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Socioeconomic Condition and Cultural Adaptations of Farmer Transmigrants in Kendari Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia
Abstract:
A survey of randomly selected 60 respondents and six case studies of farmer transmigrants in Kendari Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, were conducted to determine the socioeconomic conditions of transmigrants; to identify the different stages of transmigration and the corresponding cultural adaptation; and to determine the relationship between selected variables.
The study utilized the four-stage sociological framework of Scudder for analyzing transmigrants in the new land settlement. The framework of Scudder was helpful in identifying the occurrence of the four stages of the settlement process and the specific types of adaptation mechanisms. The narratives provided more in-depth information to enrich the survey (quantitative data) and to identify the third and fourth stages.
The respondents had a mean age of 51.87 years, mean level of education of 6.4 years, mean length of residence in the transmigration area of 18 years, mean monthly income of IDR359,583 (USD37), and mean farmland size of 2.61 hectares. All respondents were married.
Household size ranged from one to eight members, with a mean of 6.3. The housewives’ mean educational attainment was elementary school level while that of the children was junior high school level. The average monthly household income was IDR455, 417 (USD61).
The socioeconomic condition of the respondents in the transmigration site was better than what they experienced before transmigration. Ninety-seven percent owned their house and lot. Respondents also reported sufficiency of income.
The socio-demographic characteristics that were significantly related to ethnicity were years of residence in the transmigration area and monthly income, while all other selected variables except education were significantly related with income. Education and income were significantly related with the optimistic belief that life will be successful in the transmigration area. The study showed that the transmigrants experienced four different stages: pre-entry transmigration information (stage one), experiences upon arrival at the transmigration area (stage two), economic and social development (stage three), and handing over with specific cultural adaptations in each stage in the transmigration area (stage four). The stages were similar to the four stages and specific cultural adaptations identified by Scudder (1991)*, thus confirming the framework of Scudder. A modification can be the addition of multiple income sources in the second stage, instead of emphasis on agricultural production.
The case study narratives for six transmigrants provided information that was not captured in the survey method. The narratives were especially helpful in identifying the last two stages and the cultural adaptation at specific stages of Scudder’s fourstage settlement framework. They also provided in-depth information on the socioeconomic conditions of the transmigrants.
*Scudder, Thayer M. 1985. “A Sociological Framework for the Analysis of New Land Settlements.” In Putting People First: Sociological Variables in Rural Development, edited by M. Cernea, 121-54. New York: Oxford University Press.
