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 - Fish curry
 - Terong
Monday 6 July 2009
Most of the time I eat local style cuisine, although porridge for brekky is a regular western indulgence. Here are a couple of images of some recent memorable meals prepared by my trusty housekeeping guy.
The first dish is basically Goldfish (carp?), quite small, cooked in a beautiful coconut curry. The fish was purchased at a local market and cooked the same day. Sometimes he brings home a bag full of live fish and kills and cleans them here.
The second dish is Indonesian Eggplants (Terong) cooked in a spicey tomato sauce, served with Baby Kailand, a sort of spinach, and of course rice.
For good measure Nino also cooked chooks' foots (kaki ayam) which are his favourite. But for my money they are over-rated. Not much taste, no meat, and I'm forever spitting out toe-bones!
I can't believe how much rice I go through – the rice cooker is always on the go and most meals have rice on the side.
Wednesday 20 May 2009
These are some of our friends who are helping with the Rockefeller Foundation Project and with the other Indonesian work.
Yunus is the manager of the newly created ICLEI Cities Climate Centre in Bonn. He is from Turkey and has a long work history in the environment. We met last week in Istanbul and we've already generated a list of opportunities for ICLEI Oceania and the Climate Centre.
Sam works for ARUP in London and does the project planning and coordination for the Rockefeller Project. He's an Australian, which is a plus, but comes from Sydney, which is a bit of a worry. He's been a great supporter of our Indonesian team and brings an enquiring mind and dry sense of humour to the complex climate change arena.
Ken is a Climate Scientist who works for ISET, which is a sort of thinktank for social action and climate change, based in Boulder, Colorado. He's now working from Bangkok doing a lot of the hands-on coordination for Rockefeller and can be relied upon to liven up a meeting with some loopy Colorado-style humour. He is also quick to point out to anyone who will listen that climate scenario modelling is indicative only, i.e. we don't really have any idea what's going to happen!
And Nino is my right and left hand. He helps me with domestic stuff, language coaching, business advice, navigating Jakarta and is also my social consultant. he comes from a village in central Java and has a fantastic mix of streetwise Jakarta savvy and village skills and values.
 - Pak Sarimun, Executive Director APEKSI
Sunday 10 May 2009
Kupang is a city of about 200,000 people in the southern tip of Timor – the Indonesian part of Timor that is. It is at the eastern end of Nusa Tenggara Timur, which is a line of islands leading from Bali down to Darwin. We flew there two weeks ago to participate in a local government regional meeting.
Apart from ratifying lots of decisions for feeding into the national congress in June, the meeting was also focusing on the links between climate change and poverty.
This is one of the poorest parts of Indonesia due to poor soils, variable rainfall and a scarcity of other resources. And climate change is already being felt here.
I delivered a rather nervous presentation in Bahasa on climate risks in Indonesia and a process for cities to follow to plan their climate strategies – then enjoyed following the rest of the proceedings as observer.
We ate fish, fish and more fish – grilled, fried, baked... washed down with fantastic juices from the local fruits. Not a drop of alcohol to be seen, although Kupang is a largely Christian Island (with a Muslim Mayor!).
The area reminded me of northern Australia rather than Indonesia, with low scrub, rocky volcanic outcrops and lots of open, dry grassy areas. Big diving industry and currently reviving its sister city relationship with Palmerston, NT, by hosting an 8-Ball Championship.
I knew I was still in Indonesia but sort of felt I was back in Oz.
Wednesday 15 April 2009
Last week were the Indonesian General Elections – a huge exercise with over 4000 candidates and 170 million voters across the country. I went to the village in Central Java for Easter and followed my host family while they voted.
The polling booth was in the local elementary school just like in Australia. We walked along small paths between houses to get there, passing rice drying in the sun, cloves drying in the sun and Cassava crisps, drying in the sun.
Before leaving home the family had studied the form guide.They could vote for 4 people from a field of 160 candidates representing 14 parties. There was a lot of discussion around the merits of the Demokrats (President SBYs party) versus the PDIP (Megawati's party). But Megawati has been buying a lot of votes lately, throwing parties in the villages, and my friends were skeptical about this approach.
To ensure they didn't vote twice, everyone had to dip their finger in black ink on leaving the booth – simple but effective! Some of the amusement parks back in Jakarta were offering 50% discount entries to anyone with black fingers, to encourage voting.
As it turns out, it looks like the Demokrats have had a resounding victory across the country with over 20% of the votes. This will give them the ability to field a presidential candidate in their own right without having to do deals with other parties. So SBY will very likely be returned for a second term after the presidential election in July. Should be a recipe for stability and continuity of government policies, which will make my job a bit easier.
Monday 23 March 2009
In late February I took a week off, hired a car and drove through central Java. An Indonesian friend came with me. Although he doesn't drive, he helped with the driving by operating the horn for me. In Indonesia you need 3 hands to drive – steering wheel, gear lever, horn.
We arrived late in the evening at his village and negotiated the tiny, rock-lined laneways in the dark and driving rain, finally parking precariously in front of his house. Fell asleep to the sound of water rushing past, in the gutters above the house and the stream below. It's been raining continuously in this part of Java for weeks now and everywhere we looked there was water.
