Preserving Environmentally Sustainable Farming Traditions: ALIT Indonesia and the Tengger Indigenous Community Promote the Tengger Calendar-Based Planting System
SURABAYA — With support from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, LPDP, and Dana Indonesiana, Yayasan Arek Lintang (ALIT) Indonesia held a dissemination event on the Tengger Calendar-based planting schedule and environmentally sustainable farming traditions on 5 September 2026 at Kidal Temple, in the Bromo Mountain Valley, Malang Regency.
The event revisited an ancient Javanese astronomical system and local knowledge through Pranata Mangsa, as practiced within the Tengger Calendar. This traditional Javanese calendar system uses seasonal calculations to guide a wide range of daily activities, including farming, livestock raising, fishing, social relations, customary norms, household activities, personal affairs, and spiritual practices.
The ancient Javanese Pranata Mangsa system was once used throughout the territories under the influence of Javanese kingdoms until the end of the Majapahit era in the 16th century. Today, however, the system continues to serve as an important reference for the Tengger people across Pasuruan, Malang, Lumajang, and Probolinggo in organizing various aspects of daily life.
The Tengger Calendar-based planting practices have also been applied by Yuliati Umrah, Executive Director of Yayasan ALIT Indonesia and a researcher and practitioner of Pranata Mangsa based on the Tengger Calendar. During her presentation at the event, she explained that, in addition to the successful trial of growing rice in containers between March and July at an elevation of 750 meters above sea level in Pandaan, the system had also been successfully applied to flower cultivation at an elevation of 1,000 meters above sea level.
The calendar system, which is periodically recalibrated through the Unan-Unan ceremony, serves as an important reference for strengthening food security, determining planting patterns, and maintaining ecological balance in the Bromo-Semeru region.
During the event, speakers emphasized the importance of returning to ancestral guidance rooted in three fundamental principles of life: Prahyangan, Pawongan, and Palemahan, as a way of responding to the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation.
Romo Eko Warnoto, Chairman of the Paruman Dukun Pandita Tengger Brang Kulon and one of the speakers, explained that Prahyangan refers to a harmonious relationship between human beings and the Creator. This relationship is reflected in everyday religious practices, including prayer, worship, and religious ceremonies.
Pawongan, meanwhile, refers to harmonious relationships among human beings. People cannot live in isolation and depend on one another in many aspects of life. In agriculture, for example, farmers rely on mutual cooperation and the exchange of knowledge to achieve productive and sustainable harvests.
Palemahan refers to the harmonious relationship between human beings and nature. According to Romo Eko Warnoto, this principle is particularly important because people have a responsibility to care for, protect, and treat nature with respect. Just as human beings need time to rest, nature also needs periods of recovery.
In the Tengger calendar system, this principle is reflected in Mangsa Karo, a period during which communities refrain from planting and focus instead on harvesting existing crops, allowing the land time to recover. The principle of Palemahan is also reflected in a longstanding Tengger practice: planting a tree before cutting one down. Passed down through generations, this practice helps protect the environment while maintaining the land’s capacity to absorb and retain water.
Echoing these ideas, Muh. Nur Uddin (Gus Din), Secretary-General of the Indonesian Farmers Alliance (API), shared his perspective in a relaxed and humorous manner. He emphasized that local-knowledge-based approaches such as the Tengger Calendar should continue to receive support so that farmers do not become strangers on their own land amid the rapid modernization of agriculture.
He also stressed the importance of environmentally friendly approaches to pest management in order to prevent ecological damage and ensure sustainability for future generations. Gus Din welcomed the collaborative initiative between Yayasan ALIT Indonesia and the Tengger Indigenous community, noting that cultural dialogue spaces such as this are important for strengthening solidarity among farming communities across East Java.
