Be kind with nature: A case of terrace farming in Dieng Plateau, Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

"Be kind to nature" is a prescription describing how the peasants practising terrace farming in the Dieng plateau in Central Java, Indonesia, might overcome and even halt the processes of heavy soil erosion in the mountainous landscape. The Dieng Plateau was originally a vast, ancient caldera of a semi-active volcano that now constitutes fertile terrain endangered by modern farming. Our question is: based upon the wisdom of our ancestors, could the old but more nature-friendly methods of farming represent a new, wise and sustainable solution? Two communities, Sikunang and Upper Wadaslintang, are analysed to provide us with prompts for tackling this question.