The KEHATI Foundation in collaboration with CIMB Niaga and the Research Institute for Non-Timber Forest Product Technology (BP2T HHBK) supported the Obedient Forest Farmer Group to plant stoic bamboo in the Rarung Special Purpose Forest Areas (KHDTK), Central Lombok. KHDTK with an area of 325 hectares has the function of a protected forest with the aim of protecting springs and preventing landslides. In addition, KHDTK is expected to improve welfare, with 415 arable land already utilized by the surrounding community.
After around 2,500 fertile hardy bamboo were planted in 2015-2016 as a trial on farmers’ cultivated land in the KHDTK region, in 2018 an additional 3,700 tree planting of staple bamboo or 7 hectares was planted. As a result, in the 2019 rainy season, the bamboo can be harvested bamboo shoots. The development of stoic bamboo in the KHDTK is an effort to enrich NTFPs in a forest area using an agroforestry model that can improve the economics of managing farmers living in the forest area.
This effort is in line with the local government’s policy to make bamboo as one of the NTFP plant choices in the forest area in West Nusa Tenggara. As is known, bamboo species in the world reached 1,600 species and 10% of them exist in Indonesia. However, of the 160 species that are owned, not a few are already endangered. In fact, bamboo has many benefits both ecological, social, cultural and economic benefits.
In terms of ecology, this plant is the choice for land conservation, able to store water, absorb carbon dioxide, resist landslides so that it is good to be planted on critical lands. On the cultural side, Indonesian people have never been separated from bamboo from birth to the end of life. Bamboo can also be processed into a variety of processed arts, household appliances, buildings and food that can improve the economy.