Pundi Sumatra endeavours to provide cultivation skills and technical knowledge in developing alternative economic sources for indigenous communities in the face of these changing times and environmental situations.

Food security is a crucial issue in the midst of climate change, especially for indigenous communities such as the “Suku Anak Dalam” tribe (abbreviated as SAD) Jambi. This community lives with traditions that are highly dependent on the forest. They have always used the forest as a source of food, a place to live, and a place to perform rituals or traditions passed down from their ancestors. Until now, the forest is still a place for them to find traditional medicines and also as an economic resource. This dependence shows how important forests are for them.

But now they face a new situation: extreme weather changes, reduced forest products, and deforestation have narrowed their living space. In the past, they could easily gather fruit, hunt animals and use wild plants. Now, these resources are increasingly difficult to find, forcing them to find alternatives.

Some of them started doing the same economic activities as the villagers, namely gardening. However, limited resources such as knowledge, skills and access to land often make the results of these activities not optimal. This situation has been tried to be answered through empowerment programs since 2014. Pundi Sumatra seeks to provide cultivation skills and technical knowledge in developing alternative economic sources for indigenous communities in the face of these changing times and environmental situations.

Conditions of the Anak Dalam Tribe Community

Entering 2024, Pundi Sumatra expanded the assistance area to three groups of Suku Anak Dalam communities located in Bathin VIII sub-district, Sarolangun Regency, Jambi Province. This empowerment activity is supported by the institution International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) through the program Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility (IPAF). The three rombongs are the Suku Anak Dalam community of Juray rombong located in Pematang Kejumat Village, Lintas rombong in Sukajadi Village, and Nurani rombong in Pulau Lintang Village.

As a traditional community that often receives a bad stigma, Suku Anak Dalam still has difficulty accessing facilities from the state. They rarely receive social assistance that should target vulnerable groups like them. Apart from that, economic hardship and access to formal education have made almost all of these indigenous communities drop out of school. The difficulty of obtaining rights and access to government services is exacerbated by the difficulty of the community to meet the needs of food sources for survival.

Based on initial data collection, these indigenous groups on average consume rice that they buy from the market, which is nutritionally inadequate because it depends on the amount of income they earn. Only a few of them have limited land and try to grow rice and vegetables, but of course the resulting harvest is less than optimal.

Some of their living space is squeezed into lands owned by villagers that have become an oil palm plantation. This loss of forest resources is slowly changing the livelihoods of these indigenous communities.

“For landless communities, they are forced to pick up fallen palm fruit and sell them. They collect them for days and then sell them. Even in the last year, they have started going around looking for junk to make ends meet," said Hesti as a field facilitator from Pundi Sumatra.

Overcoming food limitations and economic problems in Suku Anak Dalam requires a holistic approach that involves various parties. This activity of course also requires a long process, and support from IFAD aims to answer this problem.

Community Engagement and Empowerment Program

To encourage program achievement, Pundi Sumatra takes a participatory approach by ensuring that every member of the Suku Anak Dalam community is directly involved in planning and implementing the program.

 

Program implementation starts with hearings and socialization to various parties, starting from the local governments, sub-district governments, villages including traditional communities as program beneficiaries. Program planning is also strengthened by data collection and mapping of spatial areas, to ensure the situation, potential and interest of residents in the development of economic activities to be carried out.

Program implementation in the aspect of developing food sources, which will be carried out together with the community, is to develop a Sustainable Agriculture demonstration plot through Field School activities, In this activity, Pundi Sumatra will implement an agroforestry system that allows community to plant food crops (seasonal) and annual plants to maintain balance and biodiversity. Apart from agriculture, Pundi Sumatra will also encourage economic development through aspects of animal husbandry and handicraft development for women's groups.

Food source development and encouragement program food diversification Of course, this is not only to meet the daily living needs of the community, but also aims to provide additional income for the family and reduce dependence on depleting forest resources. For this reason, the program will also intervene in aspects of business institutions and open market access for products produced by the community. These points are some of the main objectives in implementing this program.

Food security for Suku Anak Dalam is not just about providing enough nutrition for their families, but about maintaining their cultural identity and survival amidst increasingly pressing global challenges.

Collaboration in the IPAF program is not only about providing materials for the Anak Dalam Tribe community, but also about building community capacity and independence. Through a traditional approach and local knowledge, it is hoped that the food security of the Anak Dalam tribe can not only survive, but develop for future generations.

Read more : Mapping Potential: Data Collection and Spatial Mapping in the Suku Anak Dalam Community