Kabar Itah

Edition 29 : July - September 2011

Editorial Building Up Our Own Resources

YTS currently is in the process of
expanding its capacity and area of
activities. This has come about mainly
as a result of recommendations from
a recent external evaluation and in
response to reactivation of exploration
activities by PT Kalimantan Surya
Kencana in Central and East
Kalimantan.
Renewed exploration has enabled us
to increase our field staff numbers: we
will be adding four new people in the
Kahayan Project and two people for
the Jelai Project.
The external evaluation recommended
improving the skills and capacity of
YTS staff, and we now have started
a five-step training program, led by
Studio Drya Media out of Bandung.
The first session focused on
‘Organisational Leadership’ and all 15
staff took an active part in the six-day
training at the end of September.
In October, we will be training all our
new field staff in the Community-Led
Analysis and Planning methodology.
This is the methodology we use
when beginning the participatory
development process in new
communities.
Also in October, we start our
engagement with capacity-building for
district staff in Gunung Mas who are
involved in the planning and budgeting
process.
As a result of all of these initiatives,
we hope to see a big improvement in
the impact of our activities.
Bardolf Paul
Executive Director
YTS staff members spend six days together in a training with SDM Bandung, to learn more about organizational
leadership as the basis in strengthening and sharpening the staff’s skills and capacity
Recently, YTS has been growing positive working environment, one
very fast and we have been that supports the organization in
recruiting many new staff members. achieving its goals.
As a result, we have decided to Our in-house training will seek to
sharpen our in-house skills and address some of the organizational
strengthen the capacity of our needs that were identified by
human resources, working in SDM on its first visit during
partnership with Studio Driya Media May. SDM is now assisting our
(SDM) in Bandung. staff to work on issues such as
This September, SDM began team building, accountability,
the first of a series of in-house organization, communication,
trainings to be conducted with delegation, operating procedures,
our staff. The action-packed six- documentation, and more.
Furthermore, the training content
day training session that has just
will examine our attitudes and
concluded, was aimed at boosting
perceptions as well as our
our knowledge about organization
knowledge and skills.
and leadership skills. Content
included understanding how an As is common in many
organization works; understanding organizations, adjustments need
the importance of good cooperation to take place whenever new
within an organization; assessing people join a team. As the number
individual leadership skills; knowing of people working in our team
how to increase effectiveness increases, we anticipate there will
through cooperation; and improving be ongoing changes in our style of
leadership skills in order to create communication that may also involve
a more cooperative and more changes in the characteristics of our
continued to page 2...
Communities Learn Business Skills through Micro ...continued from page 1

Enterprise Training staff. Therefore, instigating and

dealing with change have been
included as important topics in
the training. In future, we hope
that all of our staff members
will be better able to deal with
change in the workplace, be able
to trust each other more, and be
able to build trust as a leadership
requirement.
Training methods will include an
exciting range of methods such
as experiential learning, playing
games, self-inventory, group
exercises, group discussions,
plenary discussions, individual
reflection, mini lectures, and mini
case-studies. This abundant
mental stimulation will certainly
help our staff to more fully
comprehend the workings of
the organization, and what their
Women participants in Marang Village are excited to learn new micro enterprise skills future leadership role will be.

