廃校 - Haiko Cafe

As I wrote this down from Indonesia, a country far away from Japan, I have no picture of the real cafe here. I only have this sketch of my imagination about Homei Haiko in the future, when people are coming again to this beautiful place hidden in the village of Yamaguchi Prefecture. I had took this photo approximately 2 months before the real event was finally done.

I had been living in Japan for around 3 months in between these places called Haiko, to be exact in an awesome prefecture named Yamaguchi. Just for your information, "Haiko" is a Japanese term of closed schools due to the phenomenon of declining birth rate in Japan.

This was one of the Haiko that I visited and have been working on during my internship in Japan, namely Homei Elementary School in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.

Last November 20th, 2016, there was a local village event, namely Homei Art Festival. Homei Haiko had the opportunity to become the first haiko in Yamaguchi to open the Haiko Cafe. This cafe will be a mobile cafe, will only sell simple products, and the most importantly, will only be open in the Haikos, in line with its name and concept to revitalize Haiko in Japan. The aim of this cafe is to invite people to come visit Haiko and see the true value behind this nation-wide issue. Hoping to make people realize, that revitalizing Haiko in villages can improve the basic necessity of life itself, the humane relationship again.

Apart from Haiko Cafe, they also collaborated with some local parties around Yamaguchi area, such as the bamboo-bike for village revitalization initiative, Spedagi Ato, which a branch of Spedagi Indonesia. And even local animation artist who showcased her works there, about beautiful things through her simple yet modern animation.

Isn't it amazing to see one abandoned place turns into a meeting point of many future posibilities?

For Haiko Cafe photos and more information, please contact: http://openhouse.co.jp/haiko-cafe/ . Do not worry, they do speak English too.


I know not all Japanese understand English, and not all Indonesian understand English.
Yet still, I wrote this not in Japanese, not in Indonesian, but in English. At least this is the only way I can help Haiko issues to reach more people, more perspectives and hopefully more idea for our sustainable future.

ID.29.11.2016
#laviniaelysia
#JapanLifeLesson

廃校 - Haiko Summit

"Haiko"  means "Closed Schools" in Japanese term.

Japan is now suffering from national low birth rate and high migration of the youth to the cities, leaving the schools in villages abandoned, and finally forced to closed.

There are around 8 Haikos in Yamaguchi Prefecture today, the buildings and infrastructure are still so good, the surroundings are still so natural and untouched. The best part is, the elderly people are still so young in mind and heart to share whatever possible to bring us, the young, back to these villages again.

They even created The Haiko Summit, in order to bring back life to these closed schools in the villages. They are gathering ideas from wherever and whoever possible to help waking the Haikos up again. I am beyond blessed to be trusted a chance to help them gather ideas on designing these Haikos into a new center where people will love to gather around villages again. If any of you would love to help them, just leave them a message of your young and fresh ideas, even if their site is in Japanese, they do understand English well.

Honestly, being a youth in this room had trully brought shame to myself and my generation. I know our generation are mostly born in the cities, not in villages. 

I know our generation are in love with convinient stores, not in ricefields and rivers. But we should also know, that our earth was basically born out of the nature, not out of the industries.

Therefore, let us respect and help those who knows this earth better, the elderly and eventually, the earth itself. We may be the young today, but we will be the old like them too, one day.

Thank you for reminding us to believe in life beyond the inconvinience. I am sorry for making you experience the convinience of my generation, we call it: your first-time-ever-selfie :D


Contact them at:
https://www.facebook.com/yamaguchiclosedschoolsummit/
http://openhouse.co.jp/


JP.09.10.2016
#laviniaelysia
#JapanLifeLesson

廃校 - Abandoned Treasures in an Abandoned Place

Every day is a story and every person is a story teller.

If you cannot record, just take photo.
If you cannot take photo, just write.
If you cannot write, just draw.
Whatever you do, keep a track of it.

Because you will never know,
That after 30 years,
Some random kids may find your story so inspiring.




