Maintaining marine protective Waifuna flame

On the lonceng church breaks the silence when the sun shine at the eastern end of Indonesia, precisely in Kapatcol Village, West Misool District, Raja Ampat Regency, West Papua Power.

Lonceng is not the marker of the weekly worship, but the call for a strong tradition, namely the tradition of Open Sea Sasi, a custom system in managing natural resources on the ground or ocean.

Sasi tradition is a local dancing mirror with binding rules. Before the ceremony open Sasi, the community is forbidden to take the lobster, teripang and the lola during the closing period of Sasi. When opening the public Sasi should not take unilaterally because there are rules of sizes and types that can be taken at the location of the 213 hectares.

Management of Marine Sasi is carried out by Waifuna group which means which is blessed by God with a number of members as many as 36 people, most aged 30 years up.

Among the Waifuma, there is a figure of Yolanda Kacili (23), a young mother who is the grandchild of the chairman of Waifuma Group, Almina Kacili by having a dive or molo ability to a depth of 19 meters.

Yolanda is not only successor, but also one of the sustainability milestones for custom heritage that is rich in meaning.

For three days of implementation, Waifuma ttersebut managed to capture 1.138 teripang, 599 lola and 20 lobsters. On the joint agreement, the trimming results are sold to finance the treatment of two sick children and other needs in the village.

The success of local communities in maintaining the undisclosed marine ecosystem of the role of the Archipelago’s Nature Conservation Foundation (YKAN) that streamline the management of Sasi. Let’s become an important milestone to keep the vulnerable marine ecosystem in the middle of the modern development pressure.

Text and Photos: Bayu Pratama S