Lestari

Lestari, The Pioneer of Women Movement

          Lestari (28 years old), we can call her Tari, is a housewife in Wonosobo district, Central Java who sells many things by online media, especially kitchen set, shoes, clothes, tour, and travel. She also encourages her community, especially women and villagers. Tari is a person with full of spirit, hard worker and concern to villagers issues, especially women issues, she encourages women to access the land. She started and still doing this project since she was studying in senior high school. This is why The Pioneers Foundation (Yayasan Para Perintis / YPP) chose her as one of Pioneers who should be supported and made as inspiration to public community.

        The Pioneers Foundation supported Tari as a Pioneer because YPP thinks Tari is good in encouraging women and villagers in Wonosobo district. She wants women in Wonosobo become more independent and active in agrarian movement. For her, women movement has to be part of peasants and agrarian movement. Tari works and focuses in 4 villages of 2 subdistrict in Wonosobo district. She focuses to encourage occupying and reclaiming the land with the peasants. She leads to manage the land after occupying or reclaiming either.

       Lestari is popular in Wadas Lintang and Kepil subdistrict area, people knew her as a low profile and simple person who works nothing to lose for sharing and caring to the community around her neighbourhood. She is active in some women regular meetings for sharing some information, especially for women empowerment including government’s program. For example, they make some cooperation with local company to create some women craft and produce some imitations of eyelids. In addition, she is also active as a core team in her village for advocating regulation about village (undang-undang desa). It is worth that Tari is being chosen as the leader of the team, especially for research in some families and sexual reproductive issues, the program of the local government in subdistrict of Wonosobo.

Tari, as a young housewife, mother of a beautiful girl, she has an opinion that health and sexual reproductive is basic and important knowledge for women. Woman who cares about her health and sexual reproductive is important for community and nation development. Healthy woman can make and build healthy and good generation.

      Lestari’s husband is an agrarian activist either, he is partner and main supporter for Tari who is always supporting Tari’s activities. That’s true that they are a young and progressive couple in agrarian issues. There are many programs with many varieties, radical activities, and soft program. There are many victims either, many persons were in jailed. But, they don’t give up. They want the better life and world for their children, new generation, their future. They don’t want their children land in plantation areas with many commodities, like them.

“We hold some activities, it does not means we are giving up, it is part of our strategies to survive to save our spirit and energy for long movement until justice and victory come to us”, Tari told me about her newest activities. Her spirit to fight and make the community more independent is still fire. Lestari said that people (including women) without accessing to the land is a serious problems for peasants family in Wonosobo district.  

       When Isti Komah (YPP) visited her last year and in the intensive communication, Lestari said about her opinion on problems and how to solve it one by one and step by step.  “Day by day, peasants and their family do not have any access to the land and they have to fulfill their family needs which is getting bigger and more expensive. These are Indonesian’s big problems. Village problems which do not get any solutions from the local government become new problems in the city. Because there is no hope in their village, peasants and their families move to some cities and become part of new problems in the cities. I think, these villager’s problems have to solve first and soon,” Tari told her ideas to Isty.

        The Pioneers Foundation which is named as LLSP (Local Leaders Stewardship Program) supported some local leaders who lead and make any changing in their community. There are 9 pioneers including Tari whom is supported by YPP. They are from many areas, professions, ages, and variety methods in building changes. It depends on their problems and ideas.

       Special for Lestari, YPP tried to support her to make her keep in survive without taking her basic income to be sacrificed, keep fighting and struggling and have good communication to all of her network, including YPP. Lestari who has become candidate since LLSP program and now YPP program is one of Pioneers who Isti knew very well since 2005 ago on networking program of peasants organization in Central Java.

         In the first meeting of LLSP (now YPP) in Tembi, Yogyakarta last Januari 2015, Lestari said that YPP really supported her works in the field areas, but she feels sorry because she and her community need some supports since many years ago, when they have big problems in their movement. Now, all is better even not in the ideal situation.

       Keep fighting with women in her community to access the land and many activities is her method to keep fighting and struggling in her bad situation with many village problems in Wonosobo district. This situation makes her stronger to keep her spirit to get justice with the peasants, vis-a-vis the owner of the big land, Perhutani. Women and their family who live with good life is the best investment to our future. As a pioneer, Tari totally believes it.

Written by Isti Komah (Pioneer Coordinator in The Pioneers Foundation / Yayasan Para Perintis). For more information about it, please check : www.paraperintis.org