kascing

Denpasar - Ni Luh Kartini was taking care of her "pets", namely earthworms. She was working at one of her earthworm breeding centers in Pesanggaran, Denpasar. Her hands quietly picked up some baby worms and put them in a mixture of soil and animal manure. "They are just one month old," smiled Kartini.

For the last 10 years, Kartini has been studying and carrying out research on how to produce natural fertilizers as opposed to the large-scale use of chemical pesticides that badly harm the soil of rice fields and farms on the island of Bali. Kartini discovered that earthworms were the best soil amendments. They contain the protein needed to repair soil damage caused by long-term use of chemical fertilizers. "Earthworms and other soil micronutrients such as fungi, bacteria and insects have gradually disappeared from the soil in Bali because of the excessive use of chemical fertilizers," she said.

She recalled how Balinese farmers were mesmerized by the use of chemical pesticides. "It was in the early l970s. I remember my late father Nyoman Sumaka and mother Made Ginatri being very happy to see their harvests go up almost fivefold," Kartini said.

Her village in Kubutambahan, north of Singaraja, has long been known as one of Buleleng regency's rice baskets. The use of chemical pesticides encouraged local farmers to increase their production capacity to get more profit. Years went by, and the distribution of pesticides soon spread all over the island. Now, most rice fields in Bali have been heavily polluted by dangerous chemical substances. Not only rice fields, hazardous chemical residues have also penetrated sources of water, including rivers and wells.

"Most people did not realize the tremendous environmental impact caused by the long-term use of chemical ingredients in their fertilizers. Everything seemed so right in the beginning, but turned out to be very dangerous in the end," she explained.

Born to a farming family, Kartini pursued her undergraduate education at the University of Udayana's School of Agriculture. She continued her master's and postgraduate studies at the University of Padjadjaran in Bandung, West Java. After she took her doctorate in 1997, Kartini has been active in conducting various studies on the agricultural sector.

In the early 1970s, the New Order government under former president Soeharto actively encouraged Indonesian farmers to use chemical-based and large scale agricultural methods in order to spur rice production and make Indonesia self-sufficient in rice production. Balinese farmers, mesmerized by their counterparts in Java, gladly adopt this method leaving behind their own traditional farming systems that honor the balance of nature. Continuous usage of various chemical and synthetic products for more than 30 years, Kartini explained, have caused serious soil problems including erosion, nutrient depletion and structural breakdown. Chemical accidents and the effects of long-term exposure have been well-known risks faced by many farm workers. Also, the effect of chemicals in the air, soil and groundwater is a concern.

"I have beautiful childhood memories of my village. All of the people took and drank water directly from the river and their wells. The water was so clean and the rice fields were so green occupied by various insects, frogs, butterflies. Now they are all gone," Kartini recalled.

Many farmers now suffer from respiratory and skin problems after they spray pesticides onto their paddy fields. The water in the river is gray. It was a huge challenge for a woman like Kartini to convince local farmers to go back to nature.

"I once asked a number of farmers in Baturiti to take part in a 'worm competition'. Every farmer was required to find an earthworm in their rice field. I promised them Rp 50,000 for any worm found in their fields," she said. Nobody found an earthworm. "This indicated that soil depletion and deterioration on the island of Bali was very serious," she said.

One of her goals is to encourage Balinese farmers to give up chemical pesticides. It is a huge task for a female academic to convince the male-dominated Balinese farming world to stop using chemicals. But she never gives up hope. Kartini made her maiden experiment with cow manure. Supported by her husband Made Agustina and a number of workers, Kartini set up a cooperation with a slaughterhouse near her home. Kartini established a pilot project with Rp 100 million (US$10,752). The presence of the slaughterhouse in downtown Denpasar had aroused protests from neighbors because of its waste and odor. But Kartini tried to approach the management of the slaughterhouse and ask them to process the manure and blend it with soil to be developed as a medium for breeding earthworms.

Kartini also established some pilot projects in Baturiti, near the cool Bedugul resort area in Tabanan regency, around 30 kilometers north of Denpasar, and in the villages of Payangan and Tonya near Ubud, Gianyar. Her company, CV Sarana Petani Bali, began producing homemade organic fertilizers named Kascing which sold for Rp 1,000 per kilogram.

In addition to producing organic fertilizers, Kartini also did other experiments using earthworms. She produced medicine powders and capsules for skin problems and other illnesses such as dengue fever. The earthworm powder is rich in protein and amino acid and other micronutrients that are important to enhance one's physical condition as well as to boost cell regeneration. Its lumbrikinase enzyme is believed to be able to normalize blood pressure in patients with hypertension. Meanwhile, other enzymes are useful to cure certain degenerative diseases.

"There are many more benefits including enhancing digestion," added the mother of three. Kartini went further, saying it was suitable to cure patients with dengue fever as it can accelerate the production of hemoglobin.

Kartini, however, said her company could only produce this medicine in limited numbers of about 100 to 200 bottles per month. Each bottle, sold at Rp 30,000, contains 50 tablets. This homemade medicine has not yet been registered with the Health Ministry.

Kartini encouraged people to make their own medicine. "If you have the guts, juts pick up five young earthworms (around four months old) and put them in a glass of water for at least five hours to enable them to release all the important enzymes," Kartini said. The worms are later mixed with fresh fruits using a blender to eliminate the fishy odor. She also warns people to take the worms from a breeding center. "We can be certain what types of worms and food were given to the animal," she said. Kartini has set up an earthworm breeding center where people can buy baby worms at Rp 150,000 per kilogram.

After 10 years of tireless research and study, Kartini sees hopeful signs. More and more farmers, individually and in groups, have shown interests in learning and adopting organic farming methods.

"It requires extra patience to reverse the mainstream agricultural system into an organic farming system," she said. It requires hard works, time and energy to mend the damaged soil. Adopting organic farming means that the soil you plant must be free from any chemical pollutants. "Sometimes, it takes years to return the land to its natural state, depending on the level of destruction," she said.

"It was not an easy task to try to persuade farmers to apply an environmentally friendly farming system. It must go gradually," she added. To socialize organic farming methods, Kartini has closely worked with various government agencies, NGOs, private institutions and community groups across Bali.

Together with the Badung regency, Kartini is now busy training numerous dropouts to study and practice organic farming. To promote and market organic farming produce from local farmers, Kartini and her organization, Bali Organic Association, plans to establish a trading house allowing buyers and consumers to buy quality organic produce. Members of the association currently concentrate on forest conservation programs aimed at finding new water sources.

"Agriculture needs more water sources to ensure its sustainability," she said.