Apriana Konga Naha, a woman born in Sumba, who currently works as a Chef Teacher at the Sumba Hospitality Foundation (SHF), is one of the Sumbanese women who was called to do something for her region, especially for less fortunate young people, especially those who face obstacles in continuing their education. Apri, as she is usually called, really enjoys the field she is working after studying at the same place, namely the Sumba Hospitality Foundation, around 2017-2018, majoring in Culinary. Several opportunities to do internships at tourist attractions both in Bali and in Sumba were well done with great enthusiasm that led her to be a Chef Teacher as her profession today. "Here I help to teach broadly Basic Culinary for young Sumbanese friends who study at SHF so that after completing studies, they are ready to work and compete in the world of tourism wherever they are," she explained.

Apri's meeting with Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta and getting to know its vision and mission, which is oriented for young people development, plus her cousin who is active as the Multiplicator of Stube HEMAT in Sumba, and her active experience in local NGOs, more or less influenced her thinking model to understand life and its problems. Until one day Apri was eager to open employment opportunities for young people by opening a hairdressing service outlet called H-RIMBA Barber Shop, which provides men's haircut services with various styles plus shampooing. Partnering with Anthony to run the operation of this outlet together, H-RIMBA Barber Shop has survived until now.

H-RIMBA has a deep meaning, which describes a self-introspection of many things about life and the laws of nature. It will always remind anyone to appreciate and respect lives and others’ with all differences. H-RIMBA Barber Shop opened in 2022 by recruiting 5 people consisting of 3 people who are still in school and 2 young people who have finished high school but have not had the opportunity to continue to college. They live with Apri because it is near their schools. As the progress and needs, currently H-RIMBA barber shop has 7 barbers, and all of them attend high school and vocational school in Waingapu. One person has just graduated from vocational school.

Recruiting students of high school as staffs is a process of forming them into productive people after school hours without disrupting their studies. There are many things they get by working at an H-RIMBA barber shop such as; getting their school fees, being able to meet their daily basic needs, getting a place to live near school, honing their life skills, not burdening their parents, and practicing independence. However, these young people still need to be continuously trained to improve their capacities, such as mastery of hair-cutting tools, cutting styles, coloring, massage, and not less important is the ability to adapt to new environments and people.

Apri also had the opportunity to become a Consultant Chef at one of the resorts in Alor in 2022 which was done both on-site and off-site, which made her busy going back and forth between Sumba and Alor, 2 to 3 times a year. "There, I accompanied friends in the kitchen to create menus, make food for guests, and several other things," she added. Her love for Sumba with all its challenges made Apri continue to try to think about how young people can develop and be independent. For friends around Waingapu, tidy up your hair by coming directly to the H-RIMBA Barber Shop, in front of the Kambajawa Catholic Church, Waingapu, East Sumba. ***

Living in Tanarara village, Lewa, East Sumba is a blessing because it has an area for food crops, especially rice. Geographically, most of the Lewa area is flat land and just a small part is hilly. I am Jufri Adi Papa, and as a young person who was born and raised in this village, I certainly know the characteristics of the area, which is known as the rice center in East Sumba. Currently, I am working as an entrepreneur by opening a stationery, photocopying, and printing kiosk.

It’s often that the rice production I worked on, faced challenges due to unpredictable weather which affected the planting season. Sometimes the land and the seeds are ready to plant, but the rain never comes. There are two options, continue planting with the risk of failure because there is no water, or delay planting seeds with the risk of damaged seeds and delaying the harvest schedule. Other communities also experienced a similar situation.

The situation above triggered me to think about how to answer the problem. From the knowledge and skills I learned in training of Agriculture, Social Analysis, and other topics at Stube HEMAT Sumba, as well as what I learned on campus, I learned to observe the area where I live. I noted that there was weather instability (lack of rainfall), uneven distribution of water from irrigation canals to all existing agricultural land, and leaving the land uncultivated after the harvesting time because rice production is only once a year.

From the thoughts above, the idea emerged to create a water reservoir or ‘embung’ as an alternative water reservation when water is needed during the planting season, apart from that, production can increase with two planting seasons in one year. This means that with a reservoir, water needs will always be available and a variety of potential crops can be developed, such as rice and horticulture, as well as maintaining land productivity both in the rainy and dry seasons, moreover, the reservoir can be used for fish farms.

Finally, I started to do by building a reservoir in my village, Tanarara. The position of the reservoir is at a point where water can flow smoothly due to gravity, so it saves electricity if you use a pump. I rented an excavator for one day, about eight hours of work, to dig a reservoir measuring 30 meters x 30 meters with a depth of one to two meters.

