Pulau Sapi, Malinau, North Borneo: Traditional Rice Paddies in Borneo Rainforest

Not only can you explore the center of Dayak Lundayeh art and culture, including the crocodile monument and traditional Dayak houses adorned with unique ornaments, but you can also witness the traditional rice farming system of the Dayak Lundayeh. 

Dr. Afri ST Padan has captured this in a book, detailing how the Lundayeh people have cultivated rice not only on dry land but also in wet fields. 

The rainforest offers various ecological benefits

Afri understands that knowledge should be preserved in a book. His work spans 149 pages, printed on HVS paper, with full-color illustrations. 

It’s a well-crafted piece derived from his dissertation, measuring 15 x 23 cm. The International Series Book Number (ISBN) is 978-623-7069-38-6, and it’s published by the Dayak Literacy Institute (Lembaga Literasi Dayak - LLD).

Under the title Sawah sebagai Kearifan Lokal Manusia Dayak di Desa Pulau Sapi, Kaltara (Sawah as Local Wisdom of the Dayak People in Pulau Sapi Village, Kaltara), Afri explains that rice paddies are more than just a form of local wisdom. They embody numerous values, one of which is "baya" (febaya) or "feruyung" in Lundayeh, meaning mutual cooperation and helping each other.

Pulau Sapi, situated in the heart of Borneo’s tropical rainforest, provides a unique perspective on the integration of traditional agricultural practices with natural ecosystems.

 The Borneo rainforest, known for its rich biodiversity, plays a crucial role in understanding how traditional rice paddies develop in this environment.

The Borneo rainforest is one of the world’s most vital ecosystems, with a highly diverse range of flora and fauna. 

This rainforest contributes significantly to local and global climate stability and helps maintain soil and water quality. 

In agricultural terms, the rainforest offers various ecological benefits that support traditional farming systems like rice paddies.

Adaptation of farming techniques to the environment

In Pulau Sapi, Dayak Lundayeh rice paddies demonstrate how local agricultural practices adapt to the rainforest ecosystem. 

Traditional rice fields here make use of wet land, often close to rivers originating from the rainforest. This natural irrigation system allows for efficient water management and soil fertility.

The Dayak Lundayeh farmers have developed methods that not only utilize the land but also protect the surrounding ecosystem. 

Techniques such as using buffaloes for plowing and organic fertilization sourced from the rainforest show a symbiotic relationship between farming and the environment. These practices avoid harmful chemicals that could damage the rainforest ecosystem, reinforcing soil conservation.

Positive impacts on biodiversity

By using land on the edges of the rainforest, traditional rice farming supports biodiversity conservation. The rainforest acts as a buffer, protecting the rice fields from erosion and pollution. 

Conversely, rice paddies provide habitat for local species that may be threatened by deforestation. This relationship highlights how traditional agriculture can contribute to the preservation of biodiversity within the rainforest.

Despite its benefits, maintaining traditional rice paddies in the rainforest faces challenges. Climate change, deforestation, and agricultural modernization threaten the balance between farming and rainforest ecosystems. However, there are opportunities to develop sustainable agricultural practices that combine traditional knowledge with modern technology.

 Initiatives like the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) applied to traditional paddies can enhance yields without harming the rainforest environment.

Traditional rice paddies on Pulau Sapi

Traditional rice paddies on Pulau Sapi serve not only as a means of food production but also as an example of how agriculture can harmonize with Borneo’s rainforest ecosystem. Through environmentally friendly and sustainable practices, the Dayak Lundayeh demonstrate that food production and rainforest preservation can coexist, offering valuable lessons in the balance between human activity and nature.

The local wisdom in rice paddy cultivation in Malinau Regency is still preserved through the use of agricultural facilities and infrastructure. The planting season is a heritage passed down through generations.

The use of superior local rice seeds that can meet household food needs independently has led some farmers to adopt modern agricultural developments, particularly in mechanization, production facilities, and planting technologies. As a result, there is a good combination of local wisdom and modern agricultural technology suited to its purpose.

Traditional rice paddy cultivation techniques can be integrated with modern agriculture through the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), a method that maintains environmental sustainability. SRI has its advantages.

In terms of production, it optimizes seed use, prioritizes organic fertilizers, and uses plant-based pesticides. This approach increases food production and productivity while preserving the existing ecosystem by reducing outdated local wisdom practices. It achieves this by translating them into modern organic farming formulas that are easier to introduce, adopt, preserve, and benefit from.

Internal supporting factors include the willingness of farmers to maintain traditional cultivation methods. They prefer local superior seeds that are more resilient to climate, pests, and diseases. External supporting factors include local government support through agricultural extension officers and the publication of planting season calendars based on local climate conditions. This ensures that local wisdom in farming practices is still applied during the planting season for superior local rice.

Internal obstacles include the decline in communal cooperation (felibal) which is a form of group work and responsibility that serves as a social network considered inefficient.

With the use of agricultural machinery, communal work in cultivation and post-harvest stages is increasingly replaced by wage systems, shifting towards capitalism. External obstacles include the lack of standardized wage policies in agriculture and insufficient quantity and quality of agricultural extension officers due to limited regional funding.

Local wisdom in rice paddy cultivation, with its strategic agricultural issues such as climate, infrastructure, farmer regeneration, policies, and budgets, can be used to develop policy frameworks within an empirically based agricultural development model. This model should be implemented in an integrated and continuous manner and adopted by stakeholders in the region.

Preserving local wisdom in rice paddy cultivation should be a top priority in agricultural issues for local governments. This involves engaging all community elements, including primary actors (farmers), agricultural business operators, and stakeholders (government agencies, related institutions, churches, customary institutions, universities, environmental organizations, and the private sector).

Ultimately, the collaboration of local wisdom with agricultural technology can synergize environmentally friendly agricultural development. This could be a solution for improving and maintaining regional food security sustainably.

Additionally, there’s an interesting aspect in this book that you might not find in other similar topics. It’s about the value of mutual cooperation.

In Malinau Regency, the spirit of mutual cooperation is crucial in agricultural activities. Cooperation is carried out in fields for those who are late in planting, with assistance from "baya" (febaya) or "feruyung" in Lundayeh.

There are several types of mutual cooperation

The Bala Lundayeh mutual cooperation involves a group of 6 people working alternately in the fields. Each person works for a day, typically 5-6 hours, rotating until the work is completed. Another type, called ngerufen, is for families needing many people to complete tasks such as clearing land (planting, harvesting) in one day. The family hosting the work prepares all the food, usually slaughtering a pig (cow) according to their capacity. This type of cooperation is unpaid but has become rare due to busy family schedules, though it still occurs.

Several reasons drive people to engage in mutual cooperation. For instance, if a family member is ill and unable to work, other families will help, known as ngeruyung. This tradition is still preserved in Pulau Sapi. 

Currently, not all residents participate in mutual cooperation, and it is decreasing. The main reason is busy schedules as some work elsewhere, leading them to hire local workers. Sometimes outsiders seek work on a profit-sharing basis.

Some people do not focus solely on farming. For example, working in the rice fields for two weeks and then moving to the garden leads to neglected paddy fields. Typically, 4-5 people work together, alternating with a wage system (menepar).

-- Masri Sareb Putra