2 May 2016. Not forever education must be endured at school. Education can also be done by teaching outside the school, including education in nature.
On the northern coast of Brebes, precisely in the hamlet Pandansari, Kaliwlingi Village, District Brebes, Central Java, stood a field school and research center of the mangrove. Here also learned about the use of coastal land for economic development for the community.
The school field with the name of Martani Hadi Research Center (MHRC) launched on Monday (18/4). The location is approximately 20 kilometers north of the capital Brebes.
The field school was established groups of people who have been active in mangrove planting and preservation of coastal areas in the region Pandansari. One of the initiators is Mashadi (45). He worked with Martani Huseini, a businessman who also academics from the University of Indonesia.
Everyone from school children to community groups can learn about the planting of mangrove for the conservation of coastal land. Also studied the use of coastal land for the cultivation of crab and other fisheries products, such as dara scallop, grouper, seagrass, seed milkfish, fish processing, and financial management.
No buildings such as school buildings in the region. For the discussion, there was only an open hall that was built using wood materials. However, people who want to learn, can jump and make observations in the field. Instructional media hamlets scattered in every corner of it.
Officers MHRC field school in the hamlet Pandansari, Kaliwlingi Village, District Brebes, Central Java, is showing the process of scallop soka, crab cultivation to the guests in the region Wednesday (20/4).
Management Field Schools involving 13 people, consisting of 5 technical personnel in fishing, fish processing, and environment, 5 members of local youth, and 3 housewives.
Also involved hundreds of other residents who are members of at least 10 business groups that also at any time can be involved in the school field. Location cultivating fishery products theirs could be a laboratory for the people who want to gain knowledge in the field school.
“A lot of things related to the utilization of coastal areas to be learned here, but the point one, that still must pay attention to the environment,” Mashadi said, Wednesday (20/4).
In each lesson, the emphasis is pressing wastes that pollute the coastal environments. The field school administrators prepared packages tailored to the learning needs of the community in need. The School field with the package system it is charged, are endeavored cheap and affordable.
In addition, the field school is also preparing educational Packets A, B, and C to the public Pandansari and surroundings that are free. A packet of Education is working with Yayasan Taman Siswa. “Pursue this package to help children who have had to quit school because their parents’ fishponds destroyed by abrasion so it bankrupt,” Mashadi said.
Learning To Save
MHRC field school also has a crab bank program for school children. Through a crab bank program, children of school age in the coastal Pandansari taught saving of the results of the search of crabs they usually do while playing.
Every morning before going to school, the children used to bait crab in the river or around fishponds and mangrove land. During the day, after school, they collect crab of bait that they install.
Children can take advantage of crabs hunted them to save. The crab will be accommodated by the school management field, and then cultivated and marketed with an adequate price. Money from the sale included individual accounts.
For this step, MHRC cooperates with one of the government banks. Currently, about 80 students in Pandansari who opens an account for savings crab through student savings (simple).
For example, a student named Agung (16), a second-grade junior high school in Pandansari. Last Wednesday he could get more than 1-kilogram child crab for sale to the school management field. He earned sales revenue 20,000 rupiahs that will be savings.
“Can be used to add pocket money or to increase school fees,” he said. According to him, the price of crab is sold to the field school is more expensive than selling to middlemen. Of adult crabs (ready for use), children can get a price of about 60,000 rupiahs per kilogram.
Great Potential
The establishment of a field school in Padukuhan Pandansari not without reason. Pandansari region did not just become a regular coastal area, but also has great potential.
Although only one region hamlets, Pandansari has great potential, vast of ponds crabs natural at 850 hectares, 2 hectares of ponds soka crabs, land area dara scallops 16 hectares, the expanse of 210 hectares of mangrove forests, and landscape beach along the 10 kilometers.
After falling from the downturn, around 2008, local people rise up. Through the help of various agencies and non-governmental organizations, they planted the damaged coastal areas with mangroves. People also use shrimp ponds that were broken for the cultivation of other fishery products, such as crabs, dara scallops, and seaweed, to the present.
Community experience in managing the environment becomes the best teacher for the field school. Now, besides establishing field schools and research centers, community Pandansari hamlets also continue to develop itself to become a tourist village mangrove.
Head of Tourism, Culture, Youth, and Sports Districts Brebes Amin Budi Raharjo said the government strongly supports the efforts made community Pandansari.
Adding To The Length Of The Road
Currently, the long paths to tourists, developed by the Government of Brebes District in the forest area is still about 40 meters. It is planned that, in 2016, the Government of Brebes District will increase the length to 740 meters of the road, through the budget revenues and expenditures (budget) worth 2 billion rupiahs.
Long before the school was established, Pandansari an ordinary coastal area, far from the exquisite beauty. Post the golden age of the black tiger shrimp in 1985-1995, massive damage to the beach occurred in Pandansari, due to the abrasion that hit the region. Until now, land degradation due to abrasion reaches 1,100 hectares.
After falling from the downturn, in 2008, local people rise up. Through the help of various agencies and non-governmental organizations, they planted the damaged coastal areas with mangroves. People also use shrimp ponds that were broken for the cultivation of other fishery products, such as crabs, dara scallops, and seaweed, to the present.
This year, the Government of Brebes District also develop in the hamlet Pandansari as a tourist village mangrove by allocating budget manufacture of tourist paths in the area of mangrove forests in Pandansari.
This is the story IPPHTI members in District Brebes, IPPHTI is a member of the MTCP2-AFOSP Indonesia.
The print version of this article published in the daily newspaper Kompas dated May 2, 2016, on page 12 under the title “Learning to Manage Mangrove and Coastal Land”.
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