Demak, Central Java–For those of you who have watched the film Waterworld (1995) or other films related to settlements and the sea, Timbulsloko Hamlet will not be foreign to you.

This hamlet, located in Timbulsloko Village, Sayung District, Demak Regency, Central Java Province, at first glance is a tourism area like Labuan Bajo or maybe the Maldives. However, Timbulsloko is far from prosperous, in contrast to the Labuan Bajo or Maldives regions.

However, the hamlet is not a tourist area, but rather a residential area which has been slowly eroded by abrasion until now, which has submerged around 1-3 meters of residents' houses.

Sea water entering residential areas, even houses, is not a new sight. This is the daily condition of the residents of Timbulsloko Hamlet.

If the water is receding, friends can see the roads and bridges that residents used every day before switching to using wooden bridges as transportation routes and using boats – sometimes – as the main mode of transportation today.

The conditions above are very different from floods that occur in big cities which are due to poor drainage or residential management which is starting to become congested. The incident above was the result of abrasion which continued to erode the surface of the village's land which began in 1995.

Various activities are threatened – in fact it was already threatening – such as funerals. The burial area whose land has been raised looks like a floating island.

However, every time when people try to buried the lost one, difficulties and worries continue to surround the burial activites: worried that the body will fall into the sea, worried that the road will collapse, worried that sea water will cover the entire burial area.

Seeing the above reality, several groups/communities/non-governmental organizations have carried out several collaborations, the Disaster Management Center (DMC) Dompet Dhuafa itself also provided water storage barrels.

Apart from that, it also helped raise the main road connecting the hamlet with other hamlets and villages. The 110 meter long road, which is located in the middle of sea water and is the only hamlet link, has become a new hope for the community.

But, is there still hope left?

Documentation January 10 and March 10, 2024

(AFP & JUL/ DMC Dompet Dhuafa)