Archive for February, 2008
Marunda Fishermen: North Jakarta, West Java
An old Indonesian children’s folksong goes “Nenek moyangku orang pelaut, gemar mengarung luas samudra, menerjang ombak tiada takut, menempuh badai sudah biasa.” The lyrics can be translated as “My ancestors are seafarers, wading great oceans fondly, thrusting waves fearlessly, going through storms every day.” The song reflects native wonder at the archipelago’s vast seas and the nobility of seafarers who have sailed as far as Africa for centuries in search of trade.
Date: February 28th, 2008 |
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Papua Enters Venture with Merpati: Jayapura, Papua
The Tolikara regency administration has forged a joint venture with PT Merpati Airlines, investing Rp 7.4 billion (US$822,000) in a Fokker 27 plane to serve the Jayapura-Wamena route.The initial phase of the cooperation, during which all profits will go to the administration, will last seven months.
Date: February 27th, 2008 |
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Indonesians in Focus: Sambyah
In the early 1980s, when the environment was rarely an issue, a man in Nganggring village, on the southern slopes of Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta, began taking steps to protect the land where he lived. Sambyah, now a 61-year-old community leader in the village in Girikerto district, Sleman regency, was not alone in his work. Some 30 years ago, he and other residents in the remote village worked hard to turn their parched home into productive land. At the time, the village’s land was dry and sandy, making it hard for trees to grow and causing water shortages during droughts. Sambyah says it was the extreme poverty he saw in the village that made him determined to effect change.
Date: February 27th, 2008 |
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Farming Snails: Bali
Five months ago, Putu Suastika deliberately inundated his rice field in a daring business decision. He turned the field into a freshwater snail farm to cash in on the growing demand for traditional freshwater snail delicacies at his food stall in western Denpasar. Suastika is a man of many talents. He is an experienced farmer, a junior high school teacher, an accomplished chef of Balinese traditional food and the owner of a successful food stall.
Date: February 26th, 2008 |
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Malacca Strait Jazz Green Festival: Riau, Sumatra
As Jakarta prepares for the upcoming Java Jazz festival, it appears jazz fever has spread beyond the capital, reaching as far as Riau province. A jazz festival called The Malacca Strait Jazz Green Festival is scheduled be held, with support from the provincial administration, on June 5-7. Popular local artists will fly to Riau for the festival, including guitarist Dewa Budjana and friends, Donny Suhendra Trio, Canzo, Sherly’O, Andien, Rieka Roslan & Troubadours, Zefanya H & the Uncles, Koko Harsoe, Djogdja Mood Jazz and Jon Gazali.
Date: February 24th, 2008 |
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Denpasar City Pollution: Bali
Having just spent two months on holiday with my wife in Bali, we had on occasions to go to Denpasar albeit reluctantly. I actually found the pollution there worse than in Yogyakarta. There are constant traffic jams (macet) and it is these that are one of the causes of pollution with smoke and other pollutants being pumped out of car exhaust pipes and buses choking those walking down the pavements. There has been a massive rise in the number of vehicles on the island of Bali and it never seems to amaze me why, not only visitors to the island, but the locals as well are reluctant in many ways to use public transport or walk to places that are close they wish to visit. Okay, so you have a vehicle, but it seems more feasible to leave that vehicle at home and utilise the public services available, or better still, keep fit by walking.
Date: February 28th, 2008 |
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The Magic of the Kraton: Yogyakarta, Central Java
Yogyakarta is well known as a cultural center and plays an important role in both Javanese and Indonesian history and heritage. There are numerous places of interest to be seen in the city and its surroundings. In some ways, one of the saddest and eeriest of Yogyakarta’s sites of interest is the Water Castle, or Taman Sari. Taman Sari translates as “fragrant garden”. Perhaps when this area was first developed as a pleasure park with bathing pools and areas set aside for quiet contemplation it was a complex of fragrant gardens. Today, it seems like a lost world where time and other development has overrun it. Tucked in behind Yogyakarta’s Kraton and seemingly lost amongst a maze of walkways and cramped houses, the Water Castle can come as something of a surprise and even a shock. Approaching it via the nearby bird market, one is immediately struck by the high and extensive ruin of what once must have been the main building of the palace.
Date: February 27th, 2008 |
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Trans Jogja Busway: Yogyakarta, Central Java
Yogyakarta has welcomed the newly launched Trans Jogja with hopes the system, similar to the TransJakarta busway, can provide affordable, comfortable public transportation. Thousands of residents, including students, have used the new busway since its official opening early last week by Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.
Date: February 26th, 2008 |
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Jakarta Green Monster: Ragunan, Jakarta, West Java
The existence of wetlands in a metropolis like Jakarta is crucial to the wellbeing of the city and its residents. Wetlands nurture wildlife, absorb excess rainwater and provide a natural laboratory and a recreation area. Jakarta’s wetlands has shrunk to less than 6 percent of the city area, and will keep diminishing unless serious action is taken to stop its destruction.
Date: February 26th, 2008 |
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New Airport: Mimika, Papua
Mimika is constructing a new airport to reduce the isolation of remote areas in the regency, says a local official. Chief of the local air transportation office, Markus Raturoma, said the new airport, already under construction, was located in Tsinga village, a mountainous area in Tembagapura, 1.9 kilometers above sea level.
Date: February 24th, 2008 |
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