Natural Products

The gifts from the forest aren't always in the form of food... Here in Papua, the forest provides everything... from food, to the containers in which to cook and keep it, to homes, etc!  Pandan is one particular tree from which each part of the plant is used - coconut as well!

When we were in the village of Beneraf the ladies there showed me how to make "tali hutan" (forest string), which is made from the fibres of the forest as well!

Clothing is traditionally made from bark cloth... straight from the tree, it's much softer than woven fabrics from tali hutan.

Food, clothing, furniture, homes, art, decorations... everything in Papua comes straight from the source:  nature!

Changi

Changi is the name of the Singapore international airport (there is no domestic airport in Singapore, as it's a city state, so no where else in this 'country' to fly...).

I find it a very appropriate name, just with reference to the Indonesian language, where 'changi' actually means ultra-modern, super-fancy, chic... and that's certainly a great description of the Singapore airport, and most of Singapore for that matter!  It was officially classified as a 5-star airport, and also unofficially on sites like sleepinginairports.com has been recognized as a fabulous place to be stuck in transit (if one has to be stuck in transit).

So that's what I am... and that's why you're hearing about this airport (from an ultra high-speed free internet connection in a swank free lounge/relaxation oasis)...

From Wikipedia:
There are many versions for the etymological roots of the name Changi. One source says that it comes from a climbing shrub, the changi ular(Apama corymbosa), which grew in the area. Another claims that it gets its name from a tall tree, the chengai (Balanscarpus heimii), which abounded in the area in the early nineteenth century. Changi could also be a variation of the local timber named chengai. This heavy local timber is commonly used for buildings and furniture, and is valued for its strength and renowned for its deep rich colour.

Magic Cream

Since I was little and visiting our family cabin in BC in the summers, I have known this little tube as "Magic Cream", as do all the neighbours!  Cetavlon is a french antiseptic cream that we can't get in Canada, but without fail, my Aunt would bring several tubes to re-stock every summer.

It's magic I guess comes from the only listed active ingredient, Cetrimide, a mere .5g...   I was happy I carry some with me, as I'm employing it as a remedy for my rotten road rash.  I hope it does its thing!

Road Rash

Yikes - I am thankful that I'm here to write this post to you all... I took a little spill off my motorbike yesterday for the first time... and hopefully last.

I was pretty darn lucky!  The entire lane was full of oil and I don't think there was any avoiding what happened...  The bike lost all traction, and all I had time to think was "Oh shiitttt...", then my head bounced off the pavement and I proceeded to skid on my chin for about 50m along the road with an unsettling view of oncoming headlights. Before I had even skidded to a stop I jumped up and ran the 50 more metres that the bike slid, picked it up and got it off the road, and then I checked myself over for missing appendages etc.  I was fairly shocked to find I was pretty much in tact, minus some major road rash that hadn't started to sting yet (side note:  post-adrenaline let down they have proven insanely painful!)  Apparently I was the 4th bike to slide out on it - and after I made sure they covered it with dirt to soak up the oil and avoid anyone else going down!  But I drove myself home, cleaned out the wounds and am hoping for a quick healing process.

I am not big on taking a lot of hard-core chemical drugs in general... so I'm hoping the good ole magic cream will do the trick!

Raja Ampat Festival

Raja Ampat has been holding a Festival Bahari (Marine Festival) for several years now.  Usually it is in May, to coincide with the 'Birthday' of the Regency on May 9th, but this year it was postponed and happened in October.

Pantai WTC (Waisai TerCinta - Beloved Waisai Beach) with Kalabia at anchor in background

The postponement had to do with the worrying poor health of the head of the Regency back in May (fortunately he is in better health now, and when I met him at the Festival, he seemed fit-as-a-fiddle), but in fact, this is better timing from several other aspects.  It is much more favourable weather and sea-faring conditions, and the Liveaboards which operate in Raja Ampat have just about completed their 6-month Komodo season and are generally heading back up at this time of year, so there is potential to attract international guests and attention from here as well.

This year the festival was bigger than previously, and seemed much better organized.

There were several activities including a Photography Competition, Traditional Food Fair, where I taste-tested 'Grub Kebobs', there were traditional dance troops from the villages which gave periodic performances throughout the festival and there was a 'Travel Mart'.  A Symposium on Environmentally-Friendly Diving was held one day, although my major comments at that were that it seemed a little futile to be discussing diver impact when the scale of the environmental damage that can occur in that respect is miniscule compared to some of the major issues threatening the reefs and marine conservation, like rapid unsustainable coastal development.

We took the opportunity, at the invitation of the local government, to participate by maintaining a Kalabia stand at the fair, and hosting a drawing competition for Raja Ampat children.  The Kalabia team was very proud that their stand was by far the most popular one at the fair, both for kids and adults!  And of course, the drawing competition was a great success... the top 12 winning entries will become part of the Kalabia 2012 Calendar, but they were more excited to receive their prize of a snorkel set each!

And we hung out and enjoyed the bad food, interesting dances and festival atmosphere!

