Piva Bell's blog

Noni, one of the teachers at the Aisyiyah Suka Ramai Kindergarten in Aceh, shows what a healthy lunch looks like. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

“Why, lately, has my child been commenting on the food that I cook, asking if is it healthy food or not?” was a mother's question. Yulaita, the principal of Aisyiyah Suka Ramai Kindergarten in Aceh recalls hearing the question — she's also been hearing similar question from her child. In fact, it seems like — recently — the students of that kindergarten have become really aware on what kind of food their mothers cook for them.

This kindergarten is one of nine kindergartens in Aceh that are are the focus of Mercy Corps' children's nutrition training, part of the Kedai Balitaku (KeBal) programme, which means "My Child's Café" in Indonesian. And since the KeBal team has put lots of hard work to encourage children five and under eat healthy food and mothers to cook healthy food, my smile just gets wider, knowing that local parents have come to teachers and asked questions because their children are advising them about healthy food.

The teachers didn't ignore those questions. Yulaita and other teachers gladly informed them about the nutrition training held by the KeBal programme at their school, and even transferred their knowledge about healthy food to these parents. For Yulaita, who has been teaching in various kindergartens since 1980, this nutrition training programme with KeBal is really special and she is very enthusiastic, since she never had this kind of experience before. The good news is that the parents really support Yulaita, the school principal, to keep maintaining the school's collaboration with KeBal in conducting the nutrition training. And because of it, the parents are encouraged to cook healthy food and send healthy lunches to school for their children.

Children at the Aisyiyah Suka Ramai Kindergarten learn about better nutrition through storytelling. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

Nona, one of the teachers who is helping Mercy Corps monitor the eating behaviour of Aisyiyah Suka Ramai's students told me that, besides the games, the children really like the story telling session of the training. They talked about it a lot.

Without asking, these children have also taught the new students about healthy food, and encouraged their new friends to eat healthy food like them. This has made Yulaita really happy, and she hopes that in the future Mercy Corps will maintain the collaboration with her kindergarten.

Since the programme began ten months ago, Mercy Corps' KeBal programme in Aceh has reached 1,023 kindergarten students and 688 adults, as well as promoting healthy food to other 1,420 children. Counting nutrition trainings and customers reached by KeBal's food cart operators, we've served a total of 7,318 people. I am sure that with KeBal, more children and parents in Aceh will continue caring more about eating healthy food.

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Rice fields in Rima Jeunue village using the legowo paddy farming method. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

Legowo — this word has made me curious when I heard it for the first time from my colleague, who told me about this new paddy planting method. Mercy Corps introduced it to farmers in Aceh Besar over the last couple of years. Since "legowo" means "sincere" in the Javanese language, questions suddenly come up in my mind. What a wise name. Why did they name it as "legowo"? Do my colleagues know about the meaning of that word? Is there any connection between the meanings of the word with the way how its works?

I think it's particularly interesting since most of the name of methods usually has to do with the name of a person who invented it or the name of a thing. So very interesting!

As my colleague Mr. Isnaini, began to explain, I started to get answers to all the questions spinning around in my mind. Apparently, it is true that the name really interprets how the method works — it really asks the farmers to be sincere.

The legowo planting method invites all of the farmers to be sincere in giving more space for their paddy — 40 cm (15 inches) from one paddy planting to another instead of the 20 cm (eight inches) that's typical around here — in order to get more yields in harvest time. The idea is, by having more space, the plants can get more food, more sunshine for their growth and be easier to clean from weeds. As a result the paddy clumps will produce more seeds, double what it used to be.

This legowo method was introduced through Mercy Corps' Farming School in Aceh Besar area that started in 2008. In conducting this school, Mercy Corps also collaborated with the Aceh Government Extension Agency. Besides learning agricultural theories in the classroom, this school also provides demonstration plots in order to show farmers how to use legowo method and how much yield they can get by it.

At first, it’s not that easy to convince farmers about this idea, since it means that there will be fewer plants in their field — far less than before. This new idea is hard to be accepted in local understanding. For years they have been planting with the tegel method, a traditional method that has been used by their ancestors and that current farmers have inherited as the way to plant paddy. In that method, they really make use of every centimeter of field since, in their way of thinking, the more paddy clumps in the field, the more yield will they get.

