Perseverance on the Coral Island

The village on the southern tip of the island is a birthplace of the marvelous sailors of Binongko, seafarers of the archipelago.

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

Warupa harvests cassava on Thursday (28/9) in Wali village of Binongko, Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi. Villagers of the island cultivate drops between hard coral rocks.

La Goa, 78, sat under his stilt house with his legs stretched out as he wove strips of bamboo to make a bag for harvesting cassava. He spent his days with this light activity after years of fighting the waves, winds and tides. He lives in Haka village on Binongko Island, in Binongko district of Southeast Sulawesi’s Togo Wakatobi regency.

The village on the southern tip of the 15,600-hectare island is a birthplace of the marvelous sailors of Binongko, seafarers of the archipelago. “I started sailing at the age of 12,” said La Goa on Wednesday (27/9).

He has known the ocean since he was a boy. Like many men on Binongko, the hard life on the coral island forced him to leave the area at an early age for a better life elsewhere. Conditions are better today, because many islander children can go to school to pursue their dreams.

Sailing traditional boats called lambo, Binongko sailors traveled the maritime route from Sulawesi to Maluku, Nusa Tenggara to Papua, and Java to Sumatra to trade dried coconuts and wood. In the 1970s to 1990s, they also traveled to Malaysia and Singapore to trade rombengan (RB), or used goods.

On meeting La Goa that day, Haka village looked deserted. Most of the villagers that could be seen were women and children, as most of the men were out at sea. Only one lambo boat was docked along the shore, waiting its turn to load goods from Buton Island.

However far the sailors traveled, Binongko remained in their hearts. Although many villagers moved away from the island in search of a better life, many also chose to return. “Every sail, I always missed my family. That’s why I always returned to Binongko,” said La Goa, who retired from his seafaring days three years ago. His children were now sailing his three boats.

Life as a sailor is no stranger to La Jafar, 48, who sailed the wood trade route from Southeast Sulawesi to East Nusa Tenggara. Using a motorboat that weighed 17 gross tons, on average he sailed 10 trips with three crewmen. Each trip takes from a week to a month and brings in a gross income of Rp 2.3 million per person.

Accumulatively, he was only in Binongko about four months out of a year. He spent the rest of the year at sea or on land where the wood originates or is transported to. “This is how we struggle for a plate of rice and a glass of water," said Jafar.

Coral

Binongko is the southeastern-most island of the four main islands in Wakatobi, a small group of islands that stretches from the northwest to the southeast. The three other islands are Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa and Tomia. The name Wakatobi is taken from the first two letters of the islands’ names.

The 2011-2016 Medium-Term Development Plan of Wakatobi regency describes Wakatobi as a group of coral islands formed of limestone coral and podzolic soil. This geology means the islands have low soil fertility, including on Binongko.

That is why the local villagers often describe their land as coral with soil, rather than soil with coral. Coral is a familiar sight, not only under the sea, but also on the ground.

The villagers’ firmness, tenacity and perseverance make them able to adapt to the hard environment. Aside from sailing, the villagers also grow cassava and corn, the two staple foods on Binongko. Corn is usually made into porridge and cassava is cooked into kasuami or sangkola, a food like bread that is fibrous and a bit tangy.

The local farmers do not use hoes; the crowbar is their main farming tool. If the farmers are unable to plant cassava or corn directly in the coral, they make holes using the crowbar. Under such conditions, the farmers wait 1-2 years until they can harvest. This is much longer than how long farmers on Java wait to enjoy a cassava harvest, which is only three months.

“The cassava and corn harvest is for own consumption. If there is anything left, we sell it,” said La Baali, 56, at his farm atop a hill in Wali village, Binongko district. To make ends meet, Baali also works as a fisherman.

There is no source of clean water on the island, either in the form of natural springs or rivers. But the villagers do not give up. They collect rainwater for drinking. For bathing and washing, they dig deep into the coral to make a well, although the water is briny. “In the past, the neighbors helped each other dig wells. But in the past decade, a well-digging service is available at a fee of Rp 650,000-Rp 700,000 per meter,” said Jaenuddin, 53, a Wali village community leader.

The villagers’ bond to the island was strengthened under a customary institution. After independence, however, the institution was forgotten. The Sarano customary institution of Wali Binongko was revived only in 2013. The customs of that ancestral heritage consists of local wisdom, especially related to conserving the environment.

They have now restored their ancestors’ wisdom in maintaining the harmony between humankind and nature. The coral, forests and mangroves are protected under customary bans that the villagers follow stringently, because of the severe punishment.

The ancestral wisdom ensures that the island’s ecosystem, as a link in the Coral Triangle, will be sustained until the next generation; and Binongko’s sailors, like La Goa and La Jafar, will always have a place to come home.