Integrasi Kearifan Lokal dalam Evaluasi Lahan bagi Budidaya Enbal (Manihot esculenta Crantz) pada Kaki Gunung Ar, Pulau Yut, Maluku Tenggara

Integration of Local Wisdom in Land Evaluation for Enbal Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Cultivation in the Footslope of Mount Ar, Yut Island, Southeastern Maluku

Abstract

Cassava is a food and trade commodity in the Kei Islands, Maluku Province. Various aspects of the cultivation of this crop are determined by traditional knowledge held by farmers from generation to generation. This study aimed to: 1) describe the potential of local wisdom (traditional knowledge) about the land owned by the Ohoi Wasar community in the Kei Islands regarding the suitability of the coastal land management for ‘enbal’ (bitter cassava) cultivation; 2) integrate local knowledge about land belonging to the Ohoi Wasar indigenous people with FAO land evaluation (modern soil knowledge in land suitability evaluation) for sustainable cultivation of ‘enbal’ cassava. This research was carried out using a transect-based survey method that was participatory and goal-oriented, which focused on farmers who cultivate ‘enbal’ cassava and their fields on the coastal land in the footslope of Mount Ar. The results of the study were: 1) there was local-traditional wisdom of the Wasar community that was directly related to ‘enbal’ cultivation (ethnopedological system); firstly, the wisdom of determining land suitability for ‘enbal’ cassava cultivation (ie. hadoichr ngametan or black soil = Renzina, and hadoichr vuil or red soil = Cambisol Dystrict); secondly was the wisdom of determining the time/day of land clearing for ‘enbal’ gardens (slash-and-burn) and the planting time which was started in early May; in addition, there was a supporting wisdom in the diversity or reliance of local foods, namely the habit of harvesting and consuming "boo" with " es­­`u/laor " at the end of March; 2) when the potential of local knowledge about soils (ethnopedology system) was integrated with the FAO FAO system of land evaluation, it appeared that there was an overlap in the studies of soil fertility, namely both categorizing “black soil†as more fertile (very suitable), and “red soil†as a less fertile" (slightly suitable) soil.

Keywords: Ar-Wasar, bitter cassava, ‘enbal’, land evaluation, local wisdom

ABSTRAK

Ubi kayu merupakan komoditas pangan dan perdagangan di Kepulauan Kei, Provinsi Maluku. Berbagai aspek budidaya tanaman ini ditentukan oleh pengetahuan tradisional yang dipegang oleh petani secara turun temurun. Penelitian ini bertujuan: 1) menginventarisasi potensi kearifan lokal (pengetahuan tradisional) tentang tanah yang dimiliki masyarakat Ohoi Wasar di Kepulauan Kei terkait kesesuaian pengelolaan lahan pesisir bagi budidaya tanaman enbal (ubi kayu pahit); 2) mengintegrasikan kearifan pengetahuan lokal tentang tanah yang dimiliki masyarakat adat Ohoi Wasar dengan evaluasi lahan FAO (pengetahuan tanah moderen dalam evaluasi kesesuaian lahan) bagi budidaya tanaman enbal yang berkelanjutan. Penelitian dilaksankan dengan metode survey berbasis transek secara partisipatif berorientasi tujuan, yang difokuskan pada petani yang bercocok tanam enbal dan kebunnya pada lahan pesisir kaki Gunung Ar. Hasil penelitian adalah: 1) Ada kearifan lokal-tradisonal dari masyarakat Wasar yang terkait langsung dengan budidaya enbal (sistem etnopedologi); pertama, kearifan penentuan tanah/lahan yang cocok atau sesuai bagi usaha kebun enbal (yakni hadoichr ngametan atau tanah hitam = Renzina, dan hadoichr vuil atau tanah merah =Kambisol Distrik); kedua, kearifan penentuan waktu/hari buka kebun enbal (tebas-bakar) dan waktu tanam di awal Mei; selain itu, terdapat kearifan pendukung dalam keragaman/kemandirian pangan lokal, yakni kebiasaan panen dan konsumsi “boo†bersama “es­­`u/laor†pada akhir Maret. 2) Jika potensi kearifan pengetahuan tanah lokal (sistem etnopedologi) diintegrasikan dengan evaluasi lahan sistem FAO, nampak titik temunya (overlap) pada telaahan kesuburan tanah, yakni keduanya mengkategorikan “tanah hitam†sebagai yang lebih subur (sangat sesuai), dan “tanah merah†kurang subur (cukup sesuai).

Kata kunci: Ar-Wasar , enbal, evaluasi lahan, kearifan lokal, ubi kayu pahit