Ange & Yesaiah @ WTC - a friend who leads a traditional music and dance troop as well as conservation programs in Sawinggrai village

 So it seems like the Festival was a decent success from most points of view.... BUT... there are still a couple issues regarding planning, and the MAJOR issue of waste management that the government needs to improve upon for coming years.  The Festival dates were announced only about two weeks prior to the event - so it doesn't give either participants or guests much chance for preparation!  But the bigger issue in my eyes is the non-existent waste management.  Part of the message of this festival is about how fabulous Raja Ampat is as a fabulous holiday destination... BUT although they at least had someone cleaning the festival area daily, they still don't have a long-term viable solution in place for waste-management in Waisai.  They are still going with the typical 'treatment rather than prophylaxis' (ie. bandaid) approach.  Someone from the Kalabia team was in Waisai for 2 weeks prior to the event canvassing for the inclusion of waste bins around the entire festival area... BUT in the end, the waste bin at the Kalabia stand was the only one visible in the entire area!  And the area just behind the festival grounds looks like this:

Kalabia August September October

I've had a chance to be out in Raja Ampat aboard the Kalabia several times over the last couple months.  Each time I'm out, I fall more in love with the area, and I'm more impressed with the ability of the education team to overcome the limitations presented to them working in the villages here!  Here are just a few of my favourite random shots from the last couple months in the field in Raja Ampat... Enjoy!

Something Fishy...

I finally got a chance to get in the water with the Kalabia team on a day off during the Waisai Festival... We went to Waiwo, geared up, then went for a dive at Blue Magic.

I swear it has to be one of the fishiest dives in Raja Ampat!  No mantas this time (last time I was there we shared the site with 4 or 5 massive pelagic mantas!), but still a great dive!

There were some pretty big schools of fish...

 ... and others just hangin' out...

... and a black-tip reef shark and GT even zipped by as we prepared for our ascent!  Yay - there are a few sharks still avoiding the finners!

Sate Ulat Sago

Sate is basically the Indonesian word for kebab... meat on a stick.  The most common is chicken sate, delicious with a peanut sauce... but you can also get fish and other types of sate, including this one:  Sate Ulat Sago - Sago Palm Larvae!  Yup... Maggots on a stick... Grub Kebabs!

Sate Ulat Sago

I had tried this before at the Danau Sentani Cultural Festival, since it is a traditional Papuan food specialty... But since it made an appearance at the Traditional Food Fair at the Raja Ampat Festival as well, I had to try it again!

And actually, it was different... I remember it being kind of sweet and almost carmelized the first time... Well, this version was very oily, and tasted kinda like cheese....   not so delicious.

Obviously, ii's reaction was not one of pure taste bliss !  haha!

 Well, I guess I missed Hallowe'en again, but at least this year I got a little taste of spooky food!  And it sounds like it's not just here in Papua, but insect-eating is becoming a trend in SF as well... and I remember back when I was planting we made blackfly pie in the bush one year... 

Coral Mining

The education trip aboard the Kalabia in September was inspiring and devastating at the same time...

When we took the kids of Kabare snorkeling, it was difficult for us to find an area of decent reef - an area that had not been ripped up.  Once we did find a spot, it was dominated by fragile, branching-type corals... not the massif corals that make up the foundation of healthy reefs, and also, as it turns out, good solid foundations for houses.

The scale of the coral mining was unprecedented... scary.  And even scarier was the AWARENESS and apathy.  Just a few hundred metres away from where we took the kids snorkeling were piles of coral ready for loading to bring to shore... When we asked the people that came in the boat to pick it up if they were aware of the impacts of coral mining, their answer lead us to believe that they were at least partially aware of how devastating it could be for the community if the reefs were completely ruined.  They said those were the last ones, and that the community had decided to stop the coral mining, but yet they continued.

In each of the villages we visited in North Waigeo, the streets were lined with piles of coral that had been pulled up from the reefs and were set to become roads, streets, foundations and walls...

In part I blame the Indonesian government poverty index which holds as one of their indicators the type of houses families live in - wooden houses are for the poor and cement houses are for the rich it says.  The ironic thing, in my opinion, is that from a safety and comfort standpoint, these houses aren't the best or most practical for the local element... Wooden homes are much cooler and allow for some air circulation in this over-heated environment.  I remember during the Jogja earthquake, going around afterward as part of the medical mission, and seeing entire communities of flattened brick and cement homes, with the only shelters left standing being that of the cattle, because they were made out of flexible bamboo which withstood the earthquake!?

Hopefully this new generation of Raja Ampat youth, with the influence of our program, will not only have a better understanding of the devastation coral mining causes, but also care enough about it to stop the practice!  This goes for all the issues facing conservation as far as I'm concerned... including the unsustainable development practices and lack of facilities I've blogged about before in these past blogs:

- Mayalibit Bay, Development, Transmigration and Kalabia

- Why Sigh? - The new capital of Waisai and its garbage problem

- Division - Transmigration slated for Papua

- Avatar - Similarities with the Papua situation

- Kaliyam & Wailebet - Forest Destruction, Turtle Consumption and Fish Bombers

- Transmigration Woes