As the fifth of eleven siblings, Parmi missed out on a formal education in his youth. Instead, he and his two older brothers learned how to manage fishponds from their father. Parmi quickly turned this passion into a profession and now, more than 50 years later, continues to make a living in this way. 

Fishponds at the center of community life 

Central Java’s Pati Regency, where Parmi lives, is well known for its milkfish (ikan bandeng). “I manage two fishponds covering a total of 1.25 hectares,” he explains. “During the harvesting season, I can yield around a ton of milkfish per hectare, and we harvest two or three times a year.”  

With the income he makes from fishponds, Parmi can provide for his family. “This work allows me to give my son and daughter the education opportunities I never had,” he says.

Planting trees for protection 

Parmi’s fishponds are located in the coastal village of Dukuhseti, around 100 meters from the shoreline. In 2001, huge waves flooded the coast, destroying ponds and causing enormous damage. “I lost hundreds of millions of rupiahs,” he recalls. At that time, there were no protective barriers along the coast, leaving fishponds vulnerable to floods.  

In response, Parmi and his fellow fishpond farmers took steps to ensure this disaster would not happen again. They planted mangroves along the shoreline to provide a natural buffer against the waves. Now, 23 years later, those mangroves have grown big and strong. But there are not enough of them to guarantee protection. 

In 2022, there was another huge ocean surge. “I lost around 100 million rupiahs (USD 6,190),” Parmi remembers. But he was relatively unscathed, compared to other farmers further up the coast. “Our neighboring village suffered even greater losses because they didn’t have as many mangroves protecting their coast,” he explains. 

Grab and EcoMatcher team up to plant mangroves 

Back in 2021, Parmi and other members of the Tani Makmur Mandiri farmers’ group were invited to join a mangrove planting initiative run by Trees4Trees, EcoMatcher, and Grab. A total of 30,000 mangrove trees were planted, creating a green belt covering 3.8 hectares along the Dukuhseti shoreline. 

Now, three years later, Parmi and his fellow farmers are reaping the rewards of their efforts. “Planting mangroves is not easy,” he says, remembering how he and his team would work waist-deep in muddy ground. “But seeing these trees grow big and strong (almost all of them are now at least three meters tall), I feel all my efforts were worth it.”  

Ocean waves no longer threaten Parmi’s fishponds as they once did. And the flourishing mangroves offer a range of other, unexpected benefits to the community – the leaves provide a sustainable source of organic fertilizer for the fishponds and the fruits, known locally as brayuh or brayo, can be sold at markets. 

“Local people often come to pick the fruits,” explains Parmi, “which they can sell for 5,000 Rupiah (about thirty US cents) per bucket (500 grams). These fruits are highly in demand here, given their importance to local dishes.”  

Parmi has seen first-hand the protective power and economic potential of mangroves in his community. He insists that caring for these trees and using them sustainably is essential to environmental health and social well-being. “Everyone in the village can freely pick the fruits or leaves, but cutting them down is strictly prohibited,” he says.  

“We would like to thank Grab, Trees4Trees, and EcoMatcher for providing us with these mangroves and the many benefits they offer,” says Parmi. “We will continue working to protect and appreciate these mangroves, just as they protect our homes and safeguard our livelihoods.

One of our main tree-planting locations in West Java is the Citarum River basin, home to over 1,000 tree species and 3,000 flowering plants. These plants are central to ecosystem health and form the basis for many livelihoods in the region. However, in the wake of rapid development, many of these tree species are now threatened by deforestation. In response, a local forest farmer named Sutajaya is determined to reverse the damage. 

Six years ago, Sutajaya was granted free leasehold by the government to manage 2 hectares of land in the foothills of Sangar Mountain near Mekarjaya Village, the village in Bandung Regency that he calls home. “We are allowed to plant crops and manage the land,” says Sutajaya. “But the mandate is that we must plant hardwood trees that we never cut down.”  

Traditional roots, bearing new fruits 

At first, Sutajaya planted coffee trees. However, he quickly noticed that many of the trees he remembered from his childhood were becoming more scarce. He started planting native Indonesian species like rasamala, saninten, damar, kisireum, and tarum areuy. And this process reconnected him to his roots. 

“This land used to be the home of the powerful Tarumanegara kingdom,” explains Sutajaya, remembering a story passed down from his ancestors. “Their name came from the tarum areuy tree, which used to grow all around – the tree. also gave its name to the river that flows through the region, the Citarum.”. The kingdom was known throughout Southeast Asia for their production of distinctive blue fabrics, made using dye from tarum areuy trees.  

Today, the blue cloth is long forgotten, and the trees are disappearing too. “I don’t want my children to grow up without seeing the native trees so deeply rooted in our culture. So I will do all I can to stop them from disappearing,” said Sutajaya. 

Planting the seeds of knowledge 

Unlike most forest farmers in Mekarjaya Village, who manage the land primarily to plant crops and then reap the results, Sutajaya’s main goal in planting native trees is to create an educational forest, or arboretum. “My intention is to safeguard native trees, particularly those of West Java, and prevent further loss in the future,” he explains. “With the arboretum, I want to preserve biodiversity and educate people about the abundance of native trees that form part of our shared culture,” he added. 

He plants these trees in the foothills of Sangar Mountain, a popular hiking track among  young hikers, especially at weekends. He hopes these groups will stop by his arboretum to learn more about native tree species. 

Support from Trees4Trees and TREEO 

Sutajaya is well on his way towards his goal. In 2021, he took a big step forward by joining a tree-planting project with Trees4Trees in collaboration with TREEO. “That was a great opportunity for me to add to my tree collection,” he remembers, “and I really thank Trees4Trees for helping me realize my dream.” 

Together with Trees4Trees, he planted 1,600 sawo, damar, rasamala, and avocado trees, most of which have survived and are growing well to this day. From the sawo and avocado trees, he can harvest fruits to sell. From the damar trees, he collects sap, which also has economic value. The tarum areuy he planted provides leaves for organic fertilizer and fodder for his cattle. But the real value of these trees is something that can’t be bought or sold: a connection to heritage, and a glimpse of a greener future in the Citarum River basin. 

In spite of everything he has achieved, Sutajaya is not satisfied. “There are still many native trees out there that I haven’t inventoried yet,” he says. “I hope I can find them soon.”  

Trees4Trees is working closely with local forest farmers like Sutajaya to restore biodiversity and preserve natural heritage in West Java and beyond. To learn more about our tree-planting activities and get involved, please visit the Trees4Trees website.