Hi there folks! It’s been a while since we write for the blog. We miss the camp so much because of everything (literally everything!) and decided to make “collaboration post” to share our unique experiences when volunteering. If you look at the pictures, you can see the handsome one is me, Andika. In the middle is our newest LFP’s video narrator, Lindy. And on the left is the “future-possible super cook”, Hafizh. LOL
Early Bird’s Sight
Honestly, I divided the blog content by our “active time” when we actually had to work out to the fields. Mine is in the early morning until early noon, around 5 AM to 9 AM. I do birdwatching here to count and identify the amazing birds around Cipaganti Coffee Plantation. It’s a lot of fun of course!! I get to see rare birds become common birds, sharing stories together with villagers and farmers, and getting new photo stock. Living in Cipaganti gave me an idea to perceive the world from a different view. Cities cannot sustain itself without places like Cipaganti, and the demanding market (people living in cities) are shaping the lives of the people in the village too. Conservation has become very important to manage these changes to “not go too far” and destroy our own sustainability on this planet. The camp is very alive, well not in the morning because everyone still sleeps with those warm and cozy blankets and pillows. We love to play board games called Catan at night, eat pasta, and got caffeinated until 12 AM. Well, I think Hafizh really want to tell stupid stories from the camp and about Miskin, you’re up boy!!
Plant vision
Actually, I’m working at a very normal active time. I do coffee plantation assessment and insect sorting and identification starts at 9 AM. When I go outside, the village feels so alive because farmers start working in the field and kids are playing around. It’s fun doing coffee assessment in the field because sometimes we met farmers, and also, we can eat fruits like oranges around the coffee plantation. So fresh and delicious. Doing the insect sorting and identification is a little bit boring. You just stare at so many insects and sniffing ethanol. But it’s weirdly fun when you found some insect type that you haven’t met before. The camp is cozy and the people are so kind. When Saturday comes, sometimes we play Catan and eat good pasta. I love when we gather at night and laughing together. One day, Marco made a cup of coffee for us and someone excited and dancing weirdly out of the blue, it’s really funny and we can’t stop laughing. Miskin? She’s an adorable cat (even though she scratch and bite) but for me, fluffy is the best. When the nights come, its Lindy’s turn to tell her story.
Night Owl!
My day starts at 5 pm and ends at 5 am most days, complete opposite of the others, but that’s what happened when you’re observing nocturnal animals. It’ll start with preparing myself for 15o weather by wearing 4-5 layers of clothing and then gathering all the equipments and data sheets for the day. Then, I’ll wait for the tracker and we’ll start the hike to the loris of the day. I’m not big on exercise, so the first time I had to follow a loris whose range is pretty far from the camp and was a big climb, I had to stop multiple times because I almost died, hahaha. When it gets dark, we’ll start wearing our headlap, and after the first few days, I started wearing a headband because the lamp leaves a mark on my forehead! When we finally found the loris, we’ll begin our long hours of observation, and every night I hope they do something interesting so I don’t fall asleep. My experience with LFP has been a huge learning experience and an overall great one that I won’t forget anytime soon. I hope I can go back for more adventure!
Once again, we would like to thank everyone that makes our experience awesome. We believe in what LFP is doing and we think everyone should too! We’d love to go back soon!
1. Andika Darmawan
2. Baladzuri Hafizh Fathoni
3. Lindy Priyanka Ramadhin
