KLS visits BCU

Friday, 27 October 2017

Time to say good-bye

                                          

music presentation

Thursday, 26 October 2017

Organized trip by the parents of BCU

Wednesday, 25 October 2017 

School-day at BCU

Late start for the teachers – and off to school after a nice dip in the pool.

We visit various classes and gain a lot of insight into BCUs everyday life:

Maths in grade 5 – minutes and hours, Science/Biology in Grade 8 – working in the school garden, Drama in grades 11 and 12 – “The Three Little Pigs”: roleplaying, English Grade 10 – Creative Writing with fairy tales, English grade 5 – healthy eating, home room and English grades 7 and 8: writing response letters to the German pen pals, Maths in Grade 7: fractions, Chemistry in Grade 11: electron configurations, glimpses of “character building” and swimming lessons as well.

The German students join Grade 9 today in all their lessons.

                                                                                                         

                                                                      maths Grade 5

                                                               science- planting grade 8

science- planting grade 8

                                                                   

lunchtime at BCU

Teachers' meeting

At the teachers meeting in the afternoon we discuss possible common projects for our partnership. It’s a lively exchange of ideas and we are glad to see so many colleagues interested in the matter and motivated to join in! As a result we create a list of ideas and teachers who are willing to work on certain projects.

Examples are: “pen pals”, fuel from plastic, traditional craft making, designing a logo for the partnership, making a virgin coconut oil and recording a song together.….

                                                                teachers' meeting
                                                                                                                                  Sabine, Lisa, Birte

Tuesday, 24 October 2017

Visit of an oil palm plantation (RSPO)

On 24 October, we visit one of many palm oil plantation companies in central Kalimantan. It takes us most or less than three hours to get from Palangkaraya to the company. In there, we gain a lot of information about the palm oil production, how many palm trees there are and how big the company’s income is in one year. We also have lunch there and take tour around the company’s area. After that we go back to school, and in the evening we have dinner together for Mr Schmidt’s farewell. All in all, we learn a lot and have a lot of fun, too.

 

Lerning about how palm fuitis being processed

palm fruit

truck full of palm fruit

school truck for workers' children

Monday, 23 October 2017

School-day and working process on common goals

a regular lesson

students and parents contribute their ideas for our future school partnership

Teamwork for creating our Memorandum of Understanding

Rehearsal for our music performance at the school assembly

Sunday, 22 October 2017


International Gibbon Day

new pet?

                                                      When I grow up,  I will drive a tractor

Swimming in the creek

Dayak meets Cuba

We are on our way to the Dayak dance school, and I have no idea what is awaiting us. Once we arrive, we are welcomed by many people of all ages. As soon as the older teenagers start dancing, I am amazed how many little difficult moves they can perform and also how they use heavy bracelets to make sounds. Afterwards, younger children present their traditional Dayak dance, and it was very good. After the show, the dancers show us basic steps. I just love dancing and it is sooo much fun! Then Mr Smith starts teaching us how to dance Salsa. We start with basic steps and gradually learn more difficult moves. I have to sweat so much but I can’t stop laughing because it is really awesome. I feel like a waterfall. We often switch partners and the Dayak dancers are really talented! They must have music and dance in their DNA. 

                                                                                                                                       Adriana          

           

                                          on our way....

Dayak drummer

             

               Salsa dance

                
Saturday, 21 October 2017

On Saturday, we go cycling to somekind of waterfall. We have so much fun, we lovedit! The water is cold enough to cool you down. After we finish cycling, we relaxe for about 2.30hrs before we go to Ibu Utami's house to watch a Balinese dance called Tari Pendet, which is also known as a "welcoming dance".

Some of the girls are learning to do the dance and it is fun! Meanwhile, the boys are learning Tari Kecak.

We have pizza for dinner at Ibu Utami's place, which is delicious! And also we enjoy our movie night. We watch a documentary about Orangutans and their lives after the get released into the Orangutan's Island by BOS.

Cycling tour 

Balinese dance

Friday, 20 October 2017

Aerobics

8:00 a.m.  1, 2, 3 to the left, clap your hands.

We all, students and teachers together, start the day with aerobic in the school yard.

Permaculture Kalimantan

At the Centre for Sustainability and Culture, Permaculture Kalimantan, we are welcomed by Frederika, Jayadi and Arisai under the burning sun. Chicken, cows and goats work on the subject of sustainability. Life demonstrations of permaculture inspire to look at gardening holistically:

·       chicken scratching in mobile tractors,

·       zone designs

·       companion planting

·       express composting

·       chop and drop

  reduce, reuse, recycle

While Charlie fights with a coconut, we produce fresh and cold-pressed coconut oil. 48 coconuts make 5.5 litres coconut oil, and of course soaps, ropes and natural fertilizers. 

http://www.permakulturkalimantan.org/

http://www.permaculturevisions.com/what-is-permaculture-2/starting-out-in-permaculture/some-essentials-of-a-permaculture-site/zones-in-permaculture-design/

Culinary Delicacies

Indonesian spinach is the leaf of cassava and tasty with rice. Cashew nuts grow on trees and they also bear eatable, and yet, funny tasting fruits.

