Sailing south on the west coast of Malaysia from Langkawi

Tuesday may 3 2011

Admiral cove marina pool Port Dickson

We are motor sailing at 5knots down the west coast of Malaysia. It is 9.21 am and we are 50 miles from port Klang. Last night we anchored on the east coast of the resort island of Pangkor off the town of Lumut. We had an excellent daylight run of 60 miles from Penang reaching 7 knots in a westerly wind of 15knots.

We would like to reach Port Klang before dark and at the moment we are 0.7 knots (per hour) behind schedule hoping that the wind will change from a South easterly to a westerly this afternoon.


Last night at 1.30 am we had a thunderstorm that that roused us from our sleep to close the hatches and roll down the plastic protectors in the cockpit.


WE left at 5.00am when it was pitch black and headed toward the red light that would take us clear of the Semilan rocks.

 We cautiously motored out into the blackness looking for the light under a starless night .Each clap of thunder was followed by a flash of lightening . With each flash of lightening we could make out the silhouette of the rocks.


Out of the darkness fishing boats would appear, only switching on their lights as they got close. The lightening bolts appeared as thick as tree stumps as they made a dash from the clouds to the sea.I thought about putting our earth wire over the side but then


I though that would be like trying to fend off the Queen Mary with a walking stick!


In the marina there was a lot of discussion about lightening. Several large catamarans have been hit. The effect was to burn bullet holes in the hulls next to the chain plates.


Some one commented that both the catamarans had those lightening conductors at the top of the mast that look like silver Christmas trees. Obviously they were effective in conducting the lightening down the mast, to the chain plates and then out burnt their way out through the fiberglass hulls.


If you sustained a direct hit then life would be all over. But If you received a secondary hit then most of your electrical equipment would be damaged in some way or another.


I recall recently a guy was killed by lightening while playing golf. Now if he had been using wooden clubs he may still be alive. Who knows?.


Our fridge is playing up .A loose connection I think, but which one? It is still cold because I have just had a beer but we have to think about which bit of frozen meat to eat for lunch. It will be either a steak or some of the remaining pork sausages.


Yesterday we made a chicken curry with broccoli and coconut milk. It was superb. It was so good that we ate the remains last night after I fitted our spare bilge pump. That is another job to go on the list.


The crew just interrupted me .What little wind there was is no more and the jib is flapping. We rolled it in until the wind returns.


Well what have we got to look forward to today?


A shower!. At lunch time we usually take off our clothes and go to the cockpit where we have a garden spray of 11 litres. One pumps while the other receives the water and then we take turns lathering ourselves and rinsing clean. WE then just sit naked while the wind blows us dry while we think about lunch and who is going to prepare it.

Just out of the oven

Reading is our favourite pastime .15 books should last us two weeks in clam weather and three weeks or more in rough weather. We swap books at the marina and buy some secondhand shops. I have just finished two racy crime mysteries and have just begun “White tiger’ by Aravind Adiga


The white tiger


A thinking man


And entrepreneur


Living in the world’s centre of Technology and Outsourcing


Electronis City phase 1 (just off Hosur main road)


Bangalore India






Winner of the Man Booker prize 2008






I will tell you about the book later.


Stop press: Osama bin laden has been shot dead by and American seal team. No pictures, buried at sea according to Muslim custom. Americans are so proper arn’t they. They never say toilet but powder room is ok.


Well I guess we will hear all about it in time. Meanwhile the democratic machine will be milking the story for Obama ,I guess he will visit ground zero and the navy seal headquarters and those voters who thought he was on the nose will now see him a hero. Well that’s politics; perception is everything, understanding takes effort.






We are nearing Pangor island and I have to look for the marker of the entrance channel.



TheNorth light marking the entrance to the channel to Pangor Island



There it is a fly speck on the horizon, right on course.


Several hours later we passed it doing 7 knots thanks to the tide, several ships are at anchor and a Cruise liner passed us coming out from Lumut. By 5.00 pm we were motoring down the channel and I could sea white caps facing us, indicating that the tide had changed and the current was against us. Now we are down to 4 knots.


Now we are looking for somewhere to anchor for the night. We passed the exclusive French resort (a favourite of the late Pavorotti) and I could sea on the chart that the there was an area of 10 meters just past the resort. We dropped the sails and cut the engine revs and slowly approached the shore. The depth sounder read 10 meters then


8, 7, 6 ,5.5 CLUNK we hit a rock I quickly reversed clear, no damage apart from my ego.

Pavorotti's favourite Pangor Island Malaysia

We retreated to the channel and continued south and anchored behind a large power boat in 7 meters.


