Posts filed under 'East Java News'
“You are allowed two pieces only,” said the guide as he set out with a small party on a walking tour of orchards covering the hillsides in Batu, East Java.
The guide meant to invite everyone to help themselves to the fruit ripening on the trees, but it sounded like a warning rather than a warm invitation.
His off-putting remark did not seem to bother the visitors. Some had come from Malaysia, others from North Sumatra and Aceh. They bustled off to find appealing fruit to pluck from the trees.
These tourists were taking a tour available in many locations in the East Java town of Batu, popularly known as Apple Town. Batu has been the place for growing as well as buying, selling and consuming apples. More recently local growers have branched out to harvest other fruits and vegetables, both commercially and for tourists.
Tourism is today a significant part of what goes on here. We’ve all heard of green tourism and ecotourism. Batu offers another variant, agrotourism.
Large agricultural holdings have effectively opened their doors to the public and allowed visitors to observe and learn how the fruits and vegetables they see in markets and on supermarket shelves get there.
But it is not just about buying a ticket and taking a walk. Agrotourism has grown to include sizable hotels and hillside resorts which offer visitors the chance to take a break, breathe fresh mountain air and get closer to nature.
Such hotels may be amply equipped with swimming pools, tennis courts and restaurants but they also offer villa and chalet facilities so guests can get away from it all in a setting independent from hotel crowds and the worst excesses of mass tourism.
The Batu facilities are undoubtedly set up to accommodate groups as well, as reflected in the manner in which outdoor activities are offered.
School and corporate groups find such locations appealing for team-building seminars, workshops and weekend retreats. One popular outdoor attraction for team building, the flying fox or zipline, is even set up in one field to allow participants to fly over an orchard laden with fruit.
Despite these entertaining distractions, the food produced here is the main draw and the raison d’etre for the rest of the facilities.
Batu has been an apple town for a century. As the story goes, the first tree was planted by a Dutchman in 1908.
This version is disputed by another origin tale of a loving couple from Batu. The young man was challenged by the lady he longed for to climb nearby Mount Butak. As he climbed, he came across an apple tree. He brought some fruit back down the mountain as a gift for his intended. From this fruit the first orchards were planted. Local folklore offers one more story in which the apple is an emblem of love.
Whatever its origins, Batu today is a town of much more than just apple orchards. Though there is no denying apples still play a central part in agriculture in these parts.
The guide points out how the trees are specially tied to restrain their growth and prevent their branches from growing too high. Consequently, visitors can easily pick the fruit. Commercial pickers do not have to struggle to get at the fruit.
Besides the apple orchards, there are groves of orange trees and fields of strawberries. Bonsai trees and cacti are extensively displayed for sale, and flower gardens offer up colorful decorative plants to take home.
The climate is cooler in these parts and some trees and plants in this area are suited to the cooler temperatures. There are alpine and evergreen trees that would not look out of place on mountain slopes in Italy, Switzerland or other European locales.
This is, however, clearly East Java, as a quick eyeful of giant succulents and cactuses mingling with the temperate plantings remind us.
The neighboring town of Malang, just some 10 kilometers south, is also growing. The two towns are practically merging into one another.
Despite the growth, East Java hill resorts offer relaxation and a fruitful diversion from the busyness and bustle of modern life.
Source: The Jakarta Post
September 5th, 2008
Gadis Berjilbab Itu Diabadikan dalam Aneka Goresan
Beberapa anggota Komunitas Pelukis Muda Surabaya (Kosmubaya) sering melukis wanita beraneka pose. Bahkan, tak jarang menggambar wanita dalam keadaan nude atau seminude. Pada Ramadan kali ini, aktivitas itu direm. Mereka memilih wanita berkerudung untuk modelnya.
SEKARING RATRI ADANINGGAR
NOVITA Ariyani duduk bersimpuh di depan Galeri Merah Putih, Kompleks Balai Pemuda, kemarin (3/9). Dia mengenakan kerudung merah muda yang dilekatkan di ujung kepalanya dengan bantuan sebuah jepit rambut. Bajunya berwarna hijau, dipadu rok panjang ungu. Penampilannya bak gadis India.
Di depannya, enam pria tampak sibuk di depan media gambar masing-masing. Ada yang memakai kertas, ada yang memilih kanvas. Selama lebih dari sejam, enam pelukis itu, Hardono, Muit Arsa, Budi A.N., Misgeiyanto, Dodi Subagijo, dan Heru Hercules, unjuk kepiawaian mengabadikan wajah dan pose Novita lewat sebuah gambar.
