Real Work of Temporary Shaman
For years Henny Yudea got along with farmers in villages. Believes that herbal plants are the health solution for poor people. Asking people to use herbal plants is not appropriate if she does not use it by herself. Henny Yudea really understands this issue. For 15 years she studies herbal medicine, the chance to use it by herself came when she was pregnant her first daughter last year. She often consumed shoe-shaped flower leaves so that the process of her delivery can be smooth.

The result? “I did not have any problems and there were not much blood,” she said. After the delivery she consumed traditional mixture: lime and betel leaves, cajuput oil, and lemon which were put on the stomach and put a bandage. This is the recipe to make the stomach smaller after delivering a baby. Katuk leaves were also consumed to increase mother’s milk; the best food for her nine month old baby.

Among the health and environment activists, she was very popular. Woman activist born in Kemuning Village Ngargodadi Karanganyar Central Java on 9 November 1968 became more famous after she joined 1.000 Peace Women for Noble Prize 2005. She was included among 23 Indonesian women in this contest.

This institution which base in Switzerland is interested in Henny Yudea work because her work is unique and very useful. With her colleagues in LESSAN, Henny Yudea tries to ask farmers to make use of herbal plants to keep their health. “So that they do not become dependent to expensive modern medicine,” said Henny to GATRA .

From its base in Dusun Palgading Sinduharjo Ngaglik Sleman Yogyakarta, Henny gives training to herbal medicine farmers. In her office or in her garage which is change into display room, there are any dried herbal plants and mixture ready to be steeped and consumed. These mixtures have histamine and curative effects for stomachache and dizzy to serious diseases such as diabetic, heart, and lever.

According to Henny, medication cost these days are out of farmers reach. Usually to get medication farmers should sell their belongings such as chicken, goat, or even getting loan from others so that when they get well they become poorer. It will be easier if the farmers make use of their surrounding plants to make herbal medicine.

Not only using herbal medicine, LESSAN also gives training and education to the farmers so that they are able to plant herbal plants and make health standard herbal medicine. This struggle was started in 1990 when Henny and her four friends established LESSAN. It was started in Dusun Ngalakan, Donoharjo, Ngaglik, Sleman.

Lessan started with a post and also for its office and a place to live. Dusun Ngalakan only consisted of 110 families but it was rich of variety of plants especially herbal plants. At the beginning, the people did not accept what LESSAN did because LESSAN introduced alternative medication, “We are considered as temporary shaman”, said Henny but the recipe could cure the disease so that the people started to welcome LESSAN.

Henny got the recipes of traditional medication from the elderly in the villages. With her partners, she interviewed and documented herbal medicine in a book which then distributed to the people. Even she believed in herbal medicine, she allowed the people to go to puskesmas (sub district health post).

At that time, the fee was only Rp. 300. But when they want to buy medicine, the farmers could not afford it because it was very expensive and also there was not a campaign of generic medicine. The helplessness of the farmer increased when they were hospitalized. In this situation LESSAN did its job by making use of herbal plants such as pegagan, kerokot, asem, mindi tree, and alang-alang.

Training on how to plant and cultivate herbal plants for adult and children also became the work of LESSAN. After 2 years in Dusun Ngalakan and it was succeeded, LESSAN made another post in Kinahrejo Merapi. The work here was the same as in Ngalakan. In 1994 Merapi erupted, Henny cs. were involved in accompanying the people who were going to be relocated.

In 1998, LESSAN expanded its work to Gunungkidul (still in Yogyakarta) in Sidoharjo Village Tepus Sub district, Henny also introduced herbal plants plantation, using, and making. Since the people here were poor, she added her activities on economy and nutrition improvement especially for children.

Empon-empon, a common plant in Gunungkidul became the main ingredients to make herbal medicine – besides kunir (curcuma) and jahe (ginger). In 2002, LESSAN established SEPEJAM (herbal medicine farmers union). This union made a network between the farmers in Kinahrejo Sleman and Tepus Gunungkidul as raw material suppliers and farmers in Kaliurang as organizers.

In SEPEJAM there were also 42 herbal medicine retailers. The whole network consisted of 526 members and 80% were women. In the past two years, LESSAN also facilitated herbal plants export. The market was only Austria. “Export capacity was not the target but introducing foreign countries trading with farmers fairly”, said Henny.

By involving farmers from 13 villages, LESSAN facilitated herbal plants export such as curcuma and ginger. These plants were organically cultivated so that the price was doubled. For example: the highest price for curcuma Rp. 600 per kilogram became Rp. 1250. That price was net price without other costs such as packing and transportation.

Now LESSAN still worked in health and environment area. This organization had a network with other NGOs such as Forum LSM Yogyakarta, Aliansi Kesehatan, and Wahana Lingkungan Hidup. LESSAN whose donators are Terre des Hommes and Eine Welt Laden in Germany also became regional branch of biological diversity organization in ASEAN.

Through issues such as independence, poverty, and poverty taking out by local wisdoms, LESSAN was considered having main role as peace taker for the people in villages. At least that was the judgment of Women Peace Nobel Award. Now the network of women herbal farmers are developing. The area is not only in Yogyakarta but also in Central Java and East Java.
Sigit Indra (Yogyakarta)