Abdul Kasim’s (born in 1972) steps are steady, his bare feet stepping on the wet soil and thorny bushes beneath the towering palm trees. Not long after, a bamboo pole was used as a foothold, creeping up like a lizard to the top, a machete at the waist was moved to cut down the trunks of the palm trees, the sap water was dripping, collected in jirgens of various sizes that he carried on his back, the sap water was ready to be harvested the next day.

In the jungle of his birthplace, Oncone Raya Village, Parigi Mountong Regency, Central Sulawesi Province, Abdul Kasim lives with his wife Yulianti (40) and three daughters. A stilt house typical of forest-dwelling villagers stands tall surrounded by lush trees and rice fields owned by the man who is familiarly called Kaseng. In this simple house, Kaseng and his wife struggle to cultivate non-timber forest products such as cloves, cocoa, sugar palm and rice. However, the changing seasons have made his income as a farmer plummet. The clove crop that used to be his main source of income can no longer be counted on, nor can the cacao that is increasingly suffering from disease. “In the past, cloves could be harvested once a year, but now the harvest is unpredictable,” said the man with a thick mustache. Kasem’s neighborhood is indeed surrounded by clove and cacao plants, but everything seems unkempt because they can rarely be harvested. “I usually clean them but sometimes I ask people to help me take care of them,” he continued. Kaseng does not give up, climate change is faced, palm trees and Nira are the solution. Every day Kameng harvests palm trees to make palm sugar products which he processes in a simple kitchen behind the house with his wife Yulianti (40). In a day Kaseng can “Batipar” or harvest nira in the local language of more than 5 palm trees with the yield of nira water varying between 15 to 35 liters. “Depending on the condition of the tree, sometimes there is also no water at all,” said Kaseng. To maintain the productivity of the palm trees, Kaseng usually performs a “ritual” or special treatment by using Toki or a similar wooden tool for beating kentongan, only shorter and oval in shape. The palm trees are beaten with Toki and then the fruit and trunk are shaken slowly. According to him, this can stimulate the palm tree so that later when it is harvested, it releases a lot of sap water.

The palm tree is arguably now the “savior” of the family’s economy, unlike cloves or chocolate which require a relatively long time to harvest, nira can be harvested every day. “Almost every day I sell (shell sugar) and I can take the money every week,” said Kaseng happily.