Sawah is a cultural and natural heritage established with considering a balancing of culture and the environment. I understand that everyday my parent actually always educates me a value of sawah establishment to live in harmony between culture and the environment. That signs a hope of my parents to be wise man on nurturing the environment without neglecting culture.

Both of culture and the environment in sawah are the part of core culture and mine. Socially, sawah helps to maintain the local culture came up in era of Hinduism. Ecologically, it is a green pathway to conserve environment by planting rice and other plants.

The philosophy of sawah is a boon land as farmers give opportunity from God to plant rice in the field. As my traditions, after planting and spreading the seeds of rice in sawah, the farmers will celebrate a holy communion so that the expected harvesting time will be successful. Perhaps, I see that culture has embedded to local and tribal community of Java.

Based on social science I have learned, the uniqueness of sawah can be seen as many farmers get together on planting rice and on celebrating the harvesting time of rice. The celebration is committed with several traditional dances, singings, folklores and holy communitions for God.

The farmers depend their life to sawah as source of occupation to obtain rice for Indonesian staple food. I can?t image as there are no land for sawah, and farmers. In fact, that case was happening. Apparently, I was very disappointed while many farmers left over the damage of sawah. It means, they ignored the initial core culture they harbor and denied the importance of the environment like the mentioned above.

The farmers were interested to seek other beneficial job than worked in sawah. In addition, they were still working in sawah, but they damaged sawah by using chemical substances that were able to destroy ecosystem.

As the solution, I discussed the above with all children and youth in my local community. The problem was positively appreciated by them to as soon as possible be alleviated. Finally, we cooperated with government and NGOs, concerning in agriculture sectors to address the problem.

The acquired solutions provided by government and NGOs were by reconstructing the system and management of sawah and by providing adequate incentive for farmers. I engaged the others to more diligent on changing the negative sterotypes as working in sawah.

Yet, I have been actively conducted the first solution which has been by reconstructing the management through building a project, assisting the farmers in my local community. The project was ? A Thousand Farmers for Sawah?. Here, I played role to educate farmers? children related agricultural technologies which were able to enhance the better agricultural system. The technologies used should be adapted to culture and environment.

For instance, the utilization of fertilizer should be environmentally friendly and the manufacturing allowed local community to involve. This way intended to maintain the existing cultural and environmental value of sawah. I was very proud to assist their children on ascertaining the benefits of technology that were in harmony towards culture and the environment.

I attempt to maintain the original culture of Indonesia which is known as sawah, not only due to my interest in culture but also my awareness to conserve environment of being sustainable. By the previous experience, I learn to realize that sawah play important role towards three pillars of sustainable development.

Socially, sawah helps to maintain Indonesian original culture and ancient traditions. In addition, in the view of environment, by building sawah, the biodiversity will be increasing. The last, it will assist farmers economically to fill out their income.