Lombok Island S08 21 728 E116 07 724
|
Lombok, island of rice, coffee, cashews and tobacco, is next door to the better known island of Bali. It benefits from this close proximity with a strengthening economy from an increasing tourist industry. It has a lot to offer: the second highest volcano in Indonesia, hot springs, white sand beaches and spectacular diving to mention but a few. Our anchorage at Lombok was at a very new hotel and marina complex built at the beach end of a charming village. Lucky for us the marina showers, restaurant and bar where completed and the hotel will open soon as the windows were going in whilst we were there. The best thing about this small development is the commitment by island government to 100% involvement of the local population. Whilst there we did a number of activities. Here it is cruisers' cookery class led by local women from the village with an interpreter provided by Sail Indonesia. These women won't be long before they can manage themselves as Indonesians have a great facility for languages and love to speak English.
A variety of spices, plenty of chillies and lots of coconut milk made from mounds of freshly grated fragrant coconut soaked and squeezed in water.
There were too many of us for this event to be hands on but we learnt how to make the famous satay with peanut sauce. Peanuts are an important ingredient of Indonesian cuisine, they are very small and quite delicious; the spinach like leaves are used as well to add richness to some dishes. The satay was followed by sticky black rice with thick, sweetened coconut milk. Everyone enjoyed the sampling afterwards.
Lorraine and I also had personal instruction (2 teachers each) on how to make a basket from coconut leaf ribs and we each finished a handmade bowl to prove our prowess in the craft. The villagers are very talented at all sorts of crafts from the very simple.....this whisk was made in seconds from a piece of banana leaf
,,,,,,to the very complicated, as in the intricate patterns being woven by this young woman.
The designs are never detailed on paper, they are kept in the head, passed down through the generations. In Lombok certain villages are dedicated to a particular craft, this was the weaving village.
In the weaving village we also met these young mums and their babies.
Meeting them prompted us to ask how many children were usual in most families. By the numbers of children we see every where we expected family size would be large but apparently the government is encouraging people to stop at 2 children and is having a lot of success with the policy even in the villages. Our tour around the western end of the island was less good than some we have done largely due to the mistaken belief that we were keen to spend money on pottery (not especially practical on a boat), pearls and woven products which we already have aplenty. There was, of course, the usual welcome ceremony where the locals once again showed up the cruisers with their sartorial elegance.
Locals
(Oh - did you see those bare legs, baggy shorts, salty sandals and clashing colours!)
Cruisers
(If only there was a decent pontoon we might have got ashore dry). I think we have already commented on the ability of the locals to carry anything on their motorbikes...but even our driver was surprised by this load.....3 live goats!
Lombok's large population of just over 3 million is 90% Sasak, the rest being mainly Balinese with a small Chinese, Javanese, Bugis and Arab presence. The Sasaks were originally hill people and are much poorer then the Balinese settlers. They are mainly Muslim but here, as in many of the other islands, this is tempered with indigenous and animist traditions which are fundamental to their way of life These three dominant forces appear to sit well together and seem to prevent any tendency toward the extremism which exists in some of the larger islands further north.
Finally, a little bit of monkey business
|
