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Kawah Putih, Jabar

2009-04-16T16:00:00.004+07:00

Gunung Patuha oleh masyarakat Ciwidey dianggap sebagai gunung yang tertua. Nama Patuha konon berasal dari kata Pak Tua (sepuh), sehingga masyarakat setempat seringkali menyebutnya dengan nama Gunung Sepuh.

Lebih dari seabad yang lalu, puncak Gunung Patuha dianggap angker oleh masyarakat setempat sehingga tak seorangpun berani menginjaknya. Oleh karena itu, keberadaan dan keindahannya pada saat tersebut tidak sempat diketahui orang. Gunung Patuha pernah meletus pada abad X sehingga menyebabkan adanya Kawah (crater) yang mengering di sebelah puncak bagian barat. Kemudian pada abad XII kawah di sebelah kirinya meletus pula, yang kemudian membentuk danau yang indah.

Tahun 1837, seorang Belanda peranakan Jerman bernama Dr. Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn (1809-1864) mengadakan perjalanan ke daerah Bandung Selatan. Ketika sampai di kawasan tersebut, Junghuhn merasakan suasana yang sangat sunyi dan sepi, tak seekor binatangpun yang melintasi daerah itu. Ia kemudian menanyakan masalah ini kepada masyarakat setempat, dan menurut masyarakat, kawasan Gunung Patuha sangat angker karena merupakan tempat bersemayamnya arwah para leluhur serta merupakan pusat kerajaan bangsa jin. Karenanya bila ada burung yang lancang berani terbang di atas kawasan tersebut, akan jatuh dan mati.

Meskipun demikian, orang Belanda yang satu ini tidak begitu percaya akan ucapan masyarakat. Ia kemudian melanjutkan perjalanannya menembus hutan belantara di gunung itu untuk membuktikan apa yang sebenarnya terjadi di kawasan tersebut.

Namun sebelum sampai di puncak gunung, Junghuhn tertegun menyaksikan pesona alam yang begitu indah di hadapannya, dimana terhampar sebuah danau yang cukup luas dengan air berwarna putih kehijauan. Dari dalam danau itu keluar semburan lava serta bau belerang yang menusuk hidung. Dan terjawablah sudah mengapa burung-burung tidak mau terbang melintasi kawasan tersebut.

Dari sinilah awal mula berdirinya pabrik belerang Kawah Putih dengan sebutan di jaman Belanda : Zwavel Ontgining Kawah Putih. Di jaman Jepang, usaha pabrik ini dilanjutkan dengan menggunakan sebutan Kawah Putih kenzanka Yokoya Ciwidey, dan langsung berada di bawah pengawasan militer. Cerita dan misteri tentang Kawah Putih terus berkembang dari satu generasi masyarakat ke generasi masyarakat berikutnya.

Hingga kini mereka masih percaya bahwa Kawah Putih merupakan tempat berkumpulnya roh para leluhur. Bahkan menurut kuncen Abah Karna yang sekarang berumur ± 105 tahun dan bertempat tinggal di Kampung Pasir Hoe, Desa Sugih Mukti; di Kawah putih terdapat makam para leluhur, diantaranya : Eyang Jaga Satru, Eyang Rangsa Sadana, Eyang Camat, Eyang Ngabai, Eyang Barabak, Eyang Baskom dan Eyang Jambrong. Salah satu puncak Gunung Patuha, Puncak Kapuk, dipercaya sebagai tempat rapat para leluhur yang dipimpin oleh Eyang Jaga Satru. Di tempat ini masyarakat sesekali melihat (secara gaib) sekumpulan domba berbulu putih (domba lukutan) yang dipercaya sebagai penjelmaan dari para leluhur. Alam pemandangan di sekitar Kawah Putih cukup indah; dengan air danau berwarna putih kehijauan, sangat kontras dengan batu kapur putih yang mengitari danau tersebut. Di sebelah utara danau berdiri tegak tebing batu kapur berwarna kelabu yang ditumbuhi lumut dan berbagai tumbuhan lainnya.

Perum Perhutani mengembangkan WW Kawah Putih sejak 1991. Fasilitas yang terdapat di WW Kawah Putih diantaranya Musholla, MCK, bangunan pusat informasi, areal mini zoo, tempat bermain anak-anak, kios dagang. Keadaan jalan pada umumnya baik dan beraspal sehingga dapat dicapai dengan kendaraan dua maupun roda empat. Jarak tempuh dari Bandung 47 km.

