Knowing More Than Just Mollo

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Lakoat.Kujawas Homestay is located on Jalan Kampung Baru, No. 2 Taeftob Village North Mollo, Southern Central Timor, East Nusa Tenggara. It is located 130 km away from Kupang or 18 km north of SoE City, lakoat.kujawas offers more than just a house to stay, enjoying the typical fresh air of the mountains, a wealth of history and tradition, the hospitality of Mollo people, cooking and enjoying a variety of local food directly from the community houses. Managed by Christian Dicky Senda, a short story writer who has a great interest in arts and culture of Mollo with his farmer parents and have a great interest in the culinary world. Dicky is currently researching the diversity of Mollo local food along with its processing recipes for the purposes of writing literature. (Mollo, Selayang Pandang, can be readhere)

the host: Dicky, Mama Rika and Bapa Senda

We offer a number of special activities. If you're in lakoat.kujawas on Thursday, you will be invited by Dicky to explore traditional markets in Kapan, the capital district of Northern Mollo. There, you will find vast organic agricultural products from the community, including food ingredients that are rarely found in markets. You can shop and cook them together with Dicky and Mama Rika in lakoat.kujawas kitchen. Another excitement that we offer is trekking to several villages surrounding Tafetob Village, meeting with the weavers and eating local food in Bosen Village (weaving class with Mama Yakobeth and friends is a special offer for you), interacting with oranges and betel farmers in Lelokasen. Or, you can choose to do the trekking, further and more challenging to Manesat Anin and Noebesi village as far as 8 km, round trip on crystal clear Sebau River from Mutis Mount, heading to the south coast of Timor. In Noebesi and Manesat Anin, you can visit the weaver and community garden, harvesting sweet potatoes and vegetables, learning to make bose corn and cooking with local residents. There are several special menus, such as bose corn, boiled yellow cassava and roasted sweet potatoes, all of which can be enjoyed with grilled chicken and gala-gala (turi) flowers lu'at chutney.Don't forget to bring books or make some fun activities with children there. 

Kapan traditional Market

Lakoat.Kujawas Homestay is integrated into social entrepreneurship project tried to be developed by Dicky Senda tried together with his native Mollo friends with the mission of ecotourism development in Mollo. Those integrated include co-working space with library and discussion room as a platform for various employment opportunities in achieving and collaboration work with Mollo community in arts, literacy, culture, agriculture and creative economy. Lakoat.Kujawas is also pioneering an online store on Instagram, selling several typical products of Mollo, such as typical organic lu'at chutney of Mollo, Mollo homemade coffee, organic corn bose, Mollo honey forest and woven fabrics of Mollo. So when visiting Mollo, you will not only stay and enjoy the richness of nature and culture of Mollo, but you can also try a brand new experience in interacting and exchanging experiences with the locals, learning local wisdom and contributing anything, moral and material for the development of local resources. (See also 5+1 Things You Needto Know about Mollo).

Below are several other tourist destinations that you can visit while staying at Lakoat.Kujawas.

1.      Oehala Waterfall, located in the region of Central Mollo. It takes about 20 minutes by private vehicles leased from local people to reach this cascading waterfall. You can enjoy sunset with a view Mollo Mount and Noelmina Valley from Bolaplelo altitude, stopping by orange and vegetable plantations Oelbubuk and Netpala. Netpala Village itself is one of the oldest indigenous villages in Mollo.

Oehala waterfall

2.      Fatumnasi, it has natural forests and rivers. It is one of the entrances to Mutis Mount, which is considered sacred by people Mollo. In protected forest near Fatumnasi, you can see Ampupu trees, a type of flourishing eucalyptus, even a part of forest had been dwarfed, and forming a natural bonsai. In Fatumnasi, you can stay at Lopo Mutis Homestay, run by Anin family. The host, Father Matheos Anin is friendly figure and is one of the elders of Fatumnasi. Staying in Lopo Mutis in the form of ume kbubu, a traditional house of Dawan tribe, that will provide an amazing experience. For you who are interested in learning the culture and history of Mollo people, Father Anin is one of proper speakers. If you come to Fatumnasi on Monday, you can go to traditional markets and shop for local food ingredients to be cooked with family of Father Anin. In the afternoon, it can be an opportunity for trekking to the carrot, potato, leek and garlic plantation owned by community or bathing in the river of which springs originated from the slopes of Mount Mutis. Do not forget to buy woven fabrics created by women in Fatumnasi as souvenirs. On the way to and from Fatumnasi, there are several attractive points that you can visit, including Fatukoto Lake, and drop by to one of the important sites of Mollo people, namely Fatunaususu which has become a symbol of opposition of the residents who refused marble mining, a dozen years ago. 

