Having a job in a city with high wages is tempting, to say the least. 20 years old Selfine Bere, one of the female youth farmers from the Manektob farmer group, Ajaobaki village, Mollo Utara, West Timor province, Indonesia,  thinks otherwise. Showing that working in a village can get as much and even more money than working in the cities, this is her story.

Called Isa, by her friends, She has been involved in the farming group activities assisted by YBTS Program Coordinator, Junike Medah, and her team since 2019. In the group, she learned and practiced a lot about good agricultural practices (GAP) including seed selection, nursery, fertilizers application, and crop management. Then, she chose tomatoes as the crops she is going to plant and take care of by herself.

Isa received Rp 4 million (around 286 USD) from her first harvest, three or four times compared to what she earned while she worked as a shopkeeper. Not only about money, but being closer to her parents and family is also the benefit of becoming a farmer in her village

Isa is one of the young farmers that proves that working in their own village could be as successful as anyone who works in the cities.