Lifeline
Saved by coconut trees, the people of Peunaga Pasi use them to rebuild their lives
By Lindsey Rosenberg
Villagers collect building
materials for new homes.
Photo: Desmarita Murni
The Indonesian village of Peunaga Pasi is on the outskirts of Meulaboh, a city of nearly 50,000, in western Aceh province. It's set back from the main road and nestled among coconut trees that line the shore of the Indian Ocean.
As you approach Peunaga Pasi, there's ample evidence of a recent, overwhelming disaster.
You walk past the remains of a large fishing boat sitting in the middle of a newly formed salt water lake that covers what were once rice fields. Ahead, at the end of the road, sits the one visible house. A few villagers sit around the house drinking water under the shade of a UNICEF tarp. To the right, amid rows of tents, villagers work in the sweltering summer heat cutting pieces of coconut wood with saws and machetes to begin the reconstruction of homes washed away the morning of December 26, 2004.
Calm before the storm
It was a calm Sunday. Villagers were beginning their day; tending to the rice fields, fishing in the ocean. Varying reports note individuals feeling a strong tremor shake the ground, a result of the earthquake that occurred 100 miles offshore of Peunaga Pasi. No one could have predicted the magnitude of what followed.
Sudirman, village leader of
Peunaga Pasi, studies a washed
out bridge. Photo: Desmarita
Murni
Within 20 minutes, the shoreline started to recede. Sudirman, the village leader of Peunaga Pasi, described what followed as a wall of water like a cobra head. It lifted people some 30 feet in the air to the tops of the coconut trees. Those who were strong enough held on, literally, for their lives.
It was nearly 30 minutes before the water receded, taking everything in its path—children, homes, cars, boats. Miraculously, more than 270 of the 304 villagers survived, thanks to the coconut trees. Many were retrieved by rescue workers from the tops of the trees; others were holding onto the tree trunks.
Rehabilitation begins
Sudirman, a well-dressed man in his 30s, is called Pak Keuchik, which means "village leader" in Acehnese. A man who is himself experiencing psychological stress due to personal losses, Sudirman has managed to help Peunaga Pasi begin the slow process of recovery.
Clean water source for Peunaga
Pasi villagers. Photo: Desmarita
Murni
One of Pak Keuchik's frustrations is villagers' lack of cash. He explains that many of the villagers relied on salt and rice farming, which are now not possible as a source of income. As a result, many villagers have had to sell the food aid they've received from various UN agencies, as well as local and international NGOs.
"Since the tsunami happened I have only slept three to four hours everyday. I attend and lead many meetings," Pak Keuchik says. "I work with the villagers to clean the ruins and to help evacuation. I look for help and build networks with many potential donors and organizations to rebuild our village. I spend most of my time doing my job, while at the same time I also have a family to take care of."
New homes
With support from organizations like AFSC's partner, the Society for Health, Education, Environment, and Peace (SHEEP), and Oxfam-Great Britain, however, Pak Keuchik and the people of Peunaga Pasi have made plans to rebuild their village. (Read more about the relief and recovery work of AFSC and SHEEP.)
Together with SHEEP staff and volunteers, for example, villagers will build homes for 82 families. Each home will be built on the spot where there used to be a house.
Architect’s model of a "knock
down" home. Photo: Lindsey
Rosenberg
SHEEP invited an architect to meet the villagers and discuss the type of the house they would like to have, one that accommodates religious and cultural beliefs and practices into the design and construction. The result: Each house will be semi-permanent, built using wood from coconut trees. They will be "knock down" homes (built without any nails), and therefore mobile.
The idea for this kind of home came out of concern that the government is looking to build a greenbelt within 500 meters from the coastline to form a natural barrier between the ocean and the villages along the shore. Each of the houses will be built by the villagers with help and guidance from professional architects and builders. SHEEP staff members estimate that the housing project will be finished in three months.
Getting back to normal
Although most of the villagers lost family members as well as their homes and property, Pak Keuchik admires his villagers' spirit. They are enthusiastically returning their lives to normal again.
The community has embraced the housing project and villagers are willing to contribute labor, wood, and other building materials to make it happen. Their work will account for roughly 70 percent of the cost of each house, with SHEEP funding the remainder.
The housing project has begun with the collection of materials. The rehabilitation of Peunaga Pasi is underway.
AFSC staff Lindsey Rosenberg recently traveled to Indonesia to assess the situation and observe SHEEP’s ongoing relief/recovery work.
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