Netpala Village

3.      Promenade in Kapan Town, the capital district of North Mollo. It is one of the old towns in Timor, built by the Dutch when they desired control over the sandalwood trade route in Timor, reportedly it was once called Midden Timor, for it became a halfway point in the territory controlled by the Dutch, before being moved to SoE, into Zuid Midden Timor, a level equals to regency and remains until today. Prior to the Dutch entry, Kapan itself was still a part of Oenam kingdom, led by King Sonbai, and there were many Chinese who came to trade and married to local residents. The traces of Chinese descents in Mollo can still be found today in Chinatown, O'besi Village to remote areas in mountain slopes of Mollo. Since the 1950s, the people from Bugis and Sabu also entered Kapan, from initially traded every day in markets, to finally settle down and form its own community. Bugis Village in the old market areas (nearby Embun Mollo VIllage and Chinatown) and the village settlement of Sabu people in new markets. In Embun Mollo Village, Rest house was once built, and is highly popular as a guest house for important officials and guests visiting Timor, including General Nasution. Unfortunately, the historic building was torn down and rebuilt for a new structure, thus losing its historical value. In Kapan, if you are interested in learning the art and culture, you can meet two key figures, some kinds of physicians who master various Mollo traditional treatments, and one the other one is speaker of indigenous languages, especially in the field of marriage which is increasingly rare to encounter. Of course, in Kapan, there is also a platform for creative economy or social entrepreneurship called Lakoat.Kujawas which is seeking to collect local potentials into a new force in the hope of being managed by community for common interest.

4.      Kote Fortress in Sebau, was one of the royal bastions in Mollo once upon a time. Currently, the ruins of the bastion and traditional houses are in preservation efforts by the next generation. Nearby the castle, there is a river flowing throughout the year, crystal clear water flowing from Mutis Mount towards the south beach. There are several points of camping on the riverbank that can be your choice to spend the night and enjoy the cool air of Mollo Valley.

Fatumnasi

For more information, you can contact us:

Email: lakoat.kujawas@gmail.com or dickysenda@gmail.com

Telephone: 081338037075 (Dicky Senda)

Or see our profile on Instagram @lakoat.kujawas, Twitter @lakoatkujawas, blog www.lakoatkujawas.blogpspot.co.id and Page www.facebook.com/lakoat.kujawas

NB: Currently, lakoat.kujawas provides 2 bedrooms with a capacity of 2 people per room, and we are currently building two units of ume kbubu (traditional house of Dawan tribe) with a capacity of 3 people per ume kbubu in Taeftob Village. In the near future, lakoat.kujawas will also be integrated with other homestays run by residents in Taeftob Village and in other villages in the region of Mollo. The tariff per room is IDR 75,000/night, including breakfast. The price is not included lunch and dinner, public transportation (taxibikes or shuttle) to several location points and local tourist guide services.

the Hill in Netpala Village

How to reach Lakoat.Kujawas?

Our location in on Jalan Kampung Baru, No. 2, Taeftob Village, North Mollo, TTS, NTT.

From Kupang:

1.      Take Kupang - Kapan travel service. Depart from Kupang between 1-3 pm. It takes around 3 hours. Phone Number of Travel Service 081210999432 (Hendrik Travel). The tariff is IDR 50,000 / person (shuttle).

2.      Take busses from Kupang-SoE or Kupang-Kefa or Atambua-Kupang from Oesapa Kupang. Get off in Kapan branch. Bus fares IDR 30,000/ person. In  Kapan branch, take a taxibike to Ibu dan Anak Hospital, it costs IDR 5,000. Take yellow public transportation from the junction next to Ibu dan Anak Hospital Nonohonis, it costs 15,000/ person.

Mama Mina, the weaver, our parner di LKJWS

 How to reach Lopo Mutis homestay in Fatumnasi (if you want to go to Mount Mutis or Mutis forest) from Lakoat Kujawas:

. Use ojek, it costs IDR 35,000, or use public trasportation (kind of pick up car) it costs IDR 20,000. You can also rent a pick up, it costs IDR 200,000 for one way.  

Souvenirs from Mollo:

Lakoat.Kujawas produces lu'at organic chutney (original and beef liver), Mollo homemade coffee, jagung bose, and Mollo forest honey and sells woven fabric produced by weaver group of Noebesi. They can be ordered via Instagram @lakoat.kujawas.

Mollo typical woven fabric can also be found in Kapan traditional market (every Thursday), Fatumnasi traditional market (every Monday) and Tobu traditional market (every Saturday).