We did quite a lot of driving around the region and everywhere was evidence of the destructive power of water. Landslides are a common occurrence and we were held up quite often for roadworks where the roadways had given way, or mud and rocks had slipped onto the road. But on the bright side, landslips generate local economic activity. At each road block, there could be a dozen locals "helping" motorists by holding up signs, talking to us, and collecting a donation for their trouble. You don't dare refuse, as a refusal may result in an accidental scratch down the side of the vehicle.
The rains present huge challenges for the municipal engineers. It seems almost impossible to construct a road surface which can withstand the undermining effects of water. We spent a lot of time rocking our way along roads which were more like choppy waves than pavement. And potholes! They are carefully designed so that every time you pick up speed to do a really dangerous overtake, there is an extra deep pothole just where you need to duck back onto your own side of the road.
Friday 20 February 2009
One of my favourite getaways in Jakarta is to go up to the hill city of Bogor. Bogor has been the retreat of the wealthier families in Jakarta for a century. Beautiful green, hilly area, lots of old Dutch architecture with the centrepiece being the heritage listed Botanic Gardens – Kebon Raya.
Basically it rains and rains and rains in Bogor – one of the wettest places in Indonesia, which is saying something! I travelled by express train, then walked to the main entrance. As soon as I had entered the gardens the rain started and of course my umbrella was all snug and dry back in the apartment. Not to worry, an enterprising local was selling sheets of black plastic for 5 thousand rupiah. A rip-off but who was I to argue.
After the rain eased I had a good walk around, then headed for the pavilion restaurant for some nasi goreng. Enjoyed eating under the shelter of the thatched verandah while the rain came down again. The highlight of the meal though was a birthday party at the other end of the pavilion. Looked like a group of girls in their early teens plus families. They had a 4-piece band – bass, guitar, drums and female vocalist – doing folky Indonesian songs and the entire birthday group joined in, singing in natural harmonies. Joyful and spontaneous!
Then back to the train. Had to wait about half an hour before it left but we were well entertained by buskers, beggars and hawkers. Once they had fleeced us of all our small money they magically disappeared and the train took off.
Thursday 5 February 2009
The wet season has really arrived now. December, January it tries to rain, but February is the real thing. Most days we have had several hours of rain, sometimes light and sometimes drumming down.
The newspapers are full of stories about flooding and landslips. Take Monday’s and Tuesday’s papers for example (Jakarta Post 2,3 Feb)
"Heavy floods and landslides ravage Central Java over weekend – heavy rains over the past three days have caused flooding and landslides
in several regencies in Central Java that have left at least six people dead."
"Heavy rains grind capital to a halt – heavy rain that fell through the night Sunday inundated Jakarta’s streets and brought Monday morning rush-hour traffic to a stand still, as superstitious residents began to prepare for a repeat of the flood that submerged most of the city on this day in 2007."
And some of the causes?
"Clean canals could reduce flooding by 40%: Dredging Jakarta’s rivers and canals could reduce flooding in the city by 40%, an expert from the Netherlands says."
And the catchments above Jakarta?
"Ade Basir Baesuni, an environmental activist, said the source of the (Ciliwung) River was now in critical condition because forests in Puncak (the highlands) had been cut down to make way for massive holiday villas and buildings, and rice fields had been converted into residential areas."
It’s okay though, my feet are dry on the 19th floor.
 - Village
 - Apartment complex
 - Mosque
Thursday 22 January 2009
So now I've moved in and am enjoying the vista from floor 19. This is a really interesting part of Jakarta as it is next to an old village area but also close to new high rise apartments, offices, embassy buildings, hotels etc.
We hear roosters, goats, 2-stroke bacai, lots of singing (organised and random) and a constant burble from 5 am to 9 pm. Then everything goes dead quiet! And at 4 am I get the Call to Prayers from at least 6 mosques, including the big white job at the base of this building. Amazing how you learn to sleep through it!
Gradually navigating my way through the intricacies of setting up in a foreign country. Do I need a certificate from Immigrasi or not? How to set up a bank account for ICLEI? How to get reasonably reliable wireless internet in my apartment? Where do you put the garbage?
Last week was Bangkok meeting with Rockefeller people and a range of advisers and partners from the other countries in this project – Thailand, VietNam and India. This week we've been meeting with a couple of groups in Jakarta who will be doing the "deep engagement" with the target cities helping them to assess their climate vulnerabilities and design responses.
Speaking of climate, there are several parts of Jakarta under water right now, some predictable but some being attributed to new developments blocking off the traditional water escape routes. It's the wet season, but most of the rain seems to be coming at night. A bit different from the heat waves engulfing Melbourne now!
 - Taman Rasuna apartments
Thursday 8 January 2009
This is my first attempt at blogging, so readers please treat me kindly!
Our fearless leader Wayne thinks it would be a good idea for me to record some of our experiences in Indonesia, so here goes.
Last year (2008) I visited Indonesia 6 times and spent a total of about 12 weeks in country all up, working to establish a solid ICLEI presence in the country, and project managing the Rockefeller Foundation Resilient Cities Project.
We’ve now decided that I will set up house in Jakarta for 2009 – sort of switch things around for a year. Now my base will be in Jakarta and I will come home every couple of months for family time and meetings in Collins St. My home will be on the 19th floor of one of these towers. Part of a complex of about 20 apartment towers in southern Jakarta, complete with its own mosque, swimming pools, rooftop park and eateries and commercial centre.
The good thing about this location is that our national partner APEKSI have their offices in this complex, and it is fairly central to all the other organizations I need to visit.
More about living in Jakarta once I have arrived on 16 Jan.
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