Sebagai pelukis, mereka memang sudah begitu sering menggambar model. Namun, kata mereka, baru kali ini mereka melukis gadis berjilbab. ”Kami hormati Ramadan. Masak mau yang seksi terus,” ujar Muit Arsa, salah seorang pelukis yang menekuni jalur exo-art atau exotic art.
Sesuai namanya, Muit biasa menekuni aliran lukis yang eksotik, bahkan cenderung sensual. Dia kerap menggambar wanita-wanita setengah telanjang atau wanita dengan pose syur.
Menurut Muit, sejatinya tak ada perbedaan antara melukis pada jalur exo-art dengan melukis model berjilbab kemarin. ”Ini memang lebih pada rutinitas. Sama seperti saat melukis bangunan atau aktivitas manusia,” katanya. ”Bagi saya, spirit terbesar tetap saat saya menekuni aliran saya,” tegas pria berambut gondrong itu.
Kemarin, masing-masing pelukis punya hasil karya berbeda. Hardono, misalnya. Dia memakai teknik drawing. Kemarin, dia memakai dua media berbeda. Yakni, kertas gambar dan kertas bekas kalender.
Pada kertas gambar, Hardono menggunakan charcoal, pensil karbon. Di situ, dia melukis wajah sang model. Sedangkan di kertas bekas kalender, dia memakai pensil dermatograph warna biru dan menggambar sketsa seluruh tubuh model.
Muit punya teknik berbeda. Memakai media kanvas dan cat akrilik, goresan tangannya banyak unsur warna cerah. Gayanya kental nuansa ekspresionis.
Selain itu, ada Heru Hercules, pelukis yang juga pengajar renang. Dia menggunakan teknik drawing dengan pensil warna. Kreasinya pun terbilang lain. Model berkerudung tersebut hanya digambar sebagai sosok mungil di pojok kiri atas kertas gambarnya. ”Saya memang ingin menampilkan sosok yang lain dari model berkerudung itu,” ungkapnya.
Demo melukis bersama tersebut merupakan agenda rutin Kosmubaya. Kegiatan itu diadakan tiap bulan sebagai bahan evaluasi anggota komunitas. Selain demo melukis, komunitas yang beranggota sekitar 75 orang itu kerap mengadakan pameran bersama di sejumlah galeri dan beberapa pusat perbelanjaan. (*/dos)
Source: Jawa Pos Online
September 4th, 2008
ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya, East Java
“A turtle is laying eggs! A turtle is laying eggs,” a national park officer shouted, breaking the silence of the night.
Visitors staying at the guard post of the Meru Betiri National Park in Banyuwangi, East Java, rushed to Sukamande beach, about a kilometer away. Some of them carried torches, while others relied on the moonlight to guide the way.
“Please, don’t get too close to the turtle, this will disturb the egg-laying process,” said Slamet, one of the national park officers.
When a turtle is about to lay eggs, he explained, she becomes very sensitive. A little light can make her stressed and give up.
The turtle that laid eggs that night was quite big, about one meter long with 60-centimeter fins on its sides. The head, measuring the size of an adult’s two fists, continually moved to the left and right, as if scanning its surroundings.
After laying the eggs, the turtle moved to the left and made another hole to fool predators and then moved slowly towards the sea to disappear into the rolling waves.
Sukamande beach remains a site where sea turtles lay their eggs. Four species of turtle — the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), olive ridley turtle (Lephidochelys olivacea), hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys Imbricata) and leatherback turtle (Dhermochelys coriacea) — lay their eggs along the three-kilometer-long coast, which covers about 250 hectares.
But only green turtles and olive ridley turtles regularly lay their eggs in the area.
The presence of turtles on Sukamande beach is important not only for the national park, but also for the people of East Java.
“Their presence is proof that the beach is still natural and should be conserved,” Heri Subagiyadi, head of the national park, told The Jakarta Post recently.
He said the park’s management team was working hard to conserve the beach. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Sukamade beach is the biggest’s nesting place for turtles in Java.
Every month, around 20 turtles land on the beach to lay their eggs, with one turtle laying between 100 and 150 eggs on average.
The turtle seen that night on the beach laid 118 eggs.
At least 2,500 eggs can be seen on the beach every month — but only one in 1,000 eggs will mature to become an adult turtle.
Heri said predators like dogs, eagles, snakes and even leopards are the biggest threat to the turtle population.