Translated by Yustin Liarian

Lakoat.Kujawas Homestay

Organic Mollo Coffee

A Proud Atoin Meto

https://www.facebook.com/ThomasBenmetan

I was asked to write something about Timor based of my point view as an Atoin Meto who grew up in Timor Tengah Selatan, especially in Kapan, North Mollo. It is a very big pleasure of me to share about how proud  I am to be born as a Timorese. Many things to explain, but I will make it short why I and all the Timorese people should be proud for our homeland.

Firstly, I would talk about the land. Everything is still natural in Mollo, where you can easily breathe and feel the cold air without any doubt about how many poison that already filled your lungs. You may consider it as something exaggerate. But yeah, it’s true, even though it is still hard to find a good signal for your gadget, proper transportation and some other things that related to modern life.

Ume Kbubu

When I was a kid, I spent many time playing in the forest with friends. We made toys from what items that is available on us like newspaper, rubber band, trees, leaves, woods, can, bottle, rind and et cetera. And it was so amazing that I have ever experience that kind of childhood things. What I learn from my childhood is the importance of being connected with the nature. It taught us be more creative, to utilize everything around us for our own goods. 

The second thing is how I perceive Timorese people, which in Dawanese language we called “Atoin Meto.” Some people may consider that Timorese people are lazy, because when they woke up in the morning, the first thing that they do is sitting inside “Ume Kbubu” to warmth their body.  Yeah, true, but that is not what I want to talk about. The point is, Timorese people are very open with new things. Hundred years ago, many Chinese, Savunese, Bugis people, Muslims, Catholic, Rotenese and Flores people came to this island as merchants. Timorese people accepted them with an open hand and since that time they are peacefully living alongside one and another. Some of them married with Timorese, making families and having a good relation one and another without taking the diversity as a disaster. The proof of good assimilation and acculturation in Timor can be seen in Mollonese Monarchy where some of them are Chinese descent.

Want to know another example? Just come to Kapan, a small town in North Mollo during the time of Easter or Christmas celebration. You will see many Muslims (where most of them are Bugis descents from South Celebes) who participate in some of the celebration. They join the parade of Easter, they attend to many competition and blend with the atmosphere of Christmas or Easter. They celebrate it also without worrying to lose their faith.

Not only that.  You may consider to attend wedding party in Kapan. You will find that there will be a special dining table for Muslims, for they are prohibited to eat pork. The dining table for Muslims are served with dishes that contains halal food, which means that there will be no pork in their food. Isn’t amazing? Diversity proves peace.

Last but not least, the third thing that I want to share is I am so proud with the culture of Timorese people that is still preserve until this era. One of the Timorese philosophy is about how we regards the earth as like as we regards human body. It says that:

 “Nasi Fani on Nafus, Fatu Fani on Nuif, Afu Fani on Nesa, Oel Fani on Na’”

Which means: “The forest is our hair, the stone is our bone, the land is our flesh and the water is our blood.”  This philosophy proves how deep and how strong the relationship between human and Mother Nature. For Timorese people, earth is a mother, and they are her children. What they do is to protect their mother who is giving them life and provide everything that they need.   Timorese people respect the earth as like as they respect their body, and if one part of them is taken away, they are paralyzed. Nature and human cannot be separated. We life alongside, also depending on one and another.

Living in a small town called Kapan taught me to be someone with a strong will who is not easy to give up. My parents once told me to believe that it doesn’t matter where I came from, I have to prove that even I am from a small town that is lack on many things, I can stand as high as people who is living with prosperity. It motivates me to pursue my dream, yet I am not forgotten where I came from. Since high school I left my hometown, but I still remember what they said to me and what should I do for my hometown after I got the dream in my hand. Because wherever I go, I am still bringing my title as a Timorese, as an Atoin Meto who were born in a small town, near the river down the mountain. Mollo has taught me to dreams without limits. 

For those who has never been in Mollo, I do hope that my reflection could be a picture to you, to understand and to know more about Mollo. And for Atoin Meto who read this, be proud of who we are, and perceive everything in our motherland as a gift from God that we should responsible to keep it, to develop it while not leaving its roots. And do remember that“you can take a Timorese out of Timor, but you cannot take Timor out of a Timorese.”

Sincerely,

Thomas Benmetan

Apa yang Sebenarnya Sedang Terjadi?

