The Canada-based volunteer organization CADIP currently has volunteer opportunities at two restoration projects in Java, Indonesia that should appear to REVITALIZATION readers in any country.
Restoration of the Prambanan World Heritage Site at Klaten in Central Java.
This project follows an important global initiative for preservation of World Heritage sites since 2008. Arriving from all across the world, the volunteers will discuss issues related to world heritage and cultural diversity while actively engaging in the preservation of World Heritage sites.
Prambanan temple compounds is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Indonesia which is one of the largest temple compounds in Southeast Asia. It was built in the 9th century dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Wishnu and Brahma). The Prambanan temple compounds consist of Prambanan temple (also called Loro Jonggrang), Sewu temple, Bubrah temple and Lumbung temple with a total of about 240 temples. The temples were damaged by the earthquake in 2006 and volcano ashes from Kelud mountain eruption in 2014.
The volunteers will be introduced to the World Heritage Centre’s activities and campaign, as well as the history and dynamics of World Heritage sites worldwide. The Heritage Centre renders a symbolic dimension to heritage through debates and reflections, contributes to the restoration and preservation of cultural heritage, and improves accessibility and availability of information. The Centre also raises the awareness of the local population by creating a sense of ownership and identification. It also promotes cultural heritage among international volunteers and organizations.
The volunteers will work on restoration projects in the Prambanan temples. Before the restoration work begins, the volunteers will have a one-day orientation. This orientation will teach participants how to perform restoration work and will provide information about the history of the temple. This is a truly educational process, which will enrich the volunteers with cultural understanding and a lot of knowledge about the temples and the process of restoration.
Since the volunteers will be living in the local community of Bugisan, they will also engage in activities with the students of the local school. Volunteers will help promote preservation of the temples and do some activities like student competitions, culture exchange, etc. The volunteers will also campaign about world heritage preservation and preservation of Prambanan Temple in particular among the local community and visitors to the world heritage site.
Project dates: August 6 – August 17, 2018 and August 20 – August 26, 2018
Mangrove planting for coastal resilience in Mangkang, Central Java.
Mangkang is a fishing and farming village located in West Semarang. This project is answering to the needs of preserving the coastal side of the North Java Sea in Mangkang. About 1,1 km costal line in the Mangkang area is now in danger due to erosion, cutting of mangrove by local people and heavy force from the river flows. Before, many kinds of fish and shrimps lived there, but now since the condition of the mangrove forest has worsened, it is quite difficult to find these species anymore. Fishermen also need to put in more work and go further into the ocean to fish.
The garbage problem was raised again in the recent years. Lack of local awareness about environmentally friendly lifestyle destroys the nature slowly. People also face problem with the garbage management system, moreover there is no daily garbage pickup in the area. The local community started an initiative for creating stuff from recycled materials to decrease the impact of garbage to the nature.
The main focus of the project is preserving the natural diversity and the sea shore from the erosion because there aren’t any mangrove anymore and the currents from the ocean are too strong. The aim is to initiate protection of the sea shore by planting mangroves and to increase the awareness of local people, fishermen and local students to protect their environment as well as their future.
The volunteers will be planting mangroves and other trees on the beach. They will also get involved in environment education and garbage management discussions with local people and local children. There will be some manual activities to support the garbage management program in this area, school visits for environment education, green campaigning in the city centre, and promoting the mangrove fruits as snacks or foods.
Project dates: July 13 – July 26, 2018 and August 10 – August 23, 2018.
Photo of Prambanan by Arabsalam via Wikipedia.