Reproduced, with permission, from:
Mathias-Mundy, E., O. Machena, G. McKiernan, and P. Mundy. 1992. Indigenous technical knowledge of private tree management: A bibliographic report. Studies in Technology and Social Change no. 22. Ames, IA: Technology and Social Change Program, Iowa State University.
The homegardens (pekarangan) typical of Central Java are more carefully tended than talun forest gardens typical of West Java (Box 2.6). In urban areas, homegardens are normally fenced or walled; in rural areas rarely so. They are more common in Central Java, where they cover 22% of the arable land, than either West or east Java (Terra 1953, 1954). They may vary in size from a few square meters to 5 ha, with smaller gardens at higher altitudes and in urban areas. A typical homegarden contains 30-50 plant species, ranging from tall coconut palms to ground creepers such as sweet potatoes, chosen from the 600 or so commonly found in Indonesian gardens. The plants are not arranged in a regular pattern. Small livestock such as chickens are kept in the gardens (Brownrigg 1985:25-26), and nutrients are recycled directly or though fishponds (Soemarwoto and Soemarwoto 1984; 263). Homegardens for a part of a system with wetland rice fields (Micheon 1983:21), with households typically owning both a homegarden and a rice plot.
A survey of households in a Central Javanese village in 1982-73 showed that homegarden production varied widely (Stoler 1981). Homegardens generally provide one of the highest returns to labor of any employment opportunities, but still take less than 10% of the working time for men and an insignificant amount for women. Estimates of percentage of income obtained from the homegarden vary, but are generally in the range 17-25%. About half of the products of the homegardens is consumed directly by the household; the remaining half is sold (Soemarwoto & Soemarwoto 1984:265-266).
Poorer households (those with smaller holdings of wetland rice fields) tend to have larger homegardens than their rice plots (Stoler 1981:248). Households with small gardens allocate the most labor to their garden, presumably to increase their absolute garden incomes. Households with few other sources of income (from rice fields owned or harvested through agreements with the owners, or from other employment) are forced to rely on the homegarden more for subsistence. They accordingly plant more cassava, the main alternative staple to rice. Above a threshold level of 0.2 ha of rice land, households can depend on their rice crop to provide their carbohydrate needs; they therefore devote their homegardens to more capital intensive crops such as fruit trees, which have a long period before they begin to bear fruit (Stoler 1981;248).