That morning around the Topi Park, I was enjoying a warm cup of tea. Guli, the community empowerment staff from RMI, informed me through a text message that the group would be late to pick me up. So, I ordered some pancakes as companions to the warm tea I already had.

Around 09:30, a white Avanza carrying Guli, Indra, Mahmud, Aji, and other RMI staff arrived. The car was driven by Kacung. We departed towards Cirompang Village. On the way, we picked up Rojak in Kiarasari. The travel time from Bogor was about 5-6 hours. Some parts of the road to the village were already paved, while others were still rocky. Some road sections had been repaired in 2011.

Administratively, Cirompang Village is part of Sobang Subdistrict, Lebak Regency, Banten. The administrative borders of Cirompang Village are: West: Sindang Laya Village, Sobang Subdistrict (natural border of Citujah River); North: Sukaresmi Village, Sobang Subdistrict (natural border of Cikiruh River, Pasir Pinang, Cibeas-Cimerak Main Road); East: Sukamaju Village, Sobang Subdistrict (natural border of Cibitung River, Pamatang Pasir Pinang, Saidun Road); South: Citorek Timur-Tengah-Barat Village, Cibeber Subdistrict (natural border of Kendeng Mountain stretching from West to East).

Upon arriving at Cirompang Village, we headed straight to a large house. However, the elders were in the rice fields. Strange. Because along the way, I saw that the rice fields had already been harvested. The next night, I found out that some of the rice fields did not follow the traditional planting schedule. As a result, those fields were attacked by birds. According to the elders, bird pests cannot be fought against. The birds already have a “schedule” for when they come out. So, those who do not follow the traditional planting schedule will face bird pests.

We then prepared the large house for the training. For two days, we would conduct a “local rule documentation training” at Kasepuhan Cirompang.

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This training believes that in reality, the behavior in controlling (read: tenurial) forest resources by indigenous communities is still predominantly governed by local rules (customary rules, informal rules). Describing local rules to show the system of order in controlling forest resources is very relevant. However, this training also believes that the system of order in controlling forest resources is influenced by more than one norm system. Local rules are not the sole determinants because at the same time, to a certain extent, formal rules also play a role. These various rule systems undergo dynamic relations that can end in conflict or accommodation.

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The training took place for two days. It started from 13:00 until just before breaking the fast. On the first day, the training was filled with materials on legal pluralism and the introduction of arumono-sagashi. After the materials, the training participants, most of whom were women, practiced the materials by going around the village.

Arumono-sagashi consists of two words, {{PLACE