The Exotic Durian - Responsible Travel Blog

The Last Entry

2008-04-09T15:23:00.005+08:00

The number of days I have left in Indonesia is dwindling to an end. At present, I’m back in Bali enjoying the sun in the pleasant little town of Padang Bai, and killing time until my flight out from Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport.

I’ve had a great experience the past months travelling through Indonesia and taking a more focused look at the tourism industry in Java, Bali, and Lombok. It’s been very informative speaking with people involved in so many diverse aspects of the travel sector and to see the progress of various responsible travel initiatives. Implementing projects is not always easy, and the outcomes are sometimes different than originally intended, but there is something to be said for all the hard work and creativity being applied to try and improve tourism.

In this last blog entry, I’d like to mention an innovative organization called Wild Asia who is working to promote sustainable tourism throughout Southeast Asia. I first discovered the Wild Asia website before I left for this trip while I was searching for information on responsible traveling in Indonesia.

As I mentioned, it isn’t always easy to implement programs geared toward sustainability, but what Wild Asia does is provide the resources - print, multi-media, and video information, as well as inspiration, to help travel businesses do just this. Each year the Responsible Tourism Awards they host promotes best practices. By recognizing tour operators working towards responsible tourism Wild Asia is providing a showcasing of positive ideas that other operators can then think about adopting. Wild Asia is also involved with projects at the local level such as seed grant programs and other sustainable agriculture initiatives. And, while Wild Asia helps and encourages tourism businesses to adopt responsible practices, they also do an excellent job promoting responsible travel through online articles and a RT resource library.

So, of course I was excited to find their website, and I contacted the Responsible Travel Coordinator, Rebecca. I explained to her the project I was doing and she was happy to send me some useful information materials. Not to mention, further inspection of their website provided a great resource to learn about various responsible travel initiatives in SEA, and to read entries in the resource library about other people’s experiences travelling through Indonesia. I decided while I was travelling to also submit some entries to Wild Asia, to further add to their library. A site like this is a great way for travelers to participate and share information on places and organizations demonstrating responsible travel characteristics, which was one of my original goals with “The Exotic Durain.”

Anyway, check out their site at:

That’s it for the blog. Or maybe, I should say “to be continued …” at some future date unknown ;)

P.S. If anyone would like to see additional photos of my trip they are located on Flickr for "travelbaxter"

Lazy Days on Gili Air

2008-04-05T19:15:00.005+08:00

I only spent one day on Gili T., then took an island hopping boat to Gili Air, a more laid back and less developed island. It’s easy to get stuck on Gili Air, which I did. This island still maintains mostly bamboo huts, like the one I stayed in ...

While staying on the island I did my best to minimize the resources I used and the trash I created. This meant quick showers, refilling a water bottle at local restaurants, and if I did generate any trash (paper, broken headphones, etc.) I took it with me when I left the island. I spent tranquil days reading in a hammock, tanning on the beach, and I went snorkeling for the first time in my life. I went with guide from the guest house where I was staying and we rented snorkels and fins from a local vender. Amazing. Internet access is so slow to the point of being useless (which explains the delay in posting these entries), but I did have a chance to look up some eco-snorkeling tips before my original departure. Like, many websites giving eco-advice, these tips seem obvious, but then you see the pictures of people holding up the coral they found … anyway, here’s the link.

(Gili Air)

There are far fewer visitors that stay on Gili Air. While Gili Trawangan has a community group called SATGAS managing the community’s and tourist’s interests, the only type of local authority on Gili Air and Meno is from the local village head who handles disputes. At this time I’m not sure if any waste management programs have been started? Most of the places are still locally owned, but two professional dive schools have opened on Gili Air, as well as a few upscale establishments. One place even tries to appeal to visitors by offering a “gym.”

On my last day on Gili Air, and the Gili islands in general, I sign up for a full day glass bottom boat tour of the three islands. I was also able to visit Gili Meno for the first time. From what I understand most visitors to Meno, especially during the offseason, are just day visitors. I went with an Italian couple, a German couple, and the Indonesian 2 men who operate the boat to various snorkeling places around the islands. Their boat, along with a few other glass bottom boats originating from the other islands, tie up to a pre-arranged anchored buoy – so everyone is snorkeling at the same spot. We end up seeing several turtles, brightly colored fishes, and at one location a large stingray quickly zooms by some meters under our feet. And, if the call to prayer seems mesmerizing to my foreign ears usually, it seems even more so when snorkeling underwater and hearing it echoing around the fishes.

It’s a Catch 22 when it comes to the fish surrounding the islands – visitors love seeing the multicolored fish, but they also love eating them. Each night the restaurants on the islands display a selection of newly caught fish available for BBQ, and served with rice and vegetables. While Gili Trawangan is trying to work with fisherman to modify their fishing methods, there is still a steady demand for fish created by tourism … and, um, I admit it’s delicious.

After several days spent on Gili Air, I finally drag myself away. Taking the slow boat away from the island, I can’t help but ponder the future of this little island. Tourism will undoubtedly increase, but I just hope the island is able to adopt some appropriate management strategies to keep the tourism industry in balance. Gili Air has such a tranquil character and rich marine environment it would be sad to see it overexploited for only short-term gain, but as the projects on Gili Trawangan demonstrate even the best intentioned sustainable development ideas can lead to problems.

The Gili Islands

2008-04-05T19:02:00.002+08:00

I brushed away the flies and continued to wait for the boat. Other passengers dozed on the nearby benches. Farm women waited outside with woven baskets brimming with food. This food was destined for island restaurants - short juicy bananas, spiky bunches of pineapples, unknown greens, buckets of fish, and one lady held a chicken by its feet. From where I sat, melting into a bench in the Indonesian noontime heat, I could clearly see brown naked boys laughing and jumping off docked boats into the clear blue water of the sea. This is the tiny port of Bangsal, a departure point for the Gili islands – Gili Air, Gili Meno, and Gili Trawangan – off the Northeast shore of Lombok. To reach the Gilis one can either go the slow and cheap way, a public boat from Bangsal, or the fast and expensive way, a speed boat from Bali (well, relatively expensive- $20 versus .50 cents).

The Gilis look like a slice of paradise with their impressively blue clear water, bamboo huts, horse drawn wagons (no motor vehicles are allowed on the islands). Located in the waters off the NW corner of Lombok, the Gili islands remained uninhabited until fisherman from nearby islands started setting up homes, and starting coconut plantations. Rumor has it that a German travel writer visited during the 1980s, and this is what led to the development of tourism on the island. Originally guests would just stay in the homes of villagers, but tourism has since grown and all the islands offer hotels, guest houses, and restaurants.

The first place I visit is Gili Trawangan. Many of the bamboo huts on this island have been replaced with more solid and posh establishments, but there is still a relaxed beach vibe – at least during the day, during the nighttime Gili T. is known for its party reputation. Walking around the island there was a fair amount of building going on, and places planned for hotels – like “Eden Edge,” though when I walked past it didn’t look particularly Eden-ish. This island is also supposed to be the smallest island in the world with its own Irish pub.

(Eden's Edge - said completion "2008"?!?)

While the other two islands have remained more rustic and less “spoiled”, Gili Trawangan’s popularity has led it to become the most developed and pricey of the three islands. The island is home to several foreign owned dive schools and up market hotels established by international business interests. Gili Trawangan has also become the subject of several case studies discussing sustainable tourism. In particular, I found an excellent 4pg article discussing “What Hinders the Path to Sustainability?” The paper discussed several of the barriers the island faces and what actions have been taken.

In brief, the dive schools organized the Gili Trawangan Eco-trust and started charging divers a tax of about $3. The collected money then went to projects to repair damaged coral by using metal rods to create artificial reef, paying fisherman not to fish using explosives and other environmentally dangerous methods, organizing beach cleanups, and running a waste management disposal program. However, from the theory stage to implementation the projects hit snags due to various barriers like lack of resources, education, and motivation. I did witness the rods still in place helping to re-grow reef, but many fisherman continue using explosives and damaging the marine environment. The beach cleanups had organizational problems and ended up fizzling out, and the waste management system without the proper knowledge ended up being just a large dumping pit. The walls put up around the pit were stolen, and the big open pit ended up breeding rodents and disease. However, this took place on the interior island, where most tourists don’t venture.

Trekking at Gunung Rinjani

2008-04-05T09:13:00.003+08:00

The gigantic Rinjani volcano dominates the small island of Lombok. It reaches to the hight of 3726m and is the second largest volcano in all of Indonesia. Tourists, Travelers, and pilgrims climb this holy mountain, which usually takes four to five days of intense hiking. However, not me!

It’s true, I really hate climbing mountains, even if this is a good example of well managed community-based tourism. So instead, I will leisurely sip my coffee at a pleasant café, where I can see and appreciate Gunung Rinjani, while still being able to write this entry from the comfiness of civilization :)

(Here's a pic provided by Wikipedia)

Besides reading that Rinjani is a good form of community based tourism in a guidebook and hearing positive word of mouth recommendations, I also discovered that the APEIS (Asia-Pacific Environmental Innovation Strategies) lists the Rinjani program in their summary of best tourism practices. The community based tourism management program at Gunung Rinjani was implemented through the funding of New Zealand Aid, the Indonesian National Park Service, and the West Lombok Tourism Office.

Most trekkers follow a route that takes them from the town of Senaru (West) to Sembalun Lawang (East). There are two information centers set up where visitors can arrange treks, the Rinjani Trek Center-RTC in Senaru and the Rinjani Information Center-RIC in Sembalun Lawang. The centers use a rotation system so that all qualified trekking guides get their turn, and the same trek packages at the same fixed prices are offered at both.

Behind the scenes, to develop the tourism at Rinjani the different participating communities were given a needs assessment survey. The results of this survey were used for developing capacity building programs in obvious activities like guide training, cooking, and improving English, but also for related tourism aspects like screen printing for souvenir tee-shirts, training for cultural performances, women’s weaving, handicraft production, and general management/bookkeeping ideas. A Rinjani Trek Newsletter was developed to share information with all the various stakeholders, and updates on how the revenue generated from the trekking is being channeled back into education and conservation programs to help the local environment and communities – thus sustaining tourism for the long term.

www.info2lombok.com

The Pondok Pekak Library and Learning Center

2008-04-05T09:03:00.003+08:00

On my final day in Ubud, I spend a leisurely day visiting the Pondok Pekak Library and Learning Center. Named after a priest/healer from the area, Pondok Pekak roughly means “Gradfather’s little resting house in the rice fields.” Located near the large (and only) football field in town, the center offers a relaxing place to spend an afternoon. The center was started in 1995 primarily as an expat library, but has expanded their focus into encouraging local kids in the “love of reading” mentality. This led to the development in 2001 of a children’s library with books in Indonesian and English. As their brochure attests, and I can well believe, they have a collection of over 10,000 books in a wide range of topics including Indonesian, Balinese, and SEA studies.

An on-sight learning center offers traditional music and dance classes, woodcarving lessons, Indonesian language courses, etc. Plus there is a restaurant, tours can be arranged, and water bottles refilled for a minimal charge. The library has become self-sustaining because of these services and programs offered to tourists.

It’s at this center that I finally find a copy (actually 2 copies) of the Natural Guide to Bali – a guidebook that I had read about online, but could never seem to find. This guidebook is unique as it rates places based on how traveler-friendly, nature-friendly, and community friendly they are. Basically, it’s trying to appeal to more conscious travelling, and letting people go beyond the price when choosing a guesthouse, restaurant, or a sightseeing activity.

Selecting a few books, I find a cozy place to read on the 2^nd floor of the building.

In the evening I decide to try the Bali Buddha cafe listed in the Natural Guide to Bali book. In the book it gave the restaurant/organic health food store extra points for a project they run called ABC solutions, a waste management program they organize with local households and small tourist operations to collect recyclable waste, sort it, then transport it to the Denpasar recycling facility. They charge roughly $5 US a month for the service, so provides a good service to the community as well as providing extra income for their business which is visited mostly by tourists and expats.

The restaurant is located above the organic food store, so is rather small in size – about 10 tables and another room that acts as a sitting/waiting room full of couches. When I arrived the restaurant was full, but by the time my food arrived I had found a vacated table next to an interesting faux-wall made up of linked together wind chimes. I have to agree with the guidebook, the food is very good and healthy, while going that extra step to provide a valuable community service within the area.

Ubud’s Sacred Monkey Forest

2008-04-05T08:49:00.005+08:00

On my second day in Ubud, I walk to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary on the far South side of town. This tourist attraction is run by the Padangtegal village, and contains local holy temples – and it really does have a lot of monkeys.

There are three holy temples in the forest. The first is the Holy Bathing Temple, its use is pretty self explanatory, and it’s located next to a stream. The second is a large temple called Pura Dalem Agung, and the third is a cremation temple that’s located next to a graveyard. One must pay careful attention when walking around these temples, since monkeys really are everywhere – I almost tripped over quite a few (probably not the best interaction between a human and the revered monkeys of the “sacred monkey forest”. ) Staff in green outfits stand around the park, and give guidance on feeding the monkeys. I asked one of the staffers how many monkeys are in the park. “Over 300.”

The Sacred Monkey Forest is run by a council called The Padantegal Wenara Wana foundation, and different stakeholders and village members serve on the council. Their goal is to maintain the sacredness and culture of the area, while promoting it to domestic and international visitors. No easy task, as tourism has jumped from 800 a month in 1986 to around 10,000 visitors a month at present. While the early morning and late afternoons are fairly quiet, the temple receives a large amount of tour buses during the day. Here are the 3 goals of the foundation, as listed on their website:

· Educating people about the importance of conserving the Sacred Monkey Forest's natural and cultural resources.

Maintaining a team of highly trained staff members that are responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the Sacred Monkey Forest.

Monitoring and whenever necessary restoring the integrity of the Sacred Monkey Forest's natural and cultural resources.
Unfortunately, due to the rainy weather my pictures of the place weren’t that great, but if you’d like to see the monkeys here is a video someone youtubed.

