"By: Feki Okrizal & Natalia Trita Agnika

Like most mothers in Jernih Jaya Village, Gunung Tujuh Sub-district, Kerinci Regency, Kaliyem is active in various village activities. She does not want to remain idle and dependent on her husband's income as a farmer. Kaliyem also gathers farming mothers who have the same desire to move forward.

Together with other farmer mothers, in 2008, Kaliyem formed an association called Jaya Lestari. The group of seven members made handicrafts from plastic waste which were then sold around their neighborhood. In 2010, the Jaya Lestari association was transformed into the Jaya Lestari Makmur Women Farmers Group, which was authorized by the Village Head's decree and chaired by Kaliyem after being elected by acclamation by all group members.

Not only processing plastic waste, this group also does other things. They revive unproductive land in their village. Despite not having enough knowledge to do so, Kaliyem and the other women did not give up. With the help of Suryono, a farmer who has the knowledge to optimize unproductive land, they improved their knowledge. Their desire to gain knowledge and hard work paid off. The unproductive land was planted with coffee and has begun to produce.

In July 2017, Jaya Lestari Makmur Women Farmers Group received assistance from WWF-Indonesia in collaboration with LAHAR (People's Rights Advocacy Institute). They received community capacity building through green economy-based coffee commodity improvement in the buffer zone of Kerinci Seblat National Park (TNKS). Through this program, Jaya Lestari Makmur Women Farmers Group can take care of coffee plants to produce maximum coffee with good quality. They also gained knowledge on how to pick coffee fruit properly. In addition, through this program they have the opportunity to participate in exhibitions and competitions related to coffee. Supporting facilities were also obtained through the construction of a coffee drying floor and assistance with coffee processing equipment.

Kaliyem has pioneered a clean environment from waste through the concept of reduce, reuse, recycle and mobilized other women to get involved in conservation efforts according to their roles. For her efforts, this year Kaliyem was included in the list of nominees for the 2018 Kalpataru recipient in the Environmental Pioneer category. Within three years, Jernih Jaya Village looks clean, beautiful, and green with organized trees.