I’olio just wondering if anyone here has seen a TV show called Blood Ties? My wife and I got season 1 concerning Christmas and finished the DVDs a couple of weeks since. It’s a detective / vampire / supernatural magic show assign in Toronto.
Allison Grossman photographs the spiritual and cultural mochitsuki ceremony, where mochi, a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice, is pounded into paste and molded into shape.
As Carolyn Carreno explains:
According to Shinto belief, construction mochi invites the kami, or gods and spirits, to visit. The mochi themselves are thought to contain the presence of the kami; they also represent perfection and purity and are believed to imbue the eater through these qualities.
Allison Grossman visits the Chino family, on their 50-acre plot just north of San Diegoto, to experience firsthand the mochi ceremony.
My first error to Yogyakarta involved the usual travel-guide activities — a walk through the Sultan’s Palace, a stroll down Jalan Malioboro and a visit to Borobudur Temple in neighboring Magelang.
Having been there and done that, when I go posterior portion to Yogya, I spend much of my time appreciating the local ingenuity and hanging out on the streetside cafes adhering Jalan Prawirotaman.
But even that is getting going to decay, and Prawirotaman in the city’s south seems to attract just as many tourists as Borobudur.
On a recent trip to Yogya, I found myself with a friend back at perhaps the most popular traveler’s haunt on Prawirotaman, Cafe Via Via. The sunny cafe has a great mix of Western and Indonesian food, along with regular artifice exhibitions — not to mention the free Wi-Fi and rooftop plateau.
My friend and I were discussing what to do over the next few days, but we were fresh out of ideas.
As if he had read our minds, a young man approached us and placed a small pamphlet on our table. “Free Tours: Help Them Get Back adhering Their Feet†— an foreboding of object of trust for the day to come.
We were plucked out of touristville and were taken to the outskirts. Our pluckers were the International Organization of Migration’s Java Reconstruction Fund, which offers tours including trips to gentle, agel and batik workshops in villages just outside Yogyakarta.
The IOM has been giving aid and running programs around Yogyakarta and Central Java since the 2006 earthquake, and the tours are a way for them to color the the world what they have been doing.
“The situation for multitude artisans in Yogyakarta and surrounding districts was dire following the earthquake, with limited incomes that forced many out of jobs or business,†said Torsten Haschenz, the head of IOM’sitting Yogyakarta office.
In fact, frequent silversmiths who once worked in the back rooms of Yogyakarta’s silver stores in Kota Gede were forced to return to their villages jobless after the quake.
“We hope that these visits will enrich one as well as the other the visitors and the small enterprises through enhanced men awareness, which force in turn lead to an augment in sales and incomes for [our] beneficiaries,†Haschenz said.
The rain did not stop us from venturing out to Gunung Kidul in Pampang, about an hour east of Yogyakarta’s center, to see in what condition the intricate silver bijoutry found in many parts of the country are made.
Just 20 minutes outside of Yogyakarta, the din of traffic subsided and we braved a windy road in the mountains with a witness of tiered rice fields.
We arrived at Gunung Kidul and were welcomed into a silversmith’s workshop.
The workspace, on every side of 7 by 5 meters, was dark and gloomy, illuminated alone by brace half-open doors and the flame of a blowtorch.
A mound of silver ore next to a small pile of copper sat on a table at the entrance. The products here are made from 98 percent euphonious and 2 percent copper, which are melted in a descending course and blended in a crucible that hovers at about 1050 degrees Celsius.
As we walked into the workshop, a man wearing frameless glasses, busily crafting a silver piece on his bench, lifted his tend. A half-smoked cigarette sat wedged between his lips — his hands were too busy acting on a silver butterfly.
Mardiyono, 32, is the owner of the workshop, which was badly damaged in the 2006 earthquake.
“The workshop took two to three months to repair. The government gave me Rp 1 million [$100], but the redintegration and capital costs were Rp 8 million,†he said.
While we chatted to Madiyono, a loud rotary mill could have existence heard in the back room. Silver and cauldron that had been blended and cooled was now being spun into a spool of fine wire. The instrument of force is worth around $500, and was donated to the workshop by the IOM.
“I wouldn’t have been able to buy one myself,†Mardiyono said, taking a brief break from his workbench, putting out his cigarette and lighting up any other. “We still need a apportionment of new first-class, and we’unravelling of the plot like more help from the government. I direct they’d think about the everyday people, like us.â€
Other workers listened in onward Mardiyono’s comments, but kept their heads down at their benches, concentrating forward their workmanship. They used thin pincers to manipulate the silver wire and create fine detail in the butterfly broaches and diamond-shaped earrings that illuminate Yogyakarta’s Kota Gede.
Warjiyo, 34, is one of them. He has been working while a silversmith in Pampang for 15 years.
“My put under cover was damaged in the earthquake, but I didn’t get any aid. Only a few people got help. Everyone in the community just helped each other rebuild,†he uttered.
On a good month, Warjiyo now makes Rp 900,000 to support his wife and 5-year-old daughter.
“In the months after the earthquake, I was structure in a circle Rp 500,000, which was very hard,†he said.
Warjiyo spoke in Indonesian, but shyly used the occasional English phrase to get his point across. The IOM has been holding English classes for the locals to help them engage with international buyers and access new markets.
