Food Security of the Anak Dalam Tribe in Their Ancestral Land
‘As the accessible forests shrink, they begin to face challenges in obtaining food sources, difficulties in finding certain types of plants for herbal medicine, as well as obtaining non-timber forest products that can be sold to make a living.’
In the midst of the rapid current of change, the Anak Dalam indigenous community, which was previously known as a nomadic society, is now starting to recognize a new lifestyle. In the past, they moved from one forest area to another based on the simple principle: that nature has provided everything, so humans only need to take enough so that resources remain sustainable. Forests for them are not just a place to shelter and grow, but also a source of food, medicine, and a spiritual connection between them and their ancestors and the Gods they believe in.
Over time, things began to change. SLand use rights have shifted due to company expansion, mining development, road access and residential areas, causing indigenous communities to lose access to forests which have been a source of life. Clearing land for plantations and extractive industries limits their space, forcing them to face the reality that the resources they have relied on are slowly starting to run out. As accessible forests become increasingly narrower, they are starting to face challenges in obtaining food sources, difficulties in finding certain types of plants for herbal medicines, including getting non-timber forest products that can be sold to simply make a living.
Finding the option to continue with traditional methods is increasingly difficult, forcing them to look for alternatives to meet the demands of the stomach, adapt to environmental changes and slowly learn to replicate what the villagers are doing with gardening and farming patterns. They are not only dealing with changes in the physical environment, but also social and economic pressures that require them to adapt to modern life. The inequality of land ownership rights is also a big problem for them, as many of them do not have legal documents declaring ownership of the land they have lived on for generations. This makes them even more vulnerable to eviction and losing their land rights.
Transition in Life with Farming
The government has tried various strategies to protect this marginalized indigenous community. Apart from providing social assistance, the government began to allocate housing and slowly communities began to face life transitions and tried to be adaptive to the changing times that were occurring. Even though this process is not easy, this traditional community is still trying to survive. They began to understand that the lifestyle in the forest, which only used hunting and gathering, was no longer able to meet their daily needs. They began to utilize the remaining land by farming, as did the surrounding village communities.
In fact, farming is not something completely new for some of the Anak Dalam Tribe. They have known the farming system since the time of the great-grandfathers, where the land used for farming was passed down from generation to generation. Some of them even bought land from hamlet residents or carried out land compensation transactions within their communities. The land area they own varies, from a quarter hectare to 1.5 hectares. Unfortunately, when they acquired land by purchasing, the community did not pay much attention to the importance of buying and selling administration or land certificates. This process takes place on the basis of trust and usually only presents witnesses from both parties.
“On average, the Anak Dalam tribe in Pematang Uangat and Lintang Island have been farming, but the one with the most land is the SAD on Lintang Island. They had already farmed," said Yoga as the field facilitator.
Furthermore, Yoga also explained about the existence of a family system in this farming activity. For those who do not have land, the mutual cooperation system is a solution. They will help work on fields belonging to relatives or fellow community members, and in return, the harvest will be divided according to their needs.
Curiga is one of the Suku Anak Dalam who has long learned farming from one of the villagers who is his colleague. He said that farming was one way for them to survive. Field rice was chosen because it is easy to obtain seeds.
“We buy rice seeds from villagers. Around 30 thousand rupiah for one bushel. One bushel can contain 12 kilograms of seeds," he said.
The rice fields they plant have a harvest life of around six months. From the harvest, Curiga can produce around 10 grains or the equivalent of 500 kilograms of grain which will be processed into rice for their family's needs. However, the rice is not sold, but consumed by oneself. They only need to buy additional protein sources to meet daily food needs.
“At least we just have to buy side dishes to eat. Rice is safe until the next harvest,” said Curiga.
Using Traditional Methods in Farming
As an indigenous community that lives from nature, they use whatever is in nature to help them manage the land. They use a tugal, a stick of wood with a sharp tip like a pencil which is used to make holes in the ground before inserting the rice seeds. Planting distances range from 10 to 20 cm, and fertilization is done naturally without using chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Weeds are cleaned manually by the method grazing, namely pulling out weeds that grow around the plant.
When the harvest season arrives, they use a reaping tool made from the trunk of a Pulai tree, with a razor blade on the edge to make it easier to cut the rice stalks when harvesting.
The use of these simple tools shows that Suku Anak Dalam is able to cultivate fields by ensuring natural balance and environmental sustainability.
Food Independence to Strengthen Community Resilience
The good practices carried out by the Suku Anak Dalam community in Pematang Jumat and Pulau Lintang Village, Sarolangun Regency, show that they are able to transform without losing their cultural identity. Through farming activities, they participate in efforts to maintain local food security, reduce dependence on external assistance, and strengthen the sustainability of their own community.
However, behind this success, there are humanist issues that need attention. The change in lifestyle they experienced was not something they chose voluntarily, but was the result of compulsion due to losing access to the forest. Their rights to land and natural resources are increasingly marginalized. Through the support of the IPAF program (The Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility), Pundi Sumatra seeks to carry out empowerment by developing new economic sources including increasing the technical capacity of cultivation for the Anak Dalam Tribe so that production results in managing their food sources also increase. This capacity building is carried out through Agricultural Field Schools and Fisheries Field Schools.
“In the face of modernization and limited access to natural resources, maintaining local wisdom in agricultural patterns is a challenge in itself. Therefore, support for these good practices needs to continue to be provided, so that food independence remains part of their identity and the sustainability of their lives," said Dewi as CEO of Pundi Sumatra.