SUKABUMI, WEST JAVA — The foothills of Mount Gede Pangrango, on the Nagrak sub-district side of Sukabumi, were originally an ideal area for herding ruminants such as goats or sheep and cattle. The green expanse with contours of hills and valleys provided an abundance of nutritious feed. Of course, this makes it easy for herders to glean grass on their own land or other people’s land, where grass can be taken.
This potential motivated Ustaz Dadun Abdul Manaf and the board of Rumah Ummat Sukabumi Foundation (Rumah Ummat)-as a partner of Dompet Dhuafa’s Tebar Hewan Kurban (THK), to create a program to empower local residents to raise sheep and goats. From year to year, Rumah Ummat as a supplier of THK sacrificial animals wants to provide the best seeds. While lifting the economy of local breeders, most of whom are guardians of Rumah Ummat Islamic boarding school students.
H-17 before Eid al-Adha is the second stage of the Quality Control (QC) schedule, before determining the eligibility of sacrificial sheep owned by farmers. The activity is carried out to ensure that the sheep meet the criteria for THK Dompet Dhuafa, including the weight achieved, confirmed male, healthy, and not disabled. On Thursday (5/30/2024) to Friday (5/31/2024), those of us who were assigned to be the QC Team with Rumah Ummat Representatives, Edi and Rendy, went directly to 44 cage locations spread across three villages in Nagrak District: Kalaparea; Darmaredja and Babakan.
The steep terrain and the separate conditions of the cages are a challenge for us. QC is a challenge but not a hindrance. In fact, adrenaline was spurred when the motorcycle used could not climb uphill or the engine died when passing through a steep downhill road. In farm settlements that could not be passed by motorcycle, we had to walk along muddy and rough paths.
In addition to the terrain, the lush bushes and fruit trees at the cage site and along the road to the site are home to slithering animals such as snakes and fruit caterpillars. Twice we encountered venomous snakes, one of which was killed by a local cat. One of the farmer’s cages is even located right under an avocado tree whose leaves were eaten by caterpillars and fell towards us near the cage. It was quite itchy when it hit the skin.
For the Safety of Livestock, Cages are Sealed and Animals are Put in the House
Upon arriving at the farmer’s pen, we told them that our purpose was to check the sheep prepared for qurbani. Because QC starts in the morning, some farmers are not at home – because they are working or looking for food. Some of Rumah Ummat’s partners rely on their livestock as a side or main job.
Actually, we allowed farmers to weigh their sheep with the confirmation of the family at home, but the rampant cases of livestock theft in the area made farmers more alert. As a result, they seal their pens by nailing them shut. When the farmer is home, they help to open the patent on the pen and take out the livestock to be checked and weighed one by one.
Fikri (25), a young man who runs a cracker frying and packaging business, opened his cage and helped take out his nine sheep for inspection and weighing. The man who aspires to be a mechanic in Jakarta said that it is better to prevent before the incident. As a result, six sheep passed with details: two of his sheep passed QC with standard specifications (22-24kg), two medium sheep (24.01-28kg) and two premium sheep (>28kg).
“It’s better to have an umbrella before it rains,” he said.
Similar to Fikri, Adang (50) also nailed his cage to prevent his sheep from being stolen. The second stage of QC required him to dismantle his simple cage of four sheep with extra effort due to its small size, and he even had to enter the cage to break the seal and remove his sheep. After much effort, three of his four animals finally passed-healthy, male, and weights that met the criteria.
Maman (70), on the other hand, prefers to build a simple cage next to his kitchen. The elderly man, who now only lives with his wife, deliberately keeps his pets inside for safety reasons as well as limited resources. Unfortunately, when weighing, Maman was unlucky as none of his animals passed the QC due to underweight.
Edi said, to be able to join this empowerment program, prospective partner breeders must first own a cage as a seriousness of joining. Furthermore, Rumah Ummat will buy back sheep whose weights have increased and meet the criteria after approximately three months of being raised. As for livestock that do not meet the weight, they will be bought next year or sold by the farmers themselves while still returning the initial capital given to the farmers.
“We require prospective livestock partners to inspect the pens first before we distribute capital for the procurement of feeders,” said Edi.
Not carelessly distributing capital to farmers, every year Dompet Dhuafa conducts a review of the results of checks and weighing. For partners whose weighing results this year do not meet, next year it is likely that the livestock quota will be reduced or eliminated from the list of partners who will be channeled capital. This is a form of Dompet Dhuafa’s commitment to maintain the mandate of the qurbani. Conversely, farmers who are successful in raising sheep – indicated by a significant increase in weight – will have their quota increased next year.
The Best Way to Ensure the Best Qurbani
So far, QC activities are still a mainstay to ensure that donors’ qurbani animals comply with the standards and Sharia. In addition, the distribution locations with the majority of poor people who rarely enjoy meat. Through direct observation, we can ensure that the animals are male, healthy and weigh enough.
Animals that have passed the QC process will be marked with nontoxic spray paint, according to the criteria. Then those that do not pass will be marked red so that they are not mixed or weighed again. The QC activity is actually very challenging, considering the number of locations and the number of animals that must be weighed. However, the best qurbani can be ensured to Dompet Dhuafa’s qurbani performers. Through QC, we make sure your qurbani is 3 for sure: Definitely Male, Definitely Passed Quality Control and Definitely Distributed to Remote Areas. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photo: Ari Wibowo
Editor: Hany Fatihah Ahmad