I spent about a month in Tasikmalaya for my research. Along the way, I came across some remarkable figures. Thought I’d share these little anecdotes and what I learned from them.
It was a sunny day in Tasikmalaya. I was out with Teh Tina — my kindest local guide, and was wrapping up for the day after a series of interviews. We walked around the city to get snacks (Tasik snacks are yum!). We were stopping by this place and stumbled upon this statue. I asked Teh Tina about it, and so I learned about this local rockstar, Mak Eroh. You know how these days, people’s worth seems to be measured upon wealth, degrees, validation on likes and applauses? Well, Mak Eroh’s legacy throws some shade on all that.
There is this statue of her and her husband — Abdul Rojak, right in the middle of the city. But honestly, ask around. Not many Indonesians know of her. Her story really got me to reflect a lot about the role of women and local wisdom that went unnoticed. Well, I titled this written piece Unsung Heroes — I’ve been studying environmental science for some time now, and I’ve never heard of her stories. It might be me being ignorant. But none of the people I’ve talked to heard of her. There’s a giant statue. Yes. I can see that. But what exactly did she do, and how come no one talked about this?
Mak Eroh was a local who made a living out of selling coconut leaves and cassava. She received a Kalpataru Award — an award given by the Indonesian government to a person/group for their dedication to the environment.
Back in the 1980s, the city was facing a water crisis. Then this 50-year-old lady built an irrigation system with her own hands. With little more than a cangkul (a traditional hoe) and a balincong (a short pry bark), she embarked on this Herculean task. ‘Cangkul’, a basic farming tool in Indonesia, became her primary instrument for her to carve through a rock hillside. She constructed a 4.5 km-long waterway weaving through hills with inclinations ranging from 60 to 90 degrees. I’d say it is an engineering marvel, given the tools and resources at her disposal. It is not just the length or challenging terrain that makes her work remarkable. It is the audacity of taking on such a task that even modern machinery would find challenging. With just these basic tools, she transformed not just the landscape but the fate of her community.
It gets me thinking, though. We often chase knowledge and all these fancy technologies from the so-called advanced places, thinking it is the gold standard. But back home, we’ve got our own legends of innovation and the genius of local wisdom. Makes you wonder what counts as knowledge these days. In a modern world obsessed with everything shiny, pricy and ‘advanced’, Mak Eroh’s story is a powerful reminder that wisdom can be found in our own backyard. Starting my studies in Engineering, never once have I heard of this story. It was always, “Look at this shiny piece we have from X”, or “Country X does that, so we need to do that as well”. I didn’t have this in my curriculum when I studied Environmental Engineering, but I’d actually love to learn more about the irrigation systems she built and how on earth she could pull off such a task. It got me reflecting on how underestimated local knowledge is and what counts as knowledge in science these days.
It truly takes us back to how important it is to reflect on what local stories and humble tales from the past can show us. Even back then, this engineering marvel came from a 50-year-old lady who graduated from elementary school with a hoe and a crazy big determination to create access to water for her community. I’m pretty sure we have more stories like this to tell! So here’s a start to appreciate what home offers us— legends of wisdom and persistence on which we should be proud to have!