After a quick drink I inspected the bilge, there was some water in it and I switched on the bilge pump. Nothing happened. It has stopped working. I pulled the spare bilge pump out which is larger and of course the hose would not fit. I spent the next hour in the fading light finding bits of hose and connecting them and then lowering the new bilge pump down. While it was too big to go to the bottom it went down far enough to be below the water level and when I flicked the switch it worked.


Now for a cold beer, that’s funny they are not as cold as they were at lunch time.


Well I will look at it tomorrow. Now for some noodles and vegetables.






WE woke at 5.00am to begin our long journey to port Kelang. After Coffee and studying the chart we raised the anchor and gently motored at 115 degrees to clear a shallow patch and then headed at 140 degrees looking out for a red flashing light that would take us clear of the Sembilan rocks. There were black clouds ahead and lightening flashes in the distance that illuminated the rocks and some islands in the distance.

The bolts of lightening were as thick as tree stumps. It was a good job that they were moving away from us



May 14th Sat


It is a grey morning ,completely windless with very poor visibility ,I can just make out five of the many ships heading north through the Malacca straits 4 miles to the west of our track south to Malacca.


WE have been in the luxurious Admiral cove marina for a week. The fridge stopped working and the refrigeration mechanic who looked at it diagnosed that the compressor was not working. We ordered a new one but delivery would be two weeks.


We spent our days doing small jobs such as fitting a new bilge pump, new float switch,

Admiral Cove Marina Port Dickson

Greasing the shaft bearing, cleaning the hull , putting some fuel additive in the tank to stop bacteria growing and washing our clothes.


I found a stainless steel nut on the deck near the mast. It must of come from somewhere. I thought it was from one of the bolts holding the radar on to the mast.


Annick hoisted me up the mast but everything was ok .I looked up at the rigging, hoping it was not from there. I then looked carefully around at every fitting close to where I found the nut. Ah Ah on the boom there are two hooks near the mast that are used when reefing the main sail. A bolt secures these hooks. The nut had vibrated of the end of the bolt. I put it back together with some “Locktight” a kind of glue that stops nuts from working loose.


By 10,30 each day we were at the pool in the shade of coconut palms and then reading.


Some times we would have lunch on the boat and other times at the restaurant .Each day we kept busy white waiting for the new compressor to arrive.






One day we hired a car and drove to Malacca where in amongst a swathe of high rise development and shopping centers we found what we were looking for.


The old part of the town, streets of Chinese shop houses and a few Portuguese store houses. All of the houses are freshly painted and the streets are strictly non smoking.


In amongst the tourist shops, antique shops and small grocery stores selling dried noodles are some attractive restaurants. We sampled the Chinese/Portuguese chicken,


At the time it was delicious but an hour later while in a glitzy shopping centre a buzz with young Chinese/Malay students with their hair dyed blond I got that familiar feeling that things were not right with my stomach. I just made it through the mouse maze to the toilet.


WE managed to get back to Port Dixon with one pit stop. For dinner we went to the Port Dixon yacht club. A club in the British tradition, without boats but an excellent dining room, swimming pool and tennis courts looking out over the sea. The food was excellent


and remained with me this time.


After calling Mr. Go each day to find out when the part was going to arrive I spent the day writing my blog www.letterfromindonesia.com. And sent it off to a few friends .


I got An instant reply from Bruce, it was a shot question. “are you sure the compressor is the problem?”


I looked at the fridge again, apart from the compressor and a cooling radiator there was a black box, some kind of regulator or controller. I recall seeing a spare one in one of the boxes of tools and bits and pieces.


I hunted for it and then carefully changed the wires from the old one to the new one and switched on the fridge. My God it works ! I went for a swim for an hour before I was sure. Lifting the lid of the freezer I could see ice forming on the metal plate.


Well we can leave. I telephoned Mr. Go to tell him that his staff did nor diagnose the problem correctly and I no longer needed the new compressor.


We left the marina at sun rise the nest day.

An Indonesian cargo boat from Sumatra

Moving on to the yacht "Jalan Jalan"

Cruising in Malaysia - The begining

s.v. Jalan Jalan

Sitting in the marina at the luxury holiday resort of Rebak island( owned by the daughter of previous PM of Malaysia ) the weather is both warm and kind. We have not had rain for a week and each day we attend to those little jobs such as making mosquito nets for the windows, Varnishing the oars of the dingy and whipping the new mooring line that we purchased especially for the marina in Penang where masts can rock 90 degrees with the swell from the ferries.

The main Saloon

We have made an inventory of the food stores and created a shopping list for tomorrows trip to town. The water tanks have been filled and a gas bottle has been taken to the marina office for refilling. I changed the oil and oil filter in the Yanmar diesel and applied some grease to the Volvo stern gland.