New Kuta Golf

2008-10-31T15:27:00.008+07:00

New Kuta Golf is awarded IGOLF Laureate Course from International Golf and and Life Foundation (IGOLF) --a Switzerland-based non profit foundation promoting environment prevention. New Kuta Golf is the first golf course in Indonesia received the certificate for its effort to rehabilitate critical karst land into an international golf course.
New Kuta Golf maintained four Pura (Hindu worship house), and build one new Pura in cooperation with local religious leaders. Most of the golf course workers are local residents.
New Kuta Golf, a member of the Intra Golflink Resort (IGR) will host the European Tour -Indonesia Open 2009.

New Kuta Golf Raih Sertifikat Laureate Course IGOLF

2008-10-31T15:12:00.000+07:00

Lapangan golf pertama di Indonesia penerima sertifikat pelestarian lingkungan

Jakarta, 29 Oktober 2008 – New Kuta Golf salah satu lapangan golf dalam jaringan Intra Golflink Resorts (IGR) serta tuan rumah European Tour - Indonesia Open 2009, baru-baru ini mendapat anugerah sertifikat "IGOLF Laureate Course" dari International Golf and Life Foundation (IGOLF), sebuah lembaga nir-laba berbasis di Swiss dengan misi mempromosikan pelestarian lingkungan dan kepedulian sosial oleh lapangan-lapangan golf di seluruh dunia.

Suprapto Pegeng, direktur operasional IGR, mengatakan, "Kami merasa sangat bangga memperoleh pengakuan Internasional dalam hal pengelolaan lingkungan hidup dan masyarakat sekitar. Sertifikat 'Laureate Course' dari IGOLF merupakan bukti komitmen kami untuk menjadikan New Kuta Golf sebagai lapangan golf kelas dunia yang peduli terhadap pelestarian lingkungan dan juga memberdayakan masyarakat sekitar."

New Kuta Golf merupakan lapangan golf pertama di Indonesia yang menerima sertifikat 'Laureate Course' dari IGOLF dalam usahanya merehabilitasi lahan tidak produktif berupa kawasan bukit kapur yang gersang menjadi sebuah lapangan golf bertaraf Internasional, serta pemanfaatan cara-cara inovatif untuk memastikan bahwa air untuk pemeliharaan lapangan tidak menggunakan cadangan air tanah yang ada, tetapi dengan memanfaatkan air permukaan yang bersifat payau melalui proses desalinasi. Sedangkan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan listrik dalam proses desalinasi, New Kuta Golf merencanakan untuk memanfaatkan tenaga angin dan matahari sebagai pembangkit listrik.

Secara lengkap pengakuan IGOLF kepada New Kuta Golf diberikan atas usaha-usaha sebagai berikut:

•Pelestarian cadangan air tanah
Lapangan New Kuta Golf terletak di bagian pulau Bali yang sangat kering, untuk mengatasi hal tersebut telah dilakukan beberapa hal untuk memperkecil dampak terhadap persediaan cadangan air tanah. Lapangan New Kuta Golf juga ditanami rumput yang dapat bertahan hidup dengan menggunakan air asin dan payau.

•Pembangunan pembangkit listrik tenaga matahari dan angin
Untuk memenuhi kebutuhan listrik, New Kuta Golf akan membangun pembangkit listrik ramah lingkungan yang pada tahap awal dapat memproduksi 100.000 – 250.000 watt. Nantinya akan dikembangkan menjadi 30 mega Kva; baik untuk dipakai keperluan sendiri, dijual kepada pemerintah setempat dan untuk keperluan masyarakat sekitar dengan harga lebih rendah.

•Pelestarian Pura
New Kuta Golf telah melestarikan empat Pura dan membangun satu Pura baru dalam kawasan lapangan golf, bekerjasama secara erat dengan masyarakat dan pemuka agama setempat.

•Menciptakan lapangan kerja bagi masyarakat sekitar secara optimal
Sebagian besar dari karyawan New Kuta Golf merupakan masyarakat sekitar. Jumlah seluruh karyawan saat ini mencapai 380 orang termasuk 100 diantaranya adalah caddy. Selain itu, perusahaan juga menyediakan asuransi kesehatan yang merupakan hal baru bagi para pekerja dari lingkungan setempat.

"IGOLF dengan gembira menyambut bergabungnya New Kuta Golf sebagai 'Laureate Course' pertama di Indonesia," kata Paul Sochaczewski, IGOLF chairman. "New Kuta Golf telah melakukan rehabilitasi lahan tidak produktif, serta langkah-langkah inovatif untuk memastikan bahwa air yang digunakan untuk pemeliharaan lapangan tidak menggunakan cadangan air tanah, tetapi air permukaan dan melalui proses desilinasi. New Kuta juga akan membangun pembangkit listrik tenaga matahari dan angin. Selain menyediakan lapangan kerja dan asuransi kesehatan bagi masyarakat sekitar yang bekerja di New Kuta Golf."

