Born and raised in Brajah Harjosari, a village on the borders of Way Kambas National Park in Southern Sumatra, the 44-year-old Pak Agus often witnesses countless elephant raids and ravages to their farming community’s crops and properties.
“These elephants forage on our crops and destroy our properties. Because this has continued for decades, people in our village see them as enemies,” he says.
The constant dilemma and the safety issues for humans and elephants alike grew into an ill-fated relationship between them; not to mention that the severe impacts of these raids on the villagers’ livelihoods have forced many of them to enter the park to find food.
Pak Agus understands that solving these would not be easy without the help of others. In 2022, he and other village members became beneficiaries of the Small Grants Programme (SGP) by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity.
Through the grant, they ventured into an alternative source of income by forming the POKDARWIS Braja Harjosari that offers a tour package – including homestay, birdwatching, night safari, selling of souvenir items, and transportation services for local visitors and tourists who frequent their place to see the wildlife at Way Kambas up close.
“The conflict has been a way for us to work together with SGP, its service provider Penabulu Foundation, and the park management in discovering our potential. Through the help we received, we can now run our homestay, manage the group’s money, and explore other income-generating activities. We do not need to go inside the park because we have everything here,” shares Pak Agus.
The village members attribute the boost to their ecotourism efforts to the elephants and birds, whose existence piqued people’s interest in visiting the area. In turn, Pak Agus and the village members teamed up with the authorities of the WKNP and the other villages close to the national park to establish four patrol groups to ensure the welfare of elephants while keeping them within the village’s boundaries.
Through time, village members saw that living in harmony with the elephants was possible. From seeing them as enemies, the elephants have now become their biggest allies.
