VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Welcome back to Indonesian Wonder, a daily segment featuring information about arts, culinary, and tourism. In today's edition, we will introduce you about Endog-Endogan Festival

Last November the 20th, Banyuwangi People in East Java gathered around to hold the Endog-Endogan Festival in a bid to commemorate the birth of Prophet Muhammad SAW. The event was festively held. Thousands of endhog flowers were paraded from 4 different directions: east, west, north, and south to the meeting point of the event in front of the Banyuwangi Regional Government, East Java. The parade of the endhog flowers was accompanied by the beat of rebana (Tambourine) and the Kunthul Dance which is originally from Banyuwangi. Each of the festival's participant also brought instant food called Ancak.

In using language (Local Language of Banyuwangi Tribe), Endog means egg. In this festival, hundreds of eggs are placed on a bamboo decorated with paper flowers. These are known as endhog flowers. The endhog flowers are arranged on a decoration board called Judang. Judang is typically made of banana stem and cork. But, it can also be made of other materials. The development of age encourages people to be more creative in making endog arrangement. Nowadays, the shapes of endog are not only flowers but also barong (lion-like creature),dragon, airplane, and even cone. Usually, in one Judang board, there are 27, 33, or 99 endog flowers.

The Endog-endogan tradition of Banyuwangi historically dated back in the end of the 18th century. AnUlema (Islamic Cleric) from Cemoro Songgon Village named KH. Abdullah Faqih utilized the creative tradition made of eggs to disseminate dakwah (Messages about Islam). The tradition uses eggs because eggs are the symbol of birth. Meanwhile, flowers are the symbol of worship. The festival which is the distinctive tradition of Banyuwangi people is held to express Banyuwangi people's love for Prophet Muhammad SAW.

A series of events of the Endog-endogan festival is closed by the delivering of Islamic lecture and prayers presented by Ustad (Islamic Cleric). Later, people will eat together the instant food named Ancak. Meanwhile, the endog flowers are given to the visitors of the festival. The Endog-endogan Festival is held to not only preserve the tradition of Banyuwangi people but also to promote the tourism of Banyuwangi. Usually, the festival is held every Rabiul Awal (Islamic Month), especially from 12 Rabiul Awal until the end of the month.

That was Indonesian Wonder about Endog-Endogan Festival. See you tomorrow with other interesting topics!

This is RRI World Service, Voice of Indonesia with Mosaic of Archipelago. In today’s edition, I will present some information. First, Indonesian volunteers encourage economic empowerment. Second, Residents of North Barito harvest the first honey of meliponines. Third, the enjoyment of otak-otak from Sukabumi is in demand from outside the region.

The Indonesian Volunteer Society (MRI) encourages economic empowerment in accordance with the local potential as a form of recovery assistance, especially for residents affected by natural disasters. This was said by President of MRI, Syuhelmaidi Syukur at the MRI Bali Regional Work Meeting in Denpasar on Saturday (24/11).Syuhelmaidi remarked that the program is carried out in North Lombok after the earthquake shook the area by carrying out economic empowerment as one of the pilot programs. He also said that the economic empowerment becomes one of the three elements that are carried out during the recovery period in addition to physical development and social empowerment.He also said that in North Lombok, the company carries out a food granary program in the form of working capital, seeds, buying grain and rice produced in warehouses in collaboration with one of the Perdana Ritelindo Hidro minimarkets.He also encouraged MRI in the area, one of which is a new management in Bali to explore the potential of community empowerment, such as tourism, creative industries, agriculture and animal husbandry in accordance with local characteristics.

The farmer group 'Makmur Djaya Bhakti', the honey bee cultivator (Trigona Itama), in South Teweh Sub-district, North Barito Regency, Central Kalimantan made the first harvest owned by the local residents.That was stated by Head of Unit VI and VIII Central Barito Forest Management (KPHP) in North Barito Regency, Bahruddinsyah in Muara Teweh last Monday. He also stated that the farmer group located in the Transbangdep Hamlet, Bintang Ninggi I Village, South Teweh Sub-district, is one of the three farmer groups to develop ‘kelulut’ or meliponines honeybees.  For the other two groups in Hajak Village, Teweh Baru Subdistrict, each of them cultivates 10 stups(boxes for nesting bees produce honey). For now, only residents in the Transbangdep Hamlet have done harvest for the age of 22 days by making 10 stups and the results are around seven liters of honey. Bahruddinsyah accompanied by Head of Planning and Utilization of Forest Products, Jumaidil Hairi, said that the hornet honey bee was collaborating with one of the coal mining companies in the local village area.This activity is part of a corporate responsibility program (CRS). Bahruddinsyah said that the crop cultivation was facilitated by conducting guidance, promotion and packaging as well as being marketed in bottles of 250 ml and 100 ml. He also explained, the cultivation of the meliponines honeybees can provide good performance and effective business for the community, and can make a model for the community in other villages.

Sukabumi's specialty otak-otak or grilled fish cake, which is produced by Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) on Jalan Kenari, Sukabumi City, West Java, by empowering housewives attracts some people from  Jakarta, Bogor, Bandung, Tangerang, and even Kalimantan. The Sukabumi’s typical otak-otak-maker, Meriawati in Sukabumi said on Sunday that in producing the otak-otak, she empowers housewives around her house in Gang Ketapang, Selabatu Village, Cikole Sub-District.Although without work of contract, the income from making otak-otak can be an additional income for family. Every day, the demand from customers is around 500 packs, even if on holidays or weekends, the demand increases to one thousand packs.The price is only Rp3,000/piece, but she packs it containing five otak-otak plus peanut sauce at a price of Rp15,000. The production itself is carried out in the morning and once finished, it is immediately sold out.Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor of Sukabumi, Andri Setiawan Hamami said, the main program of the Sukabumi City Government in improving the economy of the community is by establishing entrepreneurship and encouraging them to become MSMEs entrepreneurs. They have also prepared a program for entrepreneurs ranging from coaching, training, promotion, marketing to business capital assistance.

