s workers and some of the villagers who need water for drinking and cooking.

Actually there is quite a lot of water in Cibening village, because the reforestation done by PT Goldteak covering an area of 40 hectares will save rainwater. However, because the well is not deep, only six or seven meters, the water that can be taken is not much.

Every year or two, the trees in the plantation must be recalculated. The aim is to find out whether the number of trees has decreased due to disease or due to nature like landslides or by lightning.

This year, the number of Asian teak, Mahogany and Acacia trees was recalculated, there was a reduction in the number but not significant, only about 2 % of the trees died since planting in 2005.

While recalculating, re-measuring can also be done to determine the growth of the trees. Teak trees, or other hard trees, usually do not grow much after ten years. For Mahogany and Acacia trees, the growth is slow, because the canopy covering the soil, the sunlight has very little to reach the root. The absorption of nutrients for the roots is slightly hampered.

Regular maintenance and cleaning of the soil from weeds, at least can help the tree to get enough sunlight & nutrition. Asian teak, Mahogany and Acacia trees look healthy and free from diseases.

The rain has started to decrease this May, only once or twice a week. Even though it doesn’t rain every day, there is still a lot of water in the well. Savings of water for summer may be until September. Goldteak workers are cleaning and digging in the spring a little deeper so they can hold more water.

The same situation happens in Cibening village, the wells still contain enough water until September. Some springs flow less water during summer, so people begin to dig up the reservoirs.

Goldteak plantation has been changing Cibening village which was originally dry with a little water, now it has become a green village with water flow, it is because teak trees can keep water.

Every year, the number of living trees must be recalculated to find out how many trees died due to disease or due to natural factors, such as lightning or landslides.

To replace dead trees, Goldteak always makes seedlings, after sowing in nurseries four or five months later, dead trees are replaced immediately with new plants.

Solomon Teak will grow back on the dead stem, because the roots are not dead. New shoots will reappear and grow again. Trees that die from landslides usually cannot grow anymore because the roots of the trees are uprooted, so they must be replaced with new seeds.

Mahogany, Jabon and Acacia can not grow again when they die, they must be replaced with new ones, because when these trees die, the roots also die.

The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to Indonesia early March 2020 in Depok regent, near Jakarta. So far, Indonesia has recorded more than 12 thousand cases, the second highest in Southeast Asia, behind only Singapore. The Corona Virus or Covid-19 attacks anyone, young or old people, male or female, anyone who lives in the city or even in the village.

Up to now, there is no one got infected in Cibening village. But government asked to governors or mayors to apply the PSBB (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar or Large-Scale Social Restriction) to their areas to stop the outbreaks. Government asked people to stay home; they should work & study from home and worship also at home.

People should wear mouth & nose coverings or masks made of cloth or the like. This is to avoid sparks from falling mouths and sticking to surrounding objects. To wash hands often & avoid to touch face (nose, eyes or mouth) and close mouth when coughing or sneezing. To keep social distance (about 2 meters) and avoid crowds is also necessary if possible also limit the use of public transportation.

If the sick person is not treated at the hospital, the family or the neighbors should help him/her to carry out quarantine or independent isolation at home or in the room. Help them to meet their food needs or family logistical needs, because as long as they are sick, they cannot work and take care of themselves.

For the healthy ones, should be protected not to get sick, because this is also the key to success in preventing transmission of the virus. By doing “Keep Distance” it is expected that the spread and transmission will be immediately interrupted. Everyone will return to their normal activities.

Cibening Village has beautiful nature, fresh air and people work hard. The people plant cassava, rice and banana. Goldteak planted Solomon Teak, Mahogany, Acacia and fruit trees. Cibening village looks green and the air is fresh especially in rainy season. Animal come just to to the plantation because there is no more rubber plantation, it is already substituted by coconut palm plantation.

Rice and cassava harvest has always been the hope of the villagers because the harvest is the main income besides working outside the village as a factory workers in Sukabumi or in other areas.

For the past five years, people have felt that summer is longer and the rainy season is followed by landslides around Cibening village. Compared to ten years ago when the Goldteak plantations were opened, during the rainy season, water came down from the hills and damaged the rice fields and the harvest.

But now when Goldteak’s Teak trees and other hard trees are already big, water is no longer a problem in rainy season . The only problem is when there is a heavy rain and river can not carry the water, it creates the landslide on the river bank. This year two bridges in Cibening village were damaged because the river becomes shallow and rain water broke the bridge foundation.

Goldteak’s workers with the villagers work together fixed the bridge and now the bridge can be used again and the rain becomes a blessing for Cibening village.

Cibening village has two bridges, both are used by the community to enter the village or to reach the main road. The bridges were built with regional government funds, village funds and community funds also from Goldteak’s donation or contribution. When the bridges are broken, people try to repair them step by step because the money collected was not enough to fix in one time.

Since the bridges are very important access for the villagers, when one of the bridge is broken, it will create problems for them. They can not transport their crops to the markets or they can not bring in fertilizer or their daily need in big quantity because they have to use motorcycles to transport their goods.

This time, one of the bridges had just been repaired after several failed attempts due to the landslides during heavy rains. The river was over loaded and eroded the bridge  foundation. People had to stop working when it was raining, so it took longer to finish the bridge. After more than two months, finally the bridge was completely repaired.

Villagers worked hand in hand and Goldteak’s guardians joined them on Fridays (when they are off) to fix the bridge. Every one is happy now because they can do their daily activities in or out of the village.