So, is this an example of responsible tourism? Unfortunately, the information office next to the forest was closed when I visited. The only thing I saw besides some darkened and locked offices were cheeky looking monkeys hanging out on the balcony nearby. I asked Sherry, the Ubud expat I met, about the forest and she did mention the local village was benefiting economically from the tourism. Environmentally, tourism has created a reason to protect the woods and animals inside – though with all the bananas being handed out the monkey community seems to have expanded disproportionately with the size of the forest. And what about socially, what are the effects of this site as a tourist attraction – does it still maintain a cultural meaning to Padangtegal village???

www.monkeyforestubud.com

Meeting Sherry

2008-03-31T13:53:00.000+08:00

As I mentioned, there are quite a few expats living in Ubud. Before arriving I’d been in contact with Sherry, who used to write for the Inside Indonesia (www.insideindonesia.org) online magazine. While she has moved into more translation and editing work, she still sat down to talk with me at Three Monkeys Café, located just a few blocks away from the Monkey Forest.

Canadian by birth, she’s lived in Indonesia for over 10 years and almost 8 ½ of those years in Ubud, Bali. Sherry has helped with the organizing part of several alternative tourism programs, and has worked as a communication facilitator between groups and locals. Sitting down with her, I got to hear some interesting stories about taking a group through Papua to talk with the local tribes people in the Baliem valley. Closer to home, she also discussed the challenges of village home stays in Bali. From the tourist perspective, she explains, “they want a genuine experience, not someone trying to sell them something.” From the perspective of those just beginning to operate local homestays, many were a bit shy and embarrassed about hosting visitors in their humble home. In addition, while some go on pilgrimages, very few travel for the sake of travelling, and it is still a foreign concept, especially in villages, to go to a place with no set purpose, but just to observe. In a creative activity Sherry helped arrange, they took the tour group and the villagers running the home stay to the Bali bird park. This allowed both parties to interact together, and for the villagers to get a glimpse of what it was like being a tourist.

Another interesting pointer I received from Sherry is the importance of stories. From her observation at the local level, many of the community created programs that last are the places that integrate a story and connect with their visitors. For example, just taking visitors to a village doesn’t produce a connection. Even taking visitors to a village and pointing out different trees, plants, etc. doesn’t produce a connection. However, going that next step of taking visitors to a village, and integrating stories people can relate too, and pointing out trees and plants but explaining their use from a cultural standpoint is more likely to engage visitors.

It was an enjoyable time sitting down and talking with Sherry, and she offered some very interesting insights about developing tourism initiatives at the local level.

Threads of Life

2008-03-27T16:33:00.006+08:00

The town of Ubud seems like a contradiction to the sun and sand tourism of the Southern Bali. Here is the cultural hub of Bali, where traditions and art on display, though the town seems as equally developed as the popular tourist areas farther South. The central part of Ubud is full of homestays, restaurants - many offering organic fair, and boutiques. These chic little boutiques sell upscale versions of local arts and crafts. Ubud used to be a much smaller village, but its popularity as a tourism destination caused the village to grow and absorb some of the neighboring villages. To support this expansion many rice fields were developed into hotels and home stays, though Ubud is still a very popular place to take walks, or bike rides, around the scenic surrounding area. I’m also noticing it is a popular place for expats, and sign postings for apartments to rent are common on all the billboards.

One slight hassle I am noticing, every 3^rd person appears to be a pseudo-taxi driver. In Ubud, there aren’t many official taxi cars, but these pseudo-taxi drivers offer rides in private vehicles and on the back of motorcycles. It’s a regular soundtrack when one tries to walk anywhere, “taxi?”, “you need taxi?”, “taxi, miss?”

On one of my ventures around town I discover the “Threads of Life” Indonesian Textile Arts Center off a quiet street in the far North part of town. Proudly displayed on the glass window near the entrance is a letter and certificate from Islands magazine nominating the center as part of their December 2007 issue "Blue-List of 100 Responsible Tourism Attractions." There is also a seal of approval from the International Fare Trade Association displayed on the sliding glass door into the cool air-conditioned building.

The Threads of Life center works with weaving associations on 9 different islands, and showcases products at the center in Bali. I look around the store at the different textiles, each includes a name tag that describes the item, its traditional use, and who it was tied by, dyed by, and woven by. As the store clerk lady proudly points out, not only are all the textiles produced laboriously by hand, but the dyes used are sustainably and naturally produced.

As she tells me, Threads of Life works to help each weaving center based on their individual needs. At some associations they help train weavers in order management, quality control, and bookkeeping. At others, the focus is on reaching a broader domestic and international market. Since 2005 the group has been organizing a yearly conference, the Nusantara Weaver’s Festival, to join these women from the different programs in one place where they can discuss their craft with other weavers. At the center a DVD of the conference plays continuously on the small TV in one corner of the room.

As a tourism student, I’ve found it particularly interesting how they’ve combined tourism in with the weaving program and shop. At the center they offer classes and workshops that teach about textiles, and how to make them. At a full day Batik workshop they offer, participants pick their own leaves for coloring, and watch the preparation of the indigo vat and paste. They then learn to hand-draw designs on cloth, and dye and re-dye their cloth. There is an even longer program that involves an 8 to 14 day trip around Bali that visit weaving programs and delves into the socio-cultural links.

The Threads of Life organization seems to be doing very positive work to impact the environment, society, and economy of those involved in the weaving programs. In particular, the program encourages sustainable dye plant use and handspun thread, which promotes organic farming of cotton and indigo and avoids chemical dyes. The program also encourages pride in culture through the act of making the traditional fabrics, which are then promoted as an art form – and sold at similar prices, thus generating revenue that goes back to the weavers and their families.

If you’d like to learn more about the organization, here is their contact information:

Threads of Life
Jalan Kajeng 24, Ubud
www.threadsoflife.com
tac@threadsoflife.com

Mangrove Information Center

2008-03-26T14:44:00.004+08:00

When I visit the PPLH Bali center, the coordinator mentions that they sometimes take kids to the Mangrove Information Center on the South side of town. Curious, I decide to stop here next.

A mangrove doesn’t refer to a specific type of tree, but instead to any group of trees that grow between the high tide and low tide water lines. I find this out, and more, in the display cases arranged around the Mangrove Information Center. The center, which works to teach the public about mangroves, is another project supported by the Japanese organization JICA. This is the same organization that funds programs with the Indonesian National Park System, such as Gunung Halimun and Ujung Kulon NPs.

These coastal areas around Bali became particularly at risk as tourism started booming in the 1970s. As part of the coastal eco-system they prevent land erosion, and provide a safe harbor for fish to grow, they also provide ideal places for hotels and restaurants where one can sip mojitos and stare out at the sea. In 1992 this particular mangrove forest was designated as “Tahura” – grand forest park, and in 1993-1999 JICA and the Indonesian Department of Forestry started The Development of Sustainable Mangrove Management Project. This project resulted in data collection about the mangrove forest and the birds, crabs, and other wildlife that live inside. A nursery was also established to provide seedlings for the rehabilitation.

(The nursery)

While this project did result in rehabilitation of portions of the Mangrove forest, the deforestation going on was to a greater extent. That’s why from 2001-2006 JICA and the Forestry department decided to engage in a second project, The Mangrove Information Centre Project. This project focused on awareness through environmental education as well as an ecotourism aspect. The third and newest project, The Sub-Sectoral Programme on Mangrove, is currently underway from 2007-2010 and acts as a follow up to the other two programs by focusing on maintenance and resource monitoring. The lobby of the MIC clearly explains the work of all these projects, as well as a mini diorama of the Mangrove forest with original forest in dark green and rehabilitated area in light green. I continued my stroll through the center which includes several exhibit rooms talking about the function of Mangroves in the ecosystem and has large aquariums that mimic the mangrove habitat with creatures crawling around inside.

(Crab wildlife in the Mangrove Forest)

At the center I meet Yuni, Assistant Expert of JICA in Museum Management. She tells me about the different environmental education programs and the incorporation of ecotourism into the forestry management strategies. The MIC and nearby boardwalk were both created in 2003 and currently receive about 6,000 domestic guests a year, mostly students and teachers. Special projects are also held at the center, such as summer camps and a weeklong Mangrove Arts festival. At the festival local sculptures, painters, and cooks are invited to the Mangrove forest to find inspiration in the year’s theme (last year’s was “Hidden Beauty”). Then people from around the community come to see the art exhibits, and view/sample products from the cooking displays that use products from the forest. On the wall near to where we are talking, I can see the finalist from a kids drawing contest also held.

While the number of international visitors is much smaller, closer to 500 a year, many people come who have a special interest in the forest, like bird watching. Two tall hides have been built to cater to bird watchers. A 3km long trail winds through the mangrove forest, very solitary and silent except for the noises of nature one would expect. Acting as a barrier between the land and the sea, the Mangrove forest does suffer problems from rubbish being trapped among the roots. I had a very peaceful walk along the boardwalk, but as the sky began to darken I decided to come back early.

The Mangrove Information Center and hiking trail is located at:

Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai km.21
Suwung Kauh Denpasar, Bali
62-361-726969
micjica@indosat.net.id

PPLH Bali

2008-03-26T14:22:00.003+08:00

Tourism in Bali – one could write a book on that subject. Actually, there are 395 currently on Amazon when you type in “Bali Tourism.” This array of books ranges from tourism guides, to more academic materials discussing the impacts of having the island’s economy interlaced with tourism, as well as the crushing effects of the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005.

From Gilimanuk, Java, I took a ferry across the straight to reach the island of Bali. From there buses travel past the scenic Western side of Bali and into the more developed Southern part of the island. When I visited the PPLH Center in East Java, the staff mentioned there was another center located in Bali, so I decide to check it out on my visit to the island. The center is in Sanur, a small beach town on the Southeast coast of Bali.

While the PPLH Bali environmental education center was formerly based at Hotel Santai, the hotel turned into a dive school, so the center moved about 6 months ago. The PPLH Bali center is now located at a quiet building on Jl. Hang Tuah Street. When I turn up at the new center, I’m warmly welcomed by Imade Hariana. Imade works to run and coordinate the programs at PPLH Bali. He admits it’s a smaller operation than the one in East Java, so instead of bringing people to their center, the staff travels to them.

Currently, the center operates a “Green School” program where they visit 5^th graders at 3 local schools once a week to introduce the environment and its problems to the kids. They also have other programs where they visit schools farther away for 2-3 day programs that teach about how to treat the environment and coastal areas. Partners of PPLH Bali include other local and international NGOs. They work with the foundation branch of the P.A.D.I. organization, which gives licenses to divers, in order to produce books on sea life to pass out. PPLH Bali also works with the Bali International Women’s Association, who sponsored a book on water monitoring using bio indicators. The book includes different animals to look for in order to determine the health of the water. Staff from PPLH goes with a “Green Team” of selected kids from local schools and try to identify the bio indicating animals in local water sources. This provides an interactive way for local children to learn about the health of the nearby water sources, with the goal being that these kids will then educate their friends.

Imade explains that environmental education currently isn’t a mandatory part of the school curriculum, so PPLH has also organized a group whose name loosely translates to, “Teachers Who Care about the Environment.” The group then discusses how to integrate environmental education into the class room as well as creative ways to keep kids interested. While I’m speaking with him, several young boys dressed in brown and white school uniforms stop by with a bag of empty bottles. In the Green School program, the PPLH staffers teach kids about proper waste disposal and the importance of recycling. They tell the kids how they can exchange plastic bottles and cans for cash. For those who can’t make it to the recycling center, PPLH pays them for bringing recycling to their office, and then during the afternoon the staff will drop it by the recycling center. Imade smiles as he mentions the kids are also welcome to use the onsite library and do their homework at the center, which often means helping with math problems.

While the work of PPLH Bali may not directly relate to tourism, the staff is trying to change local behaviors to the environment, which does interconnect with tourism. The growth of the tourism industry since the 1970s has created an incentive for developing land and has resulted in greater usage of natural resources. The PPLH center in Bali hopes that by educating kids about the importance and value of their environment, they will be keener to preserve and conserve it, thus producing a better place for people to visit and for them to live.

Rosa's Ecolodge

2008-03-24T18:53:00.004+08:00

I reached the village of Sidomulyo in early afternoon by bus. The village, on the outskirts of Baluran National Park, is located in the NE corner of East Java and is home to the friendly Rosa’s Ecolodge. While most of Indonesia’s national parks consist of a rainforest environment, the Baluran NP is different in this aspect as it is savanna. The park’s fitting nickname is “Indonesia’s little bit of Africa.” Stepping off the bus I meet up with Rizal, one of the administrators of Rosa’s, who takes me on a short ride through the traditional Madurese village that skirts the park to reach the ecolodge. The cottages and main house are built in a Madurese inspired traditional style and the owners are the sociable Rosa and Rene, retirees who have expanded their house into an eco education lodge.

Though the place is small, only 8 rooms (so reserve in advance during the busy season), Rosa’s provides a very homey atmosphere. After speaking with them, it’s easy to see the owner’s dedication and concern for the surrounding area, both the park and local residents. The problems the park faces is sadly similar to other parks, illegal logging, poaching, and fishing using explosives and cyanide. The local community consists mostly of farmers who feel justified in taking the resources they need from their local environment, which they feel includes the national park. The hope of Rosa and her husband was to use the benefits of ecotourism to protect the park and develop the local community to prevent misuse of the national park. As I talk with them, I hear first hand many of the problems they face.

While Rosa and her husband’s intentions to help the park and the local area are genuine, they are struggling with “how” to make a difference. How does one stop people from just going and taking what they need from the park? How does one get locals, and park officials, to see the value of the park and to take care of it? How does one motivate villagers who are lethargic about hosting visitors? How does one train locals to take on more advanced responsibilities? And how does one find the energy to keep going?

While many villagers are set in their ways, Rosa’s Ecolodge hopes to change attitudes through education, especially by bringing awareness to the local children. All education projects are self funded from the lodge’s revenues, and include hiring rangers to speak at local schools, and taking local kids to the park’s main headquarters, about 22km away, to speak with rangers. While this environmental education center is at a smaller scale than the previous centers I visited in East Java, PPLH and Kaliandra, Rosa’s Ecolodge is working to make a difference in an area where there is little other involvement.

(Rice fields near the park)

While maybe not a “true” ecolodge, as the needs of her visitors do not always mesh with environmental sustainability, Rosa’s is certainly a comfortable place to stay with easy access to the park and a place where you know a portion of the room rates will be going back to aid the local community in various ways. Currently, Rosa is looking for an NGO, or motivated volunteers, to help in her mission to prevent damage to the park and enhance the local community.