Hari ini saya merasa seperti tersesat dalam banyak pertanyaan yang belum mampu saya jawab ketika hadir di sebuah festival budaya yang diselenggarakan oleh pemerintah kabupaten tempat lahir saya, Timor Tengah Selatan. Saya datang tanpa rencana dan tertawan begitu saja oleh banyaknya kain tenun dengan ratusan motif yang menandakan keanekaragaman subetnis kabupaten TTS. Ada cerita dari masing-masing lembar kain. Ada nilai, roh dan makna yang dalam di sana. Menenun adalah wujud pemikiran dan rasa tertinggi dari perempuan Timor Tengah Selatan. Saya lantas memikirkan hal ini...

Coba Anda perhatikan kain-kain berikut.

Indah, ajaib, super, fantastik, entah kata apa lagi. Pernahkah berpikir lebih  jauh, tentang daya imajinasi, kreatifitas, pemaknaan yang dalam, kemampuan matematis, daya ingat, dan hal kompleks lainnya?

Pernahkah sejenak berpikir lebih jauh dari sekadar kagum, bahwa kain-kain ini diciptakan oleh perempuan-perempuan luar biasa dari TTS? Dengan melibatkan segala bentuk olah pikir-olah rasa. Perhitungan yang begitu cermat dan cinta yang dalam. Kawan, kekayaan ini, harta karun ini, diciptakan oleh perempuan-perempuan TTS.

TTS, Timor Tengah Selatan.

Kabupaten yang harus kita akui, dengan sedih, masih menyumbang begitu banyak problem TKI tak berdokumen lengkap, human trafficking hingga dugaan korban penjualan organ tubuh? Perempuan yang dikepalanya tersimpan harta karun tadi. Mereka yang terbujuk rayu mencari hal-hal semu di luar sana. Ada yang salah. Lalu apa?

Terus terang, saya masih terus merinding ketika pulang dan menjauh dari ribuan lembar kain beraneka motif luar biasa di festival tadi. Begitu luar biasanya kekayaan intelektual perempuan TTS. Tapi di motor saya terus diingatkan, bahwa hingga detik ini saudara-saudara perempuan kita dari TTS masih saja menjadi korban perdagangan orang.

Apa yang sedang terjadi? Apa yang salah? Menutup pertanyaan refleksi ini, saya teringat cuplikan wawancara aktivis yang gigih mengadvokasi korban human trafficking, Romo Leo Mali, Pr, kepada ucanews.com.

"Terlalu banyak orang yang belum melihat masalah human trafficking atau perdagangan manusian sebagai sebuah isu serius, termasuk warga Gereja. Belum banyak yang peduli, termasuk Gereja itu sendiri."

Semoga dengan pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang mengganjal seperti di atas, terus mendorong kita juga untuk peduli dengan lingkungan sekitar dan mulai untuk melalukan sesuatu, meski kecil, untuk orang lain.

Salam

Dicky Senda

Reflection As An Atoin Meto

www.twitter.com/sandrafrans

I was asked by Dicky, a closest friend of mine and also the founder of Lakoat Kujawas, to write something about Timor from a perspective of an Atoin Meto¹ who is currently studying in Australia. Moving to Melbourne from SoE, South Central Timor, clearly makes me always comparing the situation here in there. My Taiwanese teacher at the University of Melbourne once said that for international students, being in a foreign country will make us to reflect a lot. Students do learn much about their country themselves when they are abroad. They will realise the uniqueness of things that used to be taken for granted in their home. I undoubtedly agree with him. Even until 1.5 years here, I still do reflections. I write some in my personal blogs as well. Because I am here not only to pursue my degree but also to learn about life, about people, and about nature. In this article, I will write about two personal thoughts linked to Lakoat Kujawas (future) projects.

The first one is the power of exchange knowledge. Last year, I lived in a flat with a senior lecturer of my university. He used to encourage me to attend many public lectures, held mostly by the university. He said, one of the nicest things you get in Melbourne is you will find it is so easy to access knowledge. All the public lectures are free. And it’s not only for students and staffs but it is open for public. I really enjoy to attend those seminars. Some are about health and public health. Some are about things that are not really related to my study, such as history, politics, physics and science. Even sometimes I couldn’t understand all contents. But it’s not the point to absorb all materials. It is about open my mind to all useful information and knowledge. Because at the end of the day, every thing is connected each other. For instance, you cannot speak about health services without involving the economic development. Moreover, by attending public lectures, I am just expanding my networks. I met a lot of incredible people from these events.

This free public lecture experience is a totally new for me. In Indonesia, there may no such thing as free (well, I am exaggerating things). But seriously, free seminar is really rare. I know a friend, who ever said that even if they want to hold a free seminar in a university, it takes so long and complicated bureaucracy. And probably sometimes they should pay for the room and for the permission.

