Profile information
Host rating
80 %
Last replied
1 Mar 2020
Feedback
12
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Badges (3)
Details
Description
Hi Workawayers, I am Aras (30) a local from Battang Village, Palopo, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. We need help with environmental, nature conservation and building human resources in our area.
My village is in a mountainuous area, 12 kilometres from Palopo Town and still including to administrative area of Palopo town. You will pass my village on your trip from Palopo to Tana Toraja regency.
Our organisation manages and maintains a tropical rainforest area which covers 1.617 hectares granted by the Forest Ministry of Indonesia Republic for 35 years later. By educating the local people to be more productive as a community, we demonstrate how to use only natural resources. Such as wood, bamboo, rattan, palm etc. In order to avoid man-made materials.
We are trying to organize an eco-tourism object, agroforestry and sylvofishery, camping ground, trekking access, river tubbing and many more. Forest watch system (protect the forest from illegal logging and build fire-free system) is also one of our target to build. We need helps about how to run and manage these all. The government can't help more to build. Great ideas from worldwide travellers about how to run and show us the best way to organize these is all we need.
The purpose is to develop community welfare by non-timber collection (avoid community to do deforestration) and get benefit from tourism object we are struggling to build. So, we will make sure the forest area to be kept protected to produce health natural environment with good human resources.
I'm a plants and insects lover. I can accompany for butterflies and moths identification with their hostplants and breeding researches.
We can do lots of things in this village. Camping, hiking, trekking, jungle exploration, meet with local with their culture, hanging out in the town and exploring Tana Toraja in the weekend or visiting more attractive but non-touristic places like natural waterfalls, valleys, top of the mountain and even entering natural caves. For you who love meditation, I have a good friend who knows very much about meditation. He will always ready to share the knowledges and experiences of him.
Working time and type are flexible, not must be minimum 4 and maximum 5 days in a week with 3-4 hours/day.
We charge 3 times meals a day for $3.
This is to make sure there is nothing goes wrong with meals availability and type of meals.
We can provide common Indonesian meals type.
Rice, fishes, tempe, tofu, various vegetables, noodles, eggs, combined with traditional foods as your wishes.
In the weekend workawayers could go holiday around the city, about 15 kilometres from the project or go to Tourism region, Tana Toraja.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help with Eco Projects
Help around the house
Charity Work
Language practice
Art Projects
Teaching
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Workawayers could learn about the local culture, local language, see the local daily activities (working in the garden, the process of making sugar from palm trees, invited for butterfly sightseeing around the river and waterfall, moth trapping process all the night (I myself who is the guide). Lepidoptera breeding, I can show the real Sulawesi butterfly and moth species, life-circles, how to treat them, know their hostplants.
If you are luck in your time, workawayers could attend in a local wedding party, birth celebration or funeral ceremony. In a free time you can visit formal and non-formal school and interact with childrens around. You can enjoy beautiful panorama of the town, ricefields with mountainuous panorama and the city. This must be enjoyable and very exciting.
Help
- Permaculture, organic farming guidances, showing how to make an organic fertilizer, organic pesticides and herbicides and plants treatments for farming and plantations.
- Showing how Recycle System looks like, make arts things from recycled and natural materials around.
- Design and Setting up facilities for tourism object such as flying fox, butterfly dome cage with the enclosure (this is my most dream, if there will be a guy who has the experiences about this) fishing pond area, the garden around the pond, home stay structures.
- Workawayers who could bring plant seeds and the equipments for gardening (flowers, vegetables, planting gloves) are appreciated.
- For workawayer who has passion in art (painting, craft, music, etc), feel free to tell us everything you need and we will always give our best to provide them.
You can show even teach the process of making art to the local.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Indonesian: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
At the moment we have 2 different areas where workawayers could choice where to do their activities:
- Pond area, closer to main road to Toraja, we just need to across a river. There are fish ponds in this area. We are breeding Koi fish at the moment. As accommodation, 2 simple small rooms and the facilities (mat, bed, sheets and pillows available) shower and compost toilet available. This area is very close to a river where you could washing and even swimming there. The river has clear water. Electricity is available but still uncovered by network connection.
- Gardening area in the hill, about 500 meters from main road to Toraja, far from busy. In this area workawayers could adopt their real gardening skill. You can plant vegetables, trees, flowers, etc. A simple accomodation available with shower and toilet. This area is where you will always meet the farmers, watch their acivities in an agroforestry land including how to make sugar from the extract of arenga pinnata. From this area we can access some camping grounds with their nice panoramas quickly. This area is covered by 3G network connection. Electricity from small capacity of a solar panel in the accomodation.
We are still upgrading to complete all the facilities, especially make sure our's workawayers's privacy kept. The situation of these 2 area are very calm, far from noise and busy. You will only listen to the 'nature's songs'
Workawayers could choose where they want to live after see the accommodation directly. My house which is located in the side of main road is also available for workawayers. Locals are always welcome and friendly to foreigners.
What else ...
I get internet connection all the time so I can give reponse quickly. In the time off helpers can do their own activities (cleaned up clothes, tidying their room, making interaction with the locals, preparing the meals, etc)
Various transports always available in this village. Hitchiking, public mini bus and taxi. But we recommend workawayers to directly contact us when arrive in Palopo City so we can pick them up. Our team will always available even for last minute workawayers.
Other Note:
Please make sure your schedule/plans before sending request. This is important for us to arrange everything with your coming. We expect serious volunteers only.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4 hours a day, 4 days a week
Feedback (6)
our daughters became friends with Aras'nieces, we met many friendly and interesting people in that house.
Unfortunately we weren't able to stay there as long as we wished because of the Coronavirus crises.
If it had been possible, we would have loved… read more
During their stay, they decorated our shop where we sell our forestry products and finished the painting indoor and outdoor. They paid all the expenses. Kayla is a very talented girl in painting. Her drawings is wonderful and stunning.
In free chances we go over the mainroad to pick the trash with… read more
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
our daughters became friends with Aras'nieces, we met many friendly and interesting people in that house.
Unfortunately we weren't able to stay there as long as we wished because of the Coronavirus crises.
If it had been possible, we would have loved… read more
During their stay, they decorated our shop where we sell our forestry products and finished the painting indoor and outdoor. They paid all the expenses. Kayla is a very talented girl in painting. Her drawings is wonderful and stunning.
In free chances we go over the mainroad to pick the trash with… read more
Really interesting eco-project . Despite I was there 6 weeks it feels like few days , so much interesting things going on all the time! This was my first workaway experience but I'm sure not last one. Quite sure will go… read more
In our… read more
We did lots of amazing activities during in here. Gardening, camping, attending celebration, visiting school and sharing with the students. We also visiting some interesting tourism spots in Tana Toraja and stay there for one night in tend. We got very nice view, sunrise with beautiful… read more
Aras do all the time the best for you! I don't have word to describe what I lived with him and all his familly/ community....
Thank you for everything. I hope to see you again!