In July, YTS first invited Ngatidjo, a micro enterprise expert ment: “I now know what to do in order to be successful. It is
from Yogyakarta, to provide training to interest groups in all about my level of skills and readiness. This training from
seven villages in Bukit Batu. The micro enterprise training YTS has been useful for us, because we have improved
is designed to empower our interest group members with our skills regarding our livelihoods. When I am ready, I think
some basic business skills, to reduce the possibility of failure getting the capital will not be that much of an issue for me,
in their future enterprises. The first training event took place because the Credit Union training showed me that it is also
over seven days, with one full day spent in each village. possible to access their loans to get capital. Once I have suf-
ficient skills, they might give me a loan, and I am convinced
A highly experienced trainer, Ngatidjo managed to involve
that I can run the business with less possibility of failure in
the participants in a dynamic discussion which helped them
the future”.
to see their own strengths and weaknesses more clearly,
as well as the opportunities and threats presented by the We are now halfway through our micro-enterprise develop-
surrounding environment. As a result, members will be better ment program in Bukit Batu. The successful delivery of this
able to take these factors into account when starting new second level of training, has been an affirmation of the worth
enterprises. of our efforts to build-up the capacity for self-management
within these communities. YTS is now working to prepare
This interactive training style led to a lot of positive feedback
the next round of enterprise training, which will take place in
from the participants, and several people said that Ngatidjo
September and will focus on keeping business records. All
was very creative when delivering the training. Most people
participants are looking forward to the next round of training.
were very satisfied in the way the training was conducted
and delivered. Some participants said they found it very
useful, for even though the topic was not new to them, they
had gained a lot of new understanding. Other members said
that the training had confirmed what YTS had long been
promoting to them: that strengthening self-capacity is the
first thing to do before taking a greater step forward.
One participant reported: “All this time, I always thought it
was useless to for us improve our business skills without any
capital. I thought that if we just had the start-up capital we
could run a business right away, and then learn to do it over
time. So it was very interesting when the trainer said that
we should not put capital first; as it is not the most important
thing for us to have. The training has really opened-up my
thinking, to see that everything can be the other way around.
I also see that we have to be mentally-prepared before we
decide to run any business.”
A member of the Interest Group from Tangkiling learns about the bookkeeping system with
A woman participant from Marang made a similar state- Tohar, YTS facilitator

2 Kabar Itah - Edition 29

Tackling Toxics
Over the last five years, YTS has been seeking simple parts of Indonesia. We will also be creating a technical
solutions to the growing threat of mercury pollution from information package for government and other stakeholders.
small scale gold mining. In 2006, we designed a cheap and Environmental mercury contamination now poses a serious
effective mercury condenser system for use in gold shops; risk to human health worldwide, thus the benefits from
one that has great potential to reduce the dangerous levels having more widespread adoption of this simple technology
of mercury emissions that currently exist in many Indonesian can be enormous.
towns and villages wherever gold amalgam is traded. Since
Furthermore, thanks to fresh donor support from the
then, in addition to distributing retorts directly to artisanal
USEPA-UNEP-Global Mercury Partnership, we are now
miners, we have also been installing this condenser
seeking to demonstrate that it is possible to eliminate the
equipment in gold shops throughout Central Kalimantan.
need for mercury in hard-rock mining. We are conducting
Next year, we intend to start training others to conduct these action-research in the field to see if we can prevent mercury
interventions. We will conduct training-of-trainers based from being used in grinding mills; and we are introducing
on our successful models, so that other organizations may gravity concentration to ore-processors, as an alternative
also start to conduct these necessary interventions in other gold-extraction technique.
Importantly, we soon hope to also introduce a
mercury-free method for treating concentrates:
the ‘Borax Method’ has been used successfully
by 15,000 small-scale miners for more than
30 years, but has never spread beyond one
region of the Philippines. We hope to be able to
demonstrate this method to hard-rock miners at
Mt Muro by the end of the year.
It is our belief that artisanal gold miners can
turn away from using mercury - and switch
to alternative processing methods - without
suffering any loss to their income. In fact, given
the major loss of gold that accompanies the
loss of mercury, we believe that incomes will
improve as a result.
The truth of this can only be established by
working hand-in-hand with the artisanal mining
Kulansi, the Blacksmith-YTS Project Officer is installing and trying the new mini sluice before it is promoted as the communities concerned; in the hope that we
alternative in extracting mercury waste from the trommels to the mining communities in Mt. Muro
may be able to demonstrate viable alternatives.

Governance Program About to Begin in Gunung Mas District

In early October, we expect to start up a significant col- until we actually find out what’s needed and try to address
laboration with the district of Gunung Mas to improve the those needs.
annual planning and budgeting process. YTS has been
In September, we received a letter of support from the Pro-
investing a lot of resources in assisting communities to
vincial Head of Planning and from the Governor. We an-
engage with the government planning process known as
ticipate final project approval from the Secretary of State’s
the Musrenbang. But the results so far have been very
office in Jakarta, by early October. In preparation for this,
disappointing. Even though the communities we work with
we have been recruiting key people to run the project.
prepare carefully-thought-through plans and propos-
als each year, the response and support from the
government has been discouraging.
We have found it far more effective to make propos-
als directly to a specific department in the district, as
their response is usually fairly immediate.
The support program that starts in October will pro-
vide training and technical assistance to the district
staff that are responsible for planning and budgeting.
The program is designed to address existing weak-
nesses in the system, especially skills, knowledge,
and understanding for making the system work in the
way it was designed to.
All programs of this nature are somewhat
experimental. And we really won’t know if it will be The District Planning Department staff are the key people who will receive training and technical
possible to bring about real change in the system, assistance during the Governance Program for a better planning and budgeting system