To see Rosa’s webpage: http://www.rosasecolodge.com/

Margo Utomo Agro Resort

2008-03-22T18:53:00.005+08:00

Unlike traditional mass tourism, agro tourism is an interesting niche industry that allows visitors to learn more about the agriculture products of a place, as well as the interconnection of these goods – both in production and use - within the local community. After leaving Mt. Bromo I had the opportunity to visit the Margo Utomo Agro Resort located in the small town of Kalibaru, East Java. This area is particularly well known for its plantations.

The founder of Margo Utomo, Mr. R. H. Moch inherited 9 hectares of plantation land from his father in the 1940s. After thirty years, and the addition of a dairy farm, Mr. Moch decided to evolve his business into one that showed tourists the interconnection between a plantation, its workers, and the land. The agro resort now includes 51 cottages and sparked the creation of Margo Utomo Cottages, which has 30 rooms. The style of both places is a mix of the colonial past integrated with traditional Javanese. Though Mr. Moch passed away in 2000, the Margo Utomo organization is still managed by his family.

I reached Kalibaru by bus. On arrival I was directed to Margo Utomo’s which is one block off the main street in town, and directly across from the train station. I waited in the open air lobby, decorated with a huge gamelan instrument set, to speak with Ms. Mariana, daughter of the late founder, and with Ms. Lynda Margaretha, head of marketing. Sitting down with the women, they told me a little more about the resort and their interaction with the local community. As a good-sized local business in a small town, the majority of their employees, about 99% of the150 workers, are locals. As Lynda explains, they have a very low turnover so it’s in everybody’s best interest to provide training to maximize the skills of the employees – this makes it easy for employees to switch roles, and those that learn English and/or Dutch also have the option of becoming guides. It was from their staff that they got the idea to start village tours to local home industries, like that of tofu and peanuts, thus allowing the guests more interaction with the local community and allowing tourism to compliment these other business sectors.

The Dairy farm, home to over 50 cows that produce milk, is still a central part of Margo Utomo. Besides providing a fun attraction to visitors, especially the baby cows, the milk and cheese produced is served at the local restaurant. The waste products produced is maybe of more value to the local area, as it is this natural organic fertilizer that is used on the plantation, and even sold to other plantations. In fact, it seems like a very holistic interaction between the 2 resorts, dairy farm, and plantation – guests visit the plantation, eat products produced from the dairy farm, and then the fertilizer is used to grow the crops at the plantation. As Ms. Mariana informs me, while at the present it’s primarily the fertilizer used that’s organic, in the next years they hope to switch their suppliers into providing organic food. Currently, they are working with local farmers to educate them about organic farming, as well as their staff on how to prepare food so that no MSG or other additives are included.

The ladies are kind enough to find a guide to take me around the plantation and dairy farm. The baby cows really are adorable with their big black eyes. I’m also shown how they produce brown sugar, which involves hours of boiling before it is finally at the right consistency to be used for the restaurant’s homemade cakes and desserts. In the back of the resort is the plantation. It’s filled with coffee, cocoa, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and vanilla trees as well as local fruits, including durian. Large pits are dug in the ground, which the guide explains is to provide water during the dry season. All the plants are watered naturally, no sprinklers are used.

The Margo Utomo Agro Resort and Hill View Cottages seem to provide a pleasant type of alternative tourism that is low impact and compliments the local area. While they don’t currently have a responsible tourism policy, both women said it was a part of the plan for the near future. As they put it, guests are more willing to be critical of certain practices they don’t find sustainable, which means the hotels must step up to adopt new and alternative approaches.

Mount Bromo

2008-03-20T12:08:00.005+08:00

I had some trouble reaching Cemoro Lawang, the place to stay before visiting Mt. Bromo. While it’s nice from a traveler’s perspective to travel in the offseason when places are less busy, it can also prove difficult in finding transportation. I hoped to take a minibus from Probolinggo to Cemoro Lawang, but the only one I could find was empty and wouldn’t leave until full. After an hour of waiting, I decided that it might be best to hire a motorcycle to make the trip up the mountainside. Unfortunately, I realize in hindsight that I didn’t demonstrate responsible tourism when choosing a bike.

The price was fair for both of us, but I didn’t take the extra step of checking over the vehicle first. When the eager driver went to get his bike, I discovered it was a clunker in sorry shape and missing a dashboard. I admit even the most decrepit machines often seem to get by, but before starting a longer trip the responsible action is to judge that the vehicle is capable of the trip, because if it breaks down it provides problems for both the owner and traveler. Can you guess where this story is going ;)

I think my lack of faith in the bike really showed by my insistence on a helmet for this trip. Finally, after some communication among the group of waiting drivers, they were able to find an extra helmet. Unfortunately, the only available one was several sizes too big, missing a chin strap, and somehow was using metal staples to hold together the visor that had cracked in 3 places. I had to use one hand to hold the helmet down for most of the trip - making its effectiveness very questionable. We start the hour or so trip and everything is going fine and the views from the bike are amazing. However, about ¾ the way up the hill the bike begins to stutter, and to finally stop alongside a steep part of the hill. Another biker pulls over and pokes and prods the bike, but eventually it can’t be helped, or at least to continue uphill. I pay extra since I feel bad about the bike, but this situation wasn’t very good for everybody involved and the driver now had to ride the bike back down. The guy who stopped then takes me up the rest of the way.

While there are several ways to reach Mount Bromo, the most popular is via the town of Cemoro Lawang, which sits on the edge of a vast crater containing 3 volcanic mountains – Bromo, Batok, and Kursi. The crater is filled with a covering of volcanic sand and ash with the smoking mount Bromo sitting between the other two peaks. From the entrance to the park, one can walk, hire a jeep, or rent a horse to reach them.

Before arriving I discovered an excellent 5 page summary of the tourism in this area, “Local Community Initiative in Developing Culture and Nature Tourism in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park.” The report talks about some of the good practices used in this park and includes research from Dr. Janet Cochrane, the Leed’s instructor that told me about Kaliandra. In her research she looked at the tourism practices of Cemoro Lawang and the positive and negative impacts that result from tourism. The practices at CL are unique because the locals follow traditional law, which prohibits anyone non-Tenggerese (the local ethnic group) from buying land or renting it for more than a year. In addition, to decrease conflicts between community members hoping to benefit from tourism, local associations were created based on professions, so there is a horse operator’s group, jeep rental group, food stall group, photographers’ group, and an accommodation group. The groups are all self-regulating entities. As Dr. Cochran’s research shows this provides increased positive impacts for the local community at Cemoro Lawang versus the unregulated tourism offered at the other villages, Wonokitri and Ngadas, which also provide tourism services to Bromo.

The best time to reach Bromo is early in the morning. As I’m a rather unprepared traveler at times, my alarm clock broke the second day into my trip, so I’ve been relying on naturally waking up early – which has served me thus far. That night I had a rather uneasy sleep, as I was trying to use an internal alarm clock to wake up by 4a to catch the sunrise in the crater. When I woke up at 3:30a, it seemed like it was best to just stay awake and start getting ready for the trip to Bromo. Since the association provide a flat rate for a jeep rental this didn’t seem like the best option since there is only 1 of me and I couldn’t find anyone else to share the expense of a jeep. As I paid my entrance fee for the park, an older lean gentleman approached asking if I needed a horse – “why yes!” Learning from my mistake with the motorcycle, I checked the horse first – strong looking legs, well fed with no ribs showing, and a sweet disposition. I was helped on, while the man took the reins to lead the horse. It was about 4am as we started across the volcanic sand sea. The people travelling by jeep took a different route that led to a viewing area of the whole crater first, so we were alone as we crossed. The horse slowly plodded through the sand and white mist, the stars shined bright overhead. I’d like to say that I listed to the steady clump of the horse the whole time, but I am a child of the modern ages (it can’t be helped), so I switched on my music player and listened to “Echoes: Best of Pink Floyd.”
The ride took about 45 minutes, so we waited for the sunrise at the base of the stairs leading up to the volcano’s edge. I enjoyed the solitude of the experience, just us and the horse. At 5am Yaeen(sp?) the horse caretaker, suggested I start the climb. In the distance the sun was just beginning to light up the Eastern sky. I started up alone, no touts, no other tourists. I had talked to someone the day before who mentioned taking over a hundred photos at Bromo, and I wondered how that was possible. Easily. As the sun rises and the mist disappears every moment makes the scene look a little bit different. There is also a trail that goes around the top edge of Bromo, which allows one to see the inside at all angles. Standing alone on the lip of Bromo watching the sunrise to one side and the crater smoking away on the other is an unforgettable experience.

It wasn’t until I was 1/3rd of the way around that I even saw any other visitors. It was very easy to forget that hundreds of thousands had probably visited this same place, as I slowly made my way along the path and at times climbed down channels carved out from lava. It probably took an hour to make it around the whole rim, so when I arrived back near the start more people had arrived and a man was selling flowers as an offering to Bromo and other woman was selling food and drinks. As I walked down the steps I now found that many other horses accompanied the one I’d ridden.

Again we slowly plodded back to the park entrance. My impressions of Bromo and this tourism town were very positive, though I do realize life has probably changed much for the local inhabitants with the growth of tourism and that visiting during the offseason isn’t really a good way to gauge all the impacts. I did witness some positive interactions between visitors and locals, as some tourists were speaking with some secondary school boys who wanted to practice their English, but I also observed some negative interactions as one cranky traveler was very unpleasant to another boy that asked about his transportation needs. I can understand how it is easy to be rude when asked for the billionth time about needing a minibus, even when you are already sitting in one, but it is also very easy to change the subject and to treat people as people.
For anyone who is curious, the report of Dr. Cochrane’s study can be found at: http://www.recoftc.org/site/fileadmin/docs/publications/Seminar_Proceeding/Cochrane.rtf

Visiting Kaliandra

2008-03-20T11:18:00.010+08:00

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.

PPLH Seloliman

2008-03-17T22:20:00.008+08:00

Getting to the PPLH Environmental Education Center in Seloliman is fun - or at least the last part where you take a motorcycle taxi (an ojek) from the town of Trawas. Zipping through the backcountry of Eastern Java, we fly past villages and people caring for their fields. We breeze down hills with hair flying, sorry to say no helmets around here, and after an exhilarating 20 minutes ride we reach the PPLH Center. The center is located on the slopes of Mount Penanggungan, and they can also arrange pickups for those not as keen on motorcycle riding.

(Scenery on the ride to the PPLH – and I did take this pic ;)

At the center I was greeted by Purjoko, coordinator for the education programs. Well, first I was greeted by two visitors to the center that wanted a picture taken with the newly arrived “white girl” before I can even set down my bags. Later on this would become the theme of the evening ;) Due to poor planning on my part, there is no dorm vacancy at the center, but Purjoko is happy to set up a stay in the nearby village. As he tells me, if you’re arriving on the weekend it is best to email: pplh@indo.net.id a week in advance, or if you’re coming on a holiday weekend even a month in advance.

I continue talking with Purjoko in the restaurant area of the center, and he tells me about the place’s history. PPLH Seloliman was first established in 1990 with funding from the WWF, but since then it has developed into a self-supporting NGO to educate the public about the environment. The center here focuses mainly on agricultural learning, but other branches of PPLH operate around Indonesia and focus on other topics, such as marine life rehabilitation. The PPLH Seloliman center really sees a wide range of visitors. When I arrive a group of kindergarteners from Surabaya are playing an educational game in the nearby woods, but primary, secondary, graduate, and post graduate students also visit, as do full-fledged adults. We go on a tour of the area, and Purjoko shows me the storeroom for planning the programs oriented for young kids. As he tells me, “most kids are only used to coloring with crayons and other manufactured products, but here we teach kids about natural products.” He shows me a root and the bright yellow streaks it produces. Kids here can also use flowers and charcoal to color their printouts of local wildlife. He also tells me about some other fun projects for the kids including educational hikes, visits to the organic garden, seeing the local animals that reside at the center, learning how to boil down paper to reuse it, and even a game to teach kids how to sort out products to recycle.

We continue our tour to see the other components of the PPLH center. The goal of the center is to be very nearly self-sustaining, so he shows me where waste is naturally composted and broken down under the earth. A nearby PPLH run hydro-electric power station generates electricity for the center, surrounding villages, and even enough energy to then sell to the government. We pass a resource library that holds a collection of Indonesian and English books on environmental conservation, wildlife, development programs, etc. There is also a seminar room, spiritual house for prayer, bungalows, a guest house, and a 60 person dormitory. Again, these spots fill up quickly on the weekends. As we pass the organic garden, Purjoko explains that programs are also arranged with the local community to help develop awareness on how to manage the forest’s resources. The center holds education classes for local kids, as well as working with farmers to plant crops that include those that enrich the soil and prevent erosion. At first, he explains, there was some tension between the locals wishing to use the surrounding forest for its resources and to meet their daily needs, while the center hoped to conserve and manage the natural resources of the area. In addition, government regulations and enforcement on logging had changed, so since 2001 PPLH witnessed an increase in illegal logging. At that time, as I’m told, the center stepped up its efforts to help villagers find other ways of gaining income from the forest that didn’t include cutting down the trees, like harvesting non-timber related assets like fruit. Meetings have also been held with local farmers from the surrounding communities on how to help damaged forest recover and about managing a community forest near the main one with short term and long term crop strategies. The center also promotes organic farming in the area, and has been working to find long lasting business partners in Surabaya to buy the goods. As we walk by a display case, he shows me some of the products for sale made by home industries in the local village, like herbal medicines. Over the past 17 years the center has reached a comfortable level of interconnectivity with the locals in the area, as around 70% of the staff, over 40 people, comes directly from the surrounding countryside and those who don’t come from the area rent rooms in the villages.

(Purjoko explaining water treatment)

In the evening a workshop is going on for a large group of science teachers from Surabaya. I sit in on the presentation. Though entirely in Indonesia, I can easily understand the general ideas of the presentation as they use some easily discernable pictures, like a little devil with horns burning garbage and an image of a sad looking globe with a thermometer in its mouth. After the presentation, I join the group for dinner in the main hall. As to be expected the food here is very healthy, grown locally and without additives or artificial ingredients. By the end of the evening I think I had my picture taken with the majority of the 70 plus group of science teachers. As they posed my in different positions, I couldn’t help but wonder how many random photo albums I’m in throughout Asia.

