The pepper planting activity on Mr. Tupen’s farm, one of the R1 farmers, is showing strong progress. The planting combines pepper seedlings from the farmer group with his own pepper plants that had been planted earlier, serving as a model of integrating self-propagated and collective seedlings within a single, sustainable farming system.
The pepper rows are arranged with a 2 x 2 meter spacing, with kelekak rows (agroforestry tree lines) placed between the pepper rows. So far, 240 pepper plants from Mr. Tupen’s own supply have been planted, and group seedlings will follow shortly on the adjacent section of the plot.
The plot spans 30 x 60 meters, and has also been intercropped with a variety of herbs and spices such as aromatic ginger (kencur), chili, turmeric, and patchouli, which was distributed during the recent Training of Facilitators (ToF)session. The patchouli has shown healthy growth, and Mr. Tupen is now planning to integrate patchouli as part of the kelekak rows in his agroforestry layout.
This approach reflects the farmer’s deep understanding of plant diversity, space optimization, and sustainable system design. Mr. Tupen’s farm is evolving into a productive, environmentally friendly ecosystem aligned with the principles of the aGROWforests movement.
