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Indonesian Farmers Act to Save Lake Poso
With its rare orchids and striking birds, Lake Poso, in the heart of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, is a nature lover’s paradise. A vital natural resource, the lake also supports the livelihoods of the cocoa-farming communities dotted along its shores. But now, scientists are sounding the alarm about severe pollution—caused in part by irresponsible agriculture.
The Rainforest Alliance has worked with cocoa farmers in the lakeside district of Pamona Seletan since 2015. Violent clashes between ethnic groups ravaged the region between 1998 and 2007—but a decade on, former enemies have found unity in sustainability. Since achieving certification, the Karya Bersama cooperative’s 500 farmers have seen yields increase by as much as 20 percent. And now they are leading the charge to clean up Lake Poso—helping to
expand our sustainable agriculture program to five more villages and to develop a natural resource management plan. Four hundred smallholders are learning techniques, like organic composting, that can improve productivity while also protecting the watershed from toxic agrochemical runoff.*
Sin Simpotu, a 41-year-old farmer, has taken an active role as a sustainability leader and was elected “local community champion” for her village. Tasked with building community consensus on responsible land use and water protection, Sin hopes to inspire other farmers, especially women, to embrace conservation.
* The project is financially supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan and the World Bank. The fund’s fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation.
SIN SIMPOTU
farmer and local sustainability champion from Bo’e village near Lake Poso