It turned out that many people support the construction of the embung besides my own family, so I am even more motivated to complete it. The initial stage is building a pond and hatching 100 tilapia broodstock. The next stage is the process of plumbing, pumping machines, and water distribution tanks for rice and horticultural crops. On the reservoir banks, eggplant and other vegetables are planted for various vegetable products.

Currently, I am still in the process of learning and working on the ‘embung’, but I am not discouraged. I hope that the existence of this reservoir will help the water distribution for my rice fields, support the development of vegetable production, and have a good impact on many people, such as being an inspiration to make productive use of existing agricultural land. Apart from that, it is hoped that the existence of the reservoir will attract the attention of the local government and support agricultural development efforts. Hopefully, Sumba will continue to develop! *** 

As a real action and concern for climate change and the related problems, Alor Creative 100% participated in the 1st youth action in NTT on climate issues with the forum KOPI (Youth Coalition for Climate) under the supervision of Hutan Itu Indonesia Foundation and Terasmitra. The collaboration for the event has been going on since the end of 2021. It was actually the 4th jamboree with a theme Gotong Royong for Flobamoratas (GRUF) – Mutual Cooperation for Flobamoratas. Flobamoratas itself is an abbreviation of the names of the islands of Flores, Sumba, Timor, Rote, Alor, Lembata, and Sabu. It was carried out for 6 days (1-6 March 2024) at Londalima Beach-East Sumba. Three previous jamboree activities were held in Ende, Larantuka, and Kupang.

Jamboree participants came from 12 regions in NTT with a total of 152 participants with various backgrounds of community and individual activity issues, not only the environment but also arts and culture, education, agriculture and animal husbandry (local food), children and women's issues (gender equality).

The 4th GRUF jamboree presented a little difference because it accommodated a special opportunity for 20 selected artists in NTT to display their works. The concept is "ARTIVISM" or campaigning for climate and the environment through works of art, with the concept of sustainable productions.

Representing Alor craft artists, I am here with the brand "Alor Creative 100%" by bringing accessories in the form of Dugongs and Rat Sharks (Threshershark) to campaign for the protection of endangered marine species. There are also ‘moko’ (traditional ornament) and traditional Alor cultural houses. For this accessory work of art to be sustainable in the manufacturing process, it only uses natural materials and the processing process has low emissions or absorbs less electrical energy.

On the 2nd day, I had the opportunity to share stories and to discuss with participants the work that I made, starting from the principles and concepts of making this sustainable craft artwork. In the question and answer session, many participants asked serious questions which I had to answer seriously and based on my experience while working. The questions came up covering; "Why did you choose to survive with craft art, what are the reasons for choosing sustainable accessory craft art, what are the current product marketing opportunities and challenges, how has the management worked so far, so that it can run for approximately 5 years".

There is a message and a hope emerged at the end of the discussion, hopefully, young people in NTT will be more creative in developing their potencies, both personal and natural, so that, they can bring a good impact to many people and the environment.***

East Sumba, one regency in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, on Sumba Island, with 22 districts that’s dominated by vast fields and home gardens, either managed and unmanaged. In general, these lands are planted with long-lived trees (mahogany, sandalwood, teak, moringa, coconut, and cashew), and some are planted with seasonal crops (corn, peanuts, petatas/sweet potatoes). Residents also use their yards to grow vegetables and fruit, and they even raise flowers to beautify their yards.

The love of planting is a hobby of mine, Ningsih Rambu Nani, from Mburukulu, Pahunga Lodu District, about 100 kms from Waingapu to the east. I am a teacher at State Junior High School No. 1 of Rindi, in Tanaraing, Rindi District, and I stay at the school mess. Even in the mess, I try to optimize the yard by making a vegetable garden like I did at home. This activity grew out for the motivation that I found when I studied at Sumba Christian Church's Theological College (STT) in Lewa, while the inspiration I got when I took a part in the Stube HEMAT Sumba training. Starting from hearing stories from friends about Stube HEMAT Sumba, whose activities increase knowledge and equip young people to be creative and innovative, I was then interested in taking part in entrepreneurial training to make decorations from dry coral, snail shells, and seashells. This activity made a big impression on me and since then I started to be smarter about using the things around me to make something interesting.

My experience of studying and doing activities at Stube HEMAT Sumba made me think about creating something good around me, one of which is using my yard for vegetable garden and planting flowers. I do these two things because I like flowers and I can have a source of vegetables so I do not need to buy  vegetable I need. I planted mustard greens, kale, long beans, cassava, beans, tomatoes, chilies, and several kitchen spices, such as shallots, turmeric, lemongrass, galangal, basil, and pandan leaves, while the fruit trees planted were bananas and papaya.