New Kuta Golf yang akan menjadi tuan rumah European Tour – Indonesia Open 2009 juga merupakan lapangan golf tipe Links pertama di Indonesia, hasil karya Ron Fream dari GolfPlan yang juga merupakan anggota IGOLF Council of Expert. Seperti kebanyakan lapangan golf tipe Links lainnya di dunia, New Kuta Golf juga berada di kawasan yang sangat dekat dengan pantai, kondisi tanah berpasir, beberapa bagian merupakan bukit pasir dengan kolam air namun jarang terdapat pepohonan. Hal ini mencerminkan kondisi dan pemandangan alam seperti aslinya, karena bentuk alami lahan tetap dipertahankan.

IGOLF adalah organisasi Internasional nir-laba, non-pemerintah berbasis di Swiss. IGOLF mempromosikan pelestarian lingkungan dan kepedulian sosial dalam industri golf di seluruh dunia, dengan fokus awal di kawasan Asia Tenggara.

SAFARI Goes to School

2008-10-24T13:51:00.001+07:00

Alman could not wait to go to school today. Since he woke up early in the morning he continued to ask his mother, whether or not the tiger and some other wild animals have come to his school. "Can I feed them Mom, can I touch them," he asked his mother.
At his school, TK Qurrota Aini Baitussalam in Bogor, West Java, the six-year old boy could not sit still. His eyes oftenly glimpsed at the street in front of his school.
"They are coming...they are coming." Alman shouted enthusiasticly when a white minivan with green stripes and a tiger-skin mark entered the school yard.
It's the team from Taman Safari Indonesia (TSI) --an ex-situ conservation center located at Cisarua in Bogor, West Java-- who came to the school for its wild life education program.
Few minutes later, a year-old Javanese tiger named Riko, get off from the car and walked calmly with his keeper, toward the kindergarten school children. Some children shouted in amusement.
Riko's keeper, Heri, asked the children to sit quietly. He began to give explanation --in a very simple language as he can-- to the children on where the tiger live and how he survive.
Heri has succesfully kept the children to sit quietly in about 45 minutes. After question and answer session, he asked the children to take a closer look to Riko and touch him.
"Touch him gently. Not at his mouth please," Heri told the children.
"In fact, we are planning to bring some birds here, but due to technical problems, we can only introduce Riko here," a spokesman of TSI, Yulius H Suprihardo said.
In its school visit, the TSI team usually brought wild animals such as tigers, birds, orangutan, or snake to share information with the children about the animals' life. The children would also be allowed to touch some of the animals.
Wild life education is one program in the ex-situ conservation center, in addition to research and recreation programs.
"We have main programs namely education, research and recreation," Yulius said.
The program is aimed at introducing wild animals to the children, especially animals from Indonesia. "We have a lot of wild animals around the country, and the children should know about them," he added.
The education program targeting school children from kindergarten, elementary to junior high school in Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi).
"In the future, we want to reach school in other regions such as Bandung. For schools in East Java and Bali, we have similar program run by our fellow in Prigen Safari Park (East Java) and in Denpasar (Bali)," he said.

Angklung exports worth Rp4.3 billion

2008-10-15T14:34:00.001+07:00

Bandung, W Java, Oct 14 - Export of West Java traditional music instrument, angklung has reached Rp4.3 billion per year.
"Orders for Angklung and the market increased, the export value averaged at Rp4.3 billion per year," said Saung Angklung director, H. Taufik Hidayat Udjo.
Taufik who was accompanied by Udjo Satriya, Saung Angklung Operational Manager, said that overseas market's demand is increasing like those from Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and several Middle Eastern and European countries.
The biggest angklung exports are to Korea worth Rp500 million, Singapore Rp250 million, Malaysia Rp75 million and the rest is exported to other countries.
Angklung is a West Java traditional music instrument made from bamboo. To produce a certain tone, the artist would shake the instrument, and in harmony with others, it would produce a song.
Angklung production at Udjo's Saung Angklung reaches 19,200 units per month with 12 craftsmen.
"Recently we are cooperating with craftsmen in Bekasi, Tasikmalaya and Ciamis regencies, East Java. Craftsmen in those areas have existed for a long time, but their products do not suit angklung standards," Satriya said.
Relating to regional potentials, angklung contributes five percent of export products. (ant)

