January 24, 2017 edition
Conversation in the WhatsApp group for Lombok tempe (soybean cakes) producers is animated, though the topic is far from what one might expect from youths between the ages of 17 and 29. The trending topics? Tricks and tips on processing soybean into milk and tempe, to the most recent innovations in soybean farming.
Based in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), the group is also known as UB Tempe Lokal Lombok. "For us, chatting about tempe and soybean is more interesting than romance and other chitchat," said Ahmad Tarmizi, the group's chief.
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More Outreach articles in other editions
January 17, 2017 edition
January 10, 2017 edition
January 3, 2017 edition
Indonesia has a rich heritage of traditional craftwork, passed down from generations, including the anjat and the noken, handmade woven bags from Kalimantan and Papua, respectively. They are attractive, functional and sustainable. On December 5, 2012, UNESCO identified the noken as an intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding. To preserve the tradition of bag-weaving, the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programan NGO focusing on sustainable non-timber productsencourages and assists women's groups in East Kalimantan to continue producing anjats. While in Papua, Yadupa the Papua Village Foundation helps villagers in Papua to revive and maintain the almost-forgotten skill of noken- weaving. Tempo English reports from the regencies of West Kutai and Biak.
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December 27, 2016 edition
Erzsa Maharanny Sula remembers vividly how happy she was when she met the Ibnu Tadji family in Jakarta three years ago. Erzsa had just arrived from her birthplace, Rote Ndao, East Nusa Tenggara. The 16-year-old would live with the Tadjis for three weeks, during the fasting month of Ramadhan.
"At first it was confusing. It was the fasting month and my first time living with people of a different religion and ethnicity," said Erzsa. "But everything went so well and my host family were very nice. Bung (honorific for men) Iben and Bunda (mother) Pratiwi treated me like their own daughter."
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December 20, 2016 edition
Indonesia is the worlds fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases, most of it caused by forest degradation. But it is determined to address the problem by ratifying the Paris agreement to mitigate carbon emissions and commit itself to Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), among other initiatives. Last November, Tempo English visited West Sumatra to report on projects aimed at reducing this environmental scourge. In Sungai Buluh village at Padang Pariaman, residents created a new eco-tourism attraction: a tree house at the peak of a rocky hill. Additionally, their mushroom farms provide them with an alternative source of income.
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December 13, 2016 edition