3 Kabar Itah - Edition 29

Village Profile: Habaring Hurung
Although it is close to the capital city, Habaring Hurung is although there is a high input cost to process the soil and
not very easy to access. It is located some distance from maintain its fertility. Villagers who don’t farm choose to
the main road that connects all of the villages in Bukit Batu work as laborers or make charcoal as a small enterprise.
Subdistrict. A small road exists, but it is in poor condition,
YTS started working in the area in July 2009, initially by
and is often flooded during the rainy season.
helping the community to identify their development needs
Habaring Hurung is one of the poorest communities in through an intensive Community Led Analysis and Planning
Bukit Batu, and also the youngest. It was only established (CLAP) process and later by providing technical support to
as an independent village in 1995. Prior to this, it was just assist livelihood activities such as aquaculture and poultry-
a transmigration settlement, and part of Tumbang Tahai raising.
village.
Today, there are around 200 inhabitants of various
In 1991, 250 households from Java were moved to the ethnicities (Javanese, Dayaks and Banjarese) who all look
village as part of the government’s transmigration program, forward to having better infrastructure and more social
followed by a group of local villagers three months later. development in their village.
Although the residents were
granted land and houses by the
government, the community still
find it difficult to make a living. This
is primarily because of the poor
soil conditions. Here, the farmers
have to struggle to amend their
land as most of the soil in the area
is not very fertile. In addition, many
parts of the village are frequently
inundated by water, making it very
difficult to farm unless the land is
drained at high cost.
Electricity was installed in 1997,
but development progressed very
slowly until 2003. In that year, the
village was officially endorsed as
an administrative center, so the
development of basic infrastructure
could then start to take place.
Despite the poor soil conditions,
most villagers still make their living
Poor road conditions appear almost everywhere in Habaring Hurung, which needs attention from the government in order to improve
by farming rice and vegetables,

News Flash Agenda

$11,500 from SD Canada October
YTS CLAP Training
Susila Dharma Canada has committed a total of $11,500 towards capacity-building
Kahayan: CLAP in Koroi, Ford
for YTS staff. Foundation Governance Program,
Horticulture Training Level III
Sharing with McKinsey Bukit Batu: Socialization of Biochar
Staff from the local McKinsey office took a field trip with YTS in mid-August to look Program in 7 kelurahan, CU Training
at the impact of small-scale gold mining in Katingan district. CLAP with Good Hope Foundation
November
Forests Indonesia Conference Kahayan: Rubber Training Level II
At the end of September, YTS attended the Forests Indonesia conference in Ja- Bukit Batu: Micro Enterprise Training
karta that examined issues related to achieving a low-carbon future in Indonesia. Level III
December
Conflict Resolution Presentation for Forestry Field Staff
Kahayan & Bukit Batu: Village Review
YTS collaborated with the local Forestry Department during a training debriefing YTS Annual Review
for 39 Forest Rehabilitation Field Officers on 23 August in Palangka Raya. YTS
facilitated two sessions, including one on Conflict Resolution. Kabar Itah
Kabar Itah is the quarterly newsletter of Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta

CLAP Training for YTS Staff (YTS), an affiliate of PT. Kalimantan Surya Kencana (KSK),
a mineral exploration company.

In early October, YTS will hold a two-day CLAP training for all new staff. This is Published by:
Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta
Bank Accounts:
Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta
in preparation to the forthcoming CLAP processes in new villages. The training is Jl. Badak VII No. 2 Bukit Tunggal
Palangka Raya 73112
BNI 1946
Palangka Raya Branch
aimed to equip field staff with sufficient skills and knowledge to facilitate the Kalimantan Tengah-Indonesia
Telp. +62 (0536) 3237184
Central Kalimantan
INDONESIA
entire process. Fax. +62 (0536) 3229187 Number 0114981608
Email:tambuhaksinta@gmail.com Swift: BNINIDJA
Website: www.tambuhaksinta.com

4 Kabar Itah - Edition 29