The next morning I could again observe the science teacher workshop. After a hike, the staff members of PPLH demonstrated nature related science activities, like making paper. The teachers were then given an opportunity to try their skills. Another activity was going down to the river with nets and microscopes to look at the creatures that live in the water. While the group gathered next to the river, I could see a grey haired woman from the village collecting firewood, creating an odd juxtaposition with the merriment of the science teachers.

My last activity around PPHL was to go with the Arief, from the Research and Development staff, to visit the nearby Jolotundo temple and a nearby community garden. Both places are about 1 km away from the center, but up a steep hill. Jolotundo is one of about 80 Hindu temples built into the sacred Penanggungan Mountain, and as one can see from the picture local kids enjoy playing in the water. In a large plot nearby is one of the community gardens that PPLH works to develop with local farmers. As we arrive a boy is just departing with two large baskets of leaves and other food for livestock, strung on a pole over his shoulders. For those who wish to stay longer Arief also conducts educational eco-hikes in the surrounding mountainside.

If you’re curious to find out more about the PPHL Center at Seloliman, they have a website – http://www.blogger.com/www.pplh.org. They also happily welcome volunteers, so if you’re interested contact pplh@indo.net.id.

The Blind Masseuses of Malang

2008-03-17T22:02:00.001+08:00

From Yogyakarta I travelled briefly to Solo. The tourism industry here has declined severely as fewer tourists are visiting Indonesia and those who do usually just go to Yogya, which has most of the same tourist draws – a Sultan’s palace and local dance performances. It doesn’t help that many of the guest houses in Yogya encourage visitors to skip Solo and stay longer in their town. I’m afraid I didn’t stay long in Solo, just long enough for lunch before catching the next bus to Surabaya. After Jakarta this is the second biggest city. The city has a few highlights, like a fascinating China town and an old district full of crumbling Dutch buildings, but it is mostly business people who visit this city. At the inexpensive guest house I stayed at, I was surprised in the morning to find the courtyard full of men in suits sipping tea.

Again I did not stay long in Surabaya, but hopped a bus to Malang. I am now entrenched in East Java, the least populated of Java’s province. It is also home to several of Java’s finest parks and volcanoes, including the popular Mount Bromo. On the short 2 hour ride from Surabaya to Malang I could see acres of forest out the window. Malang itself is full of Dutch architecture, as its sometimes cool temperatures made it a favorite destination for European vacationers during colonial times. While many of the buildings date from the Dutch era, like most places one can still find McDonalds and a few other global chains.

Traditionally the tourism industry specializes in providing lodgings and transport to tourists, but a “linkage” is when the tourism industry encourages growth in supplementary industries as well. Throughout SEA massage industries have taken off as an accompanying industry in many tourist destinations. While sometimes these massage parlors bring unforeseen negative social impacts, they can also be used to positively impact a community. In Malang I discovered Nuansa Fajar, a massage place that trains and employs the blind. In the back of a store, several rooms are set up where masseuses give 1 hour massages. I visited Malang during the offseason, so at the time I visited there were few other tourists and I didn’t have to wait long for a masseuse. As the blind lady used strong fingers to get out all the kinks I’d developed during the last few days of travelling, I could hear a local band on the street strumming away. After the massage, it was at this place that I saw my first and only other Caucasian tourist in the town, and he too was getting a massage.

Green Maps in Yogya

2008-03-14T08:56:00.008+08:00

As a major tourist destination, Yogya receives a hefty amount of visitors both domestic and international each year. I decide to stop at the tourist information booth in the center of town, to see what type of information they offer to visitors. The lady behind the front counter gave me a large map of the area. On the backside over 30 different destinations in and around Yogya were highlighted, including some lesser known places like villages, a snake fruit agricultural tour, and an education forest. I also found a mini newspaper called the JogjaPages that include articles related to traveling, and more alternative opportunities for touring the surrounding areas like at a pottery village, a copper goods village, village home stay opportunities, and a bamboo handicrafts village. This type of tourism management seems positive as its trying to emphasize the local potential of other interesting, but less visited places.

That evening on a rather stormy night I met with members of the Yogya Green Map club at a little restaurant on the main street of town. I was greeted by Joyo, a young lanky guy in glasses, who is the coordinator of the Indonesian hub of Green Map. Also at the table were Thomas and Inu, other “green mappers.” I hadn’t heard of this group previously, but it is actually a worldwide organization started in New York in 1995, with the head of the Asian hub being in Taiwan. Using Google Earth communities are able to map interesting places in their area, and then make interactive and print maps for distribution. As Joyo explains, the Green Map club provides workshops to those interested in making maps and teaches the universal codes used by all green map members, but it is the community that creates and develops each map.

While Jakarta had the first green map club in Indonesia, the group in Yogya is now the most active. It’s primarily students that create these maps, as they are often very comfortable using computers and are usually more eager to help with volunteer projects. And as Joyo puts it, “the number of socially conscious university students around Yogya has really been a benefit to keeping our group active and focused.” Thomas, Inu, and Joyo told me they first discovered the club about 4 or 5 years ago when they were also university students.

As Joyo goes on to explain, one of the primary benefits of doing the mapping projects is that through the act of making the maps it gets others, especially young people, interested and aware of the assets of their community. By getting the community involved and educated about the interesting features of their area, the group hopes to encourage residents to be more apt to manage and preserve these unique features. “One of the most important steps of the map making” Joyo continued, “is the review process, which acts like a forum where participants can analyze the strengths and weaknesses of various points of interest.” They feel that by discussing weaknesses and strengths of different areas, this will encourage interest in more local community planning.

The next workshop the group is holding is taking place the following Sunday and the Green Map group will be helping to educate the community at Borobudur how to map their area. This will be a special “youth map” created by junior high students, with the purpose of encouraging visitors to extend their stay and visit other places in the local area surrounding the Borobudur World Heritage Site. Currently, most visitors are bused into the temple and then depart, without ever visiting the town or other interesting places and smaller temples around the area. However, as the group explains to me, there are hotels in the area, and inexpensive horse drawn carriages can be hired to visit the lesser known points of interest, thus providing an alternative experience to the routine mass tourism of the area.

In one sentence Joyo was able to sum up the goal of their group, “To empower local people to see their local resources honestly, and to encourage community involvement in planning and managing these assets.” I thanked the group for all the information, and as I left I couldn't help feeling very optimistic to see the passion they have for this work. Green maps really do seem like an innovative idea that can benefit local communities, as well as guests to their area.

Green Maps really is a global endeavor, so to find out more visit: http://www.greenmap.org/

Walking Around Temples

2008-03-12T18:53:00.010+08:00

The Buddhist temple of Borobudur and the Hindu temples at Prambanan are both popular and easily reached tourist attractions, and World Heritage Sites, near Yogya. As I’d yet to go on a packaged day tour in Indonesia, I thought I’d give it a try and see what it’s like.

The minivan picked us up at 5am and our group included 11 very tired looking people. As we drove out of town I saw a striking sight, against the pink dawn sky the volcano Gunung Merapi was silhouetted in the distance. From its mouth a steady stream of smoke curled upwards. I wish I could have captured that very Indonesian moment in picture, but I don’t think I could have done it justice.

After a 90 minute drive we reached Borobudur. Both it and Prambanan’s temples were declared World Heritage Sites in 1991. This means Western admission fees, about $8-10 payable in US dollars or rupiah for foreign visitors, and 1/10th that for domestic. That being said, the places are well maintained. The temple at Borobudur was built between 750 and 850 AD. It’s thought to be made of more than 2,000 rocks, some decorated with very intricate bas-relief, and the entire structure is in the shape of a giant stupa. With the decline in Buddhism, this place was abandoned and fell into disrepair. The Dutch during their administration attempted repairs, but it finally took 10 years and a $25 million USD restoration project finishing in 1983 to do the job. In 1985 opponents of Soeharto planted bombs in the upper levels, causing damage and requiring more restoration work. Next the temple faced damage from the 2006 Yoyga earthquake. Repairs were again made, and the temple seems to be in good condition (now) for something over a thousand years old. I was also very impressed by how well taken care of the temple is - I witnessed security guards patrolling the area, and when another visitor attempted to climb on the rocks a voice came over a loud speaker telling them to stop. However, at the time of visiting I think there were only about 30 visitors, so it was much easier to keep careful watch compared to peak times.

As far as benefits go, certainly this type of preservation and conservation work can be supported through tourism. However, I’m curious if the community of Borobudur really gains anything other than traffic congestion from busses, or garbage left over from visiters. On our tour we did not stop at the town, and the only local people we saw were unsuccessfully trying to sell drinks and souvenirs.

(Borobudur)

I really didn’t get to know most of the people in the group, other than another single traveler Buganj from Kuching, Malaysia. He was very fascinating to talk to, after 50 years of travelling he has seen many places in Asia and the Middle East. The other 9 visitors on the trip were all Europeans, but didn’t seem very talkative and preferred to stick with the people they came with. Those in the tour seemed different than the more youthful groups made up of long term backpackers that you find doing the loop of Thailand-Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia in mainland SEA.

The brochure for Prambanan Archaeological Park, claims Prambanan Temple “is the most beautiful Hindu’s Temple in the world.” Maybe a slight over-exaggeration in marketing, but the architecture of the main complex is pretty nice. These temples were created about 50 years after Borobudur, but most are in worse condition. The three main temples are attractively restored, but most of the others in the complex lay in rubble. Visitors are prohibited from entering, or even getting to close to the three standing temples because of structural damage caused by the 2006 earthquake. Besides the temples, the park has an Archaeological museum and a movie about the complex, a play ground area, Ramayana open theater – where a twice monthly ballet performance takes place during the dry season, a camping area, and 92 souvenir shops and 33 food stalls – so says the information booklet I picked up.

As I was walking around these temples with Buganj he made a comment about the importance of preserving these types of places. Out of curiosity I asked him, “Do you think tourism is always beneficial for a place?” His answer was immediate, “of course, it brings money to a place.” I try again, “but do you ever think tourism might be hurting the environment or negatively affecting the people - like the trash caused by tourism?” Again Buganj responded, “no, people are civic minded. When I’m staying at a hotel I always pick up my trash and put it in the waste bin, not making the people cleanup after me.” I persist, “What about beaches, like in Thailand, like Ko-Phanagn that suffer from garbage after all night parties? That can't be positive tourism.” “Well then the government needs to manage it, have all the garbage put it one place,” he logically replied. I decide not to mention the harm of having all that garbage, even if it is in one place, and decide to instead smile back and change the subject.

I enjoyed spending the day with Buganj, but I think that will be my last tour for awhile. The tours are easy to arrange, but it feels like your missing out when just going around with other foreigners. In addition, the money (usually inflated) is all given to the one tour company and in my case one in Yogya, instead of going to local transport in the area of the attractions or guides who live in that area. In addition, by going on a tour that just visited the temples, I missed possible other areas of interest in the community and surrounding areas.

My First day in Yogyakarta

2008-03-12T18:19:00.010+08:00

I arrived early in the town of Yogyakarta, pronounced “Jogjakarta,” by night train from Tasikmalya. Somewhere during the evening the train crossed the imaginary line from West Java into Central Java. While West Java is dominated by Islamic Sundanese, Central Java is primarily Islamic ethnic Javanese. The whole region is known as the cultural home of the island, with Yogya in particular as the “soul.” It is here that many travelers go to learn more about local traditions and customs, to take language courses, and to appreciate the arts of the island. It is also a place where locals have become very accustomed to seeing and interacting with both domestic and international tourists. Many visitors fly in, visit Yogya, maybe Mt. Bromo, and then whisk off to Bali.

Batik is everywhere in Yogya, and everyone seems to produce and sell it. For those of you who are curious, or not, to make Batik one applies wax to either cloth or silk and then dyes the areas around it. At some point or other most visitors end up giving in and visiting one of the many Batik stores. It’s very time consuming to make Batik, but much simpler to make fake prints on cloth and sell those as “real” to unsuspecting tourists. Another trick is telling people that the shop is part of a government owned school selling prints without commission, and that by buying these reasonably priced art products you are supporting the students. This is still part of the tourism industry in Yoyga, so I decided to check out one of these places. I chose one of the fake art school ones, and the curator there gave me a brief demonstration on how to make Batik and then let me look around at the beautiful examples in the store room. I really haven’t a clue if it is “authentic” or just printed, but many of the images on the cloth were still interesting to see. He then tried to tell me how it is usually only other shop owners or traders that visit the school (because of their great prices), not tourists – yet when I was leaving another foreigner was arriving, probably to hear the same pitch ;)

The city of Yogya is considered a special region and is still ruled by a Sultan. In the middle of the city is the walled Kraton, home of the sultan, and a major visitor attraction. Outside of the locked front gates is a man telling all visitors the Kraton is closed until noon and that he can direct you to a Batik store. If one side step him, it’s easy to find a real entrance with ticket booth to the right side. This is another scam. There is nothing except a big empty entrance hall with a couple of chickens in cages around the side. The REAL entrance is further away on the Northwest side, to find it requires some aimless wandering and having people giving you the wrong directions. When I finally did find the entrance at 1:45pm, they were closing (as the guidebook can actually backup the Kraton is only open from 8a to 2p). Sadly, this is the first time during the 12 days I’ve been in Indonesia where so many people have been dishonest about directions.

While the Kraton palace was closed, I was able to enter the greater Kraton compound, which still serves as home to more than 25,000 people, and includes mosques, shops, a bird market, and "the Water Castle". The water castle, constructed by a Portuguese architect in the mid 1700s was a palace where the Sultan could spend time bathing and getting to know the lovely girls of his harem. However, it was completely destroyed during an earthquake in the mid 1800s. In 1970s some basic restoration efforts began on 5 structures and the place began attracting tourists. In 2003, a serious restoration effort began with donations of the Portuguese government and the World Monument Fund, which had placed the water castle on its 100 most endangered architectural sites list. In 2005 re-construction was finished, but in 2006 it was again damaged by an earthquake, yet not so severely as to be unfixable. I ended up getting a guide to take me around, who did a fine tour, but then ended it at another Batik shop – oy.

