Colin Barlow and Ria Gondowarsito visited Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) for five weeks, from 30th October to 4th December, 2011. They spent 2 weeks in Flores, and 3 weeks in West Timor (see Maps 1 and 2 attached). They were accompanied by Ir. Andreas Nuwa, NTA Project Manager, and Ibu Ruth Radja, NTA Regional Director, being joined in each location by local NTA-paid PPL (extension officers). Chrys Athanasos came with the Team for 3 weeks, and Colin Dunlop for 3 days. In Flores the Team worked with its counterpart, the Yayasan Pengembangan Masyarakat Flores (YPMF). In mainland West Timor it worked with NTA Kupang, and on Semau island in the Timor Sea with NTA Kupang and the Yayasan Pengembangan Masyarakat Pulau Semau (YPMPS). The Team acknowledges the contribution of these counterparts, which made its activities possible. NTA initiatives were divided between programs in Education, Small Infrastructures, and Income-generation. This report deals with activities in Semester I, July-December, of the 2011-2012 financial year. Indicators for this period, and for the previous period of January-June, 2011, are in the Table at the end of this report.

The Team formed two groups in checking NTA-sponsored activities undertaken by 60 schools and 190 kelompok (small cooperatives of 10-15 families). These activities were in the kabupaten(s) (districts) of Sikka in Flores, Kupang in West Timor, and Timor Tengah Selatan (TTS) in West Timor (Map 2). The Team also interacted with government and other agencies concerned with rural development, making brief presentations and reports. It reported as well to the Sekretaris Bersama (Secretariat for International Cooperation) (Sekber), the agency monitoring foreign NGOs.

The weather in the second part of 2011 was dry, but because of heavy continuous rain earlier in the year there was no shortage of ground water. Yields of irrigated crops in NTT were generally good, and there was ample water for livestock. But cocoa, cashew nut and other tree crop yields remained low, largely because of ageing trees and lack of improvement. Seaweed yields in the production areas of Semau island in kabupaten Kupang were high, but the price this year has fallen and cancelled out yield advantages.

Highlights for the NTA in Semester I, 2011-2012, included its excellent progress with 16 sponsored Taman Kanak2 (kindergartens) in Flores and West Timor. These currently enroll 496 4 and 5 year old students, and a detailed report is available. The NTA was encouraged into this initiative by local groups, and it has proved most successful. There have as well been improvements in cocoa production on 10 demonstration farms in Flores, where yields are two to three times the original levels. The cocoa field day and cocoa seminar at Ritateking on November 7th and 8th were signal events, attended by enthusiastic participants. The NTA cocoa work was helped by an Innovations Grant from AusAID. Further advances were also made in constructing 15,000 litre ferro-cement off-the-roof water tanks, with 94 being established during the Semester. 38 of these tanks were on Semau island, and were financed through a grant from the Australian Ambassador’s ‘DAP’ fund. There was excellent progress too in returning rotating credit, with people becoming more disciplined in managing money.

Kabupaten Sikka, Flores

The NTA in kabupaten Sikka works with the YPMF in four kecamatan or sub-districts, all within 60 kms of the local capital of Maumere (Map 2). The sponsored activities in Sikka cover 22 villages, each with 800-1,000 people.

The Education work in Sikka is going well, notably in establishing libraries and improving other school facilities. Here, as in all spheres, the NTA tries to fill niches not covered by government programs. The annual NTA-sponsored festival of singing and dancing was held at Wetakara primary school on November 10th, being attended by students from 19 primary and secondary schools and three kindergartens. The jury members saw much improvement over the previous festival, and the audience of over 900 people was certainly impressed. A World Bank study finds such festivals stimulate academic performance, which certainly appears true in this instance. It is hoped that the 2012 festival will be attended by students from 3 Eurobodalla shire primary schools, who are participating in letter exchanges. Another good development during the Semester is the offer of Father Albert Novena, SVD, head of the library at the Ledalero Seminary, to replace the late Pak Stef as our main library trainer in Flores.

The water tanks component of the Small Infrastructures program in Sikka has almost reached construction of the 600th tank, and sometimes all members of participating kelompok possess this facility. In such instances attention is being turned to providing household toilets, another route to improved health lacking in much of Sikka. A further new initiative is the use of water from the tanks for irrigating adjacent family vegetable gardens. A demonstration has been established at Botang, and the Team feels that this venture can be expanded.

In Income-generation, cocoa improvement in cooperation with the YPMF, Badan Ketahanan Pangan dan Penyuluhan (Institute for Food Security and Extension) (BKPP) and Balai Penelitian Teknologi Pertanian (Institute for Research in Agricultural Technologies) (BPTP) is going well, and involves over 400 farmers. But the Team perceives a need for training to extend beyond demonstration farms to the holdings of participating kelompok members. While demonstration farm owners are enthusiasts who have vigorously adopted new production technologies of budgrafting, planting improved seedlings, fertilization and pruning, other members have been slower and need more stimulus. Recently two new extension officers have been recruited by the NTA to work on cocoa, and these will facilitate deepened extension. The number of demonstration farms is also being extended to 15.

The cashew nut improvement program at lower altitudes is not working so positively, although attempts to improve trees on 2 demonstration farms are continuing. There have been difficulties with the drying out of flowers, meaning that the fruits do not subsequently form properly. This problem is associated with very hot conditions, perhaps due to climate change. It has been decided to encourage farmers in suitable locations to replace cashew with cocoa, along with bananas and high-yielding coconut as shade.

The training of 30 ladies’ kelompok in tenun ikat (traditional cloth) dyeing was continued, and the Team was happy with the positive results. 2 kelompok were also trained in bamboo furniture making. There was a less fortunate experience with poultry, including birds covered by the NTA-sponsored vaccination, which were decimated by a new virus.

