The Sweet Smell of Dogfruit of the Last Forest

Dionisius Reynaldo Triwibowo

· 4 minutes read

For the Dayak Tomun adat (customary) community in Delang district, Lamandau regency, Central Kalimantan, the forest is their source of life. From sustainable forest management, the villagers can enjoy a good life. They have enjoyed the “sweet smell” of dogfruit, locally known as jengkol, produced by the forest.

Jonathan Pondar, 13, and Toni, 35, were busy harvesting dogfruit in the customary forest located around 5 kilometers from their home in Kubung village, Delang district. Toni climbed the dogfruit tree (Archidendron pauciflorum) and harvested dogfruit from the branches, while Jonathan collected the fruit.

“You need to take the whole branch to harvest dogfruit. It takes a long time if we pick the fruits one by one. There are thousands of trees. [If we pick the fruits one by one], we will still be picking by next year,” said Jonathan. In the harvest season, the middle school student helps his parents harvest dogfruit.

Not far from the tree, Jonathan’s father, RK Maladi, was also harvesting dogfruit. They were able to collect more than 45 kilograms of dogfruit in two hours. They then took the dogfruit to their home and took them out of their hard outer shells one by one. They needed between four and five hours to take all of the harvested dogfruit out of their shells.

The dogfruit are then sold for Rp 15,000 (US$1.06) per kilogram. In the past week, Jonathan’s family has harvested around 300 kg of dogfruit, which will bring them Rp 4.5 million. “How much dogfruit we can harvest depends on how often we harvest. We also calculate the best times to harvest. When in season, we can harvest other fruits, including durian, langsat and others,” Maladi said.

In one year, locals harvest dogfruit up to three times, usually between December and February. In one harvest season, Maladi can harvest up to 15 tons of dogfruit from around 1,200 trees on his plantation.

“Other than harvesting, we also sow seeds even with the plenty of trees in the forest,” said Toni.

The next morning, dogfruit seller Soni, 29, came with a pickup truck to purchase dogfruit from locals. The dogfruit were then taken to Kumai port in West Kotawaringin regency and then to Jakarta. It takes four hours to drive from Kubung village to Kumai, 232 kilometers away.

The last forest

The Dayak Tomun community in Kubung village comprises 214 families. They strictly uphold local traditions to preserve harmony with nature, including to ensure the customary forest’s sustainability.

Of the eight districts in Lamandau, Delang is the only one without oil palm plantations. In the district, Kubung and Sekombulan villages have been declared as customary forest with a total area of 23,000 hectares. Clear forest boundaries have been established. The forest is a source of livelihood for locals in the two villages.

Unique rights are implemented, including freedom for locals to take anything from the forest, including durian, langsat and dogfruit, as long as they take part in ensuring its sustainability. A strong sense of kinship among locals have enabled them to harvest from one another’s forest areas. This is inseparable from the abundance of forest products.

Almost no resident is mired in poverty. As long as they actively sow and harvest forest products, they have more than enough revenue for their daily needs.

This forest preservation spirit has spread to the surrounding villages. At least six villages have mapped out their customary management areas. A total of 32,500 hectares of area has been mapped, with assistance from the Central Kalimantan chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), Save Our Borneo and the Central Kalimantan Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation. Locals refuse to just let the forests disappear.

“Our duty is to protect our forests, not to destroy it. This is not for me or my wife. It is for my children, my grandchildren and all future generations of the village,” Kubung village head Edy Zacheus said.

Central Kalimantan Walhi data shows taht forest coverage in the province continues to dwindle every year. The province’s forest coverage was 11.05 million hectares in 1990 and only 7.8 million hectares in 2014. Millions of hectares have been converted for various purposes, including mining, oil palm plantations and production forests.

As of 2018, 327 large forestry companies with a total concession area of 3.9 million hectares were still in operation. There were also 1,007 licensed mining companies with a total concession area of 3.6 million hectares.

Land conflicts occur. Locals reject companies with concession rights to convert their forests. These locals see the forests as their source of livelihood.

For Edy and other Dayak Tomun people, the forest is like their mother and they must protect it. “Our principle is that the forest is indai kito, meaning our mother. The forest gives us life,” he said.

Editor:

dogfruit forest preservation