National Farmers Day is celebrated every Sept. 24 following the introduction of the Basic Agrarian Law No. 5/1960 issued by Sukarno, the country's first president.

The show, which took place in Dhani hamlet, presented a plethora of traditional arts from Pereng village as well as nearby villages.

Prior to the performance, the village’s young residents were seen flocking to Paiman Hadi Supatmo’s house, an organic farming activist, to prepare their costumes and make-up.

Meanwhile, other young residents gathered at the field, setting up the decorations for the show.

The celebration then kicked off with a Gambyong Dance performed by the women of Pereng village.

This was then followed by traditional and modern dances performed by the children of Pereng village.

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The celebrations did not stop there. Gejok Lesung (rice mortar pounding) was also performed to liven up proceedings.

In addition to the aforementioned performances, the National Farmers Day Art Performance also featured a Javanese poetry reading, SEKAM theater and SOPO Theater, a theater group from the School of Social and Political Science at Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta 

The performance aimed to entertain the villagers as well as serve as a platform to educate people about the importance of organic farming, a farming method introduced by Paiman.

The pioneer of organic farming in Pereng village is said to have learned about the method during his time as a political prisoner on Buru Island in Maluku.

Paiman said the chemicals used in conventional farming could destroy land and plants and affect human health. (jes/kes)

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