Behind Plantation Supervision: The Dynamics of ‘Gorek Kopi’ Practices in Bojongrejo Temanggung 1970s-2000s.

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between the supervision system in the Bojongrejo Temanggung coffee plantations and 'gorek kopi,' which took place during the 1970s to the 2000s. 'Gorek kopi' refers to the activity of picking up and collecting coffee beans that have fallen and scattered in the harvested plantation fields. This research uses historical methods (heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography) based on oral historical sources and through a socio-economic approach. The findings show that the plantation supervision system was carried out through a hierarchical management structure, but in practice, there were still gaps in the plantation areas that could be used for 'gorek kopi' by the local community. When coffee production was high (boom period) from the 1970s to the 1990s, massive 'gorek kopi' activities happened in the Bojongrejo coffee plantations. 'Gorek kopi' served as an informal economic strategy for the local community  and has become a collective habit, especially for women. Because of this, the widespread coffee picking creates a local economic network that operates outside the official plantation distribution system and changes according to plantation production dynamics. This study also confirms that informal economic practices don't always arise just because of an economic crisis, but are also driven by high production opportunities and inconsistent oversight, emerging as a rational expression of the community's moral economy, not just as a weakness of institutions.