The Caretaker of an Artificial Lake

Seventy-two-year-old Amak Abdul Halim has spent years dreaming of growing rice. To realize this dream, he has encouraged locals to create an \'embung\' (artificial lake) as a source of irrigation in the hamlet.

Kompas/Khaerul Anwar

Amak Abdul Halim alias Meh

Seventy-two-year-old Amak Abdul Halim, or Meh as he is often called, has spent years dreaming of growing rice. To realize this dream, he has encouraged locals to create an embung (artificial lake) as a source of irrigation in the hamlet. Meh’s dream has come true. His hamlet now has an artificial lake to irrigate 35 hectares of rice fields owned by locals.

Meh was busy when we met with him for an interview in Lendang Batu hamlet, East Sukamulia village, East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, in late February. He was clearing the hamlet’s artificial lake of water hyacinths, plastic waste, dried leaves, pieces of tree trunks and branches carried away by the river. The waste gathered at the irrigation culvert near the water’s entryway into the lake was also picked up.