Ruslan Sangadji
The Jakarta Post
Palu, Central Sulawesi
With a bombastic way of expressing himself, he looks highly enthusiastic and is always ready for a lively discussion on topical regional and national issues.
Forty-eight-year old, Poso-born Yus Mangun, a member of Central Sulawesi legislative assembly representing Poso electoral area, is now chairman of its commission that deals with government and security affairs.
Although he has lived in Palu for a long time, he still maintains a close relationship with his birthplace, Poso.
Yus believes he must pay a lot of attention to the area. In 2000, when sectarian conflict was still raging in Poso, thousands of local people had to migrate to other areas for safety. During those hard times Yus helped organize the exodus.
Using his own money and a donation from the government, Yus, assisted by colleagues from Poso, sheltered Poso refugees in his house and at the Central Sulawesi Graha Pemuda (Youth Building).
Subsequently, he was nicknamed the "Father of Poso refugees".
Yus often had to deal with refugees who caused problems. Once he penalized a person who obstinately insisted on returning to Poso to take part in the sectarian conflict.
The man was denied his food rations for two days. "I did that to prevent other refugees from taking part in the conflict in Poso," he said.
Night and day, Yus, now a father of three, worked indefatigably for less fortunate Poso people: men, women, the young and elderly. He was so committed he often left home for days at a time and was absent from the assembly while taking care of refugees.
Between 2000 and 2001 it was common to see hundreds of people waiting in line in front of Yus' house on Jl. Tombolotutu, East Palu, for their food rations. In fact, the rations should properly have been distributed at government offices, such as the offices of the Central Sulawesi governor or of the local social welfare service.
Once, police raided Yus' house on suspicion that he was stashing guns, ammunition and other weapons; they found only sacks of rice for Poso refugees.
Yus, who is married to Ibu Suprapti, now concentrates on the Central Sulawesi legislative assembly, although he still engages in debate on how best to settle problems of the sectarian conflict in Poso and deal with refugee affairs.
While devoting himself to Poso, Yus began another business venture.
In late 2001, with Rp 35 million cash as capital and a three-hectare plot of land in a mountainous area that he had bought in the 1980s, he decided to grow red onions, a species that grows only in Central Sulawesi.
The onions, once harvested form the basis of a popular fried snack.
At first the people of Palu, particularly onion growers and Central Sulawesi agricultural service, thought him crazy for his decision to grow onions in such a dry place. Still, he wanted to prove the old adage that where there's a will, there's a way.
So, assisted by his wife and two nephews from Poso, he cultivated his dry plot. Every day he removed weeds from the land and did the hoeing by himself.
He dug to a depth of seven meters to obtain water for his plantation. His fair skin grew dark due to prolonged exposure to intense sunshine. The smooth skin of his hands turned rough because he did the hoeing every day himself.
Three months later, onions were planted in the land and in the following three months he enjoyed the harvest, and a profit of Rp 10 million. "I was really surprised at how profitable it was," he said.
The successful maiden onion harvest caught the eye of the local administration. They enabled him to access water from the Poboya mountain range for his plantation, a distance of some 11 kilometers.
The water was also intended for the headquarters of a unit of Central Sulawesi provincial police that lay close to his plantation.
Yus, a graduate of the economics school at Tadulaku University, Palu, has put the business knowledge he has thus acquired to good use. He asked 28 nearby families without regular employment to team up with him.
He has given each family four parcels of land to grow onions by themselves. Yus, of course, provides the start-up capital. Profits are shared equally between the families and Yus.
The cooperation has worked well. Every quarter there is a harvest, and the families working with Yus can make a profit of up to Rp 4 million.
Yus, who makes about Rp 2 million to Rp 2.5 million per harvest, now has an impressive house at his plantation.
For his wife he has built a garden that produces a wide variety of flowering plants. They are sold at Rp 100,000 to Rp 3 million per plant.
His success with the onion plantation has earned Yus a new title: Onion Farmer, as he now widely known. He is popular in Palu because he can get on with practically anyone, regardless of their social status.
No comments:
Post a Comment