March 7, 2017 edition
In contrast to the mostly Hindu population of Bali, the people of the traditional village of Tuka in Badung Regency are Christians. The village has even been dubbed the first Catholic village in the ‘Island of the Gods’. Local residents help one another during the Christmas, Galungan, and even the Kuningan celebrations. They adhere faithfully to their ngejot tradition of strong kinship bonds with those of different faiths. They demonstrate this by bringing each other food on the respective religious festival days. Tuka mirrors acculturation, the adjustment of external elements to local traditions, enriching a spirit of tolerance and pluralism. Tempo reports from Tuka, Bali.
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More Outreach articles in other editions
February 28, 2017 edition
KADEK Boim spends every Tuesday and Thursday taking volunteers to a 'hidden' area in Gianyar, Bali. Each time, a group of 20 to 30 people, mostly from China, would go to the Saba Asri Turtle Conservation Center at Saba Beach in Blahbatuh to clean up a turtle hatchling nursery and a small enclosure for captive turtles.
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February 21, 2017 edition
The richness of local languages in Indonesia is rapidly declining. The Language Development and Preservation Agency of the Education and Culture Ministry noted in 2016 that 15 of Indonesias 617 vernaculars and dialects were no longer spoken. Another 139 regional and local languages are in danger of becoming extinct, as fewer people use them. This compelled the Indonesian Community to Preserve Mother Tongues (IMBI), based in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, to revive local languages. IMBI today conducts research and to popularize their efforts, it produces videos, comic books, short stories, and social media campaigns in the local languages. This effort involves hundreds of university students and social media enthusiasts. In Bengkulu, the Office of Regional Languages is actively cataloging the vocabularies of local languages. In other regions, governments are working closely with local communities to preserve their respective local languages. A report by Tempo English in observance of International Mother Language Day on February 21.
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February 14, 2017 edition
Indonesia has made signifcant strides in reducing its level of poverty, however stunting still affects some 36 percent of its children, says a 2015 Global Nutrition Report. Malnutritionthe cause of stuntingis common among communities living below the poverty line, particularly in remote areas. In East Nusa Tenggara, the province with the highest number of malnutrition cases, a worker at the Kupang local community health center has created an innovative and nutritious menu for toddlers and mothers. Meanwhile, the Nusantara Sehat programinitiated by the Health Ministrydeploys healthcare professionals to tackle malnutrition and improve primary healthcare services to remote villages. In observance of National Nutrition Day on January 25, Tempo English reports from West Kalimantan, Bengkulu and East Nusa Tenggara.
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February 7, 2017 edition
Indonesia is habitat to 17 percent of the worlds flora. Of the 28,000 species of plants identified by the Environment and Forestry Ministry, more than 400 were found to be endemic to the archipelago. Farmers are discovering unique plants that can provide them with alternative marketable crops. In 1999, a farmer at Hiyung village in South Kalimantan discovered a species of chili pepper on the nearby mountain that turned out to be 17 times hotter than the existing species. Since 2000, most of Hiyung villagers have turned to cultivating this unique type of chili and earning a higher income. Meanwhile, Bisikori village in Southeast Sulawesi has become a supplier of the patchouli plant, a popular ingredient for producing essential oils. Residents in both villages today no longer rely solely on the forest for their livelihood. Tempo English reports from South Kalimantan and Southeast Sulawesi.
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January 31, 2017 edition
Two villages in Lampung province applied to be part of the Lestari Sustainable Community Forest System. This practice ensures that while forests can be profitable, they should be managed sustainably.
Zahari, 52, can still remember the 1997 event in the village of Hurun in Lampung. He had just left his house to work on his garden, some 100 meters away when he saw billows of smoke and and heard the whizzing of bullets, coming from the direction of his house.
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January 24, 2017 edition