Sawah & Padi
(Rice & Rice Field)
For Southeast Asia peoples, rice is the staple food and of course inseparable from their daily lives. As one of the countries in the sub-continent, Indonesia peoples also a producer and consumer of rice all at once. In the past, when economic life was dominated by agricultural activity it can be said that the rice and paddy were intimately part of the everyday people who live here. Relation between our farmers and their farming activity, resulting unique correlation between our farmers with the rice, paddy field and its production processes. For them, rice field is not merely a tool for their production; also doing rice farming is not only about doing commercial business.
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| Terraced Rice Field |
Currently (2011), the total population of
Indonesia is amounted to approximately 240 million people, the fourth-largest
number of the world after China, India, and the USA. According to the BPS
(Central Bureau of Statistics Indonesia) release the needs of rice per capita
was 113.48 kg/year, so every year we at least require about 27 million tons of
rice to fulfill the whole population need. A huge amount actually.
There is a continuously growth of rice giant
demand in Indonesia, however, there is no big industry involved in direct rice
farm management. Large-scale activities
related to the provision of rice only going on the process of collection,
storage and distribution which monopolized by Bulog (National Logistics
Agency). Involvement of big private investors limited only in derivative activities
of farm support, such as production of fertilizers, agricultural equipment, and
disinfectants. The whole rice produced in the country is a result of
family-scale farms.
Rice and Paddy Field in our farmer’s perspective.
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| Paddy Field with Old Irrigation System |
Why our farmers are able to do such things? Some people say it is all just because of a mere necessity and there is no other option. In my opinion, that assumption is not always appropriate. Not all farmers feel perforce to plant rice even though they know their profits are too small and the risk of loss is high. Although they may not fully realize, but it seem that the old noble values still influence our farmer. When doing rice farming they do it base on spirit that rice farming is more than only about business, farming rice is also a matter of devotion to the Creator (God Almighty) by serving human being with the way they can do.
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| Paddy Field in Ubud, Bali |
In Bali, we still find a special place to put
banten (offerings) in every corner of the paddy field (sawah); they give
offerings to the Gods in every steps of farming activities. Farmers there
treating the rice field with respect, from the point of culture, this is the
face of the closeness of the Balinese which is an agrarian society with the
rice fields that considered as the supporter of their life. Giving banten actually is an expression of
their thankful to the nature (beside a thankful to the Gods). Of course, in
this context would be difficult to find the economic reason behind their
farming activities. What they do is more to fulfill their responsibility; to
keep harmony running. In Balinese perspective human being and their life is a
part of universal harmony, activity in term of keeping human living is a part
of dedication to the Lord. Working to provide human food is part of maintaining
human life.
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| Rice in Rice Field |
Once again, although they were aware that they
only have very limited land for farming and
rice farming is not a favorable economic choice, but they are with full
of loyalty, sincere and cheerful still plowing paddy field, placing the seed
and then take care their fields with painstaking and patiently. Regarding to
their economical fulfilling, they would prefer to work hard on the other
sectors to meet the financial needs that cannot be fulfilled by their rice
harvest, than choosing to leave the rice plants and replace them with other
more economically profitable farming. Moreover, they will always doing that until
there is another value can replace their now days value.
There is a special relationship between the
farmers and their fields, and the relationship is quite difficult to understand
by those who are outside of their horizon. Maybe like when we love something,
which we know, realize, and feel it but it will be very difficult to be
understood and perceived by others. When the time to work on the rice fields
has arrived, although they had to work under the blazing tropical sun, but they
will keep on smile and cheerful together with every sweat that drop into the
rice field, the whole process of growing rice is part of the celebration of
life. So it is not something strange, if from the peaceful villages and the scenic rice fields, was born of a variety
of traditional art; like dance, singing up to the theater, which describe their
attitude towards the whole process of life they lead. It seems that the
combination of their daily work plus the art they both create and enjoy is a
package to celebrate their lives.
