Visiting Kaliandra

On the slope of a different mountain I discover another well managed environmental education center, Kaliandra. Named after a multi-purpose tree, the center was established in 1997 by five founders with the goal to educate people about the environment. While the PPLH Seloliman center I previously visited is one part of the larger PPLH organization, the Kaliandra Center runs autonomously. While many NGOs receive funding from the government, Kaliandra received its initial investment donations from the founders. This allows the organization to grow independently and to be shaped through the careful attention of the locally based management team. As Mr. Heri Aqus explains to me, “The forest and each nearby village has different potentials. At Kaliandra we work to achieve these potentials through sustainable and long term projects.” Heri is the HR Development Administrator at Kaliandra, and a long time back a former PPLH employee.

The facilities at Kaliandra act as an environmental and cultural education hub for both visitors and locals. The location is ideal, as the center sits on the side of Mount Arjuna, near a heavily wooded preservation area. The lodgings are all built in a classic Javanese architecture style. When I commented on the beauty of the buildings, it was explained to me that one of the founders is an architect, so he designed the whole complex. Bungalows and dorms are available to rent for private groups or organized gatherings and sleep over 100. The management strategies Heri and the other administrators use to develop and manage tourism at Kaliandra are admirably based around responsible tourism principles. As I observed during my stay, the center is working to positively impact and conserve the local environment, promote local customs, and create long term growth and development in the community. Careful attention is also given to making daily operations sustainable.

(Outside and Inside the Bungalows)

Heri fills me in on the programs the center operates. “We have programs with each core group in the community – children, women, and farmers,” he continues. The women’s programs focus more on health while the men’s program centers on farming management that is more profitable and less detrimental to the local environment. The local children’s programs include English lessons Tu-Th, and a Javanese dance and music class on Friday. In addition, the center is working to develop a resource library at Kaliandra and libraries in the neighboring villages. When first started Kaliandra worked with the 2 villages directly nearby, but now has expanded their efforts to work with 6 villages. The goal is to grow to the point where they can work with all 43 villages in the park area. Another branch of the center works to develop additional sources of income and skills enhancements for the community, such as organic farming, metal working, providing access to a drying machine that helps villagers package and preserve fruit for sale, and education on tourism basics including how to operate a home stay. Kaliandra even supported several villagers travelling to Bali to learn massage practices, which they now offer at the Kaliandra center.

(Making Dried Pineapple Snacks)

As an environmental education center it is important for Kaliandra to monitor the condition of the forest around them. In 2006 they were disturbed to see that around 3,900 hectares of the forest had been intentionally burned down and logged. As part of a USaid project, an awareness campaign was launched in the local surroundings. After the year long program educating people about the forest and proper care for the natural environment the results of 2007 was only 86 hectares destroyed. In another innovative program Kaliandra partnered with local businesses in the nearby town on an “adopt the forest” project. While Kaliandra supplied the trees, businesses donated money to pay the villagers to replant trees. Additional compensation was given to villagers who maintained and cared for the trees. The result was approximately 600 hectares replanted.

(part of the Kaliandra awareness campaign about the environment)

(young trees for planting)

I spent a very peaceful night at the center, and in the morning another Aqus, Aqus Sugarto Ecotourism sub manager, takes me on a walk around the cobble stoned paths of the resort. Again I feel very far removed from the busyness and intensity of the Indonesian cities. We pass an herbal medicine garden, and an onsite organic farm. When he sees this, Aqus mentions the branch office that Kaliandra operates in Surabaya to market and sell the organic produce from the villagers. The tour continues and I get to see several gamelan musical instruments where the kids practice, and a huge Outward Bound style ropes course. At that moment several minivans pull up to the park and little kids start pouring out. Almost 40 7yr olds are visiting today from Surabaya to learn about the environment and their interconnection with it.

We watch as they are lead to a nearby open air meeting place, and a traditional style puppet is used to talk with the kids and introduce them to Kaliandra. Leaving the kids to their program, Aqus and I continue on a walk of the area, followed by a motorbike tour of some of the surrounding villages. At the local community garden we see some women taking care of the plants and farther down the road we stop at one of the houses in the local home stay association. Ms. Bu Pinaridah and her daughter welcome us in. Though they don’t know much English, they seem to be enjoying this unexpected visit.

Continue on our tour, we visit a few other places in the nearby area before turning around and heading back to the center. When we arrive, the schoolchildren are just about to start a banana harvesting program. Again we tag along and watch as the kids gather around a banana tree. The staff member from Kaliandra talks with them and then demonstrates the whacking motions to bring down a large bough heavy with bananas. The kids seem to be enjoying themselves, and even more so during the next step when they learn about traditional cooking of the bananas and get the pleasure of eating them.

During my visit I was very impressed with the management strategies used at Kaliandra. The place seems to operate extremely efficiently with unique programs, and very reasonable price structures for both independent and package visitors. They are also happy to provide programs or local tours for domestic and international visitors. They also happily welcome volunteers. Though not in most guidebooks, I learned about this place from one of my instructor at Leeds Met University who took a group of students to assist on several projects during a one month stay last year. One of the students, Andy, even stayed several months longer to assist on additional projects, and helped create a first rate website at http://kaliandrasejati.org/ . The website includes more information and exact instructions on how to reach the center. A visit to Kaliandria makes a very pleasant trip, plus its location is less than half a day away from Mt. Bromo, my next destination.