Koreans seek business opportunities in RI

2008-10-15T14:04:00.001+07:00

Jakarta, Oct 15 - Seven South Korean franchise companies were seeking business opportunities in Indonesia, according to a South Korean businessman.
"Indonesia with a population of 230 million is a huge market. Our taste is also similar, both like spicy food," Deputy Director of the Korean Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) Dug Gyou Bok said here on Tuesday.
The only Korean fast-food franchise operating in Indonesia so far is "Toreore" fried chicken restaurants located at Kelapa Gading commercial area and Soekarno Hatta International Airport.
"While, Nonghyup Mugochon restaurant franchise just entered Indonesia six months ago," he said.
Six other franchise companies interested are KBT (grilled bread and fruit juice), FNB Korea (ginseng chicken and rice soup), Ojeomo (fried chicken), Daehoga (Korean porridge and health food), DIZ. CO.,LTD and INTO FOOD SYSTEM (food and beer restaurant).
The Korean trade mission will hold a meeting in Jakarta on October 23, 2008. They will also participate in "Franchise & License Expo Indonesia 2008" to be held at the Jakarta Convention Center, on October 24, 2008. (ant)

Fruit-picking and learning at Mekarsari

2008-09-24T13:06:00.004+07:00

Indonesia is rich of tropical fruit. To prove it, one can visit Taman Wisata Mekarsari (Mekarsari Fruit Park), the world's largest tropical fruit garden in Cileungsi, Bogor of West Java.

From rare fruit such as menteng (similar with lanseh fruit), kemang (taste like kweni - a kind of mango), and dutch sapodilla to new fruit species like nangkadak (a mixture of jackfruit and cempedak) can be found in the 264-hectare tourism park.
You can pick the fruit directly from the tree, but only for some fruits that can easily grow any time such as starfruit, salak (snakefruit), melon, water apple.
Mekarsari collects 1,437 species of fruit, the largest collection in the world, planted in a 88-hectare of land. To observe all these fruits, the garden has provided shuttle trains and guides.
"Not only Indonesian fruit, we also plant fruits from Amazon, Portuguese, and Malaysia," a spokesperson of Mekarsari, Catherina W Day said.
Mekarsari is the world's largest center for tropical fruit conservation. It takes only 45 minutes by car from the capital Jakarta to reach the Garden.
Mekarsari park was founded by the late former first lady Tien Soeharto in 1995 as a fruit park and has been managed by PT Mekar Unggul Sari, one of the foundations created by the Soeharto family. It has undergone major renovations in recent years, including a water park, camping park and treehouses.
Visiting hours from 09.00 am to 16.00 pm, Tuesday to Sunday.
In addition to fruitwalk, Mekarsari also offers other trip packages such as planting paddy and vegetable, composting garbage, washing buffalo, and lake-trip.
Other facilities are Family Garden, lake-trip (20 ha), Baby Zoo, Rusa Tutul, Garden Center, Greenhouse Melon, Outbound, Corpse Flower, Kids Fun Valley, and Leo tree-house.
Visitors are suggested to wear comfortable suits like t-shirt, hat, and wash their hands after farming activities.

Saving big trees from bats

2008-09-16T13:36:00.001+07:00

The presence of bats in Bogor Botanical Gardens in West Java might become one point of interest for visitors. But the bats could turn into one serious problem for the conservation center if the population continue to increase and difficult to be controlled.
The so-called "pohon kalong" (bat trees) was popularly known, to identify trees that have become favourit places for bats to spend their daytime. These bats left no space for the trees to grow their leaves in the branches.
Big and tall trees such as almond and camphor tree are favourite places for bats and usually they hang on small branches.
"The bats sink their claws into small branches during daytime. They also produce certain chemical substance that could keep them stick to the branches," head of ex-situ conservation at the Plant Conservation Center, Bogor Botanical Garden (PKT-KRB), Sudjati Budi Susetyo said.
These, have caused the branches to wrinkle and the leaves fell down. At the end, the tree it self will be rotten and die. The damage could be seen months after.
"Two or three hundreds bats in a group of big trees would become a good view for visitors, but when it reaches thousands, that would become a problem," Sudjati said.
In fact, the botanical garden management has no effective solution to reduce the number of bats except a mechanical method to trap them using nets.
When the sun set, a wide net was raised in a location between big and tall trees in the botanical garden. The net was set in an area that used to be the route for bats to pass by and begin their activity.
Some officials of the botanical garden keep watching the net to see if there are bats trapped in the net. Once the net "catch" some bats, they roll down the net and take the bats. Then they raise the net again, and this is repeated for some times until the sun rise in the next morning.
Usually, in one trapping only two or three bats were catched, and 30-40 bats were catched in one day trapping.
There is no data on the number of bat population in the botanical garden, but Sudjati predicted that the amount could be more than 10.000.
"At least one thousand bats could hang in one same tree. The flying mammal occupied a group of minimum 10 big trees and some of them also occupied trees around the group," he added.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson of Bogor Botanical Garden, Sugiarti said, the botanical garden's management has asked help from other institutions to find solution for bats problem.
"We are specialist in flora conservation, but not in bats," she said.
But until now, they have yet to offer effective solution, she added.
The bat's drops have also produced sting odors that could disturb visitors. "We are not sure whether the drops has also caused the tree to decay. But certainly its stink odors was very annoying."

