He said that these three groups have to work hand in hand to develop a village or dusun. It is
interesting, however, that he did not list adat among their “tungku”, indicating the political
position of the traditional structures in Seri.
The dusun government cooperates closely with the church. The government activities, e.g.,
cleaning up the roads, construction of fences and water canals, are announced during the church
services. Church activities are, in turn, reported to the dusun government. The church also
maintains good relations with the Islamic minority (Butonese) in the village. The church involves
the Butonese people in extension programs and their children attend the Christian primary
school in Seri. Before they go out to sea, the Islamic fishers usually ask the church minister to
pray for them. In return, they donate fish for the annual meeting of the church congregation.
14.2.2 Village organizations
There are two Protestant churches in Seri territory (one in Seri and the other in Siwang). The
secretary of elders in Seri is Johanis Tuhumury, 53 years of age. The congregation consists of
more than 1,150 people. Besides maintenance of church facilities, the church is involved in
economic activities. They collaborate with the government on the silver carp culture program,
and they execute a gardening program to generate income for members (cultivating chickens
and planting banana trees). Part of the profit goes to the church. The church plans to build a
lift net, but has no funds for construction and labor.
The women’s organization of the church, Pelwata, has 177 members. It focuses on spiritual
activities such as bible studies, but is also involved in social and economic activities including
ARISAN, an informal savings group. Within the Pelwata, problems concerning attendance
and child care are openly discussed. The Youth Wing of the church in Seri was formed in
1958, has 60 members and is active.
In his position as dusun head, Wattimena supervises and co-ordinates social organizations in
the dusun. The PKK was established in the 1970s, has 120 members and is chaired by Rachel
Wattimena. The objective is to activate women in alleviating the economic problems of their
families. Over the last couple of years, the PKK itself has become dormant due to lack of
funding and interest from the PKK officials in Urimesing.
The current PKK program includes ARISAN (also see Pelwata) and the women’s productive
group “Emping Melinjo Seri Jaya” (emping=chips and melinjo=fruit) which was founded in
November 1997 by the Urimesing village government. The group is under the supervision of
the Department of Industry and Trade and sells products in the Matahari store in Ambon (a
large supermarket). The products they produce are dry shredded fish meat of mackerel and
skipjack, banana chips, ginger powder, vegetables, etc. In the store, the shredded fish meat is
worth Rp12,500 a pack (USD5, early 1997 exchange rate).
The TAKESRA was founded in May 1997 by the Family Planning Agency. This group, also
chaired by Rachel Wattimena, involves nearly all low-income women in the dusun. The 20
members work as fish and vegetable sellers in the Ambon markets. The members save their
money in the post office and will be eligible to borrow money from the government after
saving money for one year. The chairperson, for example, will use the loan as a capital to
trade chickens and pigs in the Ambon markets.
The women’s groups in Seri are highly productive. Besides the fact that the village is close to
the city of Ambon, it has access to external capital and marketing channels from the Department
182 An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut in Maluku, Indonesia