The object of cruising is to enjoy the journey and the adventure. To achieve this a cruising boat is somewhat different from a racing yacht.

Lunch

One needs to have an electric windlass to conserve energy when anchoring, an automatic pilot to steer when you are tired and a freezer to keep some beer cold as well as some meat . It goes without saying that the cabin should be dry. In the tropics it is imperative that you have shade in the cockpit and some refuge from the rain.

shade plus solar panels and wind generator

Having said all of that a cruising boat needs to be able to sail well to windward in with the light variable winds it is important to have a good engine that will drive you at least 6 knots in most weather.
The sails need to be handled easily by one or two people. Having a main sheet traveler forward of the cockpit makes the cockpit clear of unnecessary obstacles and ropes.
Luckily Jalan Jalan has all of these things. The additional equipment of a radar with AIS (the attachment to the radar that recognizes other ships with radar and signals to those ships that you are in there vicinity) is a real plus.
Apart from these things a fly swat comes in handy along with mosquito nets over the hatches and opening windows.
Stowage space is important. A lot of the modern boats have fantastic open layouts down below but limited stowage space. When you live on a boat you need lots of stowage space for all of your belongings that will be called into use as you move from the tropics to the colder climates. We are fortunate for such a small boat to have ample stowage. Some limiting factors are fuel and water .We only have 130 liters of water and 130 liters of fuel as a consequence we have to carry 8 containers on deck for long voyages.

There are always bigger and better yachts but we are happy with what we have.
Jalan jalan is very comfortable to live on and she sails well in light airs and is easily managed in heavy weather. WE can keep out of the sun on the hot days and dry in the wet ones.

Today we went shopping for stores for the next three months, the staples such as tinned meat, milk, beer and some exotic spirits as fresh vegetables and fruit are available on route.

In the marina the boat next to us decided to move out. He cast off the lines and reversed. The boat took off veering to port with a mind of its own. Panic . The owner had forgotten to put the steering wheel back. Well we all make mistakes!

Discussions around the pool today were wide ranging from the size of the Swiss army ; 600,000 for a population 8 million compared to the British and French armies of 120,000 each. I had to ask the question “What are the Swiss afraid of ?”
“The Germans “ shooting holes in the Swiss cheese! We then got the history of the two world wars and national army service. We then moved on to the difference between the French and the British in de colonization or the lack of it .
Then we were joined by the young English couple; well Katerina is Russian and Ravi is Indian with an Eton stiff upper lip accent. She runs the fraud department for an online poker gaming site and he is a business risk boss for Credit Swisse. The conversation turned to Warren Buffet (not Jimmy) and research. I got the distinct impression that the community of Bankers ( wankers) are generally lacking in research skills of a practical nature when looking at businesses in detail, they are blinded by the word COMISSION . Yes! They are good at baffling you with bookkeepers profit and loss figures and presenting a SWOT analysis without any real understanding of customers, and the factors affecting particular businesses such as weather, seasons and the real competition from other suppliers and alternative product packages.

As we were all becoming wrinkly from 2 hours of immersion in the water we all departed with an agreement to meet again tomorrow for another tutorial in the pool.

Coming back to the boat we noticed a new boat tied up next to us. A Scotsman with a sense of humor. This immaculate steel boat of 38 feet with a flush deck and pilot house Conjures up a battleship fit for the worst conditions that the sea can provide.

The name is Bright wing. I commented if you lost the letter B you would really be making a political statement. His mate wearing a T shirt “Scotland probably the best country on earth”. I inquired “ are you not sure !” The discussion then traversed the British isles. I recounted a conversation in a bar where the topic of the Welsh came up. One outspoken English man said there are only two kinds of Welsh.
“They are either Rugby players or prostitutes. When one guy piped up
“My wife is welsh”
The English man was quick on his feet
“What position does she play?”
Toworrow we will go to the mainland and hire a car from Mr Dinh for$12 and complete the shopping, some more duty free booze and fresh meat and vegetables and the following day we will sail to Penang to pick up two family members for a 10 day cruise to Langkawi and the island of Lipe in Thailand.

It is 5.00 pm. somewhere!

The eruption of Mount Merapi Central Java 2010

Mount Merapi

Located just a volcanic stone’s throw from my house on the northern outskirts of Jogyakarta in the central province on the island of Java is the world’s most active volcano. It is also home for tens of thousands of villagers whose families have lived there for centuries. The rich volcanic soil produces abundant food crops ,trees and grasses that support cattle, goats chickens and ducks

The rough river beds gouged out of the mountain by flows of lava are a rich source of mining for dirt, gravel and rocks.