In one sense it’s very easy to understand people of the community wanting to make a profit from visitors who make the city congested, and who have enough extra money to spend taking a holiday. This is a very fair point, but I guess one of the negative social aspects that I’ve been noticing in this tourist town is the tendency of some people to juggle the truth, in order to make their profit. While so many people are still friendly and display the typical Indonesian charm, tourism does seem to test the ethics of some. Even at the guest house where I’m staying, the owner’s son was advising not to go to my next destination, Solo, because of a current violent spell. I asked others about this and checked online – nonsense.

The essence of articles I’ve read for my tourism class have also discussed how it’s much easier to regulate tangible resources related to economics and the environment, but social effects … that’s a different matter. So yes, Yogya is economically benefiting from tourism, but what about the negative (and positive) social impacts that can’t fit so easily onto a balance sheet? How can they be measured, tracked, and improved upon? Anyway, just thinking out loud ...

On a lighter note, here are some unique things I’ve noticed so far during my trip in Indonesia:

I expected people to call out to me, “madame, come this way,” like in India, but no I keep getting “Hey Mister, over here!”
People love discussing the US primary, and are usually filling me in on who is winning each state. There are also different views on who should win. As one man put it, “Obama – he’s a Jakarta boy” (since he went to school in Indonesia during his youth.) Another guy felt differently, “Hillary – I love the ladies.”
Coming across an “Idol-esk” dance competition where pairs of youths dressed in funky outfits danced to rap songs, after which 3 serious looking judges in the front critiqued them.
Watching foreign amateur photographers taking forever to shoot close up pictures of water lilies or trying to dramatically capture the image of a temple in a nearby puddle. Hehe, it’s quite silly to watch this.
Listening to a minibus bus driver sing along with Nirvana on the stereo, much to the incomprehension of his traditionally dressed passengers
Watching people, even Muslims, turn up the television volume when they hear the call to prayer.
Oh, and coming across an English sign for a "Biker’s Brotherhood" in Bandung, Indonesia

Handicrafts in Tasikmalya

2008-03-10T21:53:00.007+08:00

If there is something interesting to see, there is usually a hawker nearby trying to sell hats, bags, or key chains emblazoned with the place's name. I’ve noticed that the next vendor I see is usually selling even less practical merchandize, like paper fans or woven boxes. Like it or not, handicrafts and souvenirs have become an engrained component of most tourism destinations. Environmentally, it’s probably not the best idea just producing more junk people don’t need, but on the other hand it does make for an easy home indusrty for villagers to earn some extra income. Not to mention for middlemen who then sell these products at substantially jacked up rates. So, is this a responsible aspect of the tourism industry???

I decide to visit the town of Tasikmalya, an area known for producing cheap handicrafts, about 3 hours to the East of Bandug. It’s quite easy to find a bus (well, minibus) going to Tasik, as they leave almost every hour and the ride there is, like most rides in the interior of Java, quite scenic. Luckily, they had a metal handrail running along the interior of both sides of the minibus, since as I’m also noticing, most (read- all) of these rides are quite bumpy.

The region of Tasikmalya receives a large number of domestic and international traders who want to buy cheap handicrafts. While the town of Tasik has depleted most of the nearby raw materials, handicrafts are now being made in villages around the region. The Tasik area produces batik printed silk goods, paper umbrellas, and handbags, which are then sold in tourist destinations around Indonesia, and internationally.

I had heard about a group working in Tasikmalya called Handycrafts. Their goal is to help local people produce quality goods that can then be sold at fair-trade prices. Handycrafts is just one branch of a larger NGO that also has branches providing health assistance, micro-credit financing, agricultural technology development, and arts education. As I read from their website, they hope to create “holistic development” and have the NGO be self-sustaining through profit produced by Handycrafts and one of the other branches. The staff of SNT is supposed to consist of 40, with 14 of these being expats. I read all of this on their website that was last updated in 2004. I received no reply to my emails, and while I made a valiant effort to look for their headquarters in Tasik with the help of a worker from the hotel I stayed at, the best we could find out was that the Bule (foreigner) working there had moved away. Again, the complete story surrounding the fate of producing fair-trade crafts in Tasik remains a mystery due to lack of information, but er, it doesn’t look like they made it.

I spent the rest of my visit in Tasik visiting one of the villages that produce these tourist goods. Rajapolah is 12km to the North of Tasik and is known for making cheap rattan handicrafts. For the most part I just strolled down the main street of Rajapolah looking at shops as it kept raining off and on. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to have that many in depth conversations on the production of handicrafts since my Indonesian language skills are still rusty (read-nonexistent :P!). It did not take long to walk down the main street in town because this town, like so many others, follows the peculiar custom of having an all the shops carry the EXACT same products. I’d guess there are 20 or 30 shops in Rajapolah, all right next to each other, and all fully stocked with the same bags, boxes, wall hangings, and other similar wicker tourist trinkets.

Rajapolah and Tasikmalya made for a relaxing excursion, though I guess I didn’t really find out that much more about the tourist handicraft industry. My next stop is the popular tourist hub of Yogyakarta.

(Is this where cowboy hats come from??)

The Sundanese

2008-03-10T09:13:00.008+08:00

This final day under the wing of Dr. Ko was spent learning more about traditional Sundanese culture.

Almost 30km to the North of Bandung, the third biggest city in Java, stands Tangkuban Prahu, a still active volcanic crater and a part of local Sundanese lore. It’s a curious Oedipius style tale of a separated son coming home and falling in love with his mother, but in order to marry she gives an impossible task – build a gigantic boat in a single night. He nearly completes it, but the mother cheats and asks the gods to bring the sun up early. When he fails, he kicks the boat over in a violent rage, thus making the volcano.

On the drive to the volcano we pass some small villages, many which are selling cuddly looking rabbits in the shop windows and in nearby cages. I ask about this. “Satay,” was the reply. This area is well-known for bunny satay. Gulp.

It’s difficult to reach Tangkuban Prahu without a car, especially since there’s a steep and poorly paved 4.5km stretch from the entrance to the peak. When we finally reach the top after this jarring ride, I’m very impressed to see the bubbling crater. This is the first time I’ve even seen a live volcano, so I’m naturally quite excited. We join a throng of onlookers gathering around wooden railings of the “Queen Crater.” The weather is cool as this area is over 2000m above sea level, so many have already purchased hats and scarves from a nearby vender. Peddlers also move among the crowd selling a range of objects including jewelry, knick-knacks, sulfuric ash, and rabbit fur purses (lots of these rabbit purses in fact). Several ponies are also around providing purchasable rides to visitors. Nearby, leading to another viewing angle, a path is lined with stalls offering more shopping opportunities. As someone explained to me, domestic tourists love shopping, so this “leisure interest” is usually made available at most attractions.

The next place Dr. Ko, his family, Lulu, and I visit is Sindang Reret restaurant, a traditional Sundanese cultural restaurant. We are placed at a large wooden table and waiters, though not traditional dressed, bring out rice in woven baskets with wooden scoops. A fake waterfall is setup on one side of the restaurant. You can tell that the management here is trying to make the restaurant atmosphere feel as natural as possible, reflecting the closeness of Sundanese culture with the natural environment. We ate a large meal of vegetables, fish, a minced bean dish, a roasted chicken, and of course rice.

Our next destination is about 7km to the East of the city at the Saung Angklung Udju Sudanese Art and Bamboo Craft Center. This fascinating place is where the Angklung instrument is made and where the master craftsmen Mang Udjo established his workshop in 1967. The mission as stated by this center is “to preserve and develop West Java culture through Angklung music.” Most afternoons at 3:30 a performance is held. I’ve included some short video clips – it’s truly a site to see. What really makes this place unique is the involvement of the community, especially children. Around 100 Students from the surrounding areas train at the Angklung Performing Arts School, even kids as young as 4 start participating. Many of these pupils end up touring both domestically and internationally.

(A tall boy holding an Anglung Instrument)

The design of the workshop and concert area is traditional. Bamboo is one of the prime building materials. A huge room near the front of the building sells inexpensive bamboo instruments, puppets, and other crafts. Off the concert area is a large green space that includes workshops where you can see the instruments being made and bamboo huts where groups can play with instruments. This naturalistic setting helps give the center a unique sense of place and a reminder of a different way of life.

While authentic Wayang Golek performances, which date to before television, would take up an entire evening or even two, the show here lasts for a very memorable two hours and includes traditional puppetry, dance, and a full Angklung orchestra. One particular section depicts the tradition of putting on a party for a newly circumcised boy. The child sits in a special chair as his friends dance and play music to entertain him. Besides the cute children, another memorable aspect of the performance is the inter-activity. Each audience member is handed an Anglung instrument, one of eight possible tones. Then, an instructor at the front briefly teaches everyone how to rattle the base in order to play the instrument, and then a cue for coordinating the tones. In an odd sort of chorus the audience begins playing simple songs. The finale is bringing the viewers up to the stage to participate in traditional dance, and the kids run into the audience to choose a partner. It was surreally funny seeing a little four year old girl dancing with her white haired Dutch partner, and other mismatches.

After the performance, I was lucky enough to meet Hikmat Udjo, the grandson of the founder. As I start talking with him, he recalls how at one time he was once the little circumcised boy in the performance. While the workshop and arts center has played a significant role in his life, he also tells how it touches the lives of others and re-sparks an interest in the culture. It’s really the community, he says, that has allowed the center to endure. If it wasn’t for all these kids wanting to participate, if it wasn’t for all the visitors wishing to see the performance, if it wasn’t for those who purchase the instruments, CD recordings, and puppets, the workshop would have long ago ceased to exist. While today the workshop is a main tourism magnet of the area, the center has also seen some lean years. Sixty percent domestic and 40 percent international is the usual ratio of visitors, but after the Bali bombing they received ZERO international visitors. Relying on volunteers from local schools, and then through government support, the center has been able to continue its work to develop and preserve the music legacy of the Sudanese culture. The Saung Anglung Udju Sundanese Art and Bamboo Craft Center seems to demonstrate many of the tenets of “responsible tourism,” and is a truly worthwhile attraction to visit.

To find out more you can visit their website at http://www.angklung-udjo.co.id/

Words of Wisdom from Udjo Ngalagena:

“What You Are
What Job You Have Chosen
Do It Well
Do it With Love
Without Love
You Are Dead Before You Die”

A Homestay at Gunung Mas Tea Plantation

2008-03-09T16:22:00.005+08:00

Originating from the era of the Dutch, vast tea plantations sprawl throughout the low hills of Java. Row after row of well-kept tea bushes are part of the scenic landscape of the highlands in Bandung and the Puncak Pass region of West Java, particularly ideal areas for cultivating tea. However, in recent years the tea industry in Indonesia has faced decline as global competition becomes fiercer, and the costs associated with production increase. Many tea plantations are turning towards tourism to help generate some additional revenue to continue operations.

Gunung Mas tea plantation can be found along the Puncak Pass on the road from Bogor to Bandung. The agricultural landscape of this estate has many roles other than the straightforward business of growing and selling tea. Like rice farming, tea harvesting has become part of the local Sudanese culture and folk history. In addition, the labor intensity of the work provides employment for many workers, some who are 2^nd and 3^rd generation employees who have grown up in the residence village inside the tea plantation. Another role is environmental. Because of the removal of many natural forests around Jakarta, the tea plants now must take up the important function of preventing soil erosion and recharging the ground water supply to the nearby North flowing river leading to the city. While the green shrubbery of tea plants has an aesthetic value too, land is valuable and many tea estates are being sold to developers. However, these agricultural areas are worth preserving.

(workers at Gunung Mas)

The tourism at Gunung Mas is still at a small scale compared to other plantations that have become tourism magnets in nearby countries, like the Cameron Highlands estates in Malaysia. But a visit to Gunung Mas can still provide an enjoyable diversion on the way too Bandung. At Gunung Mas one can take a tour of the factory, walk through the tea fields, ride ponies, and have a picnic from food provided by venders. A unique and newly developed tourism feature is a home stay with one of the families that live on the tea plantation. Through the help of the Buena Vista Education Center, I arranged a one night stay at the tea estate.

I met Acih at the entrance of house 54, the left side of a small brown one story duplex, one of many housing tea workers and their families. She is a thin Sundanes woman that dresses in long skirts and a Muslim head covering. I spent a day and night with her family, a husband, two daughters and their husbands, a son, and a cute, but energetic, 3 year old named Alya. Acih’s sister, Yanah, escorted me on a 5 minute public van ride from the BV education center to Gunung Mas, and then both she and her sister showed me around the area.

It was an interesting peek into this family’s life, though language was severely limiting. At first I was kicking myself for not knowing more Bahasa Indonesian than “Thank you,” only to realize they don’t speak Indonesian but a completely different dialect called Sunda. The father of the house, who wore a traditional skirt and black cap, knew a few words of English, but it was limited to “Please,” and “I’m sorry, don’t speak English.” Strangely, the little 3 year old also knew the word “sexy,” which she loved to exclaim before posing for a picture. I enjoyed a traditional meal with this family, dried fish, green legumes from the area, and rice, eaten with hands while sitting around the floor watching tv … Chronicles of Riddik was playing. Before I had been told many people learn about American culture through movies, but I’m realizing many people learn about American culture through ACTION movies. No wonder they think the US is so violent and the women all dress promiscuously. Most of the evening was spent in this newly traditional pastime, watching television.

The next morning the family began the day with a plate of Nasi goring, fried rice. Those who were going off to work that day left, the rest did chores around the house such as wade into the chilly river and wash clothes in the stream. I ended up playing around with the little 3yr old, who was able to turn everything around her into a toy. I’d definitely recommend a visit to the agro-tourism facilities at Gunung Mas, it’s a great way to experience the tea plantation and to see the lives of the people who live there.

"Sexy!"

The Puncak Pass

2008-03-07T22:26:00.004+08:00

Leaving the house, we drive along the windy mountainous road called the Puncak Pass on our way to Pangrango National Park. The stalls that line this road are identical and block the view of the valley down below, forcing motorists to stop and buy a snack at a stall in order to enjoy the view. This is much to the complaint of those who remember what the road used to be like with “free” views. These stalls were started by villagers in the area, and soon by villagers from other areas, to cash in on the numerous motor vehicles traveling through the Puncak Pass, especially on weekends and holidays. Soon the supply outweighed the demand, so many of these stalls now stand vacant and, as Dr. Ko exclaims as we pass, “unsightly!”

