Does it not look like this woman is in the process of slicing up the brains of a large animal???


On our first day in Warsambin, as we were walking over to meet with the head of the district and the village head in order to coordinate/socialize the Kalabia program to them, we passed by a woman who was doing a funny wiggling dance while slicing up something that, upon first glance, looked to me to be brains! I asked. In fact, it was a 'sarang semut' (ants' nest), and the wiggly dance was the reaction to the ants, whose bit is like fire! Apparently the local villagers cut these nests from the trees, slice them up (and remove the ants, of course) and use them for medicinal purposes. The slices can be steeped in hot water and made into a healing tea, or eaten! According to the local shaman it's good for all manner of ailment, including cancer, asthma, intestinal issues, heart problems, or just as a general whole-body detoxifying cleanse, which probably means it's has anti-oxidant properties... but of course, no formal scientific testing has been done to investigate the medicinal properties as of yet!

I'll be having ants' nest tea before bed this eve!

Kali Biru
The Blue River

On our way home from Warsambin, we were invited to take the opportunity to stop by a local 'sacred site' called Kali Biru. The convergence of two rivers of differing temperatures forms a unique and refreshing area where the people of Warsambin not only go to hold various ceremonies, but also for recreation.

The two rivers, one whose source is icy cold, the other, tepid, come together rather abruptly, causing a huge increase in the flow speed of the river. To stand in the river exactly at the point of their convergence creates a very odd sensation as one second freezing water is rushing by you causing you to feel the cold deep in your bones, the next second, you are flooded with warmth. We enjoyed bathing in the crystal clear blue river while gazing up at the beautiful scenery of luscious green rainforest with all manner of avian life flocking around us (including white cockatoos, blue and green and red parrots, and other, less-conspicuous varieties).

Lead by a friend from the local village, we also tried a local scrub treatment, "Gosok"; using river stones to exfoliate while seated along the riverbank. A treat for me, especially after tromping around in the muddy mangroves with the kids earlier that day!

Kalabia
(the program)

I have written about the namesake, and the boat (this previous post has been updated), but what about the PROGRAM itself!?




You can check out this previous post for a little background. You'll notice, everything has been moved back of course, postponed, and delayed over and over again... As you can see from my latest posts, the Kalabia has now arrived in Raja Ampat and completed ONE program in Warsambin, Mayalibit.

Basically, the Kalabia Education Boat is going to tour around to the 89 villages within Raja Ampat delivering intensive 3-day education programs. We tried to push for longer programs, to make programming more complete and lessons more effective, however once we looked at the schedule and the number of villages, as well as how spread out they are, we decided we have to optimize our time and push for a three-day full program. The Kalabia will only be able to reach each village after TWO years even so!



There are three elements to the program itself. The youth/kids program, the adult program (which will involve fishermen and women, and will mainly function to support the other conservation initiatives in Raja Ampat, such as Marine Protected areas and Livelihoods programs) and a program for teachers to ensure the sustainability of Environmental Education in Raja Ampat. With the current setup, and because the entire program is completely new, we will begin by running only the youth program, with open sessions for adults and teachers. As the youth program is perfected, and the team gets more familiar with the material and program, we will begin to implement the more specific and tailored adult activities as well as teacher-training.



The youth program is a series of highly-interactive activities focusing on conservation issues relevant to local communities. It is designed to provide unique, hands-on experiences where students investigate for themselves the natural environment around them, and are invited to think critically about threats to conservation of the same. Participants learn about the interconnected nature of the ecosystems with which they must live in harmony. Song, dance, story-telling and art are all incorporated into the program to make it accessible to all learning styles, and especially appropriate for the local culture which thrives on these methods of entertainment. Through increased understanding of the ecosystems of Raja Ampat, as well as their unique place in the world, students feel pride and a sense of ownership, which is the first step to caring about and protecting their corner of Raja Ampat.

THE FIRST TIME...
KALABIA MAIDEN PROGRAM VOYAGE
Warsambin, Teluk Mayalibit, Raja Ampat

The small village of Warsambin at the mouth of Mayalibit Bay could not have been a more appropriate location to begin the Kalabia program. Mayalibit Bay is home to the true native peoples of Raja Ampat, the first MPA declared in Raja Ampat, and also a wonderful community of warm-hearted, highly-traditional people. The language of the region, bahasa Maya, contributed the name Kalabia to our Education Vessel. Mayalibit itself is a saltwater bay jutting deep into the island of Waigeo (one of the 'four kings') accessed only by a narrow entrance, which contributes to the uniqueness of the area.




The three-day program was a resounding success with the entire community of Warsambin! Students were thrilled with this novel experience and formed cohesive groups, working as teams, while learning lessons imperative to the conservation of the stunning nature that surrounds them.



