Arka Kinari’s Spicy Journey

Tuesday, 10 November 2020

Departing from Rotterdam in the Netherlands on August 23, 2019, the crew of the Arka Kinari ship finally anchored in Indonesia on September 1 this year. On the ship were the artist couple Nova Ruth Setyaningtyas and Grey Filastine, and six international crew members. On this low-carbon journey, they visited a number of countries and gave mini concerts on board. Their expedition faced numerous challenges, from storms, the coronavirus pandemic, to permit processing that left them in limbo on the open sea. In addition to campaigning for the environment, the Arka Kinari crew was involved in the Spice Route movement proclaimed by the education and culture ministry’s directorate-general for culture. This made them change their sailing route onto a number of spice locations: Sorong (West Papua), Banda Neira (Maluku), Selayar and Makassar (South Sulawesi), Benoa (Bali), and Surabaya (East Java).

Arka Kinari sailing across the Pacific Atoll, August 24. A Grey Filastine. tempo : 168608221586_

ALL my fingers are marked for rapid tests, even though I’ve only entered Indonesia for a month,” Nova Ruth Setyangingtyas said through the telephone on October 1. This musician from Malang, East Java, chuckled.

Not only because she has gone through numerous Covid-19 tests, but also because she has been at sea for the past few months. Her home has been an 18-meter-ship called the Arka Kinari, which means surviving on a ship. The vesse

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