Back to nature, 24/7
2009.08.25 08:42
It’s nice to escape the city once in a while. Like for a weekend once a month. Just every now and then.
As much as urbanites love to reminisce the natural way of life of their parents’ parents, not many can actually stand Mother Nature longer than a weekend getaway.
Well, 59-year old Eddy Djamaluddin Suaidy and 125 of his friends and relatives choose to do it 24/7. They more than just grow their own food or mow their own lawn; this community tries to remind us what communal living is all about.
That afternoon during fasting month, three women were peeling shallots, slicing red chilies and sorting spinach leaves in one of the houses tucked inside the 5-hectare suburban farm in Depok. Meanwhile, a man was sweeping dried leaves in the garden across.
There are no housemaids or gardeners. Just a clear job description for each individuals living there.
“If this weren’t Ramadan, during lunch hour the kids would automatically gather here. So would the adults who work here,” said the man who was sweeping the garden. A former colleague of Eddy, Erwin Yulianto Kosasih has just recently joined the community leaving his home in crowded West Jakarta’s Ciledug.
Done with his broom, Erwin helped the cook take what’s left of the spinach stems to feed a baby deer in a cage nearby. In that neighborhood of Kampung 99, nothing goes to waste.
Kitchen waste become animal fodder. The animals’ waste itself become organic fertilizer together with dried leaves. Even fallen branches become fuel for the stove.
It’s basically an ecosystem where man is more a manager than a mere exploiter. »
Summer berries!
2009.08.12 18:45
I was taking a stroll in some nice sunny weather the other day, when what do you know…
Summer berries!
Blueberries, I think they are. Just hangin’ there from a shrub, over a stonewall fence, over the sidewalk.
I was of course tempted to pick and taste them, but not sure if that was appropriate, so I just stole some shots of them :p
But I don’t think they’re too good –the pics, I mean. Please do bear with my cameraphone again.
The next pic is a closer shot of the blueberries… just a bit closer, and in no way any better :p
a market at your doorstep….
2009.08.10 19:12
When malls become too boring and traffic gets in the way of one’s shopping session, worry not, seasonal night markets will come to those with limited budget in need of a little quick get-away from their crampy one-room rent houses.
No need for air-conditioned buildings with brightly-lit window displays, for the highly mobile vendors at these markets, any vacant lot or even narrow alleys will do. And they will not only bring goods just meters away from your doorsteps, but also a playground for your children.
One Tuesday night, just a fortnight away from the start of the fasting month, what is usually just a 1.5-meter-wide alley inside kampongs in South Jakarta’s Cipete turned into a night’s festivity.
Along some 15-meter-stretch of that alley where a car won’t fit, vendors are setting their makeshift stalls where pirated DVDs, children’s toys, headscarves and undergarments are piling up.
“Sorry,” said a woman as her large plastic bag brushed another customer checking out the latest Indonesian movie on offer in front of a pirated DVD vendor. Turning his head, the man’s annoyed look quickly turned into a polite smile as he recognized the woman as his neighbor.
And their exchange of greetings soon grew into a five-minute conversation. One that forces others to line up behind, waiting to pass through for their “window shopping” session.
Set up in and for the neighborhood, that instant market is more than just a place for transaction.
“This was the idea of Pak Damus,” said the market’s garment vendor Dina Uchrowi, mentioning a man known to people there as the former neighborhood unit head.
“This is already near the fasting month and people usually start shopping,” she added. “He talked with people here and they agreed to have this market for a night.”
For people like Damus or Dina, the reason for their being there is perhaps just for a night’s profit. But, for the neighborhood, it’s their own mall, one with a little bit more feeling of familiarity of the people you meet and greet.
In the midst of increasingly socially-sterile malls, trade centers and mini markets where people only browse, pick and pay for the goods they buy, these kinds of premises offer an antidote.
People are here not only for shopping, or at least even if they do, they get so much more than just the goods they bring home. »
Fish n mash
2009.08.05 18:24
What the hell…?
That, mi luv, is mi version of fish n mash… :p
Well actually, it’s more of a puree rather than a mash, coz I don’t actually know how to make mashed potatoes other than with the intant powder mix (and I forgot to buy some :p)…
But I do know how to finely chop some potatoes… and some carrots (that’s where that orangey color comes from)… and mix and mash it a bit with some coconut milk… and voila! mi potato and carrot puree with coconut milk… :p
(I remember kucingputi making something like this –potato mash/puree– just for me! :p)
And what about the fish…? »
New colonialism land grab
2009.08.04 15:36
Barangkali ada yang tertarik baca2…
Para investor rebutan tanah2 subur buat pertanian/perkebunan… yang
hasilnya kemungkinan besar buat ekspor ke pasar global… padahal
tanah2 itu ironisnya di daerah2 yang masih banyak yang kelaparan
(dalam hal ini di Afrika)…
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,639224,00.html
Untuk versi printable-nya (lebih enak buat dibacanya):
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,druck-639224,00.html
Mudah2an Indonesia gak jadi korban “nekolim” semacam ini… Apa udah…?