Yasuhiko Tanaka, whoever you were, you're rock! Thank you for sketching the history in details. Your sketches have successfully taught my generation patience and proofed that pictures really do speak a thousand words.
@ Ato Bunko, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

JP.24.09.2016
#laviniaelysia
#JapanLifeLesson

Becak

Photo by Lavinia Elysia

Ceritanya lagi gerimis di Frontage, galau mau pulang:

"Pak, becak pak"
"Tindak pundi mbak?"
"Ten Petra pak, kos-kos'an"
"Nggih, monggo mbak"

Habis duduk, mencoba ngobrol:
"Pinten pak ning Petra?"
"Sedasa mbak, kayata biasa"
"Nggih pak"

Jalanan macet, mahasiswa pulang kuliah:
"Ben dinten macet nggih pak ten mriki"
"Nggih mbak, 6 taun biyen mboten koyo ngeten mbak, saiki akeh mahasiswa gadhah motor mobil apik-apik, becak'e sepi, embong'e rame"
"Nggih pak, wis jaman modern pak, ya ngeten niki pak"
"Nggih mbak, kula nggih bingung, lha kula kudu nyambut damel mbak"

"Nggih pak, kudu tetep semangat pak"

Sampai di kos, bayar:
"Niki pak, matur nuwun nggih pak"
"Cah Petra to mbak? Kok saged boso mbak? Asli pundi mbak?"
"Ya kudu saged pak, asli Malang mriki pak"
"Oalah mbak, podo mbak. Mboten gadhah motor mobil to mbak?"
"Mboten pak, mlaku mawon ben sehat pak"
"Oh nggih mbak, matur nuwun mbak, sukses mbak kuliahnipun"
"Amin pak, ben ndang lulus nggih"
"Amin, mugi sasampunipun mbak e lulus becak-becak dereng kukut nggih mbak"

Kesimpulan:
Mungkin saya emang nggak ingat kapan terakhir naik becak, tapi yang kali ini jelas tak akan terlupa.

SBY.20.02.15

#laviniaelysia

Dari Desa Untuk Dunia (From a Village, for a World)

Semua hal besar berawal dari hal kecil, seperti kota besaryang juga berasal dari desa kecil. Hiruk pikuknya kehidupan kota menimbulkan kerinduan akan tenangnya pedesaan dan menjadi inspirasi untuk menyatukan dua konferensi internasional; it's timeback to the village.

Di sisi lain, para narasumber dari luar negeri juga menyampaikan pendapat yang beragam sesuai dengan situasi dan kondisi lingkungan observasinya. Menurut Pitt Berkemeyer dari Jerman, "When it comes to the modern life, people in the city will try hard to come back to the village to get happiness, while people in the village will try hard to go to the city to earn money". Di sisi lain, Praveen Nahar dari National Institute of Design, India menyorot tentang nilai-nilai dasar sebuah desa, "Value base in village revitalization consists of knowledge base, skill base, and cognitive base", jelasnya.
Kyoko Okutani dari WWB Japan lebih melihat dari sudut pandang enterpreneurship dan kultur. "Entrepreneurship may make new things, but should not destroy the culture”. Sudut pandang dari social innovation disampaikan oleh Fumikazu Masuda, “Destination” host, Open House Japan, dan Professor of Tokyo Zokei, University Japan. Menurutnya, “Key concept for social innovation is based on 4 aspects called SLOC: Small (in scale), Local (not centralized), Open (to the people and society), Connected (with the rest of the world)". Tidak tertinggal isu turisme yang juga sedikit banyak berpengaruh dan mempengaruhi upaya revitalisasi desa. "There are 5 capitals relating to the tourism development: physical capital, human capital, social capital, natural capital, and financial capital," Daichi Iwase, Thailand.

Semua hal besar berawal dari hal kecil, seperti kota besaryang juga berasal dari desa kecil. Hiruk pikuknya kehidupan kota menimbulkankerinduan akantenangnya pedesaan dan menjadi inspirasi untuk menyatukan dua konferensi internasional;it's timeback to the village.

