SITUBONDO, EAST JAVA — Merak Hamlet, Sumberwaru Village, is home to approximately 400 families who make their living from farming and gardening. It is located within the Baluran National Park, Situbondo, East Java. Almost all residents in this area raise cattle, sheep, or goats, but all these livestock are shared with investors.
These livestock are not sacrificed by the residents of Merak Hamlet due to difficult economic conditions. Mrs. Lasemi (60), a resident of Merak Hamlet, said that her livelihood depends on sheep farming and wages from working as a laborer on other people’s farms.
“We don’t have a monthly income, sir. When we run out of money, we sell our sheep. If the sheep give birth, Alhamdulillah, but if they don’t, we are just grateful,” said the mother of two.
Lasemi is grateful because since the arrival of the Dompet Dhuafa East Java team in Merak Hamlet, she can finally enjoy meat.
“We do raise sheep, but we’ve never tasted their meat. Some people think that instead of slaughtering them for sacrifice, it’s better to buy rice,” he said while feeding the sheep.
Dompet Dhuafa East Java distributed sacrificial meat to Merak Hamlet as an effort to distribute meat evenly across the easternmost province of Java.
“We distributed 1,100 sacrificial animals, equivalent to sheep or goats, to 30 locations in Situbondo and Banyuwangi,” explained Achmad Efendi, PIC of the Sacrificial Animal Distribution Team (THK) in Situbondo.
Until the last day of Tasyrik, the distribution of sacrificial meat continued to be carried out by THK in the eastern tip of Java. (Dompet Dhuafa / Aryo Prasojo)