This post is written by Hari Kushardanto, a Pride Course Manager based out of Rare’s Bogor, Indonesia office.
Malcolm Gladwell in his international bestseller “Tipping Point” writes about mavens, a group of people who are socially motivated to talk to other people; convince other people about one specific topic or product as if they are the expert and ignite social epidemics. The question is how to find these people and what these people look like.
When we meet Sukan, a young guy from Gading Kembar village, a village that is situated adjacent to Bromo-Tengger-Semeru NP where most of the people here depend on firewood as an energy source, we will not think that he meets all criteria of a maven. He used to be the head of local youth group here and has the charisma to be a leader. He does not have lots of cattle nor land, but he is very smart and always thinks way beyond what other men at his age think. One important feature is that, as Gladwell says, he knows something that other people do not.
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Sukan, the “maven” from Gading Kembar village
Collecting firewood is the main obvious threat to forest area in the park. The growth of the population here coupled with a lack of alternative energy sources and weak law enforcement have forced local people here to further infringe on the park and cut trees for firewood. As the forest gets destroyed the water also gets scarce, especially during the dry season.
Magi, the Pride Campaign Manager has identified this. He also sees that the strategy to reduce the threat is by increasing knowledge of local people here about the importance of the forest for maintaining hydrological systems, and by introducing alternative energy sources. Many farmers here have cattle so he thinks that creating a biogas system is one answer. The second option is through introducing energy-efficient stoves for those who do not have cattle. Of course the ultimate objective is to have interconnected biogas systems that electrify every house here. So people will no longer use firewood and therefore the forest remains natural.
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Magi, the Pride Campaign Manager, with one local firewood collector
The challenge that Magi faced in the beginning was to find the right people who can help him convince other people about the importance to take action now and who want to adopt more sustainable energy sources. He did not have to wait long until he met with Sukan. For several consecutive nights, Magi spoke with him about forest conservation, the impact of forest degradation to local people in the village, ways to shift from using firewood and of course his Pride Campaign. Magi then invited him to his first stakeholder workshop, asked him to help Magi with his group discussions and survey.
Over time, Sukan’s understanding about forest conservation grew. He also helps Magi talk to other people in the village with confidence that what he is talking about is not only for the sake of the environment but also their current and future generations. In one community meeting, where everybody was blaming weak law enforcement and lack of government support as the cause of ignorance, Sukan eloquently said that this is not the time to seek who is to blame. He further said: “we will live in this village forever so we need to take care of our forest and the environment well … we need to hand-in-hand find the solution for our own problem otherwise we will suffer first”.
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