The Common Carp: Indonesia

June 20th, 2007 | By Barrie | 2 Comments »

The common carp or Cyprinus carpio Linn, named ikan mas in Bahasa Indonesia — though not as stunning as other fish varieties — is a common fish that many people have in their aquariums.

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Textile Industry in Trouble: Central Java

June 4th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Illegal textile imports and dilapidated equipment have put Central Java’s textile industry at risk of losing out to the competition. Head of the Indonesian Textile Association in Central Java, Joko Santoso, said old machinery has slowed production, and that illegal garments entering the country were now meeting around 55 percent of national demand.

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Street Sellers Vital to Ending Poverty: Surakarta, East Java

April 7th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

For Central Java’s Surakarta municipal administration, the job of stopping the number of poor from growing is hard enough, let alone trying to reduce poverty in the area. Twenty percent of the city’s population of 550,000 live in poverty, and tackling the problem is more complex than just dealing with offshoots such as crime.

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Batik in Semarang: Central Java

February 2nd, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

It is often said that you can tell where a person in Java originates from by the batik they wear. That is, the pola, or pattern on the cloth. Each major city in Java has its own design.

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Rural Java and Poverty: Indonesia

December 22nd, 2006 | By Barrie | No Comments »

I was reading the Opinion the other day and there was a fascinating write-up by Wilmar Salim regarding the rural poor in Java. When I was travelling through Java recently, it was more than obvious that the people are suffering and not just because of natural disasters.

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Indonesians in Focus: Karen Elizabeth Sekararum

September 14th, 2006 | By Wombat | No Comments »

Award-winning journalist and writer Duncan Graham of Indonesia Now wrote a fabulous article about Karen Elizabeth Sekararum – a renowned pesinden in Java:
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Pilgrims Climb Gunung Bromo: East Java, Indonesia

September 11th, 2006 | By Wombat | No Comments »

Thousands of pilgrims made the climb up Mount Bromo to take part in the ancient Kasodo rite Thursday, ignoring official warnings to stay away from the active volcano’s crater.
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Visitors go to Mt. Bromo Although on High Alert: East Java, Indonesia

September 9th, 2006 | By Wombat | No Comments »

Mount Bromo, an active volcano near Malang in East Java, has been placed on high alert after increasing signs of volcanic activity that may portend an eruption, an official said.
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