That was Mosaic of Archipelago.

This is RRI World Service, Voice of Indonesia with Diplomatic Corner, a program which presents information about activities and progress of Indonesian Diplomacy in the international world.

First information is from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Batik, one of the world cultural heritages from Indonesia, established by UNESCO, was the center of attention in the Indonesian Batik Festival held at the Indonesia Embassy in Dhaka, on November 21 and 22. This festival was held to promote batik from Indonesia to the people of Bangladesh, such as a variety of batik fashion show activities, talk shows about batik, batik making workshops, and exhibitions and sales of Indonesian batik. Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh, Rina P. Soemarno on the sidelines of the festival on Wednesday (21/11) said that such activities made batik increasingly get a place in the hearts of Bangladeshi people.

The next information is still from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Preferential Trade Agreement –PTA between Indonesia and Bangladesh is one of the key factors in increasing trade cooperation between the two countries. Bangladesh was the 7th largest surplus country in 2017; the trade volume between Indonesia and Bangladesh has reached a surplus of around 80 percent for Indonesia. PTA negotiations between the two countries were agreed on by President Joko Widodo when he made a state visit to Bangladesh in early 2018. Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh, Rina P Soemarno hoped in Dhaka on Wednesday (21/11) that to facilitate the bilateral trade, the first round of negotiations would begin soon. The first negotiations for PTA Indonesia and Bangladesh will start in December. Ambassador Rina said that with PTA, it would be able to help plan the next 5 years to increase the market share of Indonesia and Bangladesh to 50 percent through energy cooperation, agricultural technology, livestock, transportation, and information and communication technology. This is in line with the increasing capacity of the Bangladesh economy. Based on United Nations assessment, Bangladesh is expected to 'get through' from the Least Developed Country or underdeveloped country category by 2021.

CEO of Punjab Board of Investment and Trade, Jahanzeb Burana said that that the biggest challenge between Pakistan and Indonesia is the lack of understanding of Pakistani people to Indonesia and vice-versa. This was stated by Jahanzeb Burana when he welcomed the delegation of the Journalist Visit Program. Jahanzeb said that Pakistan is an untapped market that is ready to become an economic diplomacy partner and this is profitable for Indonesia. At present, the value of Indonesian-Pakistani trade was at US$2.6 billion dollars in 2017; US $1.6 billion was contributed by oil palm. As the third largest palm oil export destination in the world, oil palm dominates Indonesia-Pakistan trade relations. Currently, the Indonesia-Pakistan trade balance is still a surplus of US$2.1 billion dollars for Indonesia. To be effective early 2019, Indonesia will add 20 Pakistani products to the Preferential Trade Agreement to help balance the Indonesian-Pakistani trade balance. This was approved by the representative of the Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad, Adelin Marisa. The Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad has not only signed a memorandum of understanding with seven travel agents in Islamabad to increase Pakistani tourists to Indonesia, but has also invited several Pakistani news agencies to Indonesia through a familiarization trip scheme.

That was Diplomatic Corner!

Welcome back to Miscellany. In today's edition, we will present you information about Indonesia as the host of the annual international culinary expo

The 2018 SIAL Interfood Culinary Expo took place from 21-24 November at JiExpo Kemayoran, Jakarta. The SIAL Interfood is an international culinary expo affiliating with a French trade expo named Salon International de L'alimenation (Global Food Marketplace). The annual expo presents various stalls of food, beverages, hotel, restaurant, and cafe equipment, catering services, and bakery. Deputy of Industrial and Institutional Development at the Indonesian Tourism Ministry, Rizki Handayani Mustafa says that the SIAL Interfood 2018 will support the development of Indonesian culinary industry as well as promote Indonesian tourism. Rizki Handayani added that Indonesian culinary industry has developed rapidly. Nowadays, it is very easy to find restaurants or coffee shops serving modern cuisine in both big and small cities. The revival of Indonesian culinary is also reflected by the huge foreign reserves contributed from this industry that is 30% of tourists' expenditures.

The expo holds a number of events in collaboration with numerous organizations, associations, as well as national and international culinary and gastronomical chefs, and practitioners, such as the SIAL innovation or the highest appreciation given to participants with the best innovation in food products and their supporting industry like packaging. The brands which win the SIAL innovation will be featured in all SIAL Interfood expos in France, Canada, India, China, and Middle Eastern countries. Besides, there is an event called La Cuisine Competition in collaboration with World's Chefs and Association of Culinary Professionals -ACP. It is a forum for international culinary experts and professional chefs to demonstrate and compete their cooking skills.

Some other events include tea demo and tea-brewing competition, seminar and workshop about coffee and wine, as well as business meeting among international culinary businesspeople. This year, the SIAL Interfood 2018 targets 75,000 visitors. Last year, The SIAL Interfood 2017 was participated in by 900 participants from 33 countries and 53,000 visitors from 49 countries.

That was Miscellany about Indonesia as the host of the annual international culinary expo.