The Dynamics of the Samin Community Social Movement Against Plans to Establish a Cement Plant in Pati, Central Java

Abstract

This article explains the dynamics of the Samin movement against the plan to establish a cement factory in Pati (Kendeng mountains), which has been a manifest conflict that has yet to reach a common ground. This research was conducted ethnographically with a qualitative approach, while the paradigm used to discuss is social movement theory. The findings and discussion show that political opportunities arise because the plan to build a factory that was legally flawed and humanity conflicts with a sense of justice. The protests carried out by the Samin community did not get a positive response from the state, coupled with other disappointments that had been accumulated causing a sense of deprivation as citizens. They feel colonized in their own country which results in collective rejection behavior. Their struggle have been getting bigger with the role of actors who are able to mobilize, form movement organizations, network with various elements of society, and facilitate open resistance. Cultural framing emerged through the spread of the ideology of the movement, where this ideology was rooted in the teachings of natural sustainability raised by the Samin community.