“But people are the cruelest predators. It is people who often take the eggs to sell them,” Heri said.
Turtle eggs fetch a good price — about Rp.1,500 to 2,000 (16 US cents to 22 cents) each; a higher price than chicken eggs.
In many places, he added, people also hunt adult turtles. This especially happens in Bali, as turtles are a part of local religious ceremonies.
“But that is only an excuse. Our investigation shows that turtles are hunted all the time, not only prior to religious ceremonies. Some sell turtle fat to be used in cosmetics,” Heri said.
The Meru Betiri National Park management, therefore, has deemed it necessary to monitor turtles and their egg-hatching activities.
The process is quite simple: The eggs planted by the turtle mothers are brought to the park post area where they are reburied. In their new location, the turtle eggs are registered and within a week the eggs begin to hatch.
The baby turtles are then released into their natural habitat; the sea.
Until July, the park had released 13,510 baby turtles. In a year, an average of 20,000 eggs hatched under the park’s monitoring system are released.
Yet, despite tight monitoring of the eggs, many are still stolen. The park’s management has estimated that 30 percent of the eggs are stolen every year.
“In 2008 alone, we have reported four theft cases to the police, but until today there has not been any follow up,” Heri said.
Heri said he and his team were determined to make Sukamande beach a turtle conservation area through a turtle conservation management unit, which will concentrate on research, habitat development and turtle egg-hatching activities, as well as public empowerment.
“I have presented this matter before the Directorate of Environmental Service and Ecotourism. I don’t know what the results are yet,” he said.
The park’s management is hoping to receive funding to finance the purchase of a turtle-tagging tool. Carrying a price tag of Rp 24 million, the tool will allow tags to be attached to the turtles, which will then be tracked through signals sent via satellite.
The national park currently spends Rp 15 million per month to pay its six employees — three forest guards, one forest ecosystem controller and two non-structural officers — and cover the cost of fuel for a a power generator and a motorcycle. The six employees are tasked with monitoring the 11-hectare park, which consists of a beach and a forest.
“Under such conditions, we do our best,” said Heri.
Source: The Jakarta Post
September 3rd, 2008
The name marawis - referring to a family of percussion-based music originally from Yemen - comes from one of its component instruments; notably, a small drum.
This music has penetrated many parts of Indonesia, including East Java, South Sumatra and North Sulawesi.
In Indonesia, marawis has mixed with local musical tastes and developed distinctive sounds in each area. In Jakarta, for example, marawis blended with Betawi culture forming a musical ensemble of percussion and lute.
A marawis band often consists of at least 10 musicians, each playing while singing. Usually, all band members are male and wear Muslim clothes with long pants and a peci (skull cap).
Marawis songs are traditionally in the form of hymns praising the Prophet Muhammad. However, more recently marawis songs have also been used to exchange poems or for entertainment at wedding parties.
Marawis music produces three types of tunes; Zafin, Sarah and Zaife.
Zafin has a slower and more flowing rhythm suitable for hymns about the Prophet and Malay songs, whereas Sarah and Zaife are more upbeat and are often played energetically. Sometimes, people dance to these tunes to lift the mood at gatherings.
During Ramadan, marawis is very popular when it comes time to break the fast. However, numbers of marawis groups are diminishing in Indonesia and are only preserved in a few regions, including Jakarta.
Text from various sources
Source: The Jakarta Post
September 2nd, 2008
By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta,(ANTARA News) - Prices of basic necessaries in various cities in Indonesia such as in Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi are moving upward in the face of the fasting month which starts on Monday (Sept 1).
In the meantime, the government has guaranteed that stocks of various essential commodities such as rice, eggs, beef and chickens are enough to meet the need during this year`s religious festivities of Idul Fitri, Idul Adha, Christmas, and New Year.
“We previously doubted the availability of enough stocks but after we checked it in the market, we found that the stocks are enough,” Agriculture Minister Anton Apriantono said over the weekend.
The minister said in order to ensure the availability of basic necessaries, he collected information from regional governments, met with associations food retailers and went to the market to check stocks.
The results of the Ministry of Agriculture`s field inspections showed that food stocks in the face of the religious holidays in 2009 were enough.
Rice stocks reached 35,484.8 thousand tons exceeding the need for 31,799 tons, sugar 6,146.4 thousand tons surpassing the need for 4,842.3 thousand tons, cooking oil 6,216.3 thousand tons well over the need for 3,990.6 thousand tons and peanut 760 thousand tons slightly above the need for 754.1 thousand tons. Chicken meat, beef and egg stocks are also enough.
