When Nua did not have to fish in the Kayahan river of Central Kalimantan

Every day at 4 o’clock in the morning, Nua, 53 years old, starts the day, jumps on her boat in front of her house and begins paddling towards the Lake Tundai across the Kayahan River. She remains at the lake until four in the afternoon, trying to catch as much fish as possible. On a good day, two kilograms of fish will bite the hook, but very often she only brings an average of one kilogram back to the village.

Feature | 30 November 2013
Every day at 4 o’clock in the morning, Nua, 53 years old, starts the day, jumps on her boat in front of her house and begins paddling towards the Lake Tundai across the Kayahan River. She remains at the lake until four in the afternoon, trying to catch as much fish as possible. On a good day, two kilograms of fish will bite the hook, but very often she only brings an average of one kilogram back to the village.

Nua used to catch twice as much, four kilograms in a day, before massive logging started under the Mega Rice Project. In addition to logging, the drainage of peat lands exposed the remaining forest to massive fires and increased the scale of deforestation. The area around the village became much drier, leading to a decline in the water level of the river and the surrounding lakes, which in turn affected fishery activities for the villagers of Bereng Bengkel in Central Kalimantan.

During the dry season, the lakes dry out and they experience more difficulties to catch fish. In addition, the fish population in the river drastically declined due to pollution from gold mining and aggressive fishing methods. Nua has seen people using poison to kill fish on a large scale and many others use electric shocks for the same purpose. These new conditions made it very hard for Nua to make a living. “I cannot expect too much from fishing anymore. My children decided not to be fishermen. They support us with money from gold mining,” explains Nua.

Indeed, while fishing became more difficult, more villagers turned to gold mining because they could no longer get resources from forests, as timber logging became illegal. Fishery is the most important source of income and proteins for the inhabitants of Bereng Bengkel, as it is for many inhabitants of Central Kalimantan.

With the fish population decrease and water pollution increase, alternatives to wild fishing in the river were required. Therefore, the ILO through its Green Livelihood Access for Central Kalimantan’s Inclusive Environmental Response to Climate Change (GLACIER) decided to develop fish farming in Bereng Bengkel. With fish ponds, the villagers can control the conditions in which the fish grow and prevent them from being contaminated by mercury from mining activities and unsustainable fishing methods.

In May 2013, Nua went to Palangkaraya with her neighbors to take part of a two-days training on fish farming, as part of the ILO-GLACIER project. They learnt how to construct a fish pond, cultivate fish, prepare fish fodder and develop a sustainable business plan. They then joined a five-day hands-on training session in order to put that knowledge into practice. In early July, the construction of the ponds was completed by the participants. Anabas testudineus, also called the “climbing perch” was chosen for the project as this local species survives easily in peat water and has a high economic value.

Nua is now taking care of one pond with four other neighbours. They set a schedule and each day, the household in turn feeds the fish and cleans the pond. Nua is happy that since the work is not hard, her husband, who is not well, can also take care of the pond. While Nua still goes to the river to catch fish, he can take care of the pond. Nusa will be able to sell the first fish in coming February or March, 2014. Thanks to the investment in fish farming, selling fish will once again be a viable economic option for the villagers of Bereng Bengkel. (*)