Semangat kelestarian dunia menjadi dasar dari pelaksanaanThe 1st International Conference of Village Revitalization (ICVR)dan The 9th International Conference of Design for Sustainability (ICDS). Dua konferensi yang berawal dari lingkup yang berbeda. Village revitalization berangkat dari kondisi keharmonisan alam pedesaan, sementara design for sustainability berawal dari metropolitan (Tokyo) dengan membawa beragam kompleksitas perkembangan desainnya.

Pelaksanaan dua konferensi tersebut berpusat di Desa Kandangan, Temanggung, Jawa Tengahsebagaidesa pertama di dunia yang menjadi tuan rumah konferensi internasional yang terlaksana pada tanggal 16-21 Maret 2014. Lokasi desa memang sengaja dipilih agar peserta dapat memperkaya rasa dan bersentuhan langsung dengan alam pedesaan.Program enam hari iniberhasil menarik perhatian peserta dari berbagai negara dengan variasi latar belakang usia dan pendidikan seperti mahasiswa, profesor, dosen, konsultan, desainer interior, desainer produk, arsitek, teknisi mesin, teknisi sipil, penulis, bahkan pembuat film.

Pembukaan dua perhelatan internasional ini memanfaatkan latar komposisi tempeh berlogo para pendukung acara di Tembi Rumah Budaya, Yogyakarta.Kegiatan esoknya berpusat di Bumi Langit Institute, Desa Mangunan, Imogiri, Bantul dipimpin oleh Iskandar Waworuntu.Agenda tersebut terlaksana dengan kesadaran bahwa permakultur merupakanesensisebuah desa, dimana petani memanfaatkan hamparan tanah untuk bercocok tanam, beternak, dan pemanfaatan produktif lainnya. Di sini peserta belajar bahwa dunia tercipta untuksaling menghormati dan melengkapi. Kegiatan hari pertama ini kemudian ditutup dengan makan siang hasil olahan permakultur dan diskusi tentang adab makan. Peserta mendapatkan pencerahan bahwa kesehatan makanantidak hanya dinilai secara fisik saat dikonsumsi tetapi juga secara spiritualdalamprosespembuatannya.

Seiring terbenamnya matahari, peserta tiba di Desa Kandangan, Temanggung lalu dibagi menjadi 3 kelompok untuk pertukaran 3 home stays setiap malamnya. Setiap malamnya para peserta akan menikmati suasana dan lingkungan sekitar bangunan Home stays berbeda-beda. Suasana di tepi pemukiman, di sebelah kolam dengan pemandangan Gunung Sumbing, serta di tengah kebun kopi yang akan memberikan sensasi berbeda dan juga memperkaya rasa serta keterikatan peserta pada suasana yang hanya bisa ditemui di pedesaan.

Harapan bahwa kegiatan selama konferensi akan terus diingat dan memberikan pencerahan dan inspirasi untuk masa mendatang. Desa juga kemudian menjadi lebih semangat, sehingga upaya merevitalisasi dan mengoptimalkan potensi desa akan terus meningkat.Konferensi ini merupakan langkah awal yang membuka mata dan meningkatkan apresiasi. Sudut pandang apriori terhadap desa harus dihilangkan untuk kemajuan-kemajuan bersama yang mengagumkan di masa mendatang. Salah satunya adalah pemanfaatan bangunan yang digunakan sebagai home stay selama konferensi ini sebagai fasilitas revitalisasi desa di kemudian hari.

Setiap hari peserta menikmatimakanan dan minuman olahan lokal yang disajikan dalam anyaman kotak bambu tradisional (besek) yang bisa digunakan kembali.Keakraban peserta dengan alam dan warga diperkuat melaluitur sepeda bambu pagi hari (Spedagi) mengelilingi Dusun Kelingan dan dilanjutkan dengan konferensi di dalam tenda di bawah rumpunbambu, duduklesehan. Satu hal yang tidak ditemukan di konferensi lainnya adalah para warga yang baru pulang merumput atau bekerja juga turut bergabung mendengarkan presentasi di tenda konferensi.

