This huge area was broken by illegal gold mining. The stone and gravel came up from the bowels of the earth and little ponds here and there. The land cannot be planted, the humus already run out.

Despite that condition, pretty and bright wildflowers catch my eye. No one cares but they look wonderful.

To rehabilitate the ex-gold mining area, my office and the residents work together on a project named The Open-access Land Reclamation. We have been working on the land to shape an agroforestry park.

We had been planting forest trees (Ketapang Kencana, bamboo, queen’s flower, banyan) and fruit trees (mango, durian, and matoa). Within three years, these trees would grow bigger, and bear fruit.

This is not easy work, dealing with the local people is challenging. We continue convincing them to stop illegal mining and be kind to the environment.