Di Antara Hutan dan Ladang: Praktik Sosial dan Pemberdayaan Petani dalam Skema Hutan Kemasyarakatan di Desa Kutambaru

Abstract

This research is grounded in the dynamics of the implementation of Indonesia’s Social Forestry (PS) policy, particularly the Community Forest (HKm) scheme, which aims to reduce land tenure inequality while ensuring ecological sustainability. The research focuses on the Forest Farmer Group (KTH) Perjanjangen in Kutambaru Village, Karo Regency, North Sumatra, which was granted a management permit covering ±30 hectares through a Ministerial Decree issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in 2021. The objective of this research is to analyze the processes of farmer group empowerment, forms of resistance to top-down policies, and the structural, economic, and cultural factors influencing the management of Community Forests (HKm). The research adopts a qualitative approach, employing data collection techniques including observation, in-depth interviews, and a literature review. Data analysis was conducted through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing, with triangulation used to ensure validity. The theoretical framework draws on Robert Chambers’ concept of participatory empowerment, Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of habitus, and James Scott’s concept of resistance. The results indicate that the empowerment process has been carried out through institutional facilitation and the practice of agroforestry coffee field schools; however, participation remains largely symbolic and tends to be administrative in nature. The habitus of Karo farmers, which is oriented toward quick returns, often clashes with the logic of agroforestry sustainability, resulting in the application of newly acquired knowledge primarily on private land rather than within HKm areas. Forms of group resistance are largely subtle, manifesting as formal compliance, selective adoption, and the expression of hidden transcripts in everyday conversations. The main constraining factors include administrative burdens, limited capital and infrastructure, and the dominance of external actors, while enabling factors encompass social solidarity, economic opportunities in coffee production, and emerging local institutional arrangements. In conclusion, the empowerment of the Perjanjangen Forest Farmer Group (KTH Perjanjangen) has not yet been fully realized due to the continued reliance on regulatory frameworks and external facilitators. However, farmers’ everyday forms of resistance reveal ongoing efforts to preserve local autonomy and rationality. The implications of this research underscore that the success of social forestry should not be assessed solely through administrative indicators, but rather understood as an arena of political, social, and cultural negotiation that requires more participatory and locally adaptive approaches.