Konferensi ini juga menarik perhatian Mari Elka Pangestu, Menteri Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif Indonesia yangdatang pada hari konferensi, mengikuti tur sepeda bambu, menghadiri pertunjukan kuda lumping dan mengunjungi semua home stays. "Village's problem upon the modernity is on fund raising, marketing, and training", ungkap Mari Elka Pangestu, Menteri Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif Indonesia dalam sambutannya. Beliaumendukung ICVR-ICDS dan berharap acara ini membantu Indonesia meningkatkan hubungan internasional dan pembangunan desa berkelanjutan. Konferensi internasional ini diakuinyapaling berkesan baginya karena diselenggarakan dalam kesederhanaan desa serta melibatkan masyarakat dalam proses persiapannya dan selama penyelenggaraannya.

Bahasan mengenai revitalisasi desa dipaparkan dalam berbagai sudut pandang dari empat pembicara lokal dan lima pembicara internasional.Singgih Susilo Kartono, Magno Design Studio, Indonesia, merupakan salah satu pembicara yang juga menjadi penggagas terselenggaranya konferensi ini. Dalam presentasinya dia menyampaikan

"Now is the right time to think about how village can be a place for future living. Village has a lot of potentials to be a comfortable living place, and also a sustainable community, independent and good social structure. This momentum comes when development in information and communication technology opens the isolation in the remote areas. Village promises a better living quality for human and nature".Sementara itu, Gede Kresna dari Bali berpendapat, "Local products can have global quality". 

Eko Prawoto, arsitek, melihat desa sebagai kebahagiaan dan keluarga. "Village life is a happy life, a village means a family".Iskandar Waroruntu, founderdari Bumi Langit Institute, melengkapi pendapat tersebut dengan menyampaikan, “Everything in this world meant to complete each other, everything is created for a purpose”.

Closing ceremony di bawah rumpun bambu diramaikannyanyian dalam berbagai bahasa, baca puisi oleh anak-anak desa setempat, serta pertunjukan wayang godhong (wayang daun) yangdihadiri peserta dan dalam suasana yang hangat. Sama seperti "kelingan" dalam Bahasa Jawa yang berarti "teringat", ICVR-ICDS 2014 telah membekas dihati peserta, panitia,dan warga. Konferensi ini juga sukses membuktikan bahwa dunia dengan kompleksitas masalahnya membutuhkanpembelajaran dari hal kecil; pedesaan. Dari desa, inspirasi untuk menghargai keharmonisan hidup dengan alam diharapkan semakin berkembang dan bisa mewarnai kebijakan pembangunan desa di masa depan.

*Lavinia Elysia adalah mahasiswa desain interior Universitas Kristen Petra Surabaya

Resource: INDESIGN Indonesia/Issue 09.2014

Also published on: Spedagi Website




English summary:

1st ICVR & 9th ICDS

"Sustainability needs balance, between the social aspect, ecology aspect, and economy aspect".

1st International Conference of Village Revitalization & 9th International Conference of Design for Sustainability 2014, with the theme of "It's time back to village".
Being the youngest on the conference gave me so much to learn. Mastering local language and international language can actually bring you into a good friendship both with the local villagers and also the international people.

If I may give a simple conclusion for this event, it will be that design coexists with this world, from the beginning of the making of the world, today where we live, also until forever. This conclusion was taken under my personal understanding of these simple words I conclude myself from the conference:

"Everything in this world is meant to complete each other, everything was created for a purpose,"
Mr. Iskandar W. (Bumi Langit Institute)

"Value base in village revitalization consists of knowledge base, skill base, and cognitive base,"
Praveen Nahar , National Institute of Design, India.

"Local products can actually have global quality,"
Gede Kresna , Bali, Indonesia.

"Village life is a happy life, a village means a family,"
Eko Prawoto, Indonesia.

"Entrepreneurship may make new things, but should not destroy the culture,"
Kyoko Okutani, Representative of WWB Japan in Flores.