Another local challenge the farmers here face is the salinity of soil and water, as well as debris in farmers’ paddy fields because of the Indian Ocean Tsunami that struck this area in 2004. Unfortunately, not all of Aceh Besar was helped by organisations like Mercy Corps in debris clearing and soil salinity normalization. As a result, those paddy fields turn to swamp areas and were abandon by the owners. Farmers in those areas are discouraged to plant because of this condition. Rice production in Aceh Besar has kept on decreasing, because of the old method of planting and bad condition of paddy fields caused by tsunami debris and salinity.

An agriculture extension agent talks to a rice farmer in Aceh Besar. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps' agriculture and markets team was not about give up easily on those challenges. They worked hard to convince farmers through demonstration plot in several areas. They worked together with government extension agents to keep running the farming school and keep on informing farmers about how to handle the salinity problem — as well as encourage farmers to independently clear their paddy fields from tsunami debris.

After working hard to convince the farmers in Aceh Besar sub-district to clean the paddy field and start to plant again with the legowo method, more farmers have start to plant using this new method. One of the villages that now is using Legowo method is Rima Jeunue village. After the first farming school was finished, there were only few farmers who believes in the method. Those farmers implemented the legowo planting method in their paddy field right away and, in harvest time, they gained more harvest than ever before!

The harvest yield they got really surprised them, convinced them more and encouraged them to keep on using the legowo method. Other farmers in this village who knew that their friends got more yield in harvest time started to believe that the new method was really working. So, soon in the next planting season, more farmers in Rima Jeunue implemented the method and were successful. They got more yields than when they used the tegel method.

Other farmers who had hesitated were convinced by their friends' successful second harvests. They were so motivated by it and then determined to use it. Many farmers took initiative to expand their paddy fields by clearing the abandoned fields that had turned to swamp. They cleaned it from tsunami debris and restored the soil condition to normal, free from salinity.

Their paddy fields are non-irrigated field that get water from the rain, so they plant in rainy season only. But, because they are so motivated in using the legowo method, they tried planting in the dry season — which they had never done before. They even used water from nearby swamps to irrigate their paddy fields!

Today, 70 percent of farmers in the area are planting rice paddy again.

It's now the third planting season after the farming school. By this March and April, farmers in Rima Jeunue village are starting to harvest their paddy field. The extension agents we work with have informed me that farmers’ yield are again increasing, just like they predicted.

Today, most of the farmers in Rima Jeunue village and other villages of Aceh Besar have been sincere — sincere in giving more space to their paddy clumps so they get more now.

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Zahlia stands in front of her produce stand at the Lampakuk village market, with green bundles of lemongrass piled up on the table. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

"Going to shop for your everyday needs — rice, vegetables, fruit, fish, meat, spices, various food...please visit PASAI TANI!"

That short sentence immediately caught my eye when the Pasai Tani — which means "Farmer's Market" in our language — was displayed in a brochure with that was handed to me.

"Lampakuk market, Kuta Cot Glie, every Tuesday 08:00-16:00."

Going to the market was my goal this morning, as part of the monitoring and evaluation part of my job. The journey, which took me approximately 45 minutes out of the city of Banda Aceh, was quite pleasant with stunning wide green paddy fields on both sides of the road. I chatted with my colleagues along the way.

At 10:17 a.m. we arrived there. Between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. it was crowded with traders and buyers. This weekly market has been here for decades, and every village in this area gets their turn as a market hub once a week. These village markets are quite unique, because the urban markets I know are usually held every day and mostly visited by shoppers in the morning time.

Here in Lampakuk village, many of the market traders set up dark green tents and lined up at the front of the market. Some of them were local farmers who were selling their produce directly to the public for the first time, thanks to ASPARTAN — a Farmers' Market Association formed by Mercy Corps). These farmers were selling garden-fresh vegetables and fruit such as durian, eggplant, lemon grass and organic rice.

