094 / Kalibaru Wetan, Banyuwangi, East Java
Rizal is a middle and high school teacher. Together with his colleagues they’ve established a foundation, PKBM (Pusat Kegiatan Belajar Masyarakat), which is a public space for children from poor families who do not go to school.
The foundation offers non-formal education, brings the books to neighbouring villages and organizes entrepreneur training courses for young people about planting cassava.
Most of the local people work as farmers on cocoa, coffee and sugarcane plantations.The village used to be surrounded by forest. Less jobs in the area made the local people cut the forests and turn it into farms.
The local government and the forest police officers are ignorant about this situation. The functional shift of the forest causes landslides in the raining season and less water detention in the dry season.
Rizal says: “I want to learn about composting, so that I can teach the community and the kids to use organic fertilizer for their farming.”