Dairy Farming Beneath the City’s Bustle

Ismira Lutfia, The Jakarta Globe, December 30, 2008

Dairy farmers in Jakarta continue the family tradition as they raise their own families and milk their cows just blocks from high-end malls and international businesses. (Photo: Rezza Estily, Antara)

Hidden in the mazes of houses and office towers in Jakarta’s business districts are traditional backyard cow farms whose existence has spanned three generations.

When one looks at the modern malls, hotels, apartment buildings and embassies that line the Mega Kuningan area, one doesn’t expect to see a barn occupied by 70 cows tucked beneath the glitzy facade.

The 2,500-meter-square parcel of land belongs to the 14 children of Kyai Zarkasi, who inherited the land from his father, Guru Mugni.

Mirdan and Ridho, two of Zarkasi’s sons, run the business and produce 400 liters of milk daily.

“The farm has been here since 1977,” said Abdul Rahman, another brother and the eighth-born child.

Rahman said they sell half the day’s production to individual milk vendors for Rp 3,500 (32 cents) to Rp 4,500 per liter depending on quality. The remainder goes to a regional farmers’ cooperative in Poltangan, Pasar Minggu, that sells milk to large dairy producers such as Indomilk.

He said there used to be a number of backyard farms in the area but many were relocated to Pondok Ranggon in East Jakarta, or to Depok, in West Java Province, when much of the land was relinquished to set up the Mega Kuningan area.

Another farmer, Ahmad, simply moved to the neighboring subdistrict of Mampang Prapatan.

Ahmad said the farm his grandfather passed to his father was located in Kuningan. His father did not want to move to Depok so in 1990 he moved his family and eight cows to a 1,200-square-meter property in Mampang instead. Ahmad now occupies the land with his five siblings and their families.

Despite pre-existing dairy farms in the area, he said his father faced objections from new settlers.

“I remember seeing my father distribute ‘envelopes’ to officials from the subdistrict and the mayoralty almost every day during our first year here,” Ahmad said.

Eventually the objections faded and Ahmad now runs the farm with two brothers, Zainal and M. Yusuf. The 16 cows in the barn at the back of their house produce around 100 liters of milk daily. He said he would like to relocate his farm to Bogor but did not have the necessary capital.

One of the biggest farmers in the area is Haji A. Wardi, whose modern-looking house on Mampang Prapatan XV does not show any signs of the traditional cow farm in its backyard. Wardi said there are at least five other farms along his street.

His farm, which was also passed on to him and his siblings by their grandfather, houses 70 cows.

On the other side of the street, in the myriad of alleys between Mampang Prapatan XI and XIV, brothers Lufti and Barkah run a smaller farm with 12 cows entrusted to them by their father, who also inherited the business from his father.

Lutfi said that the profit they make from selling milk was enough to support their family. “This is our way of living and we don’t think of doing anything else,” he said.