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Experts seek the UNESCO’s recognition for Bawomataluo

Jan 152013

A man demonstrates his stone jump in Bawomataluo, South Nias. (illustration)

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Experts from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) and Japan are introducing Bawomataluo Village in South Nias to the world. The village is expected to be recognized by the UNESCO as a world heritage as the village is famous for jumping stone tradition.

The observer of Nias Cultural Conservation, Etis Nehe, said such recognition would protect cultural value in Bawomataluo, while more people would be invited to conserve the culture. Continue reading »

Finding a Little Piece of Nirvana in Kalimantan

EcoDestination 2 Responses »

Mar 222012

The trip to Indonesia’s pristine rainforests of Kalimantan is just as rewarding as the destination. (JG Photo/Nadia Bintoro)

You haven’t really visited Kalimantan until you’ve visited its rainforests. But the question for most tourists is, how?

While the third-largest island in the world is filled with exuberant tropical rainforests, many of them are remote and not easily accessible from major cities. The ones that can be reached tend to be wildly overgrown with no guided paths. For the casual tourist, this makes seeing the island’s greatest treasures a logistical nightmare.

That’s where Loksado comes in. The tiny village, situated about 171 kilometers from South Kalimantan’s capital Banjarmasin, has become a meeting point for those wanting to explore the wilds of Kalimantan without getting lost in the wilderness. Continue reading »

Bringing Community and Sustainability to Bogor’s Ecotourism

Ecotourism, Uncategorized No Responses »

Feb 122012

BEST 3 Meeting, for Bogor Eco and Sustainable Tourism

Bogor district, located near the capital Jakarta, has cool mountain air, a distinct microclimate and is a weekend retreat for many Jakartans. Bogor is also uniquely supported by distinctive social and cultural conditions, making it ripe for vast tourism development potential. These advantages have inspired many people to pioneer various tourism related businesses around Bogor. Unfortunately, Most of these projects have instead succeeded in creating mass tourism enterprises that tend to be detrimental to the environmental. A number of hotel villas have even been built in areas that should have been marked for preservation. Some of these have created enterprises such as night clubs and bars in sharp contrast to the surrounding serenity and prevailing cultures and religions. Continue reading »

Singular Seafood Taste Sensations at Muara Karang

EcoDestination No Responses »

Jan 202012

Welcome banner at Muara Karang Fish Market

There are many seafood restaurants in Jakarta, but Muara Karang offers a truly different experience for true seafood lovers. But first, a warning: don’t expect your seafood to be served in a comfortable, air conditioned place and seated on padded seats here. Instead, you can expect to partake of the freshest seafood around, right on the edge of the fish market, surrounded by muddy streets and the stench of fish around you.

And, unlike other restaurants where you just wait for your dishes to be served, you are also going to have to select and buy your own fish here. But one thing is a sure bet, freshness is guaranteed because you will have chosen and bought freshly caught fish directly from the fish auction market. Continue reading »

In preparation for ‘ngaben’

Culture No Responses »

Jan 202012

Intricate: A sarcophagus is delicately chiseled.

Preparations for community ngaben or cremations are intense.

Every day, men, women and children head to the community bale banjar to create the specified offerings — to build the great bamboo platforms that will carry the sarcophagi or make endless baskets to carry the flowers, fruits and rice of offerings.

Gusti Mangku Batur of Tengkulak Kaja says the women of the village make thousands of offerings during the 17 days leading up to a cremation.

“We come together from morning until night every day,” says Mangku of the thousands of man hours spent creating the offerings that, like the sarcophagi, will be burnt during the ngaben. Continue reading »

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