Wooden Furniture from Leilem

Wooden furniture is always attractive. The natural color of wood with beautiful grains is always the most sought after material in furniture industry. There is a village in Indonesia that is famous for its furniture products. Its name is Leilem. Located in the province of North Sulawesi, Leilem can easily be reached by car from Manado city. When entering the village, visitors will be able to see boards that are arranged in inclined position in front of the villagers houses. These wooden planks, and blocks, facing the sun, are being dried before undergoing further treatment.

When the wooden planks have reach the desirable dryness, they will be planed and sewn in particular sizes. Then they will be assembled and nailed or pinned to form a cabinet or table. Majority of the buyers come from the surrounding towns and villages in Minahasa but in recent years, through the promotion on the internet, the number of national and international customers is increasing. Here, people can buy tables, beds, desk and bookshelves. The furniture can be sent overseas using containers. The same thing also happen to wooden houses in the nearby Woloan village that are sold to foreign buyers. The types of wood that the carpenters like to use are linggua, and nangka (jackfruit). Customers from such countries as the United States and the Netherlands prefer knock-down tables or chairs that are made of teakwood.

The manufacturers in Leilem village realize that they cannot rely on wood that is directly cut from forests in Minahasa. The supply of wood is dwindling now. Most of them are going to the southern region of Minahasa to find wood. With the price of teak and linggua wood is extremely high, farmers in Minahasa are now considering of planting trees to meet the market demand. It will take at least 25 years before trees can reach a minimum diameter for cutting.

Greening the Desert

Israel is the leader in water conservation efforts due to its successful works in recycling high percentage of sewage water for reuse in agricultural sector and for curbing the intrusion of seawater. I have just watched some videos in Youtube which show how farmers in Israel turn the desert of Negev into vegetable and fruit gardens. Israeli farmers create drip irrigation technology to supply water to every crop that they have planted in the arid land. Rainwater is insufficient to them. To support their farmers, the government of Israel treat their sewage water from big cities in the country and pump it to the farming lands. Israel is the only state in the world that has successfully recycled almost all of its waste water. Today 75% of sewage water has been recycled. But Israel plans to increase the percentage up to 90%. This is the highest among all developed countries. Because the recycled water cannot be used for drinking water, it is fed into farmlands to produce fruits, vegetables and flowers that are now their main agricultural produce. These commodities are exported to European market. To supply drinking water, Israel built 39 desalination plants along its 230 km coastline. Hadera is the location of the largest and the most advanced desalination plant in the world with pumping capacity of 23,000 cubic meters of water per hour.

Israel also builds water reservoirs in the desert to collect water during rainy season so that it can be reused for farming, drinking and other industrial needs. Today, Israel farmers share their success with their "cousins" - the Palestinian farmers to help them increase their agricultural production both for domestic consumption and export market. In recent years, students and farmers from such developing countries as Kenya and India visit Israel to learn their water engineering technology. 

Israel is not the only country in the world that is covered with desert. Most of the Middle East, some parts of Africa, China, Australia and the United States have got arid lands and desserts. However, Israel is the leader in water engineering technology that is now seen as an example and inspiration for other countries that are interested in improving their agricultural sector and the quantity and quality of their drinking water. Although more than half of its land is dessert, the Israeli is very successful in greening lands.
This tiny country whose size is approximately equivalent to New Jersey also develops alternative energy generated from solar photovoltaic and concentrated panels and wind farms. These are positive achievements that can inspire the world. by Charles Roring

A Unique Wooden House in Asai village of Manokwari

There is a unique wooden house in Asai - a small village that is located in the northern coast of Manokwari. It was built on a slope facing the Pacific Ocean with tropical rainforest as its background. It has got unique design that is not rectangular. From outside, we see it as a hexagonal structure but when we entered the house, it is just like any other homes that are composed of rectangular rooms. Asai is a nice destinations for tourists who want to go hiking in the jungle along Asai river or snorkeling over coral reef of Asai bay.