After the eruption vocanic soil blocking this river

In mid October 2000 we heard the first reports of a change in the mountain, the sides were expanding much like bread rising in an oven. Then there were several earthquakes that made our solid two story house shudder. The continual rumbles in indicated pressure was building and the severity of the situation increased in the days leading up to October 26th.Vulcanologists measured the pressure of molten rock and found it to be increasing daily .


On October 25th we had to leave the country to renew our Indonesian visa and we were joined by a large crowd of local Indonesians who also were leaving for fear of the volcano.


on October 26th the first eruption occurred killing 44 people


To understand why people were reluctant to leave their homes there was an interesting article that explains some Javanese traditional thinking

Merapi and Javanese cosmology Reported by the Jakarta post

Volcanic ash

“For years, people there have believed that Merapi would never propel clouds and lava onto its southern slope,. They thought Merapi would not deface its supposed front slope.


But for those people, the unthinkable happened. Huge hot clouds, with energy three times bigger than that of the three previous eruptions in 1994, 2001 and 2006, sped down the mountain and swept over Kinahrejo and the neighboring village of Kaliadem, killing over 40 people including Mbah Maridjan

FAMILY POSSESSIONS DESTROYED

The 3,000-meter high Mt. Merapi, sitting astride the neighboring provinces of Yogyakarta and Central Java, is an important icon in Javanese traditional mysticism and cosmology, especially for Yogyakarta, which is often considered to be at the heart of Javanese culture.
Believed to be the kingdom of the spirits, Merapi has long been seen as the symbol of the balancing elements of the universe forming a straight, sacred imaginary axis from the north — where it is located — to the south where the kingdom of the Queen of the South Sea Ratu Kidul lies, with Yogyakarta Palace at its center.


Followers of Javanese cosmology believe the world is basically a harmony between the microcosmic and the macrocosmic. In this case Merapi and the South Seas Kingdom are considered as the microcosmic while the Yogyakarta Palace the macrocosmic. Both are supposed to be in balance to create harmony.


For traditionalists, Merapi eruptions are a sign that the kingdom of spirits is having a party and the lava expelled is simply garbage left over from the celebration.
This is why they never imagined volcanic material would ever pour down the southern slope, since this would be like dumping rubbish in one’s front yard.

Carrying out the dead

Volcanic dust in the main street Yogyakarta

Raining ash in the main street

JAJARTA POST REPORTED THE FOLLOWING

But somehow, the disaster has also led to priceless moments, creating strong emotional bonds among survivors — turning strangers into good friends within minutes.
Without any publicity or assistance from any groups or political parties, the residents less affected by the disaster led efforts to help survivors.


In the Central Java town of Boyolali, a local motorcycle club raised funds from passing motorists by performing a motorcycle stunt show at an intersection.


In Kauman village in Klaten regency, a group of local women worked morning and afternoon to prepare meals for evacuees in a small shelter near the area.


“When we opened the self-help public kitchen 10 days ago, we were able to make 350 packed meals, three times a day. However, since the donations we received decreased significantly, we can only make 100 meals now,” Theresia Ekowati, the public kitchen’s coordinator, said.


Theresia, who closed her catering business to work in the public kitchen, said she and other residents would try their best to keep providing meals for evacuees despite a lack of funds.


“We are ready to spend our own money if it comes to that,” she said.


In another shelter located at the Magelang military academy shooting range, 18-year-old Mufidhatul Afi never expected she could find a temporary home for her 15-day-old baby girl.


Her fate took a fortunate twist when she met Eri Kusyanti, a housewife from a village just across the crowded shelter.


Eri said that last week, a day after Merapi’s largest eruption, the entire village experienced a blackout.


“Since I desperately needed to charge my cell phone battery, one of my neighbors told me to go to a new shelter nearby that had a diesel generator,” said Eri, whose husband works in Riau.


It was at the shelter that Eri saw a panicked young woman reporting that her newborn baby had a respiratory problem, believed to be caused by volcanic ash.


“My intuition as a mother said I must help them,” Eri said.


Unplugging her half-charged phone, Eri then jumped into an ambulance taking Afi and her baby to the nearest community health center.


After getting medical treatment, Afi and her baby were allowed to return home, but Afi was advised to not expose the baby to ash.


Eri said she invited Afi and her baby to stay at her house.


“I feel so relieved,” said Afi, whose husband works out of town. “I just can’t imagine how I would survive without Eri’s help.”


Afi, whose village is located only 15 kilometers away from Merapi’s crater, now stays with her baby in a room at Eri’s house.