"Village's problem upon the modernity is on fund raising, marketing, and training,"
Mari Elka Pangestu , Indonesia's Minister of Tourism & Creative Economy.

"There are 5 capitals relating to the tourism development: physical capital, human capital, social capital, natural capital, and financial capital,"
Daichi Iwase , Bangkok, Thailand.

"When it comes to the modern life, people in the city will try hard to come back to the village to get the happiness, while people in the village will try hard to go to the city to earn money,"
Pitt Berkemeyer, Germany, on "If Generations Change.."
"Key concept for social innovation is based on 4 aspects called SLOC: Small (in scale), Local (not centralized), Open (to the people and society), Connected (with the rest of the world),"
Fumikazu Masuda, Japan.
Thank you all for the lesson learned and brotherhood bond. See you all again soon!
Day 1 location: Tembi Rumah Budaya
Day 2 location: Bumi Langit Permaculture
Day 3-6 location: Magno, Omah Yudhi, Omah Tani, & Bamboo Forest

A Street and a Sketch

Photo by Maya Winata Lim

 Urban Sketching. What on earth are you?

You know that urge in your blood when you see something awesome, and all you can think about is to draw it down on whatever you have. That is called urban sketching.
I first know about this cool thing from a street, when I see someone sitting alone on the pedestrian, bringing his paper and pen. Wondering what he did, I tried to look more closely. He drew! Unbelievably quick and wonderful.

One morning,
one of my a lecturer, who somehow also know that I am in love with this thing called drawing, told me to join a community to do urban sketch in an old town area of Surabaya City. She even said, do not worry about transport, I will drive you there if you really want to.

Once upon a street,
we walked down the corner of morning dues along the pedestrian of De Javanesche Bank, Surabaya. People were getting busy choosing their best spots to open up the cases of surprises. Each sketcher with their own unique tools. All I had that day was my pen and one sketchbook of mine.

One upon a spot,
I had a little talk with some becak driver there (becak is a term for Indonesian traditional three-wheeled transportation, drove by one driver on the back).

"Podo nopo to kuwi mbak?" ("What are those people doing ma'am?").

"Nggambar pak" ("Drawing sir").

"Panjenengan mboten nggambar sisan?" ("Why do you not draw also?").

"Pertama kali ini pak, masih grogi" ("This is my first time sir, I am still lack of confidence").

"Wes rapopo mbak, dicoba wae, badhe ningali kula" ("It's ok ma'am, just give it a try, I really want to see it").

Once upon a second,
somehow that man has successfully brought up my spirit to try.
I took out that ordinary pen and blank paper of mine. I never thought that I would have to better than anyone else's drawing, but I just want to draw. I took a look around the street, drew stuffs that I saw, the moving vehicles, the laughing children, even some small water spots after the rain.

Once upon an hour or so,
a photographer came around and show me her picture of me surrounded by people. I remember teaching some of them about how to draw and why I draw. But I never expected that it would be this nice to share.

Once upon a lunch time,
we gathered up in a museum and had a little discussion on our sketches. I met new friends with same old reasons, sketching. We promised to keep in touch and keep sketching ahead. We called ourselves: Urban Sketchers Surabaya (USS).

SBY.15.05.14
#laviniaelysia

JMP Morning Street by Lavinia Elysia

A Good Gardener

Compost is a combination of useless garbage that is transformed into an enriching blend that gives nutritious nourishment to plants. The gardener throws all kinds of materials into a barrel - such as egg shells, coffee grinds, fruit peelings, leaves, lawn clippings, and even cardboard. The materials decompose over time, and the result is a fertilizer that is like gold to the gardener.You may now be struggling with old feelings for someone or regrets over a lesson learned. Use your thoughts and emotions as fertilizer to form a greater strength within yourself, that will nourish you and offer great wisdom for your next opportunity - it's coming soon."TIME transforms your GARBAGE into COMPOST and makes you a GOOD GARDENER"

MLG.03.06.11
#laviniaelysia

Photo by Lavinia Elysia