After the regulation prohibiting land clearing by burning was implemented, the Dayak farming culture slowly disappeared. The Dayak community's lack of knowledge in managing peatlands for agriculture has resulted in high dependence on chemical fertilizers. Apart from having a negative impact on environmental conditions, fertilizer prices are also increasingly expensive, making it increasingly difficult for small farmers to reach. This led to a change in the habits of the Dayak people, who previously met their food needs from natural products and managed land, to buying at the market.
The results of routine village discussions held by the Betang Borneo Indonesia Foundation (YBBI) have become a space for women to express their complaints and needs, including the need for women to return to meeting their family's food needs through managing their own land.
YBBI, which is part of the ESTUNGKARA-INKLUSI program through KEMITRAAN, held the activity "Training on the Use of Yard Land for Horticultural Plants". The training took place for two days, 21 and 22 May 2023 and was attended by the Simpur Village Women's Farmers' Group, the Pilang Village Women's Farmers' Group and there were also representatives from the Jabitren Raya District Women's Farmers' Group, 7 representatives each (total 21 people).
The training held does not only focus on efforts to improve the economy, but also encourages land processing to improve environmental quality through land management models that are adaptive to the biophysical and socio-cultural conditions of the community. Apart from that, the learning method presented by the facilitator is quite effective in the community conditions, making it easier for Dayak women to understand how to utilize abundant local resources for making compost and planting media in the yard with the "Handep Hapakat" culture.
