Tornauli (17/03). In the morning at 9:30am, the Indigenous Peoples Community (IP) in Parmonangan Sub-district, North Tapanuli had a special guest from Jakarta, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). On this occasion, Komnas HAM wanted to talk about violations committed by PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) and other parties against the existing IP …
Rice is one of the staple foods of the Indonesian people, so rice is not just an economic commodity, but a political one. Issues surrounding rice seem endless, such as rice self-sufficiency, rice fraud, import policies, rice for the poor (Raskin), and others. For the North Sumatra region, North Tapanuli Regency is one of the …
In recent months, scarce and expensive fertilizers have been the main complaint of farmers in Indonesia, including in the North Tapanuli District. I found this complaint about fertilizers in several discussions about Law No.19 of 2013 on Farmer Protection and Empowerment. One part of the discussion was an inventory of farmers’ problems. Op. Jojo Tambunan …
Read more “Farmers Complain about Fertilizer: What’s the Government Doing?”
On the second day of the Earth and People Festival (Festival Bumi dan Manusia ) at Huta Ginjang (Friday, 20/5/2022), the Indigenous Peoples (IP) community was given the opportunity to share their experiences about the struggle to protect customary forests. That afternoon, all festival participants listened carefully to the story. The Indigenous Peoples of Si …
Read more “Strengthening Each Other to Protect Indigenous Forests”
“People’s self-reliance (standing on their own feet) is an important ideal of Bung Karno in the struggle for independence,” said Nikson Nababan, Regent of North Tapanuli Regency, starting a discussion on the importance of the role of local governments in the recognition and protection of indigenous peoples through local regulations in Huta Ginjang Village, Muara …
Read more “Indigenous Peoples’ Struggle: Sovereignty on Their Own Feet”
Friday, 20 May 2022. “Tano Batak will definitely be much better if it is built on the sovereignty of Batak customs,” said Abdon Nababan in his closing statement during a talk with the theme ‘The Role of Indigenous Peoples in Protecting the Environment’ on the second day of the Earth and People Festival held in …
A Winding Journey Rebuilding the Organisation After the new board was elected in November 2020, for the first time after a long dynamic, the community held a general meeting and invited KSPPM. I, who was present at the meeting, was touched because there had not been a general meeting like this for a long time. …
Read more “Nagasaribu Indigenous Community Receives Customary Forest Decree (Part-3)”
A Winding Journey Dynamics of Struggle. In early 2020, KSPPM together with the Nagasaribu community celebrated the new year in Nagasaribu. This moment was used as a space for reflection as well as to develop work programmes. The enthusiasm of the community was the same as in previous events. Young and old and children took …
Read more “Nagasaribu Indigenous Community Receives Customary Forest Decree (Part-2)”
Initial Introduction to KSPPM That afternoon around 3pm, one of the staff from the Community Initiative Study and Development Group (KSPPM) and I had to visit one of the villages in Nagasaribu Onan Harbangan. We visited to discuss agrarian conflict resolution schemes, considering that in the near future they will have guests from the Ministry …
Read more “Nagasaribu Indigenous Community Receives Customary Forest Decree (Part-1)”
Friday, 4 March 2022. The Op. Bolus Indigenous Community had uninvited guests in its ancestral territory, around Aek Bilah river. Aek Bilah River is the border of Huta Napa Godang and Huta Janji Maria. Demson Simanjuntak, a youth from the Pomparan Op. Bolus Simanjuntak community said that around 15 TPL employees, including the Public Relations …
Read more “An Uninvited Guest “Robs” in Huta Napa Godang’s Customary Territory”