The Paradox of Community Self-Reliance: Workload Inequality in the Integrated Ecosystem of Darul Amin Glugur Rimbun Village

Abstract

Darul Amin Glugur Rimbun Village is an integrated community model based on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, educational tourism, and spiritual activities that is growing rapidly on an area of 3.3 hectares. Behind these achievements lies the complex reality of the distribution of workloads among community members that has yet to be critically examined. This study uses a qualitative approach to the literature study method to examine the paradox of community independence, where self-help efforts and integration of activities actually lead to inequality in workload, both physically and mentally. The findings indicate that diversification of activities that is not balanced with adequate human resource planning is likely to cause excessive workload on certain groups, especially on field workers and daily operations managers. This study recommends the need for a participatory and systemic approach to work management in order to maintain the sustainability of community independence without compromising the well-being of individuals within it. The implications of this study are expected to enrich academic discourse on agrospiritual-based community development in a dynamic local context.