Almost all of the frames, and walls are made of iron wood. Only the roof that is made of corrugated metal sheet. The owner of the house designed the house by himself. He also constructed some parts of the house by himself. One thing that I really like about the house is its open space on the second floor. From this area, we can see the magnificent view of the Asai bay and the tropical seas of Pacific ocean. Visitors may stay in the house for a few nights. Mr. Munneke, intends to sell it to anybody who is interested in buying it.
The design of this house is totally different from the wooden houses in Minahasa. Mr. Munneke, as the owner of the house, put the living room as an open space. It was a smart decision because it would create a cool atmosphere for the tropical house. He and his wife grow flower plants around their house. To block or reduce direct sunlight, he placed rattan screen in the north and east parts of the house. by Charles Roring

Ships and Steam Engines

In the 19th century, reciprocating steam engines were used to replace sails. Today most of the ships and boats use marine diesel engines as their driving power. The introduction of the marine internal combustion engine in 20th century quickly replaced steam engines that consumed a lot of spaces but only produced less power. In addition to more efficient use of rooms, diesel engines give higher power with less fuel consumption compared to steam engines. As a result, ships whose steam engines had been replaced by diesel engines could carry more cargoes and passengers with higher speed. Reciprocating steam engines were popular during 19 century only. In 20th century, they were progressively replaced by steam turbines. The application of steam engines on marine vehicles may become attractive again if the price of conventional fossil fuel rises uncontrollably.

 As a matter of fact, steam engines were more flexible in terms of their fuel needs. Because the combustion is done externally i.e. separated from the working fluid, it could be operated with coal, wood or liquid fuel such as diesel fuel. I remember reading a book entitled The Malay Archipelago by Alfred Russel Wallace. On a chapter about Dorey bay in New Guinea island, he said that a Dutch patrol boat ran out of coal when she arrived in the bay. The coal that the crews were waiting from Ambon had not arrived. So, they went to shore and started cutting trees. Then they loaded her holds with wood. The ship would use it go sail back to Ambon. Unfortunately, the efficiency of steam engines are lower than diesel engines or steam turbines. However, some steam boats still operate as tourist vessels.

Another reason for the abandonment of steam engines application in maritime sector was the air pollution created from the burning of coal. During World War I and II, ships could easily be spotted by their enemies from the smoke that they released into the air. Modern fast patrol boats that are driven by diesel engines have got exhaust pipes below the water line. The hot gas released by main engine could not be detected by heat seeking missiles.

Nowadays a lot of traditional wooden boats still use sails as their driving power whereas steam engines have disappeared from marine application for nearly a century. Hobbyists are still studying the engines and constructing them for their boat. They do it for its application in marine tourism. Many people who still use steam engines that burn wood do so just because they do not want to depend on fossil fuel. by Charles Roring

Coral Reef in Dorey bay of Manokwari

Coral reef in the Dorey bay is now facing more pressures than ever before from human activities due to the increase of human population in Manokwari city. In recent years, housings for city dwellers, buildings for markets and offices are being constructed along the coastal areas. Such development directly deteriorates water quality in Dorey bay. More sediments and plastic wastes are now formed in the bay which was once a pristine marine environment in the bird's head region of West Papua. Whales and dolphins used to live in the bay but now they are gone. The construction of office buildings, including the drainage tunnel to the beach, in Arfai hills for the Provincial Government of West Papua is now underway.

In recent years, liveaboard diving operators from Bali and the nearby Sorong town make Dorey bay as their port of embarkation for tourists who want to see shipwrecks in the bay or watch whale sharks in Cendrawasih bay. Underwater pictures of the shipwrecks and coral reef in the Dorey bay made by the tourists greatly help us tell the city dwellers and the local government of West Papua about how important the Dorey bay is for maintaining the fish stock of Manokwari. The Dorey bay is also one of the few coastal areas in the northern New Guinea that has got mangrove forest. Most of the mangrove ecosystems in this tropical island can be found in its southern coast.