Hundreds of fishing boats bob in the waters off Ampenan Beach in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. It is a classic sight, one little changed over the years. These boats also serve as a reminder of the relationship between fishermen and the forest; their dependence on the forest for the raw ingredients for the boats on which they depend to earn a living.
To produce a fishing boat measuring 10 meters in length and one meter in width, workers need trees that are at least 120 centimeters in diameter and 15 meters in length. The truth is, it takes a tree dozens of years, at the least, to reach such a size.With old boats having to be replaced every several years, and with more and more boats being made as more people turn to fishing to earn a living, a lot of trees are being cut down for fishing boats.
Chaerudin, 52, from Ireng village, Gunungsari district in West Lombok, considered this problem and decided the best solution was to find some other material that could be used to make the boats, thus helping to preserve the country's forests.
Though Chaerudin comes from a fishing family, he was working for a furniture company in Ampenan in the 1980s when he hit upon his idea and began making his first boats from fiberglass.
"It's hard to find timber to make boats now because most of our forests have been over-logged. It is especially difficult to find the bae and suren trees that are most suitable for boats," he said.
Using the skills he picked up watching and helping his fisherman father over the years, Chaerudin being repairing fishing boats using fiberglass.
A wooden boat can only last four or five years before the hull starts to rot and spring leaks. Chaerudin repaired the leaks with fiberglass, but that was only a stopgap measure because more leaks would eventually pop up along the rotting hull.
"I thought then about what would become of fishing families if there were no more boats because there was no more timber to make them with. That was when I started experimenting, using a process of trial and error, with making boats from fiberglass," he said.
Chaerudin already had the boat making skills from his father, but what he needed was the capital to purchase the raw materials to get his business started.
With his savings from his job at the furniture company and his earnings from repairing boats, he managed to buy a mold and fiberglass materials.
A year later, in 1981, Chaerudin had made his first fiberglass boat.
"Even after completing the boat, I found it very hard to market it. The fishing community here is used to wooden boats, and I knew it would be very difficult to break the tradition," he said.
But Chaerudin was determined. So while he repaired wooden boats to earn extra money, he continued making his fiberglass boats, fine-tuning his design to perfection.
His efforts eventually bore fruit. A fiberglass boat which he left moored on Meninting River behind his house attracted someone's attention.
A foreign tourist, crossing Meninting Bridge toward the Senggigi resort area, happened to notice the boat. He approached Chaerudin and expressed his interest in the boat, which was enough encouragement for Chaerudin to continue pursuing his dream.
Chaerudin may now be considered established. He owns a fiberglass workshop, in which 20 employees build boats, from simple fishing boats to trawlers and express ferries.
"We were able to build an express ferry measuring 27 meters long and six meters wide in 2000, which is licensed to serve the Lombok-Bali route. But due to the drop in tourist arrivals, it is no longer in service," he said.
He also builds boats for pearl farmers in Lombok and tour agencies in Bali and East Nusa Tenggara. He also receives orders for fiberglass bathtubs and other household goods.
His efforts have allowed Chaerudin to provide for his family, including sending all seven of his children through school, with four of them currently at university. When the Post recently visited his workshop near Meninting Bridge, a number of employees were working on a boat ordered by a Dutch tourist.
There were also three fiberglass fishing boats nearby, ordered by the West Nusa Tenggara Fisheries Office.
Chaerudin is proof that you can make a good living without tearing down the environment in the process.
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