Gisting Bawah Villagers Driven to Improve Lives
Clear water reflects the bright sky on Monday (23/10) at Margo Tirto dam in Gisting Bawah village, Gisting district, Tanggamus regency, Lampung. The dam has been turned into a tourist attraction by the Mandiri Bersatu village enterprise. The springs around the dam is used to supply clean water to villagers.
Before 2015, the villagers of Gisting Bawah in Gisting district, Tanggamus regency, Lampung, had to fetch their water from Margo Tirto Spring, about 1.5 kilometers away. Thanks to a village-owned enterprise, all can now enjoy the blessings of the spring supplied directly to their homes.
It was just before dusk on Monday (23/10) when Daryati, 40, filled the tank with water flowing from a PVC pipe in her house. She also filled three large buckets for the toilet and washing dishes.
"Before, I had to fetch water back and forth from Margo Tirto," Daryati said.
She recalled how, every week, the residents of Hamlet I-A had to fetch water for cooking and their laundry from Marto Tirto Spring. To get there, those who had no motorcycle had to walk on foot for 1.5 kilometers. Another alternative was for Daryati to ask for water from her neighbors who had their own water pump.
It did not mean Daryati did not want to buy a water pump, but she did not have enough savings for a water pump, which cost millions of rupiah. Her husband\'s income as an informal worker still depended on the number of glass cabinet orders that came in.
Her family’s lives have been improving since a clean water network was installed two years ago by Mandiri Bersatu, a village-owned enterprise. The network, stretching 1.5 kilometers from Margo Tirto spring to the village, was connected directly to homes with PVC pipes. The water is turned on every morning and evening, from 8:00-11:00 a.m. and 3:00-5:30 p.m.
In order to have regular access to clean water, each resident has to pay Rp 1 million for a water pump and plumbing. Fortunately, the payments can be made in installments. "The installments are small, as they are adjusted to each family’s capability and has no time limit. The most important thing is that everything is paid in full. So I was interested," she said.
The water rate is relatively cheap at Rp 2,000 per cubic meter plus a maintenance cost of Rp 5,000 per month. Each household pays Rp 25,000 per month, assuming a monthly water consumption of 10 cubic meters.
500 families
Daryati’s family is only one of 172 families served by the clean water installation that BUMDes Mandiri Bersatu manages. According to Gisting Bawah village head Sapari, 500 families in four hamlets (I-A, I-B, II-A, and II-B) face difficulties obtaining clean water. These hamlets are located on high, rocky plains where it is difficult to dig or drill wells.
Meanwhile, clean water is abundantly available in three other hamlets (III, IV, and V) that are located closer to the spring. Realizing the situation, Sapari encouraged the residents to form a village-owned company (BUMDes) to manage the clean water supply as one of its business activities. This way, everyone could enjoy the blessings of Margo Tirto Spring.
With capital provided from the central government in the form of a water pump, Gising Bawah village formed the Mandiri Bersatu BUMDes in May 2015. In the first year, the BUMDes gained 42 customers. With the income from registration fees and water subscriptions, the villagers managed to develop other BUMDes business units.
So far, they have established seven business units that drive the local economy. Besides clean water management, Mandiri Bersatu also manages the Margo Tirto Dam tourist site near the spring, an integrated waste management system (waste bank), a grocery stall, a multi-purpose building rental and catering service, a savings and loans service, and services for electricity and Social Security Agency (BPJS) payments.
Tourist site
Besides managing Marto Tirto Dam as their clean water supply, the residents also manage the dam as a tourist site. The dam, which was built under the Dutch colonial administration, has been transformed into a family recreation area with leisure facilities, including chairs, swings, and duck-shaped water bikes. The site is also equipped with public toilets and parking lots.
Visitors simply pay an entrance fee of Rp 5,000 (adults) and Rp 2,000 (children). Water bikes can be rented for Rp 10,000 per trip. At the weekend, at least 50-100 visitors come to the tourist site.
BUMDes chairperson Lilis Setiawati said the integrated waste management system consisted of sorting organic from non-organic waste at a 3,000-square-meter dump, a plot of land provided by the village head.
About 1 ton of waste is collected each day from households, food stalls, mini markets, traditional markets, schools, hotels and the village hospital. The garbage is sorted and sold to collectors in Bandarlampung, while the organic waste is made into fertilizer.
Lilis said the integrated waste management system also ran a waste bank. Residents can sell their sorted waste to garbage workers and save the money, or exchange it for food supplies or pay their BPJS premiums and electricity bills. Residents who do not sort their garbage are charged a monthly garbage collection fee of Rp 15,000 per family.
"This is intended to encourage residents to sort their garbage. Out of 200 households, about 50 sort their garbage," Lilis said.
Besides the seven BUMDes business units, the residents also produce high-quality candied nutmeg. However, the candied nutmeg is produced only when there is an order.
Absorbing labor
The various businesses managed by the local residents have not only helped solve their clean water issue, but have also opened job opportunities. Thirty residents currently work as waste processors, catering business attendants, and security officers at tourist attractions. Their incomes range from Rp 1.5 million to Rp 2 million per month.
Even though it is only two years old, BUMDes Mandiri Bersatu’s assets are already valued at Rp 4 billion with an annual turnover of Rp 350 million. About 30 percent of Mandiri Bersatu’s profits contributes to the village coffers.
In 2016, Mandiri Bersatu contributed Rp 78.5 million to the total village revenues of Rp 200 million, with the balance made up of Rp 21.5 million in self-sustaining community incomes and Rp 100 million in participatory and mutual cooperation contributions.
That same year, Gisting Bawan received Rp 648.8 million through the government’s village funds. Of this amount, the village used more than 60 percent for road infrastructure development and renovating the multi-purpose building Mandiri Bersatu leases out to tenants.
Aside from infrastructure development, the village funds were also used to develop the community, including training courses and Rp 180 million as participation capital for the BUMDes. The village funds are also used towards public deliberation and consultation to generate creative innovation.
The central government’s village funds scheme has driven the Gisting Bawan villagers to actively contribute to improving the quality of their own lives.