While exploring the various ecosystems close to their village, students not only had fun, but learned lessons that will stay with them for a lifetime!




The bonds formed between the participants and the members of the education team, even in a short, three-day period, were precious to experience. The team, even though this was the first time out of the starting gate (and two team members were unable to join us), succeeded in creating an energetic, positive atmosphere of learning and fun, while also supporting and sharing in local culture and tradition. One of my favourite activities was the spontaneous yosban (traditional singing/dancing) with which we closed out the activities on the final day with students.




Because the Kalabia was able to dock at the village, we were able to experience a high-degree of interaction with the local villagers; people were welcomed aboard the vessel at all times, relationships blossomed, and the boat itself became the center of activities for the village for large parts of the day... especially in the evenings, when we provided rare entertainment in the form of conservation films and slide-shows of village life.




I'd do it again... and will... next month!

Ever have one of those weeks where you have a 'to-do' list a mile long, but at the end of the week, although you've accomplished an enormous amount, you can't cross a single entry off that silly, nagging list!? Well, that's the kind of week I've had this week!

It seems like every single time I settled in to complete one of the tasks on my list, another, more urgent, yet unforeseen, task was presented to me! The daunting part is that all those things still have to get done, more or less immediately... yet we're off to the field on the maiden Program voyage of the Kalabia at 4 am tomorrow morning (hence the majority of the unexpected hiccups)!

I don't want to call this her (the Kalabia's) maiden program voyage, either, because actually (due to all the hiccups, and issues of having TWO separate organizations involved in the operations of the boat), our time for this particular trip has been drastically cut down; now we will only have time to complete one program in one village. It is imperative that we do this, however, before the inter-institutional meeting on the 18th where we will discuss the mechanism and logistics of operating the boat, and the program, between TWO organizations -- we need a shake-down run!

So, with the team also split in half (the 'boss', whose status quo is 'sick', is under-the-weather again, so can't participate, and another team member having been invited to the 'Indonesian Youth Leadership Award (YAY Valend!)), we're setting sail for Mayalibit Bay, the home to the original communities of Raja Ampat!

Wish us luck!

An Abandoned Safari Park

Along our 'off-the-beaten path' route one of our Saturdays in Bali, chapter two of our motorcycle adventures (undertaken in the search for the ultimate waves for Martin to surf): encountering an eerie and somewhat disturbing area.

Rotting crocodiles stink. I don't think anything stinks worse than a crocodile carcass in a state of decay!

Abandoned and left to their own devices when the 'Safari Park' went bankrupt, the crocodile population exploded! Check out this 'pile of dile':



But even though they are not being fed chunks of raw meat by park wardens as before, they have not adopted a canabalistic lifestyle... Apparently monkeys used to be the main attraction at this park, but we didn't see any signs of them swinging from the trees... in fact, we heard none of the usual bird song that is usually part of life in Bali either! I guess it's no wonder they are no more!



I hate to start into something that we undoubtedly become a rant, but stumbling upon this abandoned area, other than raising my sensibilities about the inhumane treatment of these poor, caged creatures, left to rot, also brought back a thought that I have seen over and over again, here in Indonesia, as well as at home; I am absolutely disgusted at this consumptive, unsustainable attitude and way of life... instead of repairing what's broken (not to mention taking care of things so they don't break in the first place, for that matter!), buy or build a new one; a bigger, better one! Throw the old away... don't think about the impact, or the fact that our poor planet can't TAKE any more of the pressure we're putting it under; can't take any more of our garbage! I can't believe the amount of garbage everywhere... even on the most remote beaches of Raja Ampat, and most recently, Bali, broken sandals, empty plastic containers of various shapes and sizes... We're claiming it all for ourselves, and our garbage... covering over natural areas with cement, introducing things that don't belong there into the mix! Sorry, I don't want this to turn into a tirade!

As we were leaving this dilapidated area, by means of another road, we see a big billboard sign for "Bali Safari Park... new, opening in October 2007"; only 5 kms from this one! Hope the stench from rotting crocodiles doesn't make them decide to move it another 5k down the road... I wonder if it, too, will look like this in another 5-10 years or so?





Funny... I am just going through posting a few old posts (this one was originally written while in Bali, Feb 18th)... some of the thoughts expressed above are more concisely discussed in "The Story of Stuff".

Wani

My latest new fruit sensation discovery is Wani, or 'White Mango' as it is translated. Delicious. Honestly, it has a very unique flavour, which carries just enough mango nuance to make it irresistible.



While we were waiting for the Kalabia to set off, we had a little time to explore Sanur, Bali, where our hotel was located (and known as the 'upper class Kuta'). There are a couple little fruit shops that will sell you whole fresh fruit, or chop it or juice it for you on the spot... this one was right next door to the hotel, so I got my fill of this magical new fruit while we were there!

The Story of Stuff



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Check it out!