A man sells a variety of fruits from his stand at the Lampakuk village market. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

They looked enthusiastic with just a bit of tension reflected in their faces. It is not surprising, because trading is a very new thing for most of them. Before, these farmers didn’t have access to sell their harvests directly to the market, which is located far away from their fields. As a result, they always sold their yield to middle men who demanded they sell at lower prices than the going market rate. When their crops weren't in demand, the middle men came and offered low prices because they said there weren't many customers. But even when the farmers' crops were in high demand, the middle men will come and offer the same low prices because they said that there were many other farmers selling the same thing.

Since there were no other options, the farmers always had to settle for selling their harvests to the middle men for low prices, which gave them no significant progress in improving their farms, households or village economies. And so, after generations of this method of trading, most of them still lived in poverty even if their harvests were successful. They were unable to provide an appropriate education for their children because they had no money to do so. They struggled to meet the everyday needs of their families with such small income.

Seeing this worsening trend, Mercy Corps helped create ASPARTAN to help local farmers cut out the middle man and sell their produce at appropriate prices in the market.

Zahlia, a local farmer and housewife, shared her delight with me. She told me that, in the Lampakuk market, she sells the harvest from her backyard. Besides vegetables, she sells bundles of lemongrass — each bundle contains eight stalks of lemongrass and costs £0 Previously, she always sold 11 bundles of lemongrass to the middle man for only about £0 Thinking about this, we can imagine how much profit these farmers had lost over the years. No wonder Zahlia is smiling and eager to sell, although so far she's only sold three bundles of lemongrass.

A woman sells local rice from her paddy at the Lampakuk village market. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

When I asked about her future plans here, she told me that her husband works as daily laborer in paddy field, for about US $4 per day. However, he only works during planting and harvesting time — after and between these periods, her family has had no regular income. For years, they've depended on the small amount of money they've received from middle men to meet their daily needs — and Zahlia has three children whose school needs to be financed. What a heavy burden she has.

Therefore, she felt that the trading opportunities she gets in this village are very promising for meeting her family's household needs, especially when her husband is out of work. By selling her produce every Tuesday, there will be income to fulfill her family’s needs every week.

Zahlia is not alone in these hopes — many other farmers I talked with had stories that are not much different. They are very excited and motivated to trade here, and optimistic about their future.

Although, with the close of post-tsunami programmes in Banda Aceh, Mercy Corps' other work in Lampakuk village came to an end, it does not mean that the economic growth of local farmers would stop. They work hard here. And the local economies will continue to grow with the support of local government agencies and offices.

At 11:35 a.m. the market became even more crowded. I still wanted to keep talking with all these farmers about their experiences, but I had to get back to the office to continue my other duties.

See you again next week, Lampakuk market!

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A huge government-owned electricity-generating ship that was thrown inland by the tsunami stands as a memorial to the victims and survivors of that disaster, which happened five years ago this month. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

Five years have been passed by, and the people of Aceh still can’t forget what happened to them on this same date, December 26th. For the survivors there are such painful memories of the tsunami's fury, of loved ones lost and some of the most horrible things they have ever seen. Somehow, it makes people remember how mortal they are, how fragile they are when nature lashes out. And for the religious people of Aceh, they found that their faith was the only place to run, to seek peacefulness and security by getting even closer to God.

So on December 26, 2009, most tsunami survivors chose to gather with their families at home and pray for their relatives who already passed away, commemorating them. Others chose to participate in mass prayers to ease their pain, gathering together on or around a huge ship that the tsunami washed inland. This ship belongs to the government and was used to produce electricity. When the tsunami hit, it was swept across the land by the waves and, on its way, it destroyed dozens of houses, causing a lot of damage and claiming many victims. Although this ship can still produce electricity, it has not been returned back to the sea, instead becoming the main monument of the tsunami here in Aceh.

Local percussionists play traditional music to help raise Aceh's spirits. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

Also in commemoration of what happened here five years ago, the history of Aceh was also told at the boat by a local well-known storyteller, Muda Balia — nonstop for 26 hours. That number was chosen because the tsunami happened in December 26.