(view from Puncak Pass - haha, no i can't take a pic this good, found it)

However, the car soon stops at one of these stalls and we get out to enjoy some warm spiced tea and some of the area’s well-known food. The shop owner brings us a plate of thin pancakes and another sweet doughy desert, apparently the Dutch did leave some legacy in the food. Picking up the phone Dr. Ko calls a friend, and below us maybe a hundred meters a lanky man dressed in a blue collared shirt and a flat styled cap comes out of his house, cell phone still pressed to his ear, and waves up. This is Yoen Wachyoe, a professional hotel manager. Born in Indonesia, he grew up in Baltimore, and then moved around the world during a 25 year career for Hyatt. He now manages hotels of his choosing back in Indonesia. With a cigarette pressed to his lips, he and Dr. Ko commiserate on how tourism is losing its soul, and how many in the business are forgetting about their own culture as they try to gain short term profits from tourism. Maintenance, they decide, is one of the biggest issues facing a tourism location’s long term outlook. Even the most sustainable tourism plans often go astray due to lack of education for the locals who are involved in the area’s upkeep and maintenance. By not allocating enough money to continual worker training and development, community education, and facilities upgrading the long term potential of even the most responsible programs disappears quickly.

Recentlly, Yoen has been developing approaches to make the Puncak Pass Resort better, environmentally, socially, and economically. The resort is just down the road, so he invites us to take a tour. Originally built by the Dutch in 1928, the owners have kept this old world Dutch theme and marketed the place as a heritage hotel. Pointing towards the back of the resort, he talks about purchasing some local animals like goats, deer, and turkeys to help expose the city kids to a more rustic environment. We move through the garden, and he shows us the fresh herb garden he started. Instead of importing spices from McCormick, the kitchen staff now uses the fresh herbs. He also trained the kitchen crew on the plants upkeep and encouraged workers to take snippings to start their own spice gardens at home. A management training program is in the works with the Buena Vista center to provide additional training to wait staff in order to improve their skills training. In an attempt to engender a sense of native pride, framed Batik cloth are used as decoration and a soft melody of traditional Sundanese music is played in the dining area. He also has it set up so that almost 2/3rds of the waste generated is then absorbed in the upkeep of the hotel. The way he talks, shows his passion for this work. Yoen describes it as trying to make the place “holistically” improved.

While the Pangrango National Park ended up being closed, I still had a very enjoyable time listening to these intuitive discussions on tourism. In addition, we were still able to visit the stunning Cibodas botanical gardens branch located next to the National Park.

Other Places to Visit

2008-03-07T22:01:00.006+08:00

While I won’t have time to visit these places, I did stop by the National Parks office in Bogor to pick up some information on Halimun National Park and Ujung Kulon National Park. Both parks are currently involved in management projects to actively involve locals in preservation of the protected areas.

Halimun NP is about 50 to 100km SW of Jakarta and is a large primary rainforest. The park reports that more than 300 settlements exist inside, and more than 100,000 people depend on the land and resources of the park for survival. The main threats to the environmental ecosystem come from illegal logging and illegal gold mining. Gold mining can be particularly dangerous to the people and wildlife as a water-powered revolving drum is used to separate gold, and then mercury is used on top. The park is currently being sponsored by JICA, Japan International Cooperation Agency, to work together on a 5 year management project designed to increase community involvement. The park will still have special core zones where no development is allowed to take place, but will also be using an experimental approach that allows sustainable land and resource use in other areas and gives more responsibilities to locals in managing the park in hopes this will prevent the more dangerous practices of logging and mining.

(View from top as shown by ekowisata.com eco-tours)

Ujung Kulon NP is located on the Southwestern tip of Java and is home to the nearly extinct Java one-horned rhinoceroses and is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The park is difficult to get to and remote, and as I understand nearly impossible during the rainy season of Jan and Feb. However, it’s supposed to be an amazing park containing exotic wildlife like panthers, crocodiles, wild pigs, and of course rhinoceroses. The entrance is from Tamanjaya village, where local guides are hired for a fee of $25 a day. Locals from the village are also responsible for helping maintaining and managing the National Park, and run local homestays.

I tried to visit Mt. Gede Pangrango National Park in the town of Cibodas with Dr. Ko, but unfortunately the park is closed from Jan-Mar. The park ranger explained that the trails are yearly closed at this time to allow recovery from hosting tourists. This area was first made a tropical forest reserve back in 1889, making it one of the oldest formally established, and can be reached by public buses going between Jakarta and Bandung. The main attraction is a 10hour climb to the summit of Gunung Gede, a huge active volcano that dominates the landscape, and that passes waterfalls, hot springs, and a giant crater. The park is home to a World Biosphere reserve started by Unesco, thus has received help from the British Council and Voluntary Service Overseas Programme to create an excellent, and thick, guidebook in English and Indonesian detailing the hike and specific vegetation that can be seen. Guide services can also be arranged for a fee through the park to help further “interpret” the park. These services provided by the park started in response to acts of vandalism on the canopy trail and extreme litter on the mountain trail. The park management decided to increase patrols of rangers, provide “interpretation guides”, as well as the guidebook in hopes to increase awareness of proper care for a national park.

A Buena Vista Ecological Tour

2008-03-07T21:24:00.009+08:00

Before I left for Indonesia I’d been in communication with Dr. Robby K.T. Ko, a medical doctor, geologist, English enthusiast, Tourism instructor, Cave guide, and founder of the Buena Vista Outdoor Education Center, so a very eclectic man. In fact, this is just a brief listing of his many accomplishments, so I was honored to receive an invite to stay at the BV Education Center with him and a few other guests.

Dr. Ko’s driver was kind enough to pick me up on Monday morning along with Lulu, a tourism school employee in the school where Dr. Ko teaches classes on eco-tourism management, and who would also be visiting. We chatted during the ½ hour or so ride from Bogor to Cisarua. From this main road, we took a smaller and uneven street that led us to BV, where we were greeted by Dr. Ko and Manolito, his friend and a fellow cave enthusiast. We were shown around, including to an enviable library of material on Indonesia, tourism, caving, the English language, and local mythology that he offered to let me peruse during my stay. Dr. Ko also has a large collection of books he’s written, both in Indonesian and English, though interestingly his first language is Dutch as he was born during the Dutch colonial reign. The Buena Vista Center where he lives is decorated with mementos of his interests, so paintings of Indonesia, countless varieties of plants, and geological objects (or to the layperson like me – rocks!).

(Tree near the entrance of Buena Vista)

The four of us sat down to breakfast on the patio, from my seat I could see a large mountain with rice fields and houses that climb 2/3rds up to the mountain, until they reach the tree line. Over breakfast he tells us a little more about this area, as he’s seen it change since he first bought the house back in the 1970s. It was the tale of overuse … a place formerly of pristine and panoramic views, but unhealthy tourism practices. Wealthy Jakarta residents discovered the area offered a relaxing escape from the city, so many started building resorts and villas that they could then rent out when not in use. These tourism resorts and villas began doing a tidy profit from other wishing to escape the city during the weekend. This in turn promoted more additional villas and resorts, and encouraged villagers to open restaurants and food stalls catering to tourists. Since the area is no longer as pristine it has seen a drop in visitors, causing many businesses to close and stand vacant. Many of the villas that were build as investments now stand vacant as well, and while locals made some money originally selling off their rice fields and helping with construction, they now suffer from a loss in water supply and must create new rice fields further up the mountain. The tree line is continually being moved. One of the main projects of Buena Vista has been Ecological fieldtrips to teach kids from Jakarta more about nature and warn about these sorts of unhealthy practices.

(picture by Manolito of us on the ecotour)

While the Buena Vista Outdoor Center has been dormant for a few years due to a lack of guides, on occasion Dr. Ko will still give private tours. Lulu, Manolito, and I were lucky enough to accompany him on an ecological fieldtrip of the area. As the brochure he gives us explains,

The target of OUTDOOR EDUCATION is to
convince people, especially city dwelling
persons, who will become or have become
decision makers, to prevent overusing,
overexploiting and over visiting nature
and its resources. To stop mismanagement
of natural resources including nature tourism.
To stop negligence towards nature.

When children go on these tours he gives them each a plastic bag so they can pick up litter on the way, when they return whoever has the most gets a prize. Each child is also given a little notebook to write observations and to answer questions printed in the notebook. The tour includes different stops to identify plants, see animals, and learn more about village life. On this tour we try to identify various flowers along the path, and pass irrigated rice fields. Nearby two women are hard at work washing their clothes next to the rapidly moving stream. Visiting an empty villa is also a requisite of the tour, and Dr. Ko explains the issues concerning the villas to all who attend the tours, especially young people. A gardener attending to one of these vacant villas lets us inside. It rents for $80 a night, but can sleep up to 40 people. Most nights it stands vacant. While Dr. Ko doesn’t operate too many of these tours any more, he emphasizes the importance of these types of programs that teach environmental awareness and the interconnection of people with their natural environment.

(an example of a villa)

The Botanical Gardens of Bogor

2008-03-04T19:41:00.002+08:00

Leaving Cibole, I thank my guide for his help (especially for answering my endless questions!) and head solo to the small city of Bogor. If departing from Jakarta, Bogor is easily reached by train and bus, so easily many residents have taken to living in Bogor and commuting the hour to work each day in Jakarta. It’s nickname is “City of Rain,” which I soon discover is quite fitting.

Bogor is home to the well landscaped Kebun Raya botanical gardens. Technically, the gardens are one of five branches of the Kebun Raya. The gardens lie in the heart of the city and take up nearly 80 hectares. It was started during Dutch times first by Raffles, and then more seriously by the Dutch biologist Reinwardt in 1817. During the Dutch cultivation period, the growth of various types of “cash crops” were researched at the botanical gardens. The institute at the gardens is still one of the leading agricultural institutes and is continuing to work to develop new strains of rice and other important crops.

Sunday mornings are supposed to be the biggest day for the gardens, so when I set out on Monday morning during a slight drizzle the gardens weren’t crowded. The drizzle of course became a down pour, and I did my best to make it to the Orchid house before getting too wet. The orchids were really quite beautiful, different shades of purple mixed with some white blossoms. Do not litter signs were clearly posted and I saw no rubbish within the Orchid house, and only minimal amounts around the garden. The plenty of natural rain in the city seems to be doing wonders for the plants as everything looked vibrantly green. One thing I did observe is that KFC seems to be a popular place to grab food for picnic lunches, as garbage cans were overflowing with the Styrofoam containers. Outside entrepreneurs were selling other plastic wrapped food and canned drinks, as well as various edible roots.

The entrance fee is very minimal, less than a $1 per entry, so it can be assumed most of this money goes to upkeep and not toward any related community projects. I did learn about another group, Friends of the Indonesian Botanic Gardens, who work to develop public awareness on the importance of Indonesia’s flora.

A Trip to see the Baduy

2008-03-04T18:52:00.007+08:00

Previously, I mentioned meeting Andy a local guide at the Jakarta National Monument who was wearing a WWF t-shirt. He had told me about a place called Cibole and the nearby preservation area housing the Baduy people. On Saturday afternoon I decided to take him up on his offer to guide me to this area.

The Baduy people make up an indegenious community that live in a 5,000 hectare reserve among the hills of West Java. They largely still hold onto their traditional beliefs, and are thought to consist of over 7,000 people, but census takers are not allowed inside so it isn’t known for sure. As the story goes, the Baduy fled into the hills around the 1400s when Muslims came trying to convert inhabitants to Islam. The tribes have kept their local dialect and are still considered practicing animists. Their remote location has served to isolate them and prevent development, and myth tells how “magic powers” kept the Portuguese and Dutch from ever discovering their existence. The Baduy people consist of two different clans, the first being the Inner Baduy, who dress all in white and are very strict to their spiritual beliefs, thus not allowing any tourism. The second clan, about 10km away, is the Outer Baduy who dress in Black and Dark Blue and allow tour group visits of up to 2 nights. I was particularly interested in this place since it was only 5 years ago that tourism was first introduced, and I was curious to see the effects.

(Outer Baduy skirt)

Getting to Cibole is not an easy task, though it is just 168km from Jakarta. It requires 3 different busses and taking a motorcycle taxi, called an Ojek, between the bus station of one town and the neighboring town. The area is not listed in most guide books, and the poor conditions of the road make many tour companies leery of organizing trips to this area. However, the journey to get there is quite scenic, if bumpy, as towns give way to rice fields and concrete houses turn to those made of thatch. We didn’t leave until midday, so it’s well past 9p by the time we arrive at the border town next to the reserve.

We walk through the modest town to the house of a guide Andy knows. Inside the guide and his wife are watching TV as their two kids are sprawled asleep on mats directly next to the television. The house is solidly constructed of bricks and painted thatch, and in front of the house sits equipment from his second job, that of a mechanic. Both he and his wife are dressed in traditional long skirts wrapped around the waste. They speak with a regional dialect that mixes Bahasa Indonesian with the local language, but he is also knowledgeable in the language of the Baduy people, which is also distinctly different. On our arrival his sweet wife hustles the kids off to bed and makes some fried Casava root that she serves with hot thick cups of coffee. It is arranged that we will stay there for the evening and leave early in the morning to enter the Baduy protected area.

It was a high official in the region’s biggest town, Rangkas, that five years ago suggested the development of tourism in the area. A large meeting took place between government officials, elders of the various Baduy villages, and officials of Cibole town. Since the Baduy people traditionally haven’t used money, plus lived in a society where everything is equally distributed, it was decided that citizens of Cibole town would manage the selling of souvenirs and other tourism concerns. Ten men from Cibole were then picked by the Baduy to act as guides. These ten have organized to provide a flat fee of $15 for Indonesians and $20 for International visitors, per group. Part of this money has been used on Cibole community projects, such as building a primary school and library. The Baduy are of course not as organized, and demand very little from their visitors, besides a $1 entrance fee and a donation from those who wish to stay the night. While no restaurants or guest houses operate in Cibole, stalls have opened in the main part of town selling souvenirs, as well as fish and fresh fruit from the protected area. Every few weeks the money is then collected by members of the different villages and taken back to the village elders. It is the elder of each village who then makes purchases for the community. The Inner Baduy have no part in this, but occasionally the children of Inner Baduy can be seen venturing from their home to watch what is happening in Outer Baduy. No one is allowed into Inner Baduy, not even those from Outer Baduy, so it is impossible to see if there have been any changes since the introduction of tourism.

