Enjoy Work That is Friendlier to Forest Sustainability After Stopping Logging

Sunardi's intention to quit his old job as a logger was slightly shaken. This was because someone came to his house with millions of rupiah to order wood from him. The money that will be handed over to Sunardi is planned to be payment for the first stage of the 300 wooden blocks ordered.

“I'm known for being able to complete orders for wooden blocks quickly and with good results. So those people have a lot of confidence in me. "Sometimes we give millions even though we don't yet have the wood," he said.

Sunardi refused the money and wood order on the grounds that he had stopped logging and would hand over his sinso to the Alam Sehat Lestari Foundation (ASRI) to obtain capital to start new economic activities that were friendlier to forest preservation. After a visit from the person who ordered the wood, he contacted ASRI's MSME - Chainsaw Buyback Coordinator, Agus Novianto, to ask when the sinso would be picked up. He was afraid that his intention to stop being a logger would become increasingly shaky.

A few days later, ASRI staff together with Forest Police (Polhut) from the Gunung Palung National Park Office and Friends of the Forest (Sahut) came to Sunardi's house to take sinso and sign a cooperation agreement document, as well as arrange an appointment to shop together for all the necessities for his new job. . After that, Sunardi officially became a partner of the MSME - Chainsaw Buyback program and became the 272nd sinso received by ASRI.

Sunardi then told how he first became a logger. Initially he was a migrant from Java who migrated to Pontianak. At that time he worked as a vegetable cultivator. Until one day he took part in a project to build a clean water pipeline in Mentubang Hamlet, Harapan Mulia Village. Who would have thought that there he would meet the woman who would later become his wife and also be the reason he lived there.

“In 1985 I moved to Mentubang, by chance I found a soul mate here. At that time, many of his wife's families were loggers in Matan. "So since then I have become a logger," he said.

While laughing, Sunardi recalled the time when he was actively logging. He thought about the speed and toughness of operating the sinso, as well as neatness in mixing wooden blocks, so far no one has matched him. “Just ask anyone around here. "If ASRI doesn't quickly take my sinso, maybe the hill will already be bare," he said while pointing to the hill in front of his house.

He had difficulty determining how many tree trunks he could uproot and make into wooden blocks. Because it really depends on the diameter of the wood being felled. The bigger the wood, the longer it takes to work. However, for wood with a diameter of less than 1 meter, he claims he can uproot 20 trees per month. Package, nyatoh, and change trees are the types of trees that are most frequently cut down.

Sunardi admitted that the income from cutting down these trees was very large. In fact, he once made tens of millions in just 15 days. "That's why I didn't have time to think about the bad impacts," said the father of 4 children.

This job with a large income was also what sent Sunardi and his two friends to prison. This unfortunate fate occurred in 2004 and he was sentenced to 6 months in prison. “At that time I felt this was unfair because only the loggers were arrested, but the bosses were not arrested. "Aside from the big results and not knowing what else to do, that's also the reason I have a grudge and don't stop logging," he said.

But now Sunardi has repented of his old job. He also explained the reason that he was also afraid that his middle child would follow in his footsteps. "It's enough for me to enter the forest to become a logger, don't let my children too. "If the mountains here are bare, we will be finished," he said.

The large income from logging made him confused about the impact of his work. “Now we can feel the impact. The weather feels hotter. "Dry season, clean water is immediately difficult," he added.

Now he is starting his new job as a gardener and has completely abandoned the activity of cutting down trees in the forest. Knowledge when gardening in Pontianak  was one of the reasons he decided to open a garden after stopping logging.

ASRI had the opportunity to visit his garden. In this garden, which is 12 meters wide and long, which he forgot, the plant beds have been hoeed and ready to be planted. In total, the length of the bed that Sunardi has finished hoeing is more than 1000 meters. Seeds, fertilizer and other supporting equipment have also been spent from the capital lent by ASRI. "Yesterday with Mas Agus I shopped for seeds, fertilizer, grass cutting machines and other things. I have already spent some of my gardening needs. So I was really ready to switch," he said.

It appears that there are still many beds that have not been planted. In the midst of the conversation in Sunardi's garden, his wife and children could be seen from a distance sowing corn seeds. There are also many chili and eggplant seeds in the nursery which will also be transferred to the beds. “It's much better to hoe than to cut down. Feeling calmer," he said.

To explain the feeling of calm he meant when he was a planter, he compared it to when he was still logging. Sunardi said, if you are cutting down, your cell phone must always be ready in your front pocket. Earphones are also attached to the ear. So if a forest police officer enters the village and wants to visit the location where he is logging, his friends in the village can inform him and he can hide. The work atmosphere is always anxious and anxious.

“I like coming to the garden, even though there is nothing to do. Looking at the plants starting to grow, it feels very happy. The plan is to build a hut here as a place to rest. "It looks like it would be fun to be able to see the progress of the plants I planted in the afternoons between breaks," he concluded.