Rare Pride in Indonesia
Nigel Sizer, Rare VP, Asia Pacific, gets a taste of Rare Pride in Indonesia.
Central Java: Day 1, January 29, 2007
It’s hot, and Panji Anom has pharyngitis so the AC is off as we sweat through his project plan presentation. Since I joined Rare three months ago, this is my first experience of seeing Rare Pride in action on the ground (my traveling having been curtailed by the birth of baby Jasper in December). Panji is a Rare Pride campaign manager, with local partner NGO Masta. Panji made a great presentation to our partners at their offices in Jogjakarta—the USAID-funded Environmental Services Program—so I can’t wait to see him in action when he’s 100 percent.
A meeting with GPL Hijau at their reclaimed office.
We’re all tired, but colleague Hari has had the longest day. He was up at 2 a.m. to take the bus to the Jakarta airport to get the first flight here. Sari was up at 3.30 a.m. to get her flight, and I was up all night with 6-week-old Jasper…
Hari Kushardanto and Ni Putu Sarilani Wirawan (Rare’s Indonesia course managers), Panji and I topped off the first day with a leisurely dinner of classic Javanese food. Tofu and tempe cooked in a myriad of styles, rice, egg, chicken, and ubiquitous sambal (very hot chili-based sauce). But my favorite was Es Asam Gulo Jowo, sweet tamarind juice, but try saying the name quickly after a 16-hour workday!
Central Java: Day 2, January 30, 2007
Rare may “inspire conservation” but Sari and I were inspired today by the commitment, dedication, and personal sacrifice of the local environmental NGOs we met with. Each of them operates on a shoestring budget, is half-staffed by volunteers, and somehow manages to sustain field programs year after year.
One of the groups, GPL Hijau, has built a wonderful small office, with a garden full of flowers and butterflies in the grounds of an abandoned art school. It was the best office we saw today, and they pay no rent. They fund conservation programs for local public schools from the fees earned taking kids from rich private schools out on nature trips.
The Kutilang Indonesia Foundation has trained a team of 20 volunteers to guard the nests of the endangered black hawk on Mount Merapi. If the nests are left unwatched for a few hours the chicks end up for sale in the town’s bird market. The program is working.
Kanopi has worked to get villagers who were helping collectors strip rare orchids out of the forests to instead propagate and reintroduce them to the wild. They gave us a beautiful color illustrated guide to local orchids.
All these groups use social marketing tools, but not in a systematic and consistent way. They’re not really sure what’s working and what isn’t. They all seem keen to apply to become Rare partners. We were thrilled to get such a positive response. Now the challenge is meeting this demand with enough capacity and funding to expand our program in Indonesia. This was one day of meetings in one out Indonesia’s 30-plus provinces. But with potential partners like these, how can we fail?
At breakfast this morning, I learned that while I was sleeping, Hari, Sari, and Panji worked till 2 a.m. on Panji’s PowerPoint presentation, to be given today to the top government conservation officials for the province. And then Panji, in his sleep deprived and feverishly sick state, didn’t remember to save it before sleeping, and the computer crashed while they all snoozed. Panji was up early repairing it all before breakfast and their three-hour drive to Semarang for the meeting. These guys work hard!
To be continued….
