Memulihkan kubah kehidupan (bag II): Praktik buruk investasi merusak hutan gambut Kalibandung

Kubu Raya, KALIMANTAN BARAT. A wheelbarrow full of oil palm fruit is pushed by Herculanus Eher (50) towards the edge of the ditch. The crops are piled up before being transported by a motorized boat to be sold outside the village.

Apart from Herculanus, three other residents also harvest and load oil palm on the same boat. They do this job every two weeks.

Residents harvest oil palm heads in the former PT Bina Lestari Khatulistiwa Sejahtera (BLKS) concession area. In one harvest, Herculanus earned around 300-400 kilograms or the equivalent of Rp. 330,000 to Rp. 440,000.

"The price per kilogram is Rp1,100. It's not bad for eating because rubber is now low in price and doesn't even sell well,” said Herculanus, after harvesting oil palms in mid-January.

Herculanus and the three residents have managed four blocks, or about four hectares of oil palm land, since about three years ago. However, not all of them can be worked on. The road is difficult to access because it easily subsides and is filled with shrubs.

Read the full story in bahasa Indonesia on the Ekuatorial website.