The government is able to guarantee enough stocks thanks to the country`s increasing food production over the past several years.
Head of national food resilience affairs at the agriculture ministry Dr Achmad Suryana said the average annual production increase in the last four years for rice was 2.6 percent, corn 7.6 percent, soybean 1.4 percent, cassava 1.7 percent, palm oil 18.4 percent, sugar 21.9 percent, beef 6.5 percent, chicken 17.4 percent, chicken eggs 9.2 percent and fish 6.7 percent.
He also predicted that food production in 2008 would be higher than in 2007. The outputs of various foods in 2008 would be paddy 59.9 million tons of dried milled rice, corn 14.9 million tons, sugar 4.5 million tons, crude palm oil (CPO) 19.8 million tons and chicken 1.5 million tons.
While their stocks are enough, basic commodities are having prices move upward in Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and South Sulawesi as the country`s Muslims begin the fasting month of Ramadan.
“Prices of essential commodities are sky-rocketing due to the high demand for the goods,” Rasman (45), a trader in the Rangkasbitung market, Lebak district, Banten, said.
Prices of a number of commodities in Lebak are increasing in the face of the fasting month. The price of tomato for example has increased from Rp2000 a kg to Rp4000, pea nut from Rp12,000 to Rp13,000 per kg, `kemiri` (fruit of aleurites moluccana tree) from Rp15,000 to Rp18,000 per kg and rice from Rp5,000 to Rp5,500 a kg.
In East Java, particularly in the traditional market of Sidoarjo district, the price on Saturday of chicken eggs increased from Rp12,000 per kg to Rp14,500, chicken meat from Rp20,000 per kg to Rp22,000, coconut from Rp4,000 each to Rp8,000, rice from Rp5,500 per kg to Rp5,700 and LPG in 12-kg cylinders from Rp63,000 to Rp75,000.
“The price of chicken meat has been increasing since two weeks ago. It almost increases every day,” Juariyah, a trader in the Genteng traditional market in Surabaya said.
Prices on other commodities such as rice, chicken eggs, union, garlic, potato and beef are also escalating, she said.
In North Sumatra, traders also confirmed the increase in the prices of basic necessaries. They said prices had over the past two days increased by about 12 percent.
“Prices of slaughtered chickens increased from Rp22,000 each to Rp25,000 and beef from Rp60,000 per kg to Rp70,000,” Mahdi a trader in a Medan Market, said on Saturday.
The same upward trend in the prices of basic commodities are also taking place in Samarinda, East Kalimantan. Essential commodity prices in the province increased by about 10 to 15 percent.
Laksmi Edmond of the local trade and industry office said the price increase was still relatively reasonable. “We still tolerate an increase of about 20 percent provided that we still have stocks,” she added.
In the meantime, the prices of basic commodities in Makassar, South Sulawesi, have been increasing over the past two days. The price of chickens as monitored in the Toddopuli and Terong markets increased from Rp30,000 per head to Rp35,000, beef from Rp40,000 to Rp45,000-Rp50,000, chicken eggs from Rp14,000 per kg to Rp15,000, cooking oil from Rp8,000 per liter to Rp9,500 and palm sugar from Rp6,000 per kg to Rp8,000.
In anticipation of the price increases of various basic commodities in the face of the fasting month and other religious festivities, the Ministry of Trade urged regional administrations to organize cheap markets in their respective province.
The Ministry of Trade has established cooperation with the Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo) as well as sugar and cooking oil producers to help the organization of the cheap markets with regional governments.
“We have instructed regional governments to actively launch cheap markets. We hope that they would start organizing cheap commodity markets at the end of August,” Gunaryo, director for market development and distribution affairs of the Directorate General for Domestic Trade of the Trade Ministry, said last week.(*)
COPYRIGHT © 2008
Source: ANTARA News
September 1st, 2008
Di Surabaya ada begitu banyak seniman mumpuni. Mereka tak hanya berkiprah di wilayah kota. Kepiawaian olah seni mereka pun telah terbukti di berbagai ajang di luar negeri. Bermodal seni, mereka menjelajah berbagai negeri.
—
HERI Prasetyo sangat ”berjodoh” dengan Australia. Beberapa kali pria bernama ”keren” Heri Lentho itu terbang ke Negeri Kanguru tersebut. Dia kali pertama unjuk kebolehan menari di Australia pada 1996.