Other aspects of NTA-sponsored efforts in Sikka are reported in the minutes of the final meeting of the Team with YPMF colleagues on Saturday, 12th November, 2011. These minutes are available on request. Comprehensive records of expenditures and outcomes of sponsored activities in Semester I of 2011-2012 (July-December, 2011) will be completed by end-2011, and then be available for scrutiny.

Kabupaten Kupang, West Timor

The NTA in this kabupaten works in the two kecamatan of Semau island (Map 2), and in two kecamatan on the mainland. A total of 21 villages, again with 500-1,000 inhabitants per village, is covered.

The Education thrust in teacher training is being assisted by Bapak Pdt. Mes D Beeh, a pioneer in educational development, who along with trainers from the Dinas PPO (Education Department) is leading instruction in the ‘KTSP’ syllabus for teachers from NTA-sponsored primary schools in kabupaten Kupang and TTS. The Team sees expanded teacher numbers as welcome, but agrees with teachers’ representatives that more training is needed with both the syllabus and teaching methods. At the same time, much remains to be done in library training, which in both Kupang and TTS lags well behind that in NTA-supported schools in Flores. It has been decided that Ibu Ruth should assist the main NTA instructor, Pak Frans Wayan, who is chief librarian at the Universitas Katolik. The work of building up and cataloguing books continues slowly in each school, but there is much to do. Efforts to improve classrooms and provide furniture and other facilities are proceeding, and the Team sees these as especially significant in the SD Jauh (remote schools) established with minimal resources by numerous communities. Most of the kindergartens mentioned earlier are in kabupaten Kupang.

The Small Infrastructure component involving water tanks went well during Semester I, as reported, and it is hoped the DAP tanks on Semau island will be visited by Adele Neary of the Australian Embassy in May, 2012. Another promising aspect of this program in kabupaten Kupang is the sponsored construction around food and tree crop areas.of ‘living’ fences, made of tree stumps entangled with strands of barbed wire, The Team visited many such locations, and is hoping that NTA-paid PPL can later provide guidance in crop improvement beyond the traditional methods now followed.

Continuing progress was made with Income-generation in Semester I, notably in seaweed production by supported kelompok. There were also advances in providing kelompok with wells and other water supply facilities for production of red onions and green vegetables. A hand tractor financed through rotating credit has been requested by a kelompok growing onions in southern Semau, and this would facilitate cultivation now undertaken with digging sticks. The Team judges that many crop advances are possible, given use of new techniques, and this is a scenario for the future. Numerous kelompok in kabupaten Kupang were also engaged in NTA-supported small animal enterprises. Most turned out satisfactorily, but they would have gained from more modern methods.

Other matters dealt with by the Monitoring Team in Semester I in both kabupaten Kupang and TTS (below) are reported in the notes of the final meeting on Friday, December 2nd between the NTA Australia Team and NTA Kupang and YPMPS colleagues. These notes are available on request. The accounts for Semester I, 2011-2012, are not finalized, but should be completed by February, 2012 and will be available for scrutiny.

A musyawarah (consultative meeting) attended by 90 representatives from schools and kelompok participating in NTA-sponsored activities in kabupaten Kupang was held in Kupang on Friday and Saturday, 9th and 10th December, 2011. Proposals at the musyawarah for new sponsored activities will be forwarded to Canberra.

Kabupaten Timor Tengah Selatan, West Timor

The NTA in TTS (Map 2) works in the kecamatan of Amanuban Selatan, operating in 2 villages extending over very large areas. This is a difficult location for the NTA, with infrastructures and facilities being particularly inferior. People are extremely poor, not well attuned to inputs from outside, and take far longer than those in Sikka and kabupaten Kupang to make changes.

The Education program in TTS continued to make slow advances, however, and the Team observed that NTA’s provision of basic services such as school furniture, toilets and water supplies were helping in a gradual improvement. A recent example of progress is the work of parents in constructing a new building for a library and adjacent kindergarten in Oenoni primary school, a very under-resourced institution. This new building will facilitate school initiatives. The ongoing KTSP and library training programs are especially significant in TTS, bringing teachers into contact with a wider world and new ideas. The NTA’s provision of scholarships for poor children was also having particularly useful impacts in this difficult setting, and the Team is pleased with the results.

In Small Infrastructures, the main NTA contribution was through wells and off-the-roof tanks. The big problem for tanks in TTS were tanah lonsor (shifting soils), that prevented use of the current design for 15,000 litre ferro-cement tanks. Tanks crack after a year or so, due to continuous soil movement. In the meantime, fiberglass tanks of 3,000 litres capacity are being distributed, but these are far more expensive per litre. The Team is hoping to secure a soil movement-resistant tank design for TTS locations, and along with senior staff is consulting with construction engineers.

In Income-generation, progress has been made in distributing local pigs, subsequently fattened and sold in local markets, and the Team feels this should be continued. There has also been considerable activity by 3 kelompok cultivating horticultural areas beside local rivers, where these are watered with pumps and piping provided by the NTA. Pak Lorens Kali, the local NTA extension officer at desa Mio in TTS, is particularly skilled in cash crop cultivation, and the Team hopes more can be done in this sphere in 2012.

Final Remarks

This Monitoring Team recorded good progress on this visit, although there were numerous pitfalls and problems. The visit highlighted two ‘levels’ of contact, one with progressive groups quickly producing excellent results, and one with more traditional parties working slowly and often securing disappointing outcomes. The NTA works with both kinds of groups, but it is important to recognize that the second group is that with the real poverty. The Team believes the NTA should balance its inputs between these groups, and looks forward to further advances in Semester II, January-June, 2011

Jati Bening, Bekasi, Saturday, 10th December, 2011 (Colin Barlow)