Travelling to Palangka Raya

On Sunday 1 May the Aussie team gathered from Sydney and Newcastle at Kingsford Smith, munching on overpriced airport snacks, and boarded the plane bound for Jakarta. After a smooth flight and even smoother landing (compliments to the pilot) we arrived in Jakarta at 9.30pm local time.

However our brains still thought it was 11.30pm and we crashed out exhausted at our hotel for a few hours before boarding an early morning flight to Palangka Raya, in Central Kalimantan! We were greeted by a gorgeous full rainbow on a glowing sky, surely a good sign of things to come. We didn’t have much time to see the sights, with the exception of a trip to the inside of the consumer’s paradise HYPERmart to grab supplies. The most delicious beef stew served as fuel from a roadside vendor and then on the road again for the hour long drive to Rungan Sari.

No rest for the wicked – our first night of sleep was interrupted by rustling geckos and spiders passing by, and the crash of strange unknown creatures in the thick jungle outside. But no time to worry about that! After grabbing some basic amenities and setting up the office we have now started production…

But this is not the beginning. The process has been a long one.  A year ago we began in earnest; brainstorming, fundraising, pitching and development. Scheming skype calls from Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney, Rungan Sari, New York and Paris.  And we have had a lot of help, from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trading, Auspicious Arts, Catalyst Fund, the City of Palangka Raya, Yayasan Permakultur Kalimantan and forty private donors, as well as much valued support and advice from our families and friends.

THANK YOU! More adventures to come.