Reducing farmers dependences on Tengkulak and Rentenir through microfinance, case studies in the community assistances programs in Desa

Luworo, Kecamatan Pilangkenceng, Kabupaten Madiun Achmad Room Fitrianto1 and Sri Wigati2 (sriwigatiwiwik@gmail.com dan achmadroomfitrianto@gmail.com) Many factors influence poverty, two of them are lack of access to finance and geography position that marginalized. Due to those factors many people seek more fortune in the community weaknesses. Tengkulak or middleman and rentenir or informal money lender have played significantly in filling community need in finance and market access. Unfortunately, due to the practice conducted, there is no control among their operations, made the tengkulak and rentenir made profit more than normal. All those facts above are founded in Desa Luworo. There has been five years agreement between IAIN Sunan Ampel and Kabupaten Madiun government to have community assistance in Desa Luworo and some other villages in Madiun. The program run through the student ventures programs. The firsts years assistances concentrate on seeking the community vulnerability and mapping their potentials asset. There were two program, conducted in the first term firstly is that train the community to make soybean cake and build biogas installation. The second years program set up a small group for driving a program and setup the as agent of change. Through the groups the community trained how to made diversification of their farming communities and how to create value added toward their farm products. In the end of he second years program, the students donate money around Rp 150.000 or around $ 15 for the community. And by the community the money have used for driving nyaor ngowo a rolling fund for buying their daily needs. In the preparation program for the third years, the money grows become Rp 450.000 or $ 45. Base on those community initiatives in running their own rolling fund, we initiated to provide an Rp 5 million or $ 500 for adding the community rolling fund. From this fund they could bough fertilizer for supporting their crops. In the past they borrow the money from the rentenir to buy the fertilizer and pay back when they harvested in enormous amount. Those program in supporting the community is run base on the principle of Sustainable livelihood approach which the biggest aims is that to empower the community with their own potencies and strength and efforts for solved the problems faced.

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Lecturer and researcher in IAIN Sunan Ampel, PhD Candidate in Curtin University Australia Lecturer in IAIN Sunan Ampel, Doctoral Student in Postgraduate Schools of IAIN Sunan Ampel