Ketika itu, Heri terbang ke benua selatan tersebut bersama Achmad Fauzi dan Meimura, koleganya di bidang seni. Heri, pria kelahiran Malang, 13 Mei 1967 itu, diundang mengisi acara ArtRage Festival di Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Australia. Pada even tahunan di Australia Barat tersebut, dia mengusung tari bertajuk Upacara.
Tahun berikutnya, pria berkepala plontos itu kembali tampil di festival tersebut. Dia datang bersama seniman Syaiful Hajar. Mereka menghadirkan pertunjukan seni instalasi berjudul Rakus. ”Saya menjadi performer-nya,” kata lulusan pendidikan seni tari Institut Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan (IKIP) Surabaya (sekarang Universitas Negeri Surabaya) tersebut.
Rakus adalah pertunjukan yang tidak biasa. Syaiful menampilkan sebuah patung torso berukuran besar berisi daging busuk. Patung tersebut ditempatkan di tengah-tengah labirin dan Heri menari di labirin itu. ”Kami ingin menyampaikan korupsi di Indonesia,” jelasnya.
”Festival itu termasuk ajang seni pinggiran. Meski begitu, kemasannya menarik dan terkonsep,” ungkap Heri yang tampil selama seminggu berturut-turut di festival itu.
Selain Australia, sebelumnya karya tari Heri pernah singgah ke Vancouver, Kanada, 1995. Bersama akademi balet Dewi, Heri menampilkan balet kontemporer Dwi Warna.
Sayang, lantaran keterbatasan dana, hanya karya Heri yang melanglang ke negeri berlambang daun maple itu. Heri sendiri harus tinggal di tanah air. ”Nggak masalah buat saya. Yang penting saya bisa menitipkan karya hingga ke negeri orang,” ujar pria yang mengenal dunia tari sejak usia 15 tahun tersebut.
Undangan tampil di berbagai festival mancanegara itu tak mampir begitu saja. Ada kisah kerja keras di balik pembangunan jaringan ke luar negeri tersebut.
Awalnya adalah kegelisahan Heri ketika banyak yang melabeli Surabaya sebagai kota yang ”malas’berkesenian”.’Ingin mengubah image tersebut, bersama Achmad Fauzi dan Arif Rofiq, dia mengadakan Kiat Tari pada 1992. Itu merupakan wadah para seniman tari untuk saling menunjukkan kreasi tari dan berdialog. Kegiatan tersebut mengundang seluruh seniman Jawa Timur untuk berpartisipasi. Kiat Tari mendapat apresiasi positif.
Bahkan, gaung kegiatan itu terdengar hingga ibu kota dan tercium Sal Murgianto, salah seorang kritikus tari yang tinggal di Jakarta. Dari Sal, Heri dikenalkan kepada Crissy Parrot, seniman tari asal Australia. ”Hubungan kami semakin dekat sejak Surabaya dan Perth menjalin sister city,” jelasnya.
Hubungan baik itu ditindaklanjuti dengan undangan Heri ke ArtRage Festival di Perth, Australia. ”Kami saling bergiliran mengundang. Ketika Festival Seni Surabaya dihelat, kami juga mengundang seniman-seniman Australia,” jelas suami Siti Khamimah tersebut. Berawal dari situlah jaringan internasional terbuka.
Lulusan SMAN 5 Malang itu juga membangun jaringan kesenian di Jakarta, Bandung, Solo, dan Bali. Menurut dia, kota-kota tersebut mempunyai kantong-kantong kesenian yang cukup besar di Indonesia.
Heri pun berkeliling ke seluruh kota di Indonesia menampilkan tari kreasinya. Bahkan, pria yang pernah menjadi dosen tari di sebuah perguruan tinggi negeri tersebut sengaja memilih tempat-tempat yang tidak biasa untuk menggelar pertunjukan kesenian. ”Saya memilih menggelar pertunjukan di hutan, jalan raya, bahkan di kereta api. Saya pernah menggelar tari di sebuah kereta api jurusan Surabaya-Blitar,”’ungkapnya.
Kerja kerasnya tidak sia-sia. Namanya dikenal seniman-seniman di seluruh pelosok Indonesia. ”Melihat kiprah saya, banyak rekan seniman yang menyarankan agar saya membuat festival Heri Lentho,” kata Heri.
Julukan Lentho, penganan dari singkong yang digoreng, itu muncul bukan lantaran Heri berkepala botak. Heri dijuluki Lentho karena itu adalah judul salah satu karyanya yang terkenal.
