Ibu Syukri Jeti, Ibu Junah and Ibu Hayat working at the Pengudang Mangrove Nursery, Teluk Sebong, Bintan. One of the important tasks at the nursery: filling up polybags with mangrove mud in preparation for planting of propagules. Courtesy NTU CCA Singapore.
Caretakers of a Community-led Nursery in Pengudang Village
The mangrove nursery at Pengudang Village is located on the riverbank, connected with a mature riverine mangrove forest upstream. It is a place where young trees are grown and cared for before being planted or sold. Initiated by Pak Iwan Winarto from Pengudang Mangrove School in 2016 in collaboration with Pak Henky Irawan and other lecturers from Raja Ali Haji Maritime University (UMRAH), more villagers were eventually convinced to join the initiative. Through the work, community members can make some additional income through providing propagules to mangrove planting initiatives in Bintan island, such as non-governmental organisations, eco-tourism operators and other privately-funded initiatives.
Currently, the nursery is cared for by a team of eight women from Pengudang Village. Through sharings by Syukri Jeti, Ibu Junah, and Ibu Hayat, three of the women on the team, we get a sense of what the work is like.
Before mangrove saplings are transplanted along the coastline, the nursery team puts in care to grow the propagules until they start to sprout a few leaves. An average day at the nursery involves: gathering suitable soil from the mangroves, selecting propagules for growth, filling up the polybags with suitable soil, and more. Sometimes, men would also help with the gathering of propagules from trees situated in sites that are more difficult to get to.
To know whether a propagule is healthy, they would pick those that are smooth, without the presence of any defects or bite marks from monkeys who sometimes visit for food, or for fun.
Most of the propagules in the nursery today are of the three species: Rhizophora mucronata, Rhizophora apiculata, and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza. From their experience, R. mucronata are the easiest to propagate and transplant, due to their larger size. Currently, each propagule sells for 5,000 to 10,000 Indonesian Rupiah.
The soil for the propagules is also important for survival, requiring a mix of black mud from the mangroves mixed with sand. Ibu Jetti explains the characteristics of this mixture: "Because it's mixed, [the soil] doesn't fall apart, nor is it soft. So it's medium [consistency], but sticky."
Although the growth of mangroves trees is slow, some of them have already started observing changes in the mangroves, and even people’s perceptions of these trees since the initiative began.
According to Ibu Junah: “In the past, the mangrove [trees] were often taken. But now it is no longer allowed. Now, it is guarded. So, there is a change.” As more people begin paying attention to the mangroves because they see the monetary value of the mangroves, and the economic benefits these activities can bring, it is hoped that this will encourage more community-led livelihoods that are grounded in the long-term care for these environments.
Hear from the ibu-ibus in the video below about their work in the nursery in Pengudang Village.
