Category: Cibening

This year the climate and weather are still not friendly with fruit trees. Almost all fruit trees are
blooming, but not all of them become fruit. The strong wind factor makes the flowers fall out and the beginning of the rainy season makes young fruit fall out too.

Healthy trees are strong enough to hold the fruit. Some of Rambutan and Durian trees survived to hold the fruit but unfortunately they are not enough to sell.

Some of Durian are found holes made by squirrels and bats. The fruit are rotten because of caterpillars & maggots.

Expecting to the good weather, rain can give more water to the soil and make all trees healthy and green. Fruit trees will be healthier and give more fruit this year.

Village Funds are sourced from the State Revenue & Expenditure Budget intended for Indigenous Villages and Villages, released through the Regency / City Regional Revenue & Expenditure Budget. This fund is used to finance government administration, development and community and community empowerment.

At present the Village Fund program has been implemented in Cibening Village to fix 500 meter road or IDR 100 million. It is expected that development in Cibening village can improve the economy, education and health of its people.

The local government together with the private sector built Cibening village. Micro economy has been supporting by Goldteak in planting trees, and empowering the community, also by Local governments in fixing the road.

Before Goldteak planted the trees, Cibening village looked brown every hot season because the village did not have water, and part of it was a slope overgrown with little rubber and bamboo trees.

Today, after more than ten years, the hill is green, even though summer the hill does not look brown but it looks green.

PT GoldTeak Teak Plantation has also restored the ecosystem, several species of birds, monkeys, wild pigs, snakes and frogs that were previously rarely seen and heard.

The plantation produce fresh air and fresh water, some wells do not dry out during the dry season. Cibening villagers feel a great change in nature that is better, cleaner and more fertile.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Bandung informed that currently the West Java region is generally still at the end of the dry season. But in some parts clouds appear and the weather is very cold at night. Even though weather is still very hot in the afternoon, there is a possibility will rain in the transition period. The intensity of the rain is still mild and moderate, and will start to be big and heavy in the middle or end of November.

At the end of the dry season, fruit trees begin to bloom and the fruit will appear; Mango, Rambutan and Durian. Unfortunately strong winds often make flowers or fruit fall out.

The dry season has begun since the beginning of September, the wind that blows also feels hot.
Teaks look brown, and the soil feels barren because the dried leaves are falling.

The well water starts to dry up, even though there can only be a bath and wash around. The
workers take water to cook and drink in the spring located on a hill.

When the rainy season almost arrived, many farmers in Cibening village burn the remains of their
stem, so that when the rain fall, their rice fields are ready to be planted with rice seeds. This
burning is a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation, but for the
security, this has been banned and village heads often give counseling to farmers not to burn.

Goldteak workers conduct day and night supervision to prevent fires in the area. To avoid a fire,
things that need to be prepared have already been done. Alternating guards, making simple tools
to extinguish fires, also provide knowledge to neighbors who have fields around the plantation
not to burn.

For an employee and company, work safety is the main thing. Occupational Health and Safety or OSH is also regulated in the Manpower Act. Companies and workers alike must know about work safety in accordance with applicable standards, one of them is by using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

For workers who work in Teak plantation they also need PPE like boots and gloves. Boots are needed because they work on uneven ground, rocks, dry / wet and avoid snake attacks. Gloves are used at the beginning of planting when caring for trees and fertilizer or insecticides.

This year the summer starts from late April or early May, the Drought season will be in August and September. In several places in Indonesia there has been a drought and lack of water discharge, almost never raining during July.

In Cibening village, well water has been reduced, enough for bathing and washing. For cooking they must take clean water from a spring in other village.
Goldteak plantation still has springs and wells that can be used for washing and bathing, for drinking water, Zaini, the site manager brings drinking water from Cicurug village.
The dry season is always longer in Cibening village, but people are used to overcoming water problems.

Teak trees appear to have begun to molt, the soil is covered by dry leaves. Goldteak plantation still looks green on the hill. Nature has its own law, when the season comes the nature will follow and adjust.

“ Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” (Mark Twain)

There are some guardians who have been working on the Goldteak since it opened the plantation in 2007. Up to present, they still work regularly together with other guardians who joined Goldteak later.

There are many reasons why people are loyal with the company they work for, but the main thing is because they are aware that the company gives them their rights; regular income and they always receive on time , BPJS national medical insurance and birth allowance for 2 children, Hari Raya allowance and housing for those who are willing to stay in the plantation, they also get working equipment. The company also give special attention to their children’s education.

Being valued and belonging is a strong bond between workers and owner and mutual respect makes the relationship stronger.

“As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit, so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded” (Brian Mininger.com)

The site manager, Zaini, always drives a pickup truck to Kebun., and when passing through Cibening village, the children always follow his car to go up the hill to Kebun.

What attracts children’s attention to Kebun? The beautiful scenery and fresh air make them happy to play there, the sound of birds and frogs make them cheerful. The children like to see Parid’s goats, chickens and ducks, sometimes they feed them.
They also see many fruit trees are flowering and fruitful. They find many vegetable crops like chili, tomato, cucumber, eggplant, pumpkin and string bean.

The environment in Kebun is different from the village, the tree canopies move beautifully every time the wind blows the trees.
Although children do not yet understand about economic values but they understand that Kebun is green, beautiful and peaceful.

Every time the children play in Kebun, they are exited and curios about new things which appears in Kebun. Kebun with trees have made the young children live with hope, joy and good future. Their songs, their steps and their laughs have been coloring Cibening village. Zaini never forget to bring candy and Parid’s wife always give them fried banana or boiled sweet potato.

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree along time ago” (Warren Buffett)

Starting this March the workers get a 25% salary increase, of course they are very happy. Cibening Village is not big, but since electricity entered the village, many changes have occurred with the local community. Many people already have television, refrigerators, mobile phones and motorcycles.

The basic needs of food (including water), shelter and clothing now is not enough. People now also need sanitation, education and health care. So when the workers got a raise, it meant a lot for them.

Goldteak workers are lucky compared to the surrounding community who rely on agricultural land for planting cassava and banana. Sometimes they have to work on somebody’s rice field to get some money as farming labors. But not for Goldteak workers who receive monthly salary so they can manage their income wisely.