Namun, ide festival tersebut tak bisa diwujudkan Heri. Sebab, kata dia, masyarakat Surabaya masih belum mengenal seniman dari kiprahnya, melainkan dari nama besarnya. Sementara Heri hanya dikenal di kalangan seniman. Merasa belum pantas menggunakan namanya sebagai sebuah nama festival, Heri menggagas nama Cak Durasim sebagai nama festival. Akhirnya tercetuslah Festival Cak Durasim (FCD) pada 2001.
Heri mengemas FCD sebagai festival yang merakyat. Promosi dan sosialisasi dilakukan gencar-gencaran. Dia datang ke media, membawa seniman ke sekolah-sekolah. Membuat atraksi di jalan raya. FCD pun dikenal di Kota Surabaya. ”Saya ingin kesenian ini dinikmati masyarakat luas mulai remaja hingga kaum lansia. Jangan sampai kesenian hanya dilihat seniman dan teman-temannya,” tegasnya.
Sukses membuat FCD membuat Heri Lentho dilirik oleh sebuah universitas di Australia. Dia mendapat beasiswa untuk kuliah singkat mengenai stage management. Namun, lagi-lagi karena tingginya biaya, kuliah singkat itu tak bias dihelat di Australia. Pelaksanaannya di Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia (STSI) Solo. Heri menjadi lulusan terbaik. Sejak saat itu, kiprahnya di dunia manajemen panggung semakin luas.
Berbagai festival dia garap. Di antaranya, Festival Budaya Jawa Timur, Kahyangan Arts Festival, G-Walk Percussion Festival, Surabaya Dance Festival, serta membantu beberapa pertunjukan tari, musik, dan teater dari kelompok kesenian dari luar Provinsi Jawa Timur yang akan tampil di Surabaya.
Dia menggelar pentas tari Korea, Dance of the Millenium, Journey of A Soul dengan koreografer Kook, Soo Ho DIDIM Dance Company di Gedung Cak Durasim, Taman Budaya Jawa Timur, 2005. Heri juga mengadakan pertunjukan tari enam Negara (Hongkong, Indonesia, Korea Selatan, Meksiko, Singapura, dan Thailand) dengan judul MATA. Itu merupakan pertunjukan yang dihasilkan oleh Asian-Central America Dance Exchange pada 2007. Heri juga ditunjuk untuk menghadiri Australian Performing Arts Market pada 2002.
Ada satu cita-cita Heri yang belum terwujud. Dengan jaringan yang sudah dibangun sekarang ini, dia berharap lebih banyak seniman local yang bisa berkiprah di dunia internasional. ”Dengan begitu, mata dunia pun lebih banyak melihat bahwa Surabaya banyak menyimpan bakat-bakat luar biasa,” ujarnya. (ign/dos)
Source: Jawa Pos Online
September 1st, 2008
Keberhasilan Surabaya dalam pengelolaan sampah tak hanya dipaparkan dalam International Workshop on Community Based Solid Waste Management and Supporting National Policies. Sebagian besar delegasi yang hadir dari lima negara dan sepuluh kota di Indonesia juga diajak melihat langsung pengolahan sampah dan menanam pohon bersama.
Kunjungan pertama adalah melihat cara kerja komposting sampah di Taman Flora, Bratang. Sekitar pukul 07.00, para delegasi itu tiba di sana. Hadir pula Kepala Bappeko Tri Rismahrini, Ketua Tim Penggerak PKK Dyah Katarina, serta Kepala Dinas Kebersihan dan Pertamanan (DKP) Hidayat Syah.
Di Taman Flora, DKP sudah menyediakan lubang dan berbagai jenis pohon untuk ditanam. Lubang yang tersedia sudah ditandai dengan tulisan nama para delegasi dari negara asing maupun perwakilan pemerintah kota di Indonesia.
Iwai Nobuo, perwakilan JICA untuk Indonesia, hanya manggut-manggut ketika diajari petugas DKP cara mencangkul. Setelah menanam pohon bersama, mereka diperlihatkan pembuatan kompos oleh petugas DKP.
Hidayat menjelaskan, hasil pembuatan kompos tersebut dibagikan kepada kampung-kampung peserta program Surabaya Green and Clean. “Selain itu, kami menyosialisasikan pembuatan komposter kepada warga,” jelasnya.
Dari Taman Flora, peserta diajak keliling ke Kelurahan Sonokawijenan, Sukomanunggal. Di situ, warga menunjukkan pembuatan kompos dan memamerkan aneka produk daur ulang. Para delegasi hanya berdecak kagum ketika dijelaskan bahwa di Surabaya ada sekitar 500 kampung yang kondisinya mirip dengan Sonokawijenan. “Wow, it’s beautiful,” ucap mereka.