When the Post visited them, Afi was busy washing baby clothes in the bathroom while Eri was lulling her baby to sleep on the terrace.


Eri’s nine-year-old daughter approaches the baby and smiles, carefully stroking the baby’s cheeks in her mother’s arm."



Wild animals leave scorched forests after eruptions


Jakarta post 13th november


“Hundreds of wild animals that previously inhabited forests on the slopes of Mount Merapi began leaving the area as their habitats were completely devastated following eruptions from the world’s most active volcano.


Hundreds of long-tailed monkeys from the scorched Plawangan forest were seen moving out of the area, entering residential areas some 15 kilometers down the slopes. Other animals are thought to have migrated to forests on the slopes of neighboring Mount Merbabu, “We are not sure about the numbers but they’re understandably looking for new habitats and food,” Sartono, the head of the Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) Regional I overseeing Sleman regency, Yogyakarta city and Kulonprogo regency, said Friday.


Since its first major eruptions on Oct. 26, pyroclastic flows and lava from Merapi have destroyed more than 6,000 hectares of forests on its slopes.


Animal activist Daniek Hendarto said volunteers were providing animals with food and water. “We want to make sure the animals in the [20-kilometer] exclusion zone survive,” he said.


Pyroclastic flows, Sartono said, had also destroyed Javanese eagle nests in Kinahrejo and Kaliurang forests, forcing the birds to leave the area.


The sight of two leopards has also created panic among residents of Kemput village, in Sleman, 11 kilometers from Merapi’s crater. They said they saw the big cats approaching cow sheds.


“It looked like a mother and her cub,” said Sokidi of Kemput.

We returned to Yogyakarta a month after the initial blast. Our house was still covered in ash even though there had been heavy rains. The people were going about their business in a quiet subded way. Our office had become a logistic centre for basic items for the thousands of displaced people in refugee camps. Bags of rice,boxes of underwear, crates of drinking water, packets of noodles and shampoo. Our office grounds housed 10 goats rescued from Merapi Lintas. A radio was set up under the front veranda with a large map on the wall were information gathered from the radio and sms messages was collated.



Dead animals everywhere


WE rode our motor bike up the slopes of Merapi and were amazed at the devastation. The countryside looked like a black and white photgraph taken on the battle field of the Somme during world war I.

This village is intact

houses completely flattened,trees felled powerpoles down and rivers choked with thousands of tons of sand.

Grass growing  again after six weeks

Greyness of the landsacape

Amidst the devestation people were smiling as they cleared debri,hunted for lost belongings and tended the young shoots of Banana palms and the green stems against the grey landscape demonstated that life continues.
It has been rumourd that The government will move the people affected by the volcano to Sulawesi ! This would be a major disaster if it happens as Sulawesi is a different culture with unfertile soil.
I think local protests will prevent this from happening.
 

Foreign Aid in Indonesia



ADVENTURES IN FOREIGN AID

 
Why do people volunteer for Aid projects

I guess there is a drive in some people to want to help and to do something worthwhile in their life. Then there is the adventure or an escape from boredom and the other people hanging over their stools at McDonalds.

The selection procedure for volunteers appears professional and quite demanding.

two interviews and a psychological review. However some six months in the field and observing some of the volunteers I have some doubts about quality the selection process.

Two volunteers that I know of have shortened their contracts and one was removed from the country after running foul of both is indigenous boss and the AVI country manager. The other gave a string of weak excuses for going home and told the country manager he could choose any one .

Of the others that I have met some are doing their job well and others are just muddling through.

At the pre departure briefing for Australian Volunteers International I was with 40 other Volunteers participating in a workshop that included looking after yourself physically and mentally, What does it mean to be an Australian and a long session on HIV and aids. The government expected us to be both ambassadors and teachers as we were all teaching something as well as trying to prevent the spread of HIV and aids.

There was an important section on Foreign aid objectives and in one particular exercise where we had to rank in order of importance the following:-

Human rights

Economic development

Environmental issues

Good Governance

Regional Cooperation

Poverty

Education

Women’s rights

Public health

Infrastructure

Try it yourself before you read on.

THE GOAT MARKET AT GARUT

What was interesting was that most people viewed their area of expertise and experience as the most important. The social workers put human rights on the top of the list, the health workers public health and so on .
The reality is that without Good Governence none of the other issues can be dealt with adequately. Good governance not only refers to our beloved politicians but the pubic service and the legal system without which there would be anarchy and Chaos.

THE KITCHEN IN A RURAL HOUSE

Australia’s aid program presents a photo opportunity of good work and disaster relief to be shown on Australian television to make the voting punters feel good and to give them a reason to justify the large expenditure on foreign aid.

