Indonesia Kalimantan
Preserving Textile Weaving: Bali
Life’s threads are drawn from tales of the past; its rituals and religions woven into the fabric of culture and lands. Across Indonesia, this weaving of life’s threads is a link to history, and the stories of lives embedded in textiles. For centuries, women across the archipelago have been the storytellers of their cultures, daily writing across the warp and weft of their backstrap looms the cloth of bridal dowries, infant swaddling garments and shrouds for the dead. Before the advent of tourism, these textile heirlooms were handed down from mother to daughter — their motifs, colors and weaving forms, different in each region, copied and learned by osmosis over generations. However a late 20th Century shift from a bartering to monetary economy threatened to break this tradition.
Date: April 1st, 2008 |
No Comments
Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday
Across Indonesia today it is a public holiday in celebration of Muhammad’s birthday. Also called Maulid Nabi, government offices and numerous shops are closed, and, no newspapers are printed for this day.
Date: March 19th, 2008 |
No Comments
Boedi Oetomo - National Awakening: Indonesia
Sunday, the 20th of May, 1908: A handful of young Indonesians, led by Wahidin Sudirohusodo, and supported by Soetomo, Gunawan and Suradji — declared the formation of “Boedi Oetomo”, laying the foundations for our independence. The movement would awake Indonesians to Indonesia — to its rich cultural heritage, and age-old values. It was not a decision made in haste. The group had made a thorough study of our history to find the missing thread that could possibly reunite us into one nation.
Date: March 12th, 2008 |
No Comments
Air Passenger Numbers Predicted to Rise in Indonesia
Being Visit Indonesia Year 2008 it was only obvious that passenger arrivals would increase steadily and especially to the safe tourist island of Bali. When I was over in Bali recently, there was an increase in domestic travellers and although this is good to see for the economy of such a small island, it is the other islands in the archipelago that desperately need the tourist dollar. According to Communications Minister Djusman Syafii Djamal predicted the number of air passengers in the country will rise 18 per cent this year from 36.13 million last year. Djusman said his prediction is based on the past performance, pointing out the past seven years have seen a four-fold increase in the number of air passengers in the country. Travellers hate to go by car or bus, with badly battered roads in most parts of the country having been damaged by rain triggered floods in the past several months, he said.
Date: March 10th, 2008 |
No Comments
Bumi Khatulistiwa Cultural Festival: Pontianak, West Kalimantan
If you are in Pontianak in West Kalimantan between the dates of March 21-23, then I suggest you check out the Bumi Khatulistiwa Cultural Festival. This festival is held twice a year to commemorate the natural phenomenon of the city of Pontianak which lies right on the imaginary Equator line. Events during the Bumi Khatulistiwa Cultural Festival will be traditional West Kalimantan art, tourism and cultural exhibition and traditional sport competitions.
Date: March 5th, 2008 |
No Comments
Snakes in Indonesia
Mention the word ‘snake’, and generally 95% of people run for the hills!. This is probably the worst thing you could do as you will arouse the snake’s attention. As most bushwalkers will tell you, it’s better to stand still and let the reptile get on with his business and go past you. Of course there are those times when you unavoidably step on one and then shit hits the fan, so to speak. It happened to me in Australia one particular year, and although I was lucky not to be bitten, the partner of the snake underfoot was not impressed. The snake in mention was a King Brown, one of the deadliest snakes in the world, and promptly chased me down a dry gully. In Indonesia on my travels I have come across snakes numerous times and just applied common sense in our meetings. Chances are that you will never come across a snake unless you travel in the jungles or open grasslands. A majority of tourists will never see a snake as they never venture off the beaten track.
Date: March 20th, 2008 |
No Comments
Climbing Mountains in Indonesia
When I write ‘climbing mountains’, I don’t mean the likes of Everest or Mount Kinabalu, but rather those volcanoes, distinct or otherwise, located across the archipelago. Over the decades I have scaled quite a few. There are several matters you should take into consideration when the desire to do a Sir Edmund Hillary on any climb. First and foremost make sure you let somebody know the day you go out to climb and this applies to any major trek you take on in Indonesia. The simple reason being that if anything did go wrong on your sojourn then it will give the relative authorities an idea where to look for you. This is only common sense. In my opinion it is always advisable to use a local guide as they know the best ways up and down the mountain.
Date: March 18th, 2008 |
1 comment
Orangutan Outreach
As most of you know, my two passions in life are the environment and wildlife, especially orangutans. I received an email yesterday about Orangutan Outreach, a non-profit organisation based in New York that works closely with Borneo Orangutan Survival and supports several projects in Kalimantan. I had a look at their website – redapes.org – and was pleasantly surprised to read just how much excellent work this organisation does. Saving the orangutans in Sumatra and Kalimantan should be one of the priorities of the Indonesian government and also to protect the environment in which these beautiful creatures live. Alas, this responsibility falls in the hands of non-profit organisations like Orangutan Outreach.
Date: March 10th, 2008 |
No Comments
Saving Orangutans in Indonesia
It is a well-known fact that orangutans are one of the planet’s most endangered species. According to statistics, Orangutans about 90 percent of those left are living in Sumatra and Kalimantan, with the remainder in Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia. Many have been abducted and sold in the black market. Illegal logging negatively impacts on ecological systems and so does the world demand for palm oil. This has increased by 32% over the last five years with the advent of the rapidly expanding food and industrial manufacturing industries. The aim of the former Suharto government was to create a total of 13.5 million acres of palm oil plantations by 2000 - by 1999 the figure had reached 7.4 million, which is nearly five times the size of Bali. The sudden increase in palm oil use has led to the clearing of Indonesia’s tropical forests to create monoculture palm oil plantations according to the Orangutan Foundation International organisation.
Date: March 9th, 2008 |
No Comments
Saving Local Languages
The concern over the world’s endangered indigenous languages is not a new issue. In 1951, UNESCO held a convention on the language of education on a worldwide basis. Its main purpose was to promote and preserve indigenous languages from extinction. Attended by a committee of language pundits worldwide, the convention produced a general consensus that a child’s mother tongue should become the medium of instruction.
Date: March 5th, 2008 |
No Comments
