Category: News From The Field

To keep the trees healthy and grow well, it needs regular maintenance all year round . The site manager always arranges activities and manages the workers to take care the trees and to keep the plantation safe.

The rainy season will bring fresh air and fertile soil, so the trees will get nutrients and water, with little sunshine. During the summer, workers mow the grass and weeds so that the soil can absorb sunlight, but during the rainy season workers mow the grass and weeds so that water can absorb and be stored in the soil.

The workers also made trenches around the low parts of the area, to allow rainwater to fall through and to avoid the landslides.

You can see Goldteak teak plantations on the hill, it is green. Because the trees grow bigger and stronger with large canopy. The air is fresh with no polution, birds and other animals can be seen and heard in the evening and at night. When the sun shines in the morning, the Goldteak plantation is very beautiful.

Although none of Cibening villagers have been infected with Covid-19 during the outbreak since the beginning of the year, all villagers and especially Goldteak’s workers and their families must still follow health protocols. They were asked to always wear a mask covering the nose and mouth, wash their hands frequently and do not forget to keep their distance from other people when sitting, standing, walking or working.

Every worker is given a BPJS (Health Social Security) as a form of company responsibility, they can get health services at the Puskesmas (Community Health Centers) or hospitals without pay. For anyone who has to be treated for being infected with Covid-19, they will be placed in hospitals that have been appointed by the government.

The rainy season has started since early November, the village looks green because the trees on the plantation have grown new leaves. The wells and the water springs are full of water and people in the plantation can use it for bathing or washing. The workers always take care of the wells, they clean regularly, no garbage around them.

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.