BANTEN — On Saturday (February 3, 2024), ten donors from Dompet Dhuafa had the chance to visit one of Dompet Dhuafa Banten’s economic empowerment programs. This initiative, the Coastal Community Empowerment Program: Milkfish Aquaculture, is situated in Linduk Village, Pontang Subdistrict, Serang.
Packaged as a “Care Visit: Milkfish Fishing,” the agenda aimed to enrich the weekend with meaningful activities. Moreover, through this engagement, Dompet Dhuafa sought to facilitate direct interaction between the zakat donors (muzaki) and the benefit recipients, allowing donors to firsthand witness the impact of their zakat contributions.
Before the onset of the fishing activity, the Dompet Dhuafa Banten Team warmly greeted the Care Visit attendees. Despite the slight rain, enthusiasm remained high among participants eager to dive into the planned activities. The event kicked off with a brief on the empowerment program, followed by a delightful session with a counselor from Aku Temanmu, Dompet Dhuafa Banten Branch’s counseling house program. Participants were invited to engage in art therapy, using clay pots and watercolors as their mediums, serving as a therapeutic method through art.
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Mokhlas Pidono, the Branch Leader of Dompet Dhuafa Banten, elaborated on the program’s objectives and execution. He highlighted the drive behind the initiative: educating the youth about the area’s history and ensuring the Pontang community continues to access their own land.
Historically a major rice granary in Banten, the Pontang Subdistrict has seen a shift from farming and fishpond work to factory labor due to acculturation and land sales to large corporations. Additionally, many local women have sought employment as migrant workers abroad.
“The main challenge they face is access to capital. To address this, Dompet Dhuafa has initiated land liberation using endowment funds, complemented by business capital, mentoring, and moral education,” Mokhlas detailed.
Endowments ensure communal use of the land for empowerment or social benefits, presenting a potential remedy for the dire situations of local communities affected by land sales to capitalists. Since 2018, Dompet Dhuafa Banten has rallied for land liberation, culminating in the liberation of 6,500 square meters of land for milkfish aquaculture by early 2023.
“We’re committed to further developing this endowment to expand the land available for community use,” he stated.
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Two direct benefit recipients of the aquaculture program were selected based on their potential for empowerment, both with extensive experience in fishpond and agricultural work. The goal is for these benefit recipients to eventually extend the program, fostering a cascading empowerment effect throughout the community.
The fishing activity, rendered even more memorable by the muddy, rainy conditions, saw participants donning boots and traversing fields and fishponds to the empowerment site. Upon arrival, Kamhar (43), a benefit recipient, greeted them with joy, having prepared a grilling station for the freshly caught fish, complemented by butterfly pea flower tea, another product of Dompet Dhuafa Banten’s economic empowerment efforts. (Dompet Dhuafa/Muthohar)