"Lord, thank you motor, want to get married.” That’s how Andi, a small muscular young man, whispered to a shooting star in the middle of the silent night. Although he whispered, his hopes were heard clearly in his little heart. Andi was not a young man who had much, but his dreams were so big. In his village, having a motorbike was one of the requirements to be considered a cool young man in the eyes of the village girls. However, Andi had already fallen in love and wanted to propose to the girl of his dreams. But how?
After graduating from junior high school, Andi struggled to continue his education, but his funds were very limited. As a result, he was only able to complete the first grade of high school. Andi continued his life by applying for a job in the city of Makassar. Successfully becoming a construction worker, the job did not make him feel at home. He decided to return to the village to carry out work that his parents did not want him to do.
In Dusun Bara, farmers struggle to send their children to the highest level of school possible. One reason: so that they do not become farmers like them. However, Andi had no other choice. He became a farmer by managing his family's one-hectare land. After escaping several attacks from monkeys and other pests, Andi managed to care for his corn and reap the results. Most of his income is used to buy fertilizer, and a little bit is saved to buy a motorbike.
Andi's hopes of buying a motorbike continue to grow, but the challenges are getting tougher. The impact of climate change has resulted in his corn yields decreasing. The land is no longer fertile, fertilizer is scarce and prices are rising. Andi's savings to buy a motorbike never increased again. Other farmers in the village also suffered the same fate; The cost of planting corn continues to increase, but the results obtained are getting smaller. In the end, Andi could only give up his dream to a falling star.
Since March, the Estungkara-SCF program has been conducting the process of identifying prospective field school participants with clear criteria: innovative, consistent, and inclusive farmers. These criteria aim to create an inclusive and sustainable learning atmosphere. Twenty farmers from Bonto Somba village were selected. Andi became one of five field school participants from Bara Hamlet. Although the Field School is not a place to propose, this program seeks to answer the challenges of farmers in adapting to their lives amidst climate change. The field school, which was formed from a mutual cooperation initiative, seeks to change the habits of farmers in using chemicals to organic materials through the Agrosilvopastura planting system.
Agrosilvopasture is a model that combines forest, livestock and agricultural products into one planting area. Agrosilvopastura taught in the Field School has a mutual cooperation style educational pulse. The farmers who joined as participants, together applied the Agrosilvopastura process to the corn demonstration plot to produce independent corn seeds that are climate resistant.
"Before joining the Field School and learning the Agrosilvopastura planting system, I spent a lot of money buying fertilizer and seeds," said Andi. "Whatever you buy, not to mention if the results are small, we might end up going into debt," he continued.
Andi is very enthusiastic about joining the Field School. According to him, this program gave him the opportunity to increase his capacity and knowledge about land and what grows from it. Even though Andi still pins his hopes on a falling star, he firmly believes that the only way to dream of owning a motorbike and also hope to propose to his lover is to continue learning.
Andi's hopes of owning a motorbike and marrying the girl of his dreams may seem simple. But the struggle and dedication he shows in facing life's challenges are a reflection of his tireless fighting spirit. With the new knowledge from the Field School, Andi hopes to increase his agricultural output and finally realize his small dreams that have great meaning.
