Heavy rainfall washes away the vegetable seeds and/or damages the crops. Rain shelters can be the solution for that. In Lurang two proper rain shelters were built by the gardeners with assistance of the ComDev agriculture officer. Thick transparent plastic was imported from Semarang. Bamboo and wood were used to support the plastic.
In the Junior High School in Lurang, students started a garden of traditional healing herbs and spices. Ginger and turmeric were the first roots to be planted. Seventeen (17) students and one teacher cleaned and prepared the land, assisted by the ComDev agriculture office.
With this program, ComDev wants to re-introduce the traditional healing herbs and spices to the next generation of villagers. The healing powers of the traditionally grown spices lost their importance and the “Western” medicines took over. A valuable tradition is about to disappear once the elders in the villages will pass away. ComDev Batutua is dedicated not to let this tradition pass away as well.