Betabuh Tigapuluh Consortium (Pasa, Sialang, and Pijar Melayu) - Progress Report

Community Participation in the Protection and Restoration of the Bukit Tigapuluh Landscape and Collaborative Management of Traditional Use Zones in Indragiri Hulu Regency and Kuantan Singingi Regency, Riau Province

Efforts to rehabilitate land with agroforestry patterns or economic value crops are one of the efforts to maintain harmony between environmental values and economic values. An example of such crops is the Areca Catechu plant, which will be planted in Seberang Cengar Village, Usul Village, and Talang Lakat Village. As of currently (January–March 2019) there are more than 9,000 Areca Catechu seedlings available for planting. The Areca seedlings planted are expected to provide multiple benefits. Besides helping to protect the environment by preventing soil erosion and reducing dependence on forests, it is also expected to provide economic benefits for the community from the areca nuts produced.

Also carried out were efforts to increase the community capacity through increasing environmental knowledge at the household level. In Rantau Langsat Village, through periodic counseling attended by approximately 30 participants, we introduced ways to manage household waste into organic fertilizer Rantau Langsat Village.

In this activity, the community was taught to be able to independently utilize the waste from their homes to become organic fertilizers. The organic fertilizers produced from the utilization of their household waste can then be used for agriculture and plant maintenance.

Education is also one of the main focuses of this activity. Commenced at the end of 2018 with approximately 20 children of the Talang Mamak tribe as students, the children in Tualang Hamlet have now been taught  and learn to read, write, and count. They were also taught about the environment, the weather, and how it impacts them