TONJO

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PLANTING PADDY USING TONJO

(November 17, 2012)

Rain has come…rain has come! That can be the best sentence of this month. Yup! November has come. It brings rainy season on its shoulder and shares the heaven water through Java Island. Although it bits late, it doesn’t be a matter at all.

When rainy season comes, the farmers feel happy. They prepare everything they need to start their planting. Their spirit is incredible and strong because they know that the harvest will come sooner.

For sure, farmers in Siraman village also don’t want to miss this good season. They also grab the seeds and planting tools then go to the field together. The usual tools they bring are gathul, pacul (hoe) and garu but the farmers in Siraman have their own unique tool called tonjo.

Tonjo is made of long turi tree stick that is sharpened by arit (sickle). The length of tonjo is about 1-2 meters. Most of the farmers in Siraman said that tonjo is the best and valuable tool to plant especially to plant paddy. But don’t ever think if making holes on the soil using tonjo is easy. It needs patience and enough practicing. Only experienced people can use tonjo well.

Having finished preparing the tonjo, the farmers start to make holes on the soil and then pour the seeds in. The soil condition must be balance, not too wet neither dry so that the tonjo can work maximally. Besides the farmers have to organize the space of the holes and also the seeds. The ideal space of the holes is 5-10 cm and the ideal seeds are 5-7 seeds per hole. The organizing is purposed to make the harvest process easier. The farmers won’t get difficult to cut the rice stems because they have already organized in holes and become in order.

When the planting finished, the next step to do is covering the holes. The farmers use their foot to cover the hole with the soil around. The covering is done to prevent the ants or even the birds stealing the seeds. The seeds will be save and grow naturally after being covered by the soil. The farmers who use tonjo do believe that the paddy will grow well until the harvest comes.