The real reason for foreign aid is a form of intervention in a foreign country to influence and assist the local government in achieving the UN millennium goals and to keep the impoverished members of the country from either migrating to Australia or being a threat to Australia.

The volunteers from AVI are at the lowest level in the food chain of foreign aid and the mantra of the country managers for volunteers is “Do no harm” which is another way of saying “I don’t really care what you do provided that you do not cause problems for me and Australia”

NO RUNNING WATER

Since 2009 the Indonesian government has passed a law forbidding foreign aid organizations working directly with rural communities. They can only work through local organizations. This law was a result of the chaos caused by more than 500 foreign aid organizations attempting to help in Banda Ache following the Tsunami of 2004

To come down from the philosophical and political to the practical here is my story.
I was selected to be a business advisor to a NGO ( non government Organization)
In Jogyakarta, Central Java. My task was to assist an NGO by helping the lowest level village artisans find foreign markets for their handicrafts.

Some six months before taking up the assignment I spent every day searching the web for information and downloading articles relevant to the Handicraft industry world wide.

A CHAIR MADE FROM OLD TYRES

By the time I arrived in Jakarta for the “In country briefing” I was well informed on the professional aspects of my task.
The in- country briefing, led by the AVI country manager, a British national who has worked in Indonesia for over ten years.
The information given was born out of his experiences as well has the knowledge gained
through meetings with Australian embassy staff and major international foreign aid organizations.

We focused on cultural differences between Australia and Indonesia, and the collective way in which Indonesians operate. We were advised not to focus on the goals of our assignment but on the people that we are working with. While I heard the message

My “achievement programming” of many years work experience blinded me to
not recognizing the utmost importance of human relationships in the achievement of my goals. While I was friendly and communicative with my Indonesian colleagues it was only later that I was to begin to understand their thinking and their actions.

A HARD DAY AT THE OFFICE





Following the briefing we al set off by train to Yogyakarta for a month of Bahasa Indonesian language training and to look for somewhere to stay.

ON THE TRAIN TO YOGYAKARTA

Little did I know that I would be come the goat expert from Australia.

Foreign aid to Indonesia

When people think about foreign aid, starving children come to mind along with in polluted waterways, poor health and rampant disease. In Indonesia it is difficult to find Starving children, the waterways are being cleaned, there is a health system that functions reasonably well and most diseases are under control however
Malaria and dengue fever are still prevalent.

In the large cities such as Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya and Yogyakarta the population have access to most of the services that the populations in the developed world have.

In the villages, however it is a different story.

GRANDSON BEING INTRODUCED TO GOATS

My job as a volunteer under the objectives Australia’s Aid policy is to give business advice or build the capacity in the staff at an NGO for training and teaching villagers in rural areas of Central Java ways to increase their income and achieve a higher standard of living.

.Apart from working with artisans who produce handicrafts I was invited to visit a village
where the NGO was brokering an investment in Goats. On that day I was introduced as the Goat expert from Australia an now I have moved from knowing nothing about goats to being reasonably knowledgable.

MOTHER GOAT AND KIDS

On the surface when you visit a rural village in Java it life seems to be the epitome of happiness, smiling faces ,chickens and ducks running around, ponds with fish, well kept rice fields, vegetable gardens and abundant fruit trees.

The smiles of the mums and dads mask their concerns. Money and its management!

WOMEN WALKING TO THE RICE FIELDS

During the year farmers have a period of up to four months when they do not receive an income. Studies have revealed that every 2 months out of 12 each family has to pay medical bills, not necessarily their own. The common practice in Indonesia is that when some one get sick or has to go to hospital money is collected by family , friends and the community to pay the bills.

When the rice crop is harvested and sold (3 times a year) the farmers receive money which they have to manage. Like everyone world wide, if there is spare cash lying around the house it gets spent, just because it is available. In developed countries most people put their spare money in the bank or in superannuation and earn interest from the money.

In the rural areas of Indonesia while most people can borrow money from a range of lending institutions and individuals there are no local banks where village farmers can put their money and earn interest. The interest rate on bank deposits for small amounts is less than 1% annually while the interest rate for borrowing ranges from 8% per month to 90% per month in West Papua.

Twenty years ago there were over 140 local banks plus their branch offices throughout the country. The government has tightened banking regulations following the collapse of many banks due to bad management. Now there are less than 50 Indonesian banks.

The motivation of the government in regulating the banks was largely to protect the citizens who deposit their money in Banks as savings. Now the regulations are so tight that savings banks are not accessible to rural village dwellers.
Faced with this problem, village people store their excess money in assets such as cattle, goats, a motor bike or a truck.

