Farming the Side of a Volcano

Now that my Indonesian is getting better and my schedule is a little more open, I've been taking advantages of opportunities to visit vegetable farms and learn more about production practices. A few weeks back I visited this organic vegetable farm a few hours outside of Bandung. Organic vegetable production is a rather new concept in a country that has recently done a good job of destroying its environment through the overuse of pesticides. Therefore this farm is designed not only to make a profit, but also educate surrounding farmers. Located on the side of a volcanic mountain, its lava-based soils are 97% sand, presenting a major challenge to the retention of nutrients required for the production of quality vegetables. This volcano most recently erupted in 1982, causing 68 deaths.The broccoli crop had been repeatedly destroyed by pests until the installation of these netted row covers, a commonly used pest-barrier in organic vegetable production.Fresh produce is being washed before its morning shipment into town. Farmers often live below the poverty level in Indonesia due the fact that most of the profit is taken by a marketing chain that may included as many as 6 steps from farmer to consumer. This farm is working on a marketing scheme that cuts out some of these "middle-men" and establishes a 3 step marketing chain: farmer to distributor to consumer. This increases the profit of farmers and allows them to move above the poverty line (about $2 income per day) to a profit of over $3 per day.

During my time at the farm I used a bona fide weedwhacker for about 5 hours or more, cutting down shoulder-high grass and small brush in order to clear a new area for farming. It was incredibly refreshing, enjoyable, and invigorating experience to "tame the jungle."

The Making of Tofu

Tofu, one of of the main sources of protein in the Indonesian diet, originates from soybeans. The soybeans above were actually imported from the U.S., who knows, maybe even from the soybean farmers of NE Kansas!
The soybeans are fermented and then ground into a soupy paste as shown above. Boiling hot water is added, leaching out certain parts of the soybeans into a barrel below. The soupy part "sets up" as it cools and becomes the actual tofu, while the solid, doughy part that remains is used to make fish food for a nearby commercial fish farm. The process is relatively short and efficient.
The finished product doesn't look like much, but after cooked or fried and spiced up, its not too bad, although I still prefer a T-bone steak any day. But in a land where meat is expensive and protein deficient, tofu makes for a good daily supplement to a rice-based diet.

Indonesian Countryside

Tujuhbelas Agustus! (August 17th)

August 17th is the 4th of July in Indonesia. No, we don't use a different calender over here, but just as Americans celebrate their independence on July 4th, the Indonesians celebrate theirs on August 17th. Indonesia officially gained its independence from the Netherlands August 17th, 1945, soon after the Japanese surrender that ended WWII. This day is celebrated throughout Indonesia with a variety of activities, including "greased pole climbing" for kids. Prizes adorn the top of tall bambu poles that are erected and greased with goat fat, car oil, and anything else that could make it slippery. Kids start at the bottom, climbing up a little ways and then slide down, working as a human squeegees to clean the pole. They gradually work their way higher and higher, standing on each others shoulders for support. Finally after hours of exhausting work, they send the smallest kid climbing up the ladder of humans clinging the the pole, until he reaches the top and throws all the prizes to the bottom. Unfortunately, at this point chaos breaks loose as kids go running for the prizes. The kids on the top are left hoping that they have a good hold on the pole and can slide down safely, since they've been forgotten by their "base" friends who are at this point madly grabbing for prizes. This tradition accentuates a culture where "gotong royong" (working together) is held in high regard (that is, until there a prizes to be had!).

Parangtritis Beach

When my parents came to visit, we took a visit to Parangtritis Beach, south of the big city of Yogyakarta along the Indian Ocean. It was a little surreal for me, having visited this beach more than 3 years ago when I came to Indonesian, having watched the same sun set over the same beach for the same location. Unfortunately, an earthquake a year ago in the summer caused widespread structural damage, and many buildings were not yet back to their original condition, including this closed hotel/restaurant from where we watched the sunset.

Camping Trip

This past week I went camping with 5 Indonesian friends to a forest/jungle area about two hours outside of Bandung. I went to sleep outside next to the campfire about 12:30 while two of the guys stayed up until 2 a.m. Supposedly at 2 a.m. they saw a ghost pass by the edge of our campsite, and immediately ran in fear into their tents, never bothering to wake me from my slumber. I guess they wanted to leave me to fend for myself against the ghost. Can you ask for better friends than that? Luckily I wasn't disturbed by our intruder. However, around 3 I was startled awake by an incredibly loud noise. It sounded like something between a shotgun going off and a tractor starting up. Turns out it was only one of the guys in the tents explosively breaking wind. He managed to wake us all up with his fireworks display, including someone in a different tent. In addition to the ghost, I had another "first-time" camping experience. I've never gone on a camping trip and seen a monkey, until this time. I went for a little hike in the morning to find some water and heard rustling in the trees, only to look up and see a rather large black monkey swinging from tree to tree. Incredible.I've been trying to teach my friends the glories of the greatest sport on earth, but they're a little bit slow to catch on. We did finally get a small 2-on-2 game going on in a clearing in the woods, and the guys loved it. I think football would really catch on here if they just had more exposure to it. I heard the NFL Europe is shutting down, so I think its prime time they started up an NFL Indo. This haze was an incredible sight. Actually, I'm quite used to seeing haze everyday, but its pollution-filled smog, not "real" fog like this. Incredible.

Indonesian Farm

When my parents were here, we visited a farm in the northern, hilly part of Bandung. This particular farm is an organic vegetable farm, along with a few extra cows and fish to add some diversity. The cows were fed various odds and ends of plants that the farmer found daily, chopped up, and fed. At 18 months old, these cattle should have been fattened up and ready to eat, but the "scraps" diet they were on didn't lend to quick growth. Here corn is eaten by people, not by cattle. The organic vegetable production is actually quite progressive for Indonesia, where pesticides are overused and abused. Being the middle of dry season, irrigation is being used on nearly a daily basis. This farmer doesn't own his own land or cattle, and he and his family make a combined $40-50 (US) per month.