Mud fights for sustainability

To build a pond, we seal the first layer of the hole with mud. The second layer will be of manure. We do not exactly feel devastated to be back in Berlin by that time. Various mud fights accompany our hard work.     

Borneo Institute

The institute presents its highly committed education programme for local farmers on forestry and planting fruits and vegetables to gain land rights. They advise the local Dayak farmers to create sustainable agricultural environments to secure their living long-term. That is what the institute calls the green living fence.

http://borneoinstitute.org/                                                                                                             Sabine, Jossif, Lisa, Birte

Thursday, 19 October 2017 

Boat Trip Orangutan

We have an early start for our "Wow Borneo" boat trip along Rungan River. For seven hours we enjoy the juicy green jungle. One highlight is the eye to eye encounter with Orangutans, who are secured by Borneo Orangutan Survival. The pre-release island prepares around 25 Orangutans to survive in the wilderness before they are set free. We get extraordinarily close to one Orangutan and can look him in the eye.

Arthur fascinates us with his magic card trick

Gold Dredging 
Interestingly, we see many boats dredging, collecting gold in the river.

 

  





Delicious Lunch
One the boat, the crew cooks a delicious lunch for us, and we spent the time singing, playing guitar and playing cards.

Floating Library
Secondly we visit a floating library, Ransel Buku, in the small village Katimpun. Young children welcome us with songs and dances. They are both shy and curious at the same time. Some of them even proudly jump into the water to swim and dive. In return, we sing the song The lion sleeps tonight for them. BCU students donate some books. The floating library has been established to encourage children in remote areas to learn to read.  For more information, follow the link:

http://ranselbuku.org/

 
Birdnest
Along the riverbanks, numerous windowless towers attract swiftlets, a kind of bird, with birdsong blasted through loudspeakers. In those towers, swiflets buildt their nests- sold to China for cooking soup.

Listen to the birdsong:
http://freesound.org/people/RTB45/sounds/253150/

End of the Day
For the teachers, the day ends with work at the computer at Utami's internet porch. She serves tea, coffee and snacks. Thanks.
                                                                                                            Sabine, Lisa, Jossif, Birte


Wednesday, 18 October, Visit to Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS)

Tuesday, 17 October , A Warm Welcome at BCU

Teachers’ breakfast at Utamis’s – lovely homemade bread and pineapple jam contribute to a great start of our first day at Bina Cita Utama school. The students arrive by bus at 8 o’clock and then we’re expected at the school grounds where a traditional Dayak welcoming ceremony is taking place.

We witness a staged martial arts „fight“ between strangers who become friends. The Dayak chief of the region gives us his blessings and then we are invited to officially enter the school grounds.

A group of BCU-students presents a Dayak dance in traditional costumes and we are amazed of their beautiful movements and grace. After some Indonesion snacks the students join their partners in their lessons while the teachers have a school tour visiting various classrooms and feeling welcome by every person we meet on the site. The groups are rather small – there are between 10 and 17 students in each classroom – and there is a huge school garden right next to the building. We take a walk through the forest right next to the school and view a „forest art gallery“ where giant wildlife pictures are displayed along the path in the middle of the forest, surrounded by the sounds of crickets, birds – and many more animals which we cannot identify yet.

After a short lunch break – tasty lunch at BCU with students and school staff – Frederica from „Yayasan Permaculture Kalimantan“ comes over to give us an introduction to the topic of permaculture and also shows us how they apply permaculture principles to the school garden. We learn about „banana circles“, „aquaponics“, „living fences“, „worm farms“and how to keep chicken in a way that makes sense.

Plastic bottles are recycled as „bricks“ and old car tires are made into walking paths. There is a special installation to clean dirty kitchen water by letting it flow through certain kinds of plants in a special order – a cool idea! We are also amazed by the variety of plants growing there: cashew nuts, papaya, chili, the special „Moringa“ trees, pineapple, cocoa.

In the evening the teachers share a diner with some teachers and volunteers of the BCU at the restaurant Rungan Sari Resort and finally Jossif arrives. We enjoy fried bananas with cheese and chocolate.                                                                                           
                                                                                      Sabine, Lisa, Birte

15/ 16 October

A long journey to meet our friends

12 o’clock - ready for takeoff to start our big adventure with Garuda airlines via Amsterdam and Jakarta. 27 hours later we finally reach the lovely airport of Palangka Raya. 

Arrival
After receiving a warm welcome by Sati and Utami we are taken to a restaurant to enjoy a delicious dinner with our partners and their families - the atmosphere is very friendly and open. Typical Indonesian food is served (salad with okras and sate, brown fried rice served in a banana leaf and a wonderful cake) and we almost forget that it’s only lunchtime in Berlin – and 5 hours later here in Palangka. 

The students are leaving for their host families’ homes in Palangka Raya, while the teachers have to take a 45 min-trip to their accommodation at Rungan Sari Resort – the place where the school is located as well. We explore “our” nice wooden houses and there are some friendly insects to get used to before we fall asleep to the wonderful sounds of the forest.

                                                                                                                                   
Lisa, Sabine, Birte