I reckon that sharing knowledge is really important. This world is moving so fast. If we are not trying hard to catch valuable information, we are just left behind. By learning more and more everyday, it will open our mind, shape our perspective and make us a better person. And we don’t have to come to Melbourne to make it happens. We surely can do it now in Timor. In Forum SoE Peduli (a local non-profit organization in SoE), we have tried to start this idea of exchange knowledge. We ever made several seminars in various topics. And we will be more than happy to collaborate with Lakoat Kujawas. There are a lot of potential human resources from SoE. We can invite academics, practitioners, entrepreneurs, students, social workers, public servants, and public in general to come and discuss about one topic each meeting. Of course we also need people, who are expert in this topic to lead the conversation. So the talking will be based on evidence. The main point here is we learn from each other. It only needs commitment and consistency from the event makers. I think, this simple move will lead to a good change in the future.

The second reflection I want to share here is how Australian agencies make the most of their natural resources for example, tourism destinations. Couple months ago I traveled to Great Ocean Road (GOR) with a tour bus. GOR is on of the highlight tourism attraction in Victoria. It is a long road, built by world war veterans. The key destination of GOR is to see 12 Apostles, which are stones standing at the side of the oceans. Unfortunately, they are only seven or eight (but mind the catchy name, that actually not to connected with the history of the stones J). During the trip, we stopped at almost ten stops to take a rest or simply just take a picture. I cannot say it was an incredible journey though. But I really appreciate how they make each place becomes special. The access is really good. They provide explanation board in every stop, and even the driver bus is communicative. I learn some important things from him. Such as, how indigenous people think a Koala is an ‘evil’ creature, because Koalas always sleep, but they can alive. When I was at this trip, i remembered Timor island a lot. The beach scenery along the GOR journey was cool. But Kolbano beach scenery was cooler. When I saw the 12 apostles, I remembered the great Fatu’un at Kolbano. Fatu’un is much more enormous than these stones. And don’t forget all the giant stones at Fatumnasi. They are just so incredible. Our government just still doesn’t think it as a historical and great natural phenomenon.

Well, I might be wrong to make a comparison between the places. The place is never wrong, we are humans, who take responsibilities to these places may be. Here, Lakoat Kujawas (and all of the Atoin Meto) can play an important role to respect and to introduce our beautiful natural resources. However, let’s make it gentle. Don’t be too rush to over promote those innocent lands, forests, mountains, and beaches without a proper preparation. Because as we are all aware, they are so many greed people out there, who are secretly (or even really) looking at new territory for their own businesses. We obviously don’t want to be like the mainstream tourism destination in Indonesia, where the lands are owned by foreigners. So, let’s empower our local people to make them realise that we are so blessed with this nature. And it is us, who take responsibilities to sustain these resources. It is us who know our lands better.

I just want to add something about my GRO trip. When we arrived at those stops, I never saw the staff there. Almost all stops are free. Everyone can access it. And there is no staff who guard the place from (naughty) visitors who let’s say will write with marker ‘Sandra and Yosua, forever’ at the walls. So, basically, people can do whatever they want to do. The nice thing is there is (almost) no rubbish. The places are clean. They provide rubbish bins for sure. The walls, the benches, and everything are clean as well. And every tourist consciously takes care of their own rubbish. Well, I reckon it’s about habit. In Indonesia, we put attention seriously about cleanliness in our home. People even sweep every single leave at their ground. However, once they reach public areas or places that are not theirs, people do not care anymore. They throw away the candy wrap on the ground and so forth. So, the simple act we can do now is how to pay respect to our natural resources. We need to treat the land as our own home, and indeed this is our home. By doing this, we will feel more attach to this land, and it will lead us to be more ‘protective’. We then may feel the eager to learn more about our land. And then together we can empower our surroundings so in the future, it will become a beautiful tourism destination, powered by local people.

So, these are two points about living in Australia, from the academic side and also from the tourism side. When I read the proposal of Lakoat Kujawas projects, I saw hope. This is a dream that comes true, to see Timor from a new perspective, not a land full of social problems, but a land full of rich natural and human resources. Together we can enrich each other. I am looking forward for collaborating with Lakoat Kujawas in projects, such as public seminars, building library, travel promotions, or even in my area about health education. Keep moving forward!

Greetings from The cold, windy and rainy Melbourne.

(Sandra Frans, A medical doctor and an activist at Forum Soe Peduli, who is studying master of Public health, focusing on Women’s health and social science at the University of Melbourne). 

¹ Atoin Meto: (Dawanese language referring to people who come from Timor)