From December 17-26, there was exhibition at the Tsunami Museum here in Aceh. It chronicled Aceh's before tsunami and after the tsunami, while putting particular focus on the reconstruction and rehabilitation process over the last five years. As visitors compared what Aceh used to look like, sadness was obviously seen on their faces. But, when they saw the pictures of rehabilitation and reconstruction that has been done in Aceh, they looked enthusiastic that now Aceh looked even better than before.

There were also art performances around Aceh: traditional dances, poetic readings, songs and percussion. People were not only entertained, bt also energized to continue their lives with high, positive spirits.

The life of Aceh's people is back to normal, and they are empowered to be even more steadfast and optimistic in facing the year ahead.

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Safuati looks from the doorway of Lamteungoh's women's centre, built by Mercy Corps, toward the ocean where the tsunami rose nearly five years ago. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

If you come to Lamteungoh village in Indonesia's Aceh province for the first time without having any knowledge about the Indian Ocean tsunami, you will feel that there is nothing wrong with this village. It looks so normal and beautiful, where the sky is so blue and bright, herons seem so peaceful flying around with the sounds of splashing waves along the coast, and the scenery of a little island called Pulo Aceh right in front of your eyes.

Well, the truth is that much of this nice image of Lamteungoh village is the result of tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes done by various non-governmental organisations, include Mercy Corps.

When the tsunami hit this area in late December 2004, the people of Lamteungoh village were not as lucky as their neighbour villages, Tutui and Lambaro Neujid. Those two villages are situated at the foot of hilly areas, and so much of the population ran to the hills and survived. Most of Lamteungoh village didn't survive, because the tsunami waves hit them when they were on their way to the hills, crammed on small roads crowded with people. That’s why there are only a few survivors left and Lamteungoh village was flattened to the ground by the tsunami.

This nightmare, which has always haunted Lamteungoh's survivors, is starting to vanish along with the time that passes by. Many of the things that were destroyed before — such as the community centre, houses and other facilities — have been rebuilt, encouraging the villagers to start their normal life and activities again while trying to cure all their sorrowful memories.

In particular, the women of Lamteungoh village are grateful for the local women's centre built by Mercy Corps. Because of it, now all the women in this village have a place to gather and to do their activities, such as meetings, trainings and business activities, as well as a place for monthly health check-ups for their babies.

Wihidah, the treasurer of the Lamteungoh women's group, sits beside the equipment they use for their small business and also rent out for ceremonies and other special occasions. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps has also given the women here some equipment to start a small business: plates, glasses, bowls, frying pans, cauldron, and tents for outdoor activities. No wonder women in this village are so active, and really contribute big support for every activity in the village. Today, they are lending their expertise in cooking and decorating to various parties and ceremonies in the area. Safuati, a 27-year-old member of this women's group, proudly told me how happy she is to prepare meals for local events, and to know that all the guests really enjoy and appreciate her group's delicious cooking. It’s really meaningful for her.

Safuati's women group earns additional income by rent out the cooking equipment for £15 per day to people from other villages and £9 per day for their neighbors in Lamteungoh village, and they also rent out the large outdoor tent for £9 per day.

Wahidah, the 34-year-old treasurer for the group, said that any income these equipment rentals goes right back into supporting their group activities.

They are so proud with what they have and what they're able to do now, and smiles have come back to their faces. Their new lives have begun, and these women of Lamteungoh village are so thankful to Mercy Corps.

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Lately it’s been quite cold because of the marathon rain pouring down nonstop for the last two days over Banda Aceh. The clouds have been sending away the intense sunshine that usually covers the town. But I am feeling warm and happy thinking of the village of Meunasah Cot, whose residents feel so happy and proud to have cows in their byre.

Anwar, who lives in Meunasah Cot village, cares for one of the cows provided by Mercy Corps. Anwar named this cow "John." Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps recently provided a grant that the community used to buy 15 cows for this village, as well as construct the byre. And today, the villagers are feed their cows with the best grasses they can find and keeping the byre warm so the cows won’t get sick because of the cold night.