Gong Home

2008-09-16T12:04:00.004+07:00

Sudah 63 tahun, Nasukarna (82) menggeluti profesinya sebagai pengrajin gong. Bengkel Gong Home miliknya di Bogor, Jawa Barat, merupakan satu-satunya pusat kerajinan gong di Jawa Barat yang masih bertahan meski jumlah peminat jauh berkurang.
Menjaga warisan turun temurun dan melestarikan budaya merupakan alasan utama bagi pengrajin gong itu untuk terus bertahan dan berproduksi.
"Kami tetap memproduksi gong walaupun tidak ada pesanan, nantinya gong ini akan disimpan, siapa tahu saja ada yang datang dan membelinya," kata Nasukarna.
Kerajinan gong tersebut merupakan usaha yang diwariskan turun temurun, dan Nasukarna merupakan pemilik generasi ke-enam.
Kebanyakan pesanan datangnya dari musisi gambang kromong diantaranya daerah Jakarta. Kini peminat kesenian tradisional gong sudah mulai menurun karena penikmat musik gambang kromong sudah mulai berkurang dan itu berimbas terhadap penjualan.
Selain Jakarta, pusat kerajinan gong itu juga pernah mendapat pesanan dari Medan dan Bandung, bahkan hingga ke luar negeri seperti Jepang, Hawaii serta Belanda.
"Kadang-kadang ada juga turis mancanegara seperti Belanda datang dan membeli gong untuk cinderamata disamping pesanan untuk diekspor."
Harga satu set gong untuk kesenian gambang kromong dipatok sebesar Rp19 juta, sedangkan untuk Degung harga satu set mencapai Rp 25 juta.
Sedangkan harga per buahnya bervariasi yaitu berkisar antara Rp1,8 juta hingga Rp3 juta tergantung dari diameter gong tersebut. Harga gong berdiameter 45 cm sebesar Rp 1,8 juta dan gong berukuran 75 cm dihargai Rp3 juta.
Selain itu adapula harga satu set alat yang bisa bernilai ratusan juta yaitu Gamelan Jawa dan Gamelan Bali.
"Yang paling mahal itu harga gamelan Jawa yang mencapai Rp 200 juta, sedangkan gamelan Bali mencapai Rp120 juta," lanjut dia.
Nasukarna telah menekuni profesi sebagai pengrajin gong sejak tahun 1945 dan saat ini dibantu oleh putra sulungnya, Trisno (27).
Bukan hanya pemilik, karyawan Gong Home yang berjumlah 18 orang pun juga bekerja secara turun temurun.
"Bengkel Gong ini sekarang mempekerjakan 18 pegawai yang merupakan warga sekitar bengkel dan merupakan keturunan dari karyawan sebelumnya. Kalau dulu bapaknya yang kerja disini sekarang anaknya yang bekerja disini," kata Trisno.
Jika pesanan sedang ramai, Gong Home bisa meraup keuntungan kotor hingga Rp70 juta.
Tempat usaha kerajinan gong ini terdiri dari dua bangunan terpisah, bangunan yang terletak di depan merupakan tempat pembuatan bonang, kenong dan gong, sedangkan bangunan dibelakangnya merupakan tempat "finishing" dan pembuatan dudukan alat-alat degungan.

Miniatur Kapal Phinisi

2008-07-24T14:13:00.001+07:00

About Us

2008-07-14T12:52:00.000+07:00

Srimandu is ready to provide information on Indonesia to local as well as international society. Srimandu will help businessmen who seek business contacts in Indonesia. Srimandu Inquiries room provides for those who want to offer their products to international buyers or buyers who want to get Indonesian products. Srimandu provides information on Indonesian-made souvenirs where buyers can send the order to us to get the products. Srimandu also provides information on business directories, places to visit, and other interesting information on Indonesia that might be useful for your business trip in this country. We are ready to bring you to various destinations, especially those in Jakarta and some cities around (Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi). Srimandu also provides translation service from Bahasa Indonesia to English as well as from English to Indonesia.

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Contact person
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