Terakhir, mereka diajak berkunjung ke SD St Theresia. Dipilihnya SD tersebut lantaran mereka berhasil meraih adiwiyata (penghargaan sekolah berbasis lingkungan) dari pemerintah pusat. Dari SD St Theresia, peserta workshop kembali ke Novotel, tempat acara itu dihelat. Di sana, tim Unilever Peduli dan PT Telkom membeber upaya-upaya yang dilakukan oleh pemkot bersama mereka untuk mengatasi persoalan sampah di kota ini. “Artinya, komitmen bersama sangat penting untuk mengatasi persoalan sampah,” jelas Nunuk Maghfiroh, salah seorang panitia Kampungku Bersih Surabaya Green and Clean 2008 dari Unilever Peduli.
Mohammed Anwar Hussain, delegasi dari Dhaka, Bangladesh, juga membeber persoalan sampah di kotanya. Dia menyebutkan tiga prioritas penanganan sampah di Dhaka. Yaitu, sampah rumah tangga, industri, dan medis. “Selama ini, kami membangun kerja sama dengan stakeholder,” paparnya. Hanya, berbagai program yang dicanangkan tersebut belum berjalan optimal. (kit/fat)
Source: Jawa Pos Online
August 29th, 2008
Agnes Winarti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Amassed in a large tent and shielded from the sun’s scorching heat, some 500 convicted substance abusers sat tapping their chests, then their heads and faces, while listening to a therapist’s instructions.
“Feel your pain and your addiction. Focus your mind on them. Believe that you can be cured from within,” therapist Ahmad Faiz Zainuddin told his audience Tuesday at the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta.
“Say it clearly: Although I am sick, I am willing to accept my illness and I surrender to You, God, so that you will heal me,” Faiz continued, while the prisoners around him could be heard murmuring and mimicking.
Since 2005, Faiz has been promoting an instant healing therapy known as the Spiritual Emotional Freedom Technique (SEFT), said to treat mental and physical illnesses and addictions through a combination of prayer and needleless acupuncture using finger-tapping on the body’s pressure points.
According to Faiz, SEFT has been known as a universal and instant healing aid, with an 80 percent recovery rate for patients in the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom over the past 20 years.
“It can be used to treat various illnesses, as all illness — we believe — is rooted in the same cause: the disruption of the body’s energy system,” he added.
“With this method, anyone can independently heal themselves,” said Faiz, a former student of psychology at Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java.
SEFT combines 14 different therapy methods, including behavioral and spiritual therapy, hypnosis, affirmative suggestion and psychoanalysis, he added.
It is compatible with other types of treatment usually offered to prisoners with substance abuse problems, including methadone and community therapy, he said.
“About 80 percent of the 2,860 prisoners here are drug users and addicts. This is a simple and easy-to-use therapy, which we hope prisoners can use to cure themselves,” said Tribowo, head of prisoner management at Cipinang Penitentiary.
In less than two hours, Faiz, founder of the PT LOGOS Institute, introduced prisoners to the therapy, which he said was self-applicable and capable of being completed within 5 to 10 minutes.
Johan, one of several prisoners who came forward to receive the therapy, remarked, “The session is too short. I wish it was more than just once. It would be better if it were done once a week, so I could learn to do it myself.”
Saying he hoped to quit smoking, he received nine taps over various parts of his body, including the left portion of his chest, his head, forehead and face, from one of the 40 SEFT therapists present.
Minutes later, with a cigarette between his lips and seemingly awestruck, the convicted drug-user who has served two years in prison, remarked, “It doesn’t taste as pleasant as before. In fact, it’s tasteless. I hope I really can quit smoking this way.”
Therapist Faiz said he planned to hold demonstrations at other penitentiaries, as well as in low-income areas around the city, such as informal housing settlements, to help introduce the technique.
“We will use 25 convicts in this penitentiary as a sample, to begin providing SEFT treatment once a week,” he added.
Cipinang Penitentiary is the second correctional facility to host an introduction to SEFT therapy, following Medaeng Penitentiary in Surabaya, East Java, he said.
SEFT has been performed on some 12,000 individuals, a fourth of whom went on to become certified therapists by paying Rp 3.75 million (US$412) for a two-day training session.