Kopi Lanang Tator
2009.07.31 00:05
We love coffee (kopi in Indonesian), and fortunately, Indonesia has among the best coffee beans in the world.
There are several varieties of coffee in Indonesia, including kopi Aceh, Mandailing, Java, Bali, Toraja (these are all named after the regions where the coffee plants are grown), and the infamous kopi luwak (regarded as the best-tasting coffee, as it’s brewed from beans collected from the droppings of a luwak or civet (!), which only chooses the ripest coffee fruits and helps to slightly ferment the beans beforehand through its digestion).
The pic shown here is that of a (heavenly) cup of kopi Toraja, hailing from the Toraja region in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province. Here‘s a Google Map link for those curious of where that is.
The word ‘Tator‘ on the cup is short for ‘Tana Toraja‘ (which means ‘Toraja Land’), and is actually the name of the cafe which specializes in brewing this kind of kopi Toraja. The word Toraja itself also refers to the people of that land, whose unique culture has become a well-known tourist attraction.
Back to the coffee, that particular brew in the cup that everyone should try (no promotion intended :p) is called the Kopi Lanang, and is unique itself in the sense of how it’s brewed. The word ‘lanang‘, meanwhile, is actually a Javanese word meaning ‘man’, hinting somewhat that only the manly drink this coffee! :p
So let’s look how this ‘manly’ Kopi Lanang Tator is brewed… (Pics are courtesy of kucingputi) »
Anjing buta dan pemandunya…
2009.07.25 02:22
Waaa… cerita yang bagus lagi nih dari dunia binatang…
Sebuah tempat penampungan binatang di Norfolk, Inggris menemukan sepasang anjing yang keluyuran di jalanan pas hujan… dan anjing yang satu –yang jantan– ternyata buta, sementara anjing yang lainnya –yang betina– jadi kayak pemandunya gitu.
Dikasih nama Bonnie dan Clyde, si buta Clyde ke mana2 selalu dibimbing si Bonnie. Dia gak bakal bergerak kalo gak ada si Bonnie. Dan si Bonnie juga bolehin Clyde nyender ke dirinya kalo udah terlalu capek dan bingung arah.
Sekalimat kutipan di artikel itu merangkum semuanya: “It’s such a lovely story.” Sebuah cerita yang indah… :)
Artikel selengkapnya bisa dibaca di sini.
Interesting places in and around Semarang
2009.07.22 10:00
Our affiliate website, wologitohomestay.com, has recently updated its information on some interesting places in and around Semarang, the capital city of Indonesia’s Central Java province…
You can check it out at…
http://wologitohomestay.com/info.html
…or just click on the pic above.
Sorry, no nice pics available with the information yet (the pic above is compiled from Wikitravel), but do bookmark that site for further updates.
UPDATE: kucingputi contributed some pics of the Sam Po Kong temple, the Watu Gong vihara, and the Gereja Blenduk. What are those places? Better check out the site and read for yourself… :p
Okra curry
2009.07.22 02:35
Having picked up some culinary secrets from a recent get-together at my friend Maruf’s place, I tried to apply that know-how for my dinner last night. The result? Okra curry (as shown above)… :p
What the hell is it? :p Well, it’s basically a thick stew of sliced okra and potatoes. And while my friend Maruf used garam masala for the spices, I used some curry ground spices (it’s similar, actually)…
I also ‘improvised’ by adding some shrimp to the lot, and some soy milk (coz I forgot to buy some coconut milk :p) to make the broth thicker and richer still…
So there you have it: Boil the chopped-up potatoes, add some salt, put in the shrimp, and then the sliced okra. When the broth is thick enough (and the potatoes and okra have softened), add the curry spices, and then mix it off with the soy milk. Voila!
Not bad at all… not bad at all… :p
Anyway, the broth becomes thick and gooey because of the okra –the vegetable lets out this slimey and sticky substance, which is perfect for thickening.
And what is okra, btw? Here‘s a Wikipedia entry of it, and some pics… »
Hairy sausage
2009.07.15 09:15
Maybe it IS the vodka that makes them drunk all the time and yet so creative… :)) Just joking, Kamerads… :p
Here’s another one from EnglishRussia.com. This time: “hairy sausages”… Stick spaghetti sticks into your favorite sausage (or “wurst”, I think, looking at the size in the pic), and boil until well done. Enjoy your hairy sausage! :))
Check out the complete pics on their site. There’s also a streaming video clip on how to make your own hairy sausage… :p
Kayaknya emang vodka yang bikin mereka selalu mabuk, sekaligus kreatip banget :)) Becanda, Kamerads… :p
Satu lagi nih dari EnglishRussia.com. Kali ini: “sosis berbulu”… Tancepin tangkai2 spaghetti ke sosis kesukaan lu, rebus sampe mateng, dan nikmatin deh tuh sosis berbulu… :))
Liat poto2 selengkapnya di situs mereka. Ada juga video klip streaming tentang cara bikin sosis berbulu… :p