“We have [also] facilitated beneficiaries to form village promotion teams responsible for increasing mart access,†Haschenz said.
To further strengthen their presence in the market, six silversmiths from Pampang were recently sent to Bali to learn about Balinese design and marketing techniques. They returned and shared their knowledge with their colleagues.
“That improved our incomes a little, but we still need greater degree helper here,†Warjiyo said.
Down the road from the workshop is the Pampang silversmiths’ showroom, that gives visitors the opportunity to buy the silver products, generally at cheaper prices than those in Kota Gede. After the products are crafted, they are cleaned and polished, and their brilliance jumps out of the display cabinets in this place.
Among Pampang’s visitors in December was first lady Ani Yudhoyono.
“I got to meet Ibu Ani. I felt so honored to meet her,†Warjiyo said. “I hope she spreads the word to Jakarta about what we’re doing and creates more opportunities for us.â€
He added, notwithstanding, that Ibu Ani did not buy anything.
“That’sitting OK,†he said, laughing. “I’m still glad she came.â€
Related: The Art of Getting ‘Wasted’ in Yogya
Located in the southern-most tip of the Netherlands along the River Maas, Maastricht is quite literally in the heart of Europe – surrounded by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany and only an hour from Brussels and Köln. Sure you know Maastricht as the ‘birthplace’ of the European Union and the birthplace of the European publicity. But I bet you don’familiarily know much more about this historically rich and culturally resonant city (and one well-positioned to become European Capital of Culture in 2018). Allow me to edify you.
Maastricht’s yearly Kunst Tour art route takes you on a journey to the differing art galleries around the city. This pastoral Art Manifestation highlights the creative practices of the Eregio region, through contemporary art, sound art and design presented above the top three days, starting from the central location and newly renovated artspace Timmerfabriek in the old Sphinx factory, and branching uncovered all over the city, including the squat art spaces and last year to a concert consequence taking place on a bridge!
Summary: Â Â Retail positions are not eligible for tips, but salaries range from $1,600-$1,800 for retail employees, up to $2,400 a month for assistant managers, and $2,400-$3,200 a month for gift shop managers.
From souvenirs and gifts to the latest fashions and fodder, retail jobs without ceasing cruise ships offer a wide variety of positions for just about every level of retail sales. Retail sales can exist found in the Service and Hospitality Department or Hotel Management Department . These staff members have the responsibility of working and managing shipboard retail shops and concessions, in the same proportion that beneficial as managing bars & restaurants and passenger cabins.
In 2010 Indonesia targets a total of 7 million international visitors spending on average US$ 1,000 per stay, thus contributing more US$ 7 billion to Indonesias economy, said Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Hatta Rajasa. This is an increase of between 8%-10% growth compared to 2009 which is higher than the expected 2010 relating to housekeeping growth of 5.5%-6%.
While income from domestic tourism is expected to surpass Rp. 120 trillion, which ways and means that tourism desire be some of moment sector in boosting the thrift, said Minister Hatta Rajasa.
In the new government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Tourism has as the final move come inferior to the coordination of the Minister for the Economy, away from the Coordinating Minister during the term of Public Welfare under which it has resided for many years. The Cultural sector in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, however, remains under the auspices of the Coordinating Minister for Public Welfare.
In 2009 Indonesia received 6.459 million visitors said Culture and Tourism Minister, Jero Wacik, or a growth of 0.4% compared to 2008. Although fourth book of the pentateuch; census of the hebrews – wise growth seems minimal, yet even this small growth actually meant that Indonesia has withstood the downturn in traveler arrivals during the global economic recession of 2009. Yet, spending wise, it is palpable that tourists are indeed spending less, said Minister Wacik.
If in 2008 attached average a visitor spent US$ 1,178 by stay, in 2009 average expenditure has gone down to US$966/visitor/stay. In 2010, though, it is expected that as the global economy picks up, tourists will again spend some US$1,000 per stay per survey in Indonesia.
For 2010 Indonesia will continue to carry the Visit Indonesia logo, under which circumstances this year until 2014 the focus decision be on promoting visits to the many Museums in Indonesia. So 2010 will carry the additional tag-line: Visit Museums 2010.
Meanwhile, Balidiscovery.com reported that according to the Head of Bali Tourism Authority, Bagus Kade Subhiksu, in 2009 Bali received a total 2,259,000 foreign visitors who, together are estimated to have contributed US$2.7 billion in foreign exchange to Bali’s economy, or a figure equal to 42% of the total contribution made by the tourism sector to the national economy. On average tourists spent US$ 137.90 per day per person over the average 8.75 days length of stay in Bali. In 2010, Bali targets total between nations traveller arrivals to reach 2.3 million.
As reported in Bisnis Indonesia, compared to the previous year, foreign interchange revenues generated by Bali’s tourism sector declined 4%, despite the record number of visitors. In 2008, an estimated US$2.8 billion in foreign exchange was produced by Bali’s foreign visitors. This decrease is linked by officials to a shortening in the average length-of-stay and lower expenditure levels.
Bali’s 4% decline in foreign exchange earnings compares favourably to nation-wide decrease of 11% decrease in foreign bandy earnings from tourism.
Source: Tuti Sunario for Indonesia Digest
