SUBANG, WEST JAVA- – The afternoon sky in Kaliangsana Village, Kalijati Subdistrict, Subang Regency, West Java began to turn orange on Wednesday (5/29/2024). At that time, it was 4:40 p.m. WIB. The goats bleated like a choir, signaling that it was time for their afternoon feed.
Trisno, a 16-year-old teenager wearing a youth organization uniform, was diligently feeding his sheep. As a millennial plasma farmer, he takes care of his dozens of sheep with dedication. When Dompet Dhuafa’s Tebar Hewan Kurban (THK) Quality Control (QC) Team came to weigh his sheep, Trisno painstakingly fed them with fresh forage that he had just gathered from the garden.
Before becoming a plasma farmer partner of Tebar Hewan Kurban Dompet Dhuafa, Trisno was just an ordinary teenager working in a sheep pen. As his skills improved in managing sheep, it has been almost a year since he was trusted to be a plasma farmer partner who manages nearly a dozen sheep by Cipta Mandiri Farmer Business Cooperative, one of the livestock partners of Tebar Hewan Kurban.
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This cooperative used to empower the community to manage livestock with a core-plasma partnership pattern, which in the community is often called the “maro” concept, which means that from the livestock managed by the farmers, they get half of the profit from the sale of livestock.
Since his father passed away and his mother fell ill, the teenage Trisno has been forced to become the backbone of the family. With great enthusiasm, he works hard to take care of his younger brother and pay for his schooling, even though the burden is heavy on his young shoulders.
It was time for the QC process, he had finished feeding the sheep, Trisno lowered his sheep one by one to be weighed, and checked for health. Healthy male animals are the criteria set for each of Dompet Dhuafa’s Qurbani animals.
In addition to presenting male sacrifices as a virtue, Dompet Dhuafa also supports the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goal 12, namely Responsible Consumption and Production. The sale of qurbani animals should also be done responsibly, in the sense that it does not sell female qurbani animals on a large scale, which will lead to a reduction in livestock population in the long run.
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A smile spread across Trisno’s face when one by one the sheep under his care passed the QC with good weight achievements. Of the 11 sheep in his care that were weighed, all passed the QC by Dompet Dhuafa.
“Alhamdulillah, many of my sheep are included,” concluded Trisno.
His joy is increasing because his hard work will pay off. From the sale of each of his sheep, Trisno will get half of the profit, which means a lot to his family.
“Alhamdulillah, I am very happy. I don’t think it’s been a year. Hopefully I can become a successful sheep entrepreneur like the others. So I can help my younger siblings go to school,” said the millennial, who has been an orphan since childhood, optimistically.
As a millennial, Trisno is not ashamed to be a farmer. He is grateful for this blessing because not all young people are trusted to manage livestock. Here, he can learn a lot about how to raise modern sheep to achieve his goal of becoming a successful sheep farmer in the future. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photo: Muhamad Arya Kurniawan
Editor: Anndini Dwi Putri