Just like other beachside villages around here, this community survived the tsunami. All of their belongings were swept away. What they have now are small houses built by humanitarian organisations and a few small household items. They have never imagined before that they will would have a chance to own cows, which are so valuable in the Acehnese culture. These cows are shared between the entire community of Meunasah Cot.

The reason why cows are so prized here is because beef is considered as a special-occasion food in Aceh — it plays an important role in the celebration of every important moment in their people's lives such as weddings, births and religious ceremonies. Without it, celebrations would be incomplete.

Another important occasion on the Acehnese calendar is Meugang — a celebration that takes place twice a year, once one or two days before the fasting month and again one or two days before Lebaran, the end of fasting month. During these celebration days, the head of family has a responsibility to bring beef to his family and the wife will cook it for the entire family. It is the symbol of his capability as a man and pride as the head of family, where he shows to his wife and all the entire family his ability to fulfill his responsibility to provide food, prosperity, happiness and security to them. And his wife and children will be so proud and happy if there is beef on the dining table to break the fast.

That is why having cows is so integral to the lives of Acehnese people. And most of them prefer to have beef from the kind of cows originally from Aceh because — as I heard from the locals — that beef tastes best.

I am so curious to taste it and, because the end of the fasting month is coming up, I will get to soon.

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My recent visit to a small village named Cot Paya in Indonesia's Aceh province was my second trip here.

Dr. Musliman Saleh. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

The first time I came here was in August 2005, when everything was the opposite of now, because it is one of the villages destroyed by the tsunami in December 2004. The areas had been cleaned by workers from various NGOs, but I still could witness that the houses, trees and everything were flat to the ground and the area had turned to swamp, with pools of brackish water everywhere, caused by the tsunami. Cot Paya's population before the tsunami was about 1,000 people, but after it was drastically reduced to only 189 people.

But now, after four years have passed by, the pulse of life of this village has started again. The survivors are settled down in the new houses built by various NGOs. Even survivors from other areas have come to settle down with them. People have started to live normally, having left behind all the horrors of tsunami that they had experienced before.

Today, Cot Paya has around 555 residents.

In my second trip to the village, I had the chance to meet the head of Cot Paya village, Dr. Musliman Saleh. He’s a very nice, optimistic and cheerful person. He helps manage Cot Paya village really well, and is very concerned with the prosperity of his village, since it still lacks public utilities in most of the houses.

This can be seen most clearly from the residents' problems in accessing clean water. The village has only one functioning water tower. Other water towers that were built right after tsunami cannot be used anymore, because thieves stole metal and machinery, and so the engines used to pump up the water are broken.

As a result, village residents have to buy clean water from other areas, which costs 2,500 Indonesian rupiah (£0) for just one small water container. And that's not enough to fulfill the needs of one person for a day's supply of clean water. Usually, they use the water for drinking water and cooking only. For taking a bath and other needs, they used the brackish, swampy water around that still sits in the village.

The village's water tower was vandalized and no longer works, forcing residents to buy water at high prices. Photo: Piva Bell/Mercy Corps

Furthermore, the tsunami caused most villagers to lose their previous jobs, and now more than 50 percent of residents are extremely poor. Most of them are working as construction workers, pedicab drivers and housemaids, with unstable small incomes. Usually, they use the money that they get in the afternoon, after a day's work, just to buy their dinner. Therefore, it is a big burden for them to pay any amount of money every day to buy clean water.

Another aspect of the village's resurgence is its multipurpose room, which is a 1,000 square-foot area used as the centre for various village activities. The room is divided into two using a long green cloth. These ‘two rooms’ are used for the activities of women's education, women's small business activities and as a place for praying. Since it is an open room with no fence, at night livestock such as cows and goats like to sleep inside it, leaving a mess in the morning.

As a result of these challenges, the residents of Cot Paya are so relieved and thankful when Mercy Corps came and offered infrastructure assistance, including a water tower and rehabilitation of their multipurpose room. They have been dreaming about it for a long time.

I could feel and see the joy of the village head when he enthusiastically listened to the Mercy Corps field officers who came to discuss the planning of construction. What a happy moment.

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