Bless My Homeland Forever

Why are these ingenious people willingly spending their time and energy for helping people in Samar village? Hm, that’s a big question.

I still remember when about a year ago me and Andrie went to Tulungagung with Mrs. Wi, Mrs. Maya, Mr. Daniel, and Mr. Mus (our driver). I still remember listening to a whole album of Born and Raised by John Mayer as we're spending 8 hours of car-driving through mountain road from Jogjakarta to Tulungagung. ChAIN center team was having a regular visit and also accompanying people from Samar village that joined a local exhibition. Well, actually Andrie and I didn’t do anything sih but learning to blend and figuring out ‘why we are brought here’.

Then few weeks later after our visit, ibu-ibu from Samar village came to Gadjah Mada. They got mentoring and also practiced cooking in Fakultas Teknologi Pertanian (they’re accompanied by Gama EARTH fellows, no I didn’t involve this time). I keep following their activities though. I know that a couple of months later, they held a cooking competition among groups in ibu-ibu Samar village. This competition made ibu-ibu tried their best to improve their products, wasn’t it nice? :)

I know no more news about them until one day Mrs. Wi contacted me and asked me to help designing this-and-that. Oh, they’re about to join an exhibition once more! Great! Then when I looked into the contents, a moment later I found myself drowning in glimpse of memories...

A year ago, the villagers haven’t build a biogas reactor yet. A year ago, the villagers haven’t even practiced cooking (in campus). Now look at them. They’ve successfully made products like kerupuk susu and keripik mbothe, which are cooked by biogas. Surprisingly, the keripik mbothe has got PIRT license (go kerupuk susu, you can get it too!). Also, the villagers have succesfully made fertilizer from biogas slurry! As for the fertilizer, it has become partner with local organisation called Pusat Pelatihan Peternakan/Pertanian Ramah Lingkungan dan Energi Mandiri (P3RLEM) and Jurusan Ilmu Tanah Fakultas Pertanian UGM. I watched with my own eyes that ChAIN center team did all these from zero. Now the seeds –which they have spreaded have become  sprouts. Oh I’m feeling sentimental :”)

One of the product designs

The big question remains unanswered. Why? Maybe the closest answer I can guess is that the team wants to empower our brothers and sisters so that they can be independent. Free from imported agricultural products dependency.

At the exhibition one year ago, Mrs. Wi told me, “Seeing these excellent quality local products, it’s hard to believe that our country still depends on imported fruits and veggies,”

I don’t know juga deh. It’s only an answer from my point of view. The answer is still unclear. But whatever it is, God please bless this team and bless my homeland forever.