However, during the process I face challenges when chickens often enter the garden and damage the plants, and difficulty getting nets to fence off the garden from roaming chickens. Apart from that, I have difficulty dealing with pests that attack chili plants, especially chili fruit, both the young ones and ready-harvested fruit become rotten. Some harvest is consumed personally and the rest is sold directly and some is sold in the form of processed products, such as chilies into chili sauce which is marketed directly or via social media.

People responded well and supported me in making a garden and managing the results, even then branding emerged that ‘if there is Ningsih there must be a vegetable garden’. Several people followed me by making gardens too, especially the local government supported it by creating a 'dasawisma' group (a group of several neighboring houses) in Mburukulu village, so this is a good thing for mutual support for all groups from individuals, community groups, and the government in creating living kitchens to meet family needs. From this activity, I can enjoy fresh vegetables from my garden, and even kitchen spices are available, especially those living far from stalls and markets that open on certain days only.

The last, I want to invite my young friends to use yard to create a garden and plant various vegetables, herbs, flowers, and long-lived trees. Be sure that all of these are useful. ***

Food is a basic need in our lives. Every day we need some food as a source of nutrition to produce energy, form body tissue and manage all processes in the body. There are various types and variations of food materials with different processing methods. Below, I presented local food materials in the Aru Islands and how they are processed.

I am Natasya Derman, teaching the Indonesian language at Nadai State Junior High School, Gardakau, Aru Islands, Maluku Province. I also teach crafts because there is no teacher for the subject. Even though I do not have a background in crafts, I was required to study the subject matter and it turned out that craft is very enjoyable and it has value because through the subject I can encourage students to be creative in processing local foods. Next, the students have more appreciation and creativity toward the potencies of their local area, such as woven mats and sewing mats, bamboo combs, chopsticks, etc. By getting to know local potencies, hopefully, the students maintain the unique local cultural works to be sustainable from generation to generation. Furthermore, students have a sense of love for nature by seeing the agricultural products, so that they are called to preserve the nature around them. Then, through food processing, they learn to work together and to be responsible, active, and diligent as a form of gratitude to God. The emergence of these creative thoughts and ideas was honed when I studied in Yogyakarta and was active in student trainings of Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta.

I guided the students to map out what food sources found around them, and they mentioned the staple foods that are commonly found in Gardakau, including sago, cassava, tubers, and several other types, such as king fruit, mangrove tree fruit, and many others. Residents usually process food for daily consumption, while these tubers are processed into various types of snacks, for example, lamet, crackers, sweet compote, and so on. Furthermore, king fruit, a plant growing in the forest, has a round fruit shape like chicken eggs, which is usually processed into onde-onde or wajik. That time, we just made onde-onde from king fruit.

In the first activity, the students practiced local food processing, from raw or semi-finished ingredients processed into ready-to-eat food. They learned how to process food according to the basic ingredients and what to make. We make crackers from sago which takes more than one day. Initially, we made papeda, after the papeda was cooked, it had to be cooled first in a clean container for several hours (5-10 hours) until it was completely cold. Then, the papeda mixture is sliced thinly like shrimp crackers, placed in a tray, and dried in the sun until dry. Once dry, thin pieces of papeda are fried until they expand like prawn crackers. Sago crackers usually have a savory and crunchy taste.

In the second activity, we made papeda, sinoli, and jepa. The process of making papeda is easy, so it does not take long, at least 30 minutes, depending on the amount of sago used. It was made by boiling water until it boils. Next, the hot water is slowly poured into a container containing fine sago while stirring until completely mixed. The volume of hot water should not exceed the amount of sago or be less, so that the resulting papeda is not too runny or thick. Papeda is usually consumed with yellow fish sauce, boiled fish, or meat, even with vegetables. Meanwhile, Sinoli is made from moist sago but it is not watery and not runny. The sago stirred in the pan is mixed with grated coconut over low heat until evenly cooked. The process of making sinoli is relatively short so it is usually used for breakfast and in the afternoon or evening as a dessert. Sinoli is usually served with coffee harvested by the local people. Meanwhile, Jepa is made from moist sago mixed with grated coconut and sugar, then heated in a frying pan over medium heat while stirred until cooked. The shape is flat like a pancake but thicker with a sweet taste.

The students seemed enthusiastic about processing food into various kinds of food. From those who initially only knew how to consume food and had never processed food, now they know how to make it. In the future, the experiences will become additional knowledge for them to become more familiar with the potency of their village and to get benefit from it. The enthusiasm they show is additional energy for me to continue to accompany and to find new ideas for the young generation in Gardakau.***