SOLOK, WEST SUMATRA — That afternoon, in Nagari Sirukam, Solok, West Sumatra, a man carrying two sacks of grass-fed cattle drove his motorcycle to the DD Farm Solok Sirukam barn. Upon arriving at the pen, he hobbled while feeding his three cows.
Herdianto (44), returned to his routine of taking care of the cows in preparation for Dompet Dhuafa’s Tebar Hewan Kurban (THK) program. His activities began with feeding the cows, cleaning cow dung, bathing and cleaning the cowshed.
Who would have thought that this year is Herdianto’s second year at DD Farm Solok Sirukam, he is passionate about animal husbandry. Previously, Herdianto was a broiler chicken farmer. However, seeing the lucrative potential in the THK program, he then devoted his life to raising and raising cows with great care.
“I know from the jorong (RT) father and the people around here, before working at this DD Farm, we raised broiler chickens, now because there is a program at DD and it seems good, it can empower the community, so we are offered with SOPs and standards, the program is good, we join,” said Herdianto.
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On Thursday, (5/17/2024) when the Dompet Dhuafa team met him, he was busy scraping cow dung. In addition to taking care of his three cows, he was also entrusted with taking care of three cows belonging to his brother-in-law, because one of his family members was sick, so Herdianto had to take care of six cows at once.
As a breeder, Herdianto is responsible for the health of the animals. Currently, there are around 10 farmers at DD farm Solok Sirukam with a total of 21 cows. Alhamdulillah, in their hands, the cows grow healthy and strong, even reaching a weight of more than 250 kg.
They (farmers) are the ones who wake up before dawn and work until dusk, ensuring their cows get the best care and grow healthily. Including Herdianto, he not only works for today, but also plants seeds of sustainability for the future. THK is an important pillar and hope for local farmers. Through Dompet Dhuafa’s THK program, farmers can harvest their livestock, thus improving their economy and moving the wheels of their lives.
Alhamdulillah, by raising cattle, Herdianto not only gains financial stability, but also has the opportunity to plan a brighter and more prosperous future.
“Alhamdulillah, this program is empowering the surrounding community who want to join, Alhamdulillah, one of them (Herdianto) is interested as a resident here,” said Herdianto.
According to him, taking care of six cows is not difficult because it does not interfere with other activities.
“We start from arriving to check the condition of the cows, in the morning, how do the cows react to our arrival, do the cows respond to our arrival or not, the city pays attention to the cows first, we feed them, clean the cage and bathe the cows, if in one day we feed them twice in the morning and in the afternoon, in the morning we feed them no later than half past ten, if in the afternoon at six o’clock,” Herdianto said.
Alhamdulillah, by raising cattle, Herdianto not only gains financial stability, but also has the opportunity to plan a brighter and more prosperous future.
“Economically, there is an improvement, we are now working on the economy, although people say that we can’t buy cigarettes every day if we raise cows, but we can buy food for our children’s school fees and build a house,” added Herdianto.
Besides feeding, Herdianto’s routine includes bathing the cows and cleaning the cowshed.
Previously, he experienced difficult times, especially regarding his children’s school fees. Forced to borrow here and there, he had to find a definite solution. However, with the cows, he now has reliable financial security.
“If we are in a tight spot, we look for bailout funds first, when the cow can be released we will receive the money, the money we borrowed is already visible, it really helps a lot,” added Herdanto.
Smiling hopefully, Herdanto is also touched that he can contribute to helping the affected victims even if it is only by taking care of the cows.
“Once we had a disaster, my wife was hospitalized because of cysts, we were in a tight situation, because we have this cattle farm, we just looked for bailout funds first with the agreement that when the cows are sold, I will pay,” he continued.
In the middle of the conversation, there was sadness in Herdianto’s eyes. The laughter that had been going on for a while now began to subside, replaced by sadness, and tears fell. Yes, Herdianto could not stop talking about the flash flood that hit Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, on Sunday (5/11/2024). The man from Minang admitted that he was very concerned about the incident.
“If we are here, we are sad. Disasters that we don’t want, called natural disasters, we can’t be sure, but as humans, especially as West Sumatrans, we are sad and concerned. But hopefully the victims are strong, hopefully we can rise up,” said Herdianto.
Apart from feeding, Herdianto’s routine is to bathe the cows and clean the cowshed.
Read also: Traveling through rugged terrain for Dompet Dhuafa’s THK Quality Control Process
Furthermore, he also revealed that his colleague who is also a farmer was affected by the flash flood.
“I have a friend from the same profession, a broiler cage keeper from Tanah Datar, it’s all gone, the cage is all flattened, the cage system is already concrete, one pole is missing now, it’s all flattened. Our fellow professionals must be sad,” said Herdianto.
A ray of hope in the midst of the disaster that hit, Insha’Allah, Tanah Datar Regency and Agam Regency are the distribution targets of Dompet Dhuafa’s THK program. Hearing this news, Herdianto felt relieved, because he could contribute to helping the affected victims even if only by caring for cows.
“If anyone wants to take a cow here (donor), we are very grateful, this is what we can do, with our prayers we help,” he continued. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photo: Anndini Dwi Putri
Editor: Riza Muthohar