In the morning we start off early after a quick breakfast of fried rice. First, I’m shown around the town of Cibole, which ironically has 3 mosques for such a small town. Then, we go to the entrance of the protected area to register. I skim through the 2008 book, and notice there have been just 7 international visitors to date, 2 Russians, 1 Ukrainian, 1 Slovenian, 1 Canadian, and 2 French persons. The number of Indonesians visiting were much larger, at least 6 pages, and about 25 groups for each page. I was particularly startled to see the number of people in each group ranging up to 30, 50, and even 80 visitors at a time.

The first Baduy village is directly next to the town of Cibole. The houses are uniquely shaped, a bit like a Chinese takeout box with a roof, and made entirely of thatch and dried grass. A few people were around, a woman who was weaving and others pounding rice. Making clothes is an extremely lengthy process, around a month to make a skirt, so many of the villagers and children now wear purchased clothes and plastic thong sandals. As we walk to other villagers it is easy to see the adjustments people have made, such as plastic dishes and glasses, purchased undergarments, and all the women were wearing golden earrings. That being said, they still live very traditionally and without electricity or formal schooling. It was particularly interesting to see the pictures that children had drawn into the mud, a white and red telephone tower that can be seen from one of the hills and an image of a car. The children from Outer Baduy are the ones that typically bring souvenirs and produce to the town, so they likely have more exposure to the modernization taken place in Cibole. We pass many boys carrying large bundles of durian on a pole toward the market. The path was narrow, so I can only imagine the problems produced by large groups of visitors trying to share this footpath.

For a visitor the trip offers a pleasant time, hiking through jungle and seeing the culture of the distinct Baduy, so I can see the appeal. Difficulty in transportation is for the moment keeping tourism on a small scale, but it seems like some serious problems might arise if tourism continues with minimal regulations, especially concerning the large amount of visitors arriving at one time. Also, as in many places in SEA, proper waste disposal does not seem to be of central concern and the footpaths are becoming strewn with garbage. Most worrisome may be the direct contact villagers have with unscrupulous visitors. In one village some shady Jakarta business man two years ago convinced the villagers to start a rather blatant illegal logging operation. While illegal logging does go on all over Indonesia, it just seems particularly unscrupulous for these actions to be taking place in a protected area and with the support of the indigenous inhabitants. I’ll actually be contacting one of my professors who used to live in Indonesia to get her input if there is anything that can be done.

Newly Arrived

2008-02-29T19:20:00.002+08:00

Echoing “Calls to prayer” are sounding from quite a few different mosques as I listen from my room, trying to collect my thoughts about my initial reaction to Indonesia. Um, “it’s great and I’m having a really good time,” wow, I guess that wasn’t too difficult after all.

I arrived in Jakarta via Malaysia, where I’ve been for the last few days getting my visa. The plane ride was just a couple of hours and 1 time zone away. Everyone seems eager to talk with you here, or at least to a female bule (foreigner). The first people I meet are two guys sitting near me while waiting for the bus from the airport to central Jakarta. We strike up a conversation and randomly enough, one of the men attended my same university in the small town of Bloomington, Indiana, but enrolled the year I was born. Needless to say, I never expected the first Indonesians I’d meet in Jakarta to start talking to me about US college basketball. They were both pleasant and quite helpful too, since they were disembarking at the same stop and could point me to Jalan Jaksa, the main tourist street with budget accommodations.

The next people I met were at the guesthouse. I stopped at Kresna homestay, and while waiting for the manager to get back from lunch, started talking with two fellows hanging out in the lobby. After initial introductions, I discover that they both come from Sumatra and work in the tourism industry. They have degrees in hotel management, and training has brought them to Jakarta. Specifically, cruise ship training. Online they had discovered a 2 month training program in Jakarta that guaranteed placements on US cruise ships. After an intense program in English grammar, diction, etc. they have developed fairly good American accents and one already has a placement on a cruise liner that caters only to seniors and departs from Tampa, Florida. Long hours, hard work, and absence of family, they said they are willing to endure for the expected economic benefits. I ask them some questions about the tourism industry in Indonesia. The younger one eagerly responds that Sumatra has much better tourism areas than Java, but Yogyakrta, the Borobudur temple complex, and Mt. Bromo were all good tourist locations in Java. When I ask how environmentally the places were handling tourism, the other one responded, “In many places older people don’t treat the environment right, and younger people follow this behavior.”

“Do you think this will change,” I next asked.

He responded that he hoped so, since the effects can already be seen, like with the smog in Jakarta. “Some places are trying to change this and become cleaner, like Bali and Yogyakarta, and sometimes the government tries to educate people through TV or getting people together to do a town project,” he explains. Also, to my surprise, his friend mentions the UN global climate conference that took place in Bali and how after wards the government has backed efforts to improve the environment by promoting activities such as tree planting. “Everyone is supposed to plant a tree, even in their front yard if there is room,” he commented. I couldn’t help but smile and ask, “Have you had a chance to plant a tree?” They laugh, not yet, they’ve been too busy with thier course.

After the manager gets back and I finally check in, I head back out to find some lunch. I stop at a little place which shows pictures of the food. As I wait I’m joined but another customer who sits down and joins me. Riv Ano Osmar, as his business card reads, is the owner of coco factory in Jakarta and a coffee bean plantation in Papua. I admit I gulped a bit, just the other night I had been reading about Papua and how many of the residents dislike the Javanese business men who come and harvest the islands natural resources and take the profits back to Java. Riv was a stocky man and I ended up talking to him mostly about food, not the complicated issues of Papua (Irian Jaya). We talked about the difference between food on the different islands, Indonesian specialties, and whether the Dutch had left their mark on the food. His opinion, “No!” In fact, he did not have good things to say about people who, like the Dutch, tend to keep their food separated, instead of blending the meat, vegetables, and sauce into one dish as is typical with Asian meals. When I finished, I thanked him for the information and walked a few blocks North to the National Monument.

(The monument gets the sort of nicknames you'd expect!)

The monument is a tall white marble obelisk with a sculpted gold leaf flame on top. A guide hanging around the statue fills me in on some details of the monument and what you can see from the top. I can’t help but notice he is wearing a light blue WWF shirt promoting Ujung Kulon National Park, home to the nearly extinct Javanese rhino (around 55 remain) and a plethora of other unique flora and fauna. His name is Andy, a slight and bespectacled man of Sudanese origins. He’s worked as a guide for the past twelve years, despite the slowdown in the number of travelers. Andy is not optimistic that this year’s “Visit Indonesia 2008” promotion is going to turn this around.

On my way back to the Jl. Jaksa guest house I run into 3 young high school girls in school uniforms. They were wearing long blue skirts and white shirts, and two had the additional white head scarf covering. “Can we interview you?” was their question. Their teacher had given them the assignment to tape a conversation with a foreigner. They had a list of questions all ready. I happily cringe, I mean agree, and sit down with the first girl. I think this might have been a little more fun if I hadn’t just been working as an ESL teacher. Anyway, I smile and put her at ease as she sits down and asks me questions. For the most part, all the questions were understandable, except “what you do want with Indonesians?” I was a bit baffled, but decided to go with how beautiful and nice the people are, and I even threw in how beautiful the country is for good measure. This led to a rather rambling answer on my part, and I could tell she hadn’t the slightest idea what I meant. However, she smiled back at me as she asked her final questions. Then her friend put her tape in the tape player, interviewed me using the exact same questions, as did the third girl.

One last thing I discovered during this first day - the sublime taste of an avocado shake mixed with chocolate sauce. Seriously, I had no idea this combination would possibly taste so good. While this is just the beginning of my trip, I hope it continues in this same vein. It’s been a long and interesting day … I just wonder what tomorrow will be like, or who I’ll meet?

The Project

2008-02-24T19:40:00.000+08:00

The travel industry is growing at a rapid pace as transportation becomes cheaper and easier, and the idea of traveling becomes more main stream. However, concern is also rising over the diverse effects of tourism, as well as its sustainability. As a tourism graduate student, I've been learning about the idea of “responsible tourism,” which aims to manage tourism to reduce negative impacts and encourage positive effects. As an avid traveler and someone who is curious about the changing nature of tourism, I decided to structure my next trip around the topic of responsible travel. I felt a blog might be a good way to share my experience with other travelers, and vicarious travelers. So, enjoy :)

During my trip, I’ll be visiting places and meeting people that seem to be demonstrating responsible travel characteristics. Another goal is to speak with people I meet, locals, tour operators, guides, guest house owners, and other travelers on their knowledge and views of “travel,” “sustainability,” and general thoughts on tourism. I’m also going to try and be more conscientious of my own effects while travelling. Let me be clear, I am by no means an expert in these areas, and I acknowledge language will probably be a barrier. This is just my personal account of trying to learn more about Indonesia, the idea of responsible travel, and the travel industry in general.

What Would Like to Know?

2008-02-24T19:31:00.000+08:00

After a long cold winter of working in Taiwan, I decided it was time to take a holiday. The volcanic islands of Indonesia have always fascinated me, so I decided my trip would consist of exploring the island of Java for one month and the smaller islands of Bali, Lombok, and possibly Flores during a second month.

Just to give everyone some background …

My name is Sarah. I’m 25, and American by birth. I have a Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in Marketing, and I’m currently enrolled in a Masters program from the ICRT on Responsible Tourism. Lately, I’ve been working as an English teacher in Taipei, but my goal is to find employment that doesn’t involve 7yr olds. While my travel experience is mainly limited to Asia, I have enjoyed the opportunity to explore mainland South and Southeast Asia.

You may ask, “What’s with the Durian picture?” For those of you who are unfamiliar, the spiky Durian fruit is only found in SEA, and is a popular product of farms in Indonesia. While NYC is called the “Big Apple,” Jakarta is affectionately termed “the Big Durian.” It might be slightly odiferous, but also unique, and with hordes of devoted fans (er, who all seem to have websites, see www.durianpalace.com). Anyway, it seemed like a good name for this project.

This will be my first trip to Indonesia.

“I am a traveler, you are a visitor, they are tourists …”

2008-02-24T19:25:00.000+08:00

The 2006 UNWTO World Tourism Barometer placed the number of international tourists at a staggering 842 million. This number is projected to reach over 1.56 billion by the year 2020. While 80% of international tourists still come from only 20 countries (17 European, USA, Canada, and Japan), domestic tourism is rising and usually accounts for 4-5 times the number of international tourists. Again, it varies for each country. In India the number of domestic tourists is ten times that of international tourists, and the totals for both are on the rise. It’s no wonder there are concerns about the effects of tourism with this many people traveling.

The notion of responsible tourism is that the continued growth of tourism requires all stake holders (tourists, those in the travel industry, governments, communities, etc.) to take responsibility to manage tourism so that the positive effects are increased and the negative effects diminished. The second part of this idea is that mass tourism can change to be more beneficial. The ultimate goal is to make tourism more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable. It’s fair to question whether this goal can be achieved, or even what additional harmful effects are caused by good hearted efforts to change tourism.

(An advertisement run by www.responsibletourism.com in The London Evening Standard)

Research into Indonesia’s Tourism Industry …

2008-02-24T19:11:00.001+08:00

Lying on the equator makes the climate of Indonesia idyllic for visitors who want “fun in the sun.” Bali in particular has long been a prime destination for those seeking recreational holidays. Besides its natural beauty, other promoted qualities of Indonesia include distinctive cultural assets, archaeological objects, and historical sites, like the World Heritage temple complexes of Borobudur and Prambanan. Not to be forgotten, impressive volcanoes such as Mount Bromo also bring in visitors from around the globe. (See below image from Britannica.com)

From Indonesia’s department for culture and tourism I discovered a booklet with tourism stats from 2006. The number of international visitors that year was around 4.8 million, a decline of 2.6% from 2005. Each visit was around 9 days in length and the average amount spent was $100 per day. I wish I could be investing $100 a day into the Indonesian economy, but unfortunately traveling as a student my budget will be considerably more limited. For backpackers the average daily spend is closer to $10-20 per day. Overall, tourist contribution to foreign exchange for 2006 was estimated at $4.4 billion, again a decline from 2005.

The top visitors to Indonesia are all from Asian countries:

1.) Singapore
2.) Malaysia
3.) Japan
4.) Taiwan
5.) South Korea

After that comes Australia, the UK, and then the US.

Males are the primary visitors at 65%, with the majority being from 35-44 in age. It’s good to take into consideration these numbers do include travel for business, which makes up 38% of the visitors. However, the main reason for visiting is still to take a holiday, or 56% of the visitors. And, in 2006 only 5% of those travelling were, like me, a student.

I also discovered tourism rules involving visas have changed, so most visas on arrival are now for only 30 days, not the previous 60 days, and you need to show proof of sufficient funds and a return/onward ticket. If you take the time to get a visa from an embassy in advance you can usually get longer visas, depending on the place. It’s thought that these policies have contributed to the diminishing tourism business. My plan is to try and get a 60 day tourist visa in advance from the embassy.

Here's a video someone put on Youtube of Indonesia ...

Tourism (Continued)

2008-02-24T18:42:00.002+08:00

Tourism was a peak industry for Indonesia from 1990 to 1996, but recent factors have caused a decrease in tourist numbers. Security issues from religious and ethnic disputes, like the Bali Others have been economic decline attributed to effects from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, natural disasters like the 2004 Tsunami, and epidemics like SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and avian influenza (bird flu). Many advocates for Indonesia keep emphasizing that most of these concerns are without merit or only effect limited outlying regions. bombings is one contributing factor.

This year, the Indonesia tourism board launched the “Visit Indonesia 2008” campaign in hopes of attracting more visitors.

The tourism department also has a blog: http://www.tourismindonesia.com/

From my reading, I’ve been learning much about the virtues of tourism and the drawbacks. Frankly, I’m not sure exactly how beneficial tourism is but I believe the answer lies somewhere between these two extremes …

South Africa’s WHITE PAPER on Tourism (Positive)

Benefits of Tourism?????

Does tourism benefit the Third World (Negative)

Seriously, you should check out these websites. It’s crazy how much of a difference there is between South Africa’s White Paper on tourism, which discusses the potential benefits for SA of adopting responsible tourism, and the brutal criticism of responsible tourism as debated by a member of the Bangkok based Tourism Investigation & Monitoring Team.