When people need money they sell their asset. This presents a problem as the time the money is required sometimes is when the market price for a cow or goat is low.

The lack of ready cash means that school fees cannot be paid and so many rural children simply drop out of school because of the lack of available money.

The NGO (non government organization) that I am working for developed a website

www.pasarkomunitas.com  that provides information to Indonesians about local markets. The website has attracted small investors who want to invest between A$300 and A$ 1,000 in rural projects.

The NGO has become the broker between the investors and groups of farmers.

A legal agreement is made between the parties for the purchase of a female goat.

The loan is repaid in 4 years plus interest of 100%( this represents an annual interest rate of 25%.

Over the period of 4 years the female goat would have produced at least 8 baby goats. By selling 4 goats over the period the farmers have enough money to repay the loan and interest and still have 5 goats left for breeding.

NEGOTIATING AN INVESTMENT WITH FARMERS

We are currently making a film on the best practice of goat farming in Indonesia as a means of educating traditional farmers. One very basic innovation is to get farmers to build a goat house with a roof and an elevated floor so that the goat dung can fall through the bamboo slatted floor and can be raked into a pit and mixed with grass to make compost for the vegetable gardens.

GOAT HOUSE WITH ELEVATED FLOOR

The raised floor allows the goats to be relatively free of Scabies and other insect born diseases.

Later farmers will be provided with information on breeding and full commercialization of goat farming which is currently a subsistence activity. This is a slow process but, bit by bit as simple farmers see how progressive farmers manage the goat and have a cash flow that enables them to pay the school fees then they too will change.

The daily task of getting food for the goats





Ramadan in Indonesia

What does Terry Jones need to know about Ramadan before he lights a fire?
Ignorant people do not understand what ignorance is! As a matter of fact
Ignorant people don’t understand much at all; let alone the danger of giving
Their children a loaded gun to take to kindergarten.
It was disturbing to hear the news this week as the month of Ramadan draws to a close that a hitherto unknown preacher from Florida was planning a “Guy Fawkes” night to incite hatred amongst his 30 ignorant followers. It is even more disturbing that seemingly well read and knowledgeable people in the media have flocked like Lemmings to the waters of Florida to aid and abet a potential act of stupidity.

The mono culture of the media, driven by ratings rather than common sense have unintentionally assisted a single “Nutter” of limited intellectual capacity to bring about an act of terrorism against millions of people who follow the Muslim faith.

This month in Indonesia is the season of Ramadhan, the most holy of month for followers of the Muslim religion. In Yogyakarta Central Java, is the Koran belt of Indonesia where the density of mosques is greater than one per square kilometer?

                          Friday prayers at the local Mosque

 Generally Ramadham is a quiet month of reflection. Lebaran, the holiday period immediately after Ramadham where people like to return to their birth place a celebrate by giving presents.


. During this time I have been helping a number of European university students who are undertaking post graduate research in Yogyakarta.


The problems they face in undertaking controversial research on violence towards women, self government in Papua and various government policy issues is in getting information and identifying people who are prepared to talk about these subjects.


The European academics that I have been talking to have been so well trained that they have not learnt to be street smart and worldly. They planned and timed their research studies in Indonesia completely unaware of how the month of Ramadham would have on their activities.

                          Tourists oblivious to Ramadhan

 How does the month of Ramadhan impact on an expatriate


Like Christianity The Muslim religion has both a religious and social and political aspects. In the West our media had reported widely on the political aspects of the Moslem religion as anarchic acts by some followers have captured our attention.


Here in Indonesia and in Java particularly where the overwhelming majority of the population practice the Moslem religion. Each day the call to prayer, amplified over a loudspeaker system is hard to ignore as are the rather large gatherings of men at the mosques at midday on Fridays. Apart from these noticeable acts few of us in the west know very little detail of the fasting month of Ramadhan.
While I had lived in Jakarta some years ago I never felt the impact of Ramadham .
 Here in Yogyakarta, no one can escape the influence of Ramadan.
 Because people fast between 4.30 am and 6.pm most restaurants and small food stalls are closed during the day.

                          Food stalls by the university closed

 To find something to eat for lunch one has to hunt around for a Chinese Restaurant. While you can buy alcohol the shelves stocking it are covered with paper or cloth to avoid temptation.


A few days ago it was raining and we felt like having some Lamb and a bottle of red wine. We rode the motor bike through teaming rain along roads that were like rivers six inches deep on a mission for wine .

Arriving at the specialist shop dripping wet, we asked for a bottle of wine. The shop assistant replied that they do not sell wine during Ramadham.
And that was that.!


