Bernadete Deram, Reviving Local Food
Along with other widows, Bernadete Deram, alias Dete, 48, strived to make local crops the staple food of the people of Waiburak village, East Adonara district, East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, once again. When her efforts paid off with the support of other widows, Dete was declared the “boss of widows”.
“When young people pass me on the road, they tease me, ‘Ah, the boss of the widows who leads the widows in gardening and managing debt,’” Dete said on Wednesday (12/19/2018), in Mataram, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. Along with six other women, she was presented the 2018 Female Food Hero Award by Oxfam Indonesia on Thursday (20/12) in Mataram.
Dete grew close to the widows when she was a field facilitator for the Female-Headed Household Empowerment Program (Pekka). Since 2002, she has provided assistance in integrated organic farming programs, by planting local crops, such as red corn, white corn, sorghum, kidney beans and tubers.
Traditional crops had lost their popularity in the region after people turned to hybrid corn and rice. This has been said to threaten food security in NTT. Hybrid corn is superior in quantity to local corn.
So is rice. With low rainfall in the region, farmers only grow upland rice once a year, which does not met local needs. In fact, rice is supplied from Surabaya and Makassar to meet the needs of NTT residents. Rice
transported by ship to NTT never arrives on time during the transition weather, resulting in relatively high rice prices of Rp 15,000 to Rp 20,000 per kilogram in the dry season.
The combination of these problems often leads to food shortages and malnutrition in NTT. Lumbung(traditional barns) are empty of local food crops because people buy rice for daily consumption. People’s farming plots are also full of long-term plants: cacao and cashew trees, the harvest of which is mostly sold to buy rice.
In fact, with local food sources, the people of East Flores have local wisdom in dealing with food needs throughout the year. During the rice harvest season, the staple food of the residents is jagung titi, which is local corn pounded flat like chips that is then roasted or fried.
They also eat jagung bose, which is local grits mixed with red beans, peanuts or green beans and coconut milk. When corn supplies run out, people eat rice (in small portions) with sorghum and other cereals.
It was the social reality that prompted Dete to revive the planting of local crops that could be stored and that were the staple food of their ancestors. This was to ensure that there were enough food supplies throughout the year. For this reason, Dete went to villages to approach and educate housewives.
She invited them to plant local food. Dete did not hesitate to mingle with the women traders selling to the market. She patiently listened to their problems and complaints as input before starting the empowerment program.
Portion of corn
Planting local corn is Dete’s choice because the commodity has been a staple food for generations. She hunted for and bought local corn seeds from farmers who still cultivated them. The seeds were planted using the intercrop system on her father’s one-hectare farm. Later, Dete planted
upland rice, corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, moringa trees, basil and other crops, on a 30-by-50-meter pilot farm belonging to her community.
With proper attention, the corn plants thrived and could be harvested. The program attracted the attention of other housewives, who asked for local corn seeds to plant on small farms. The gemohin tradition (mutual cooperation to clear the land before planting) has been revived. After all, many people followed in her footsteps. Now there are 339 female heads of families cultivating local corn in 10 villages in East Adonara district.
The corn yield is still limited for a family’s needs. “However, people’s awareness about maintaining local food security is beginning to emerge. They have reduced the amount of rice as staple food. They also see changes in their incomes as well,” she said.
For example, households no longer use almost 75 percent of their wages earned from weaving to buy rice and water. They have increased the portion of corn in their staple food.
What was encouraging, said Dete, was the emergence of creative ideas and initiatives on the part of the women, such as planting basil and moringa trees. Or an agreement: after harvesting corn, each person is obliged to deposit five corn cobs, which are stored in a barn to be used as seeds.
The female family heads formed a savings and loan cooperative in 2002, with a mandatory savings of Rp 250 and a principal deposit of Rp 2,000 per person. Because it is profitable, members have increased their principal savings to Rp 100,000. The loan system is also governed by mutual agreement.
The existence of cooperatives has improved people\'s finances and has enabled them to own a motorcycle and send their children to college. The sample garden serves as a center for education and training on agriculture and animal husbandry, tilapia aquaculture, as well as learning facilities to obtain diplomas in Packet A, B, and C for school dropouts.
Dete also pioneered the establishment of the Pasar Senja night market, at which housewives sell fried bananas and coffee, and a reading area that provides books, newspapers and magazines.
The social changes have created challenges for the female family heads. Dete often faces scorn when she goes into the village. The program\'s activities also intersect with government policies in the food sector. The work to fight for women’s rights has also alarmed some groups that follow the patriarchal system.
“The more female heads of families move, real changes will occur in the future, so that food sovereignty can be realized. There will no longer be any malnutrition in NTT,” she said.
Bernadete Deram
Born: Waiburak village, East Adonara district, East Flores, NTT, Nov. 17, 1970
Parents: Klemens Kewaman and Elisabeth Bengang
Education:
- SDK Lewotolok II graduated in 1983
- SMPN Lewoleba graduated in 1986
- SMA PGRI Larantuka graduated in 1989 - Diploma III from Agriculture, Nusa Cendana University in Kupang (1992)