“Pessimism of Intellect, Optimism of the Will.”

2008-02-24T18:34:00.001+08:00

Below you’ll find the specific characteristics of Responsible Tourism, as presented by the Cape Town Declaration.

Having the following characteristics, Responsible Tourism:

1. minimizes negative economic, environmental, and social impacts;

2. generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the wellbeing of host communities, improves working conditions and access to the industry;

3. involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances;

4. makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world's diversity;

5. provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues;

6. provides access for physically challenged people; and

7. is culturally sensitive, engenders respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence.

The root of the current “Responsible Tourism” movement has its origins from the UN. However, the base idea of “balance” is an ancient concept. I recently read an interview with I Gede Ardika, Indonesia’s former Minister of Culture and Tourism, in the article she mentions how the Balinese have long encouraged “Tri Hita Karana.” That translates as “the three causes of welfare and security,” and advocates balance of life. The idea is that a person needs a harmonious balanced relationship with God, with fellow human beings, and with the environment. As she explained, “We aim to develop tourism in a manner that is economically viable, socio-culturally acceptable and environmentally sustainable.”

With this rather large challenge I’ve set myself of trying to minimize my effects while traveling I created a few general principles to follow.

General Principles for Traveling:

Friendliness is Important – simple things like smiling and asking questions, produce a better experience for both travelers and communities.
Buy local – local foods and drinks, accommodations, transport, and general products
Generosity of spirit – not bargaining too hard; when making purchasing decisions use other factors than just the financial bottom line, and tipping may not be expected but it is always appreciated.
Travel with awareness – observe, reflect, and learn from travel experiences, and conserve natural resources.
Be respectful - observe local customs, especially in dress, and learn language basics

RT Terms

2008-02-24T18:23:00.000+08:00

Now, there are many different terms I’ve come across when reading about improving travel, so here is my attempt to make sense of the jargon:

Agrotourism = tourism that focuses on learning about the agricultural life of a people.

Community Based Tourism (CBT) = tourism that focuses on learning about the local way of life of a people and usually involves interacting with members of the community.

Cultural Tourism = tourism that focuses on observing the customs, traditions, heritage, way of life and history of a people.

Ecocultural Tourism = tourism that focuses on learning about the culture of a people and their relation with the environment

Ecotourism = tourism that is ecologically sound.

Fair-trade Tourism = tourism that follows the principles of fair-trade, which is purchasing items that are benefiting local communities more fairly than other products. Different types of tourism, like cultural tourism, can be made fair-trade.

Geotourism - Tourism that focuses on keeping the unique character and appeal of a place.

Heritage tourism = tourism that focuses on learning about the heritage of a place.

Pro-Poor Tourism = tourism that focuses on spreading the economic benefits of tourism so that poverty is reduced. Different types of tourism, like cultural tourism, can be made pro-poor.

Reality Tours = Tourism that focuses on important social, economic, political and environmental issues.

Responsible (and Conscientious/ Ethical/ Positive) Tourism = Different ways to say basically the same thing, but the term “responsible tourism” is the one most used. It is tourism that focuses on maximizing the positive effects produced by travel and minimizing the negative. Different types of tourism, like cultural tourism, can be made responsible.

Rural Tourism = Tourism that focuses on going to a rural setting to participate in rural activities.

Sustainable Tourism = Tourism that manages a place’s resources and assets so they are not spoiled. Different types of tourism, like cultural tourism, can be made more sustainable. However, at this time we do not have the capabilities to truly make tourism sustainable.

Voluntourism = Tourism that focuses on “trying” to help a community and improve other people’s lives.

… and I’m sure in the following years this list will grow even longer!

Interesting Facts about Indonesia

2008-02-24T18:06:00.001+08:00

Before leaving, I’m also taking the time to do some research on the places I’ll be visiting. Last time I followed the “grab the guidebook, and go!” approach, which left me feeling foolish way too often during conversations with locals and other travelers. This time I’m making full use of the internet to research my destination. So, here is just some of the interesting information I found out about Indonesia.

My first searches were to learn about general country information and about Indonesia’s past and present. Indonesia consists of over 17,000 islands straddling the equator, with approximately 3000 of these islands being inhabited. I was surprised to find of these 3,000 islands, Java and Sumatra are home to nearly 80% of Indonesia’s population. I also read about the now defunct transmigrasi policy, the aim being to move people from populated islands like Java to less populated islands like Papua. The height of this forced migration occurred from 1984-1989 when over 2.5 million people were moved, mostly urban poor and landless peasants. As you can guess, this policy greatly changed the cultural makeup of remote islands, and tensions resulted from this “javanisation.” Current policies including family planning programs and a national campaign, “Two Children is Enough,” are the new methods being used to combat population growth. Though population growth has dropped, the total is still around 234 million making it the 4th most populated nation, and largest Muslim population in the world.

Indonesia’s history is long and varied, with human presence first occurring around 1 million BC when Java Man walked over the land bridge connecting Australia and Asia. While Java Man became extinct, other immigrants arrived from Southeast Asia to populate the archipelagos. Another interesting piece of Indonesia’s evolutionary history is the presence of “the hobbits.” The Manggarai inhabits of Flores told stories of little people, covered with hair, who roamed the jungles. Then, in 2003, and later in 2005, archeologists started to find skeletons of little people only about 1m high, with gangly arms and the worn down teeth of adults. This race of small humanoids was thought to have inhabited the jungles as recently as 12,000 yrs ago, until they were wiped out by a volcanic eruption. So scientists think ;)

“Artist's impression of how the hobbit may have interacted with Homo sapiens”

Image: Kevin Stead

Indonesia's Early History

2008-02-24T17:46:00.000+08:00

Next, I started investigating Indonesia’s early history. As civilization developed, small kingdoms were established and traders from other Asian countries brought Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam to the country. Already, the islands were a stop on the Middle East to Far East trading route. Around the 16^th century AD, European traders discovered the islands. The Portuguese were the first to enter the spice trade, but then came the Dutch to compete for goods and influence in the country. The spice trade was an influential activity for Europe, and encouraged world exploration to find new ways to Asia. The Dutch traders eventually monopolized the spice trade in Indonesia, thus making Amsterdam an extremely important trading hub for all of Europe. The Dutch VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indishe Compagnie/ United East India Company) quickly evolved from trading partners into colonial dominators. The company, however, went broke from the high cost of being a colonial dominator, both suppressing uprisings and armed conflicts with other traders. Its assets were seized by the Dutch government, which is how the Indonesian islands became part of the Dutch colonial empire. Some of Indonesia’s people still speak Dutch, but it is an older dialect, so for English speakers it would be like visiting a place where locals still speak colonial English.

At the start of the 1800s the Netherlands was also on the brink of bankruptcy. To make quick profits for the homeland, the controllers in Indonesia began to exploit the natural resources of the country. Indigo, sugar, and rubber were in high demand in Europe, so large government plantations, run using the forced-labor of Javanese peasants, started operating and producing large profits for the Dutch. With agricultural production focused on these areas, and not on the mainstay of rice, famine and epidemic soon followed. As profits grew, so did the influence of the Dutch in other islands in Indonesia. During the early 20^th century new “ethical” policies were implemented in Indonesia to improve health, education, and increase local industry, but the results were mixed.

Indonesia did not sink easily into colonial submission and throughout colonial rule various wars and upheavals tested the supremacy of the Dutch administration. The initial rebellions usually took place in specific regions, like Aceh in North Sumatra, and were not a unified country effort. With the spread of ideas like “nationalism” more cohesive movements started by groups like Sarekat Islam (an Islamic anti-colonial organization), PKI (the Indonesian Communist Party), and eventually the very successful PNI (an Indonesian nationalist party led by Soekarno), which helped unify the nation in its fight for independence. It’s said the Japanese occupation during WWII ingrained a military psyche into the people of Indonesia. After the Japanese left and the Dutch returned, Indonesians were now inclined to wage a bloody war for their independence. Indonesian militant groups habitually used guerilla attacks when fighting against the Dutch. This conflict for Independence continued until Dec. 27, 1949, when the Dutch negotiated for peace. Power was given back to the Indonesian people in a ceremony at the Freedom Palace in Jakarta. While Indonesians united to achieve independence, the diversity of cultures, religions, traditions, and customs made keeping this unity difficult, especially among the remote and pro-separatist islands of Papua (AKA Irian Jaya) and Timor.

(Dutch Imperialism in Indonesia)

Modern Times

2008-02-24T17:32:00.000+08:00

Indonesia is currently celebrating its 62nd year of being a nation. Indonesians recognize their independence from the Dutch starting on Aug 17, 1945, when Soekarno proclaimed independence for Indonesia. Indonesia’s modern history after Independence is particularly relevant since the trends and policies set during this time period have shaped present day Indonesia and its people.

After independence in 1949 Indonesia faced a variety of problems, ranging from intangible issues like inflation, corruption, and religious dissent, to problems caused by physical damage from the war for independence. Islamic groups, the Communist Party, and the army each worked to achieve their own agendas, further dividing the nation. An unstable, and often changing, parliamentary style democracy operated in Indonesia until President Soekarno, head of the main PKI party, rearranged the political system to focus more power in the hands of the president, his hands.

More years of instability persisted in Indonesia, with attempted coups, purges, and the eventual seizing of power in 1968 by the recently deceased Soeharto. Enforced political stability did occur during Soeharto’s rule, but this was largely due to decreases in political freedoms that were backed up by military force. While Soekarno was unsympathetic to Western economic power, Soeharto instituted what he called “The New Order.” With open arms Soeharto welcomed foreign investment and privatization of natural resources. By 1996, the Gross Domestic Product grew to US$200 billion and those living in absolute poverty were now just 16% of the population, compared to 40% twenty years earlier. Profits from oil substantially contributed to this upturn in economy. While poverty decreased, disparity of wealth dramatically increased, coincidentally so did corruption. Soeharto’s reign also included many dark chapters in human rights abuse and misuse of power.

The 1997 Asian currency crisis devastated Indonesia. Banks folded, millions became unemployed, and debt/inflation swelled. Much of the loans Indonesia took out during the Soeharto rein were not well spent, which has left the country suffering from a crippling international debt to organizations like the IMF (International Monetary Fund), and little to show for the money. Amid riots, and bloodshed, Soeharto was forced to step down in May 1998, thus ending his 32 year rule (see a video of the riots below).

Bhineka Tunggal Ika – “Unity in Diversity” - the national slogan of Indonesia

2008-02-24T17:24:00.000+08:00

I’m looking forward to experiencing present day Indonesia, though as an outsider who will only be visiting 3 or 4 islands I really will only be seeing a tiny bit of the contrasts and variety of the archipelago.

The volcanic origins of Indonesia have added to its diversity, producing some islands very rich in fertile soil and others with large resources of oil and natural gas. The look and character of the islands are distinct, as are the culture heritage of the people who inhabit them. Lying on the ancient trading route between the Middle East and Far East added even more variety to Indonesia. The art and culture of Indonesians often show influences of Arabic, Malay, Indian, Chinese, and European sources. Religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam were introduced and then blended with traditional practices. Regional differences have sometimes led to conflict with the Java-centered national government, so after Soeharto’s reign a process of decentralization took place moving more power to district governments. While a good equilibrium has yet to be reached, the country is working hard to keep a unified national identity.

Indonesia is thought to have well over 300 different ethnic groups, most with their own regional language and dialect, but “Bahasa Indonesia” is the official language. From what I’ve read, the Javanese (originally from Eastern and Central Java) are the largest and most dominant ethnic group with 45% of the population. Because of transmigration the Javanese can be found all throughout Indonesia. The majority of Javanese are Muslim. Another interesting characteristic is that the Javanese often have just a single name, like Soekarno and Soeharto, instead of a family name and a given name. The second largest group is the Sudanese (originally of West Java) with around 15% of the population. The Madurese, from the island of Madura that neighbors Java, makes up 7.5%. All the other islands make up just 26% of the population.

Indonesia’s first president, Soekarno, worked to unite Indonesians around 5 main principles called the Pancasila. Each principle was given a symbol, and can be found all over Indonesia on the country’s national symbol the garuda bird, from Buddhist and Hindu mythology the bird is known for its power and intelligence. A star represents a unified faith in God. A chain represents a unified feeling of humanity in Indonesia and its links with humankind elsewhere. A Banyan tree represents nationalism and encourages unity among all ethnic groups. A buffalo represents the unified government. Finally, the rice and cotton represent unified social justice.

I’ve also been reading up on some general customs and manners for visiting Indonesia, though again it does vary from place to place. Like many other places in Asia, public displays of attention between members of the same sex is discouraged, but holding hands with members of the same sex is fine and demonstrates friendship. Dress should be modest, even at beaches. Aggressiveness is particularly frowned on, except for the required push and shove to get on buses, and time is often describe as “rubber.”

If you're interested in other links related to Indonesia, check out ...

2008-02-24T16:58:00.001+08:00

Information on Indonesia:

http://www.indonesialogue.com - online travel guide
http://indahnesia.com – online travel guide
http://www.planetmole.org – provides a range of articles on Indonesia
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Indonesia - Discuses environmental issues Indonesia is facing
http://greenindonesia.net/archives/58 - A succinct article on problems Indonesia is currently facing
http://www.equinoxpublishing.com/natguide/default.htm - The Natural Guide book to Bali.

Tourism Sites:
http://www.tourismindonesia.com - a blog by Indonesia’s National Tourist Organization
http://www.my-indonesia.info - Official Tourism website by Ministry of Culture and Tourism

Indonesian Ecotourism and Environmental Sites:
http://www.ekowisata.org - ecotourism organization that offers tours
http://www.indecon.or.id - ecotourism organization that offers tours
http://greenindonesia.net - a “green” themed blog
http://www.binaswadaya.org - One of the oldest nonprofits in Indonesia, operates Bina Swadaya Tours.

Responsible Tourism Sites:
www.wildasia.net – an excellent organization promoting sustainable tourism and development in SEA
www.responsibletravel.com – a site offering responsible travel tours worldwide
http://www.whl.travel - a site offering hotels worldwide, while giving extra emphasis to the importance of sustainable tourism
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/sustainable/about_geotourism.html - National Geographic center for Sustainable Destinations
www.asianencounters.org – Lists homestays in Asia and
www.icrtourism.org – International research center for responsible tourism

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