The usually crowded streets are less crowded, no one smokes between the fasting hours and as a consequence the motorbike riders and car drivers are abnormally frustrated by the self deprivation of food and cigarettes. The increase in the number of accidents and near misses makes one extra cautious.

At work the staff are either lethargic, unmotivated or not at the office at all.

There does not seem any enthusiasm to begin new projects and when I suggest a meeting with villages I am told it will be better to wait until Ramadhan is over.

                      
                        Waiting three hours for a village meeting

 There are exceptions .Last week we were visiting a village to inspect new Goat houses that have been recently constructed. It was a long day without eating and we had to wait for three hours for a meeting with farmers as they were still out in the fields cutting grass due to the overnight and early morning rain.

                        Hani and one of his new goat houses
The meeting began at 4.00pm and dragged on into the evening. However at sunset, a few minutes before 6.00pm we heard the call to prayer from a number of Mosques, then food began to appear. The local Muslim villagers were sensitive to our need to eat and appreciated out constraint during the day even though we had no access to food even if we desired it.

                                Three day old goats
The food presented was both abundant and delicious and better than the usual village food. Of course as the eating began so did the smoking and within a few minutes we were all sitting in a fog of cigarette smoke.

                              Breaking the fast in a village

 Back in Yogyakarta I have noticed a several men walking naked along the road and one sitting cross legged on the side of the road meditating. At this time a wide range of different behaviour is acceptable as the spirit moves people in different ways. In addition people discipline themselves not to have arguments or to think badly of other people as those selfish acts will nullify their cleansing behaviour of prayer and self sacrifice for the day.


By late afternoon numerous temporary food stalls spring up along the main roads waiting for the six o’clock swill as fasting for the day ends. The stalls sell fruit and sweet drinks for those feeling dehydrated by 14 hours of abstinence.


So far it has been quiet apart from loudspeakers calling the faithful to prayer . The first call is at 4.30 am, then at midday , then at 3.00 pm and at 6.00pm.


One evening around 6.00 pm I noted that there were hardly any people at the supermarket and when I enquired I was told that it is full moon and most people were celebrating at home or at the mosque.


As the fasting month Ramadhan is coming to an end and the joyous holiday period of Lebaran is a bout to begin the shops are displaying gift packs over one meter high filled with sweets, biscuits and other temptations.

                             Gift packs for Lebaran

 This month every wage earner receives and additional month’s salary known as the Lebaran bonus. This is the first day of the three day Lebaran holiday that stretches out to two weeks was marked by an almost complete absence of people on the streets, the supermarkets were closed and almost all other shops and businesses as well.


Thank god the circle K store that sells beer was open. I noticed that the paper covering the beer had been removed from the glass door of the freezer cabinet.


The beggars on the street corners next to the traffic lights who are always there have grown in number and instead of a plastic cup for donation s they have large cardboard boxes as Ramadham is the season where the faithful are obliged to give.

                        Even beggars go to sleep during the day
During the holidays people return to their home towns to celebrate with their families and the airports, train and bust stations are bursting with people with boxes of gifts to take home to their families.


In order to reduce congestion, trucks are banned from the roadways except those carrying essential good such as food, cooking oil, gas and medical supplies. These trucks are only permitted to travel between 7.00 pm and 7.00 am.


Consequently the businesses that require supplies that have to be transported are closed for two weeks as well.

                        normally bustling furniture businesses closed

 One has to be careful not to treat the followers of Islam as one unified homogeneous group. Like football fans in Australia during the finals. While to the outsider they may appear on mass to be all the same when in fact they are not.


Each football fan is usually fiercely loyal to one team and can only see football in terms of club colours. As their scarves testify; the blue and whites stick together and make rude gestures to the followers of the red and white scarf wearers on the way to the game, during the game and on the trains following the game.


Likewise in Indonesian the Muslim religion is like Christianity in that it is composed of many different sub cultures and is not uniform in either the belief or behavioral practice.


The late President Suharto during his presidency of 30 years banned the wearing of the Hijab largely because he did not want to face a united political force of Islam while dealing with other unified groups such as those in Ache, Papua and East Timor as well as big business in Jakarta


It is only when the Muslim population feels threatened by either verbal statements or political actions like those proposed by Pastor Terry Jones that they can put their differences to one side and begin to act as a united political force.


As the vast majority of Muslim adherents are tolerant to other religions as we also need to be tolerant to them. Some right and left wing extremists in Australia in their ignorance of the Muslim religion make statements that many Muslims find offensive and often these comments serve to weaken the tolerance of Muslims to the west.


The words and possible actions of Pastor Jones have reached the ears of the President of Indonesia.


The President said that if the burning of copies of the Koran takes place it will be a disaster for the planet. Is this the truth?