International Ministries partners with the Kalimantan Evangelical Church in Indonesia, and its seminary, the Sekolah Tinggi Teologi (STT).  They selected three projects to focus on in 2010 that were supported by IM.  Below is their report on progress made on the first project.   

 

 

Eco-empowerment to Women

 

During the last 3 years, we have conducted eco-empowerment seminars to local women along the length of the river.  It is our hope to motivate them, since woman are often the victim of oil palm plantation (OPP) expansion. 

 

Kalimantan Island is well-known as the “heart of O2” with the biggest tropical forest, and a wide variety of ecosystems and animals and plants.  It is under attack by the Oil Palm Plantations (OPP).  80% of deforestation on Kalimantan is caused by the development of OPP, now covering an area of more than 12.5 million acres.  Their rate of growth is 12% per year. 

 

The OPP’s poor land management practices have resulted in serious environmental damage, loss of land for farming, forced land purchases, displaced and forced migration to the point where local inhabitants are seen as “invaders”.  Their focus is economic, namely exports which don’t feed the local population.  The rivers have turned black and aren’t suitable for drinking water.  Also lost is the possibility of providing fair and decent living conditions to present and future generations.

 

The Secretary of the Indigenous People's Alliance of West Kalimantan, Setra said “Oil palm plantations have also changed the life of the local people, the Dayaks.” Learning from experience, after the plantations were set up, the Dayaks were inundated with consumerism, alcohol, gambling and prostitution. The government never factored these effects in their economic calculations.

 

The information above is the background of our proposal in 2011 for eco-empowerment to Christian local people and eco-dialog among people from different faith both men and women.

 

In November 2010, we began the eco-empowerment program with 42 women from 9 churches.  They attended 9 programs: eco-liturgy/preaching, eco-meditation, seminar on eco-theology, seminar on Women and Oil Palm, seminar on local wisdoms on nature, seminar on Environment, Oil Palm and Laws, and training on eco-counseling, eco-social service, and eco-drama at the closing service.

 

Afterward the women discussed and prayed about their commitment to:

1.      Share with other Christian women the result of this eco-empowerment.

2.      Never sell our land to the oil palm plantation projects as the negative impacts are huge and affected people and all creation.

3.      Demand the government to forbid the development of oil palm plantation.

4.      Ask the oil palm plantation company, in the name of justice, to pay their responsibility on community development.

5.      Ask the company to be a green company, keeping water stay clean and land stay in balance. 

 

Through this eco-empowerment program, the participants and Sekolah Tinggi Teologi,  have gained a holistic result:

 

§         The participants have enriched their ecological perspectives about the roots, causes and negative impacts of the ecological crisis in Kalimantan, the richness and beauty of nature in Kalimantan, the ecological laws in Indonesia, and the policy of local government on the environment, local-cultures and eco-theological perspective from various religions.

§         The participants have grown in their ecological awareness to the nature and human equally.

§         The seminary and the Kalimantan Evangelical Church have built an ecological dogma as the teaching and creed for all congregations and church of our convention in Kalimantan Island.

 

Through this project, Sekolah Tinggi Teologi, the Kalimantan Evangelical Church and International Ministries are known by our community. We believe that God will continue to bless our ministries so that our positive will and movement never end. These projects are also very contextual and divine way to show God’s love and to do mission of God.

 

Sincerely,

 

Rev. Retni Mulyani, M.Si

The Coordinator of Gender Study at Sekolah Tinggi Teologi, Indonesia

 

Rev. Kinurung Maleh

Principal of Sekolah Tinggi Teologi, Indonesia