Indonesians in Focus: Basrial Koto

October 25th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

West Sumatrans have been known as commercially minded and savvy traders for a very long time. Many started without strong financial or educational backgrounds, so it has been their gritty determination on which they have built their reputation. Basrial Koto is one such Sumatran.

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Denpasar Expands its City Tours: Bali

October 25th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

The Denpasar administration has announced plans to include more destinations in the city tour that it has been running since 1999. There are currently 10 destinations on the tour, which is managed by Denpasar’s tourism office, including the Art Center, Bali Museum, Le Mayeur Museum, Maospahit Temple, Badung-Kumbasari market and Sanur beach.

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Authorities Prepare for Kelud Eruption: East Java

October 24th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Local authorities in several regencies around Mt. Kelud have increased efforts to prepare residents for an imminent volcanic eruption. Malang administration began distributing masks to residents of eight villages within the danger zone approximately ten kilometers from the peak. The villages are Baturetno, Pagersari, Sidodadi, Ngantru, Pandansari, Bayem, Pondok Agung and Sukosari as the article in the Jakarta Post explains.

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Forest Preservers Demand Rewards: Wonogiri, Central Java

October 24th, 2007 | By Barrie | 1 Comment »

Farmers who are actively involved in the sustainable development of community-based forests in Wonogiri, Central Java, say they are not reaping the rewards of their hard work and dedication. “We used to experience water shortages every dry season. But now things are much better due to the formation of new springs that are constantly replenished by natural rainfall,” Mulyono, the chairman of one of the three community-based forest units in Wonogiri, Central Java, said.

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Bali Safari and Marine Park: Bali

October 24th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Bali Safari and Marine Park, to be officially opened Wednesday in Cucukan, will be Taman Safari’s best park to date, marketing manager Esther Manansang said. And she should know. Esther, like many of Taman Safari’s department heads, was born into the business.

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Tour de Indonesia Starts in Bali

October 24th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

The international Tour de Indonesia cycling race will start in Bali in November, with cyclists set to pedal through Denpasar, Buleleng and Gilimanuk on their way to Jakarta. Freddie Tutuarima from the event’s organizing committee said hundreds of athletes from 14 countries were expected to take part in this year’s event.

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Plantations Abandoned Near Mount Kelud: East Java

October 24th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Indonesian workers around the rumbling Mount Kelud volcano in East Java are unable to harvest cloves and coffee because they are being evacuated from plantations, a plantation firm official said. Ade Prasetyo, a manager at state-owned PTPN XII which has plantations of coffee, cacao, clove and various woods, said the company had evacuated more than 200 workers from three of its seven plantations to safer areas. The total area of the three plantations — which produce coffee, cloves and various woods — is 1,200 hectares. The company has seven plantation areas, occupying a total of 3,952 hectares and employing 700 workers.

Activists Oppose Reforestation Fund: Denpasar, Bali

October 23rd, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Tens of environmental activists staged a peaceful rally here on Tuesday to protest against the Indonesian government`s plan to seek more money from developed nations to reforest its lost tropical woodland. The demonstrators, most of them members of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) earlier marched from the road in front of Udayana University campus to Jl Dewi Sartika intersection where they staged a one-hour oration opposing the plan as the Antara News explains.

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Bali Needs to Register Cultural Assets

October 23rd, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik has asked the Balinese to protect their cultural assets by registering them as intellectual property. Indonesia recently became embroiled in a spat with Malaysia over that country’s use of the folk song Rasa Sayange, which Indonesia claims as its own. Malaysia was also reported to have registered batik products as its own cultural assets according to the Jakarta Post.

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Arid Land Becomes Flourishing Ecosystem: Wonogiri, Central Java

October 23rd, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Amid reports of the environmentally costly exploitation of forest resources across the country, good news comes from a handful of villages in Java. Farmers in Wonogiri and Sukoharjo in Central Java, as well as Gunungkidul in Yogyakarta, have managed to convert arid and seemingly barren land into a flourishing ecosystem. Thousands of trees — mostly teak and mahogany — are thriving among the limestone cliffs and shallow caves of these hilly areas. The big trees are shoehorned in among rocks. “Each tree’s root system is wound through the cracks in the cliff,” said Siman, the manager of one of the five community organizations that manages forest resources in the three regencies.

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