Source: The Jakarta Post
August 29th, 2008
Persaingan babak 50 besar tidak hanya terfokus pada masalah kebersihan. Sejumlah RT juga berlomba-lomba mempercantik gapura masing-masing. Maklum, panitia menyatakan bahwa kampung yang memiliki gapura dari bahan daur ulang sampah akan mendapat nilai tersendiri.
Salah satu gapura cantik itu berada di RT 4 RW 1 Jetis Wetan, Kelurahan Margorejo. Gapura kampung yang terletak di selatan Rumah Sakit TNI-AL dr Ramelan itu bertema Sunset in Bali.
Menurut Ika Yuni, koordinator kader lingkungan RT 4, tema itu diambil karena warga di kampungnya ingin merasakan nuansa Bali pada lomba green and clean. ”Kita sih belum pernah ke Bali, tapi paling nggak ngerasain nuansanya dulu,” katanya lantas tersenyum.
Untuk mendapatkan nuansa itu, gapura yang sudah ada ditempeli aksesori berbentuk bunga dari gelas dan botol bekas air mineral. Lalu, aksesori itu dicat berwarna-warni.
Untuk menambah nuansa Bali, kedua sisi gapura dibikin payung yang bentuknya mirip gapura di Bali. Namun, lagi-lagi bahan payung itu dari bekas bungkus mi instan dan deterjen pembersih pakaian. ”Untuk kerangkanya, kami gunakan bambu dan bekas tutup cat ukuran 5 kilogram,” katanya.
Gapura lain yang tak kalah menarik tampak di RT 7 RW 3 Kelurahan Manyar Sabrangan. Warga di kampung itu membuat gapura dengan tema sura dan buaya. Bahannya kertas bekas sak semen.
Ada juga gapura mirip bambu runcing hijau di RT 2 RW 4 Kelurahan Penjaringan Sari. Jika dilihat sepintas, gapura itu tampak terbuat dari bambu asli. Tapi, jika dicermati, bambu-bambu itu ternyata palsu. ”Bahan bambu itu terbuat dari gelondongan karton bekas digital printing,” ujar Ketua RT 2 Muhammad Budi Widajanto. Gapura bambu setinggi 3 meter itu, menurut Budi, dibangun sejak 15 Agustus lalu. Butuh waktu empat hari untuk menyelesaikannya.(dan/obi/oni)
Source: Jawa Pos Online
August 28th, 2008
Niken Prathivi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger stopped off in Jakarta on Tuesday for another round of coaching following a clinic in Surabaya, complimenting Indonesia’s basketball potential in the process.
“Indonesian players certainly have talent. If they train hard and get good facilities, I believe they can develop well,” said the NBA player at the Bung Karno sports complex basketball hall on Tuesday.
Granger gave playing tips to 20 young players from local clubs in a DHL-NBA coaching session.
“It’s really great to meet young Indonesian players,” the 25-year-old Granger told the press before starting the session.
“I think the (coaching clinic) session will be memorable for them, meeting an NBA player in person. Hopefully, today’s experience can encourage them in playing better basketball in the future,” he added.
On his first trip to Indonesia, Granger spent a night in Surabaya to watch students play in a Deteksi Basketball League game before heading to Jakarta.
Starting his professional career as a Pacer in the 2005-2006 season, Granger led the team in scoring with an average of 19.6 points per game and started all 80 games he appeared in during the 2007-2008 schedule.
Although the Pacers were not competitive with the best teams this year, Granger promised they would serve up a better performance next season.
“We ran last year. Of course, we will run again next season. And even though the pressure is high, I believe we can make it if we spend more time together (practicing),” he said.
He tipped last season’s league champion Boston Celtics and runners-up Los Angeles Lakers to continue winning next year.
Granger may not be as familiar to Indonesians as the likes of Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan, but the kids said they were excited to be part of the program.
“I really enjoyed the session. It’s great to be trained by him. I’d love to be a professional player someday,” said eighth grader Rilo, 12, who showed quick and precise shooting during the session.
Together with Dina, 10, Dianita, 10, and Alisha, 7, Rilo plays in Buls basketball club in Jakarta.
Ariyani, 15, from Gemaria basketball club, Jakarta, said she was excited to tell her schoolmates about her experience.
“I’m really happy with Danny’s session,” said Ariyani, who got the opportunity to join the program after winning a recent regional tournament. “Tomorrow, I’ll let all my schoolmates know about this,” she said with a big grin, adding that she would be rooting for the Celtics next season.
Source: The Jakarta Post
August 27th, 2008
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