A Great Sunday in Gasol Organic Farming, Cianjur, Indonesia

He who would travel happily must travel light - Antoine de St. Exupery

I love not to check in my luggage when travel domestically - that's how hubby and I travel here. It is really hassle- and stress-free to have only a carry-on when traveling. What I enjoy the most is not to have to arrive at the airport as early and to be able to leave the airport in a jiffy. Not to mention to  have peace of mind knowing my belongings are with me when I arrive at the destination and not to worry loosing them to misrouting or theft. 

I always wanted to try to travel light internationally as well. So far I haven't been very successful especially when I go to Indonesia and wanted to bring stuff for my family. Last month though when I went home for 8 days I decided to give it a try and only had one carry-on and a back pack with me - boy was i glad with my decision. I didn't have to wait at baggage carousels after the immigration, went out to get a taxi within minutes then straight into Jakarta traffic. Very fast process.

Lumbung -  to store rice after harvest

My time in Jakarta unfortunately went as fast as my travel. Between attending Stanvac Family Reunion and participating in Jalan-jalan ke Petak Sembilan (take a stroll to Petak Sembilan, part of Jakarta Old Town in Chinatown area), a fun event arranged by Jalansutra, I managed to convince my family to visit Gasol Organic Farming in Cianjur on Sunday. Cianjur is a small city in West Java, located in the middle of the road between Jakarta and Bandung, and is known as one of the best growing areas for rice in Indonesia. Gasol Organic Farming is owned by Ika Suryanawati, an Engineer in Agriculture by training, who  grows her farm using only organic fertilizer (goat manure and azolla) and traditional tools and methods during harvest. 

Ika, her husband, her two kids and her mom greeted us when we arrived at the farm around mid-morning. Shortly after we arrived, rain started to pour so we went inside one building adjacent to the main house that opens all sides so we could still enjoy the rice fields while listening to Ika's history and stories about her organic farm. I was fascinated by her courage and passion to grow her farm organically in the area where everyone else does the opposite. Ika hoped that other farmers will follow suit someday. I hope so to Ika. We tasted your rice and would want our children and grand children have the chance to also have access to organic rice in the future.

By now the rain had stopped. So off we went to the fields with a great excitement and started walking in the rice fields on foot and breathe the fresh air. Ika and her family walked along and warned us repeatedly to walk carefully and slowly as the soil from the rain was slippery. The soil was indeed slippery and muddy but it felt so good on our feet. Everyone really enjoyed the walk and the beauty of the fields. It was great to see my father, who was not foreign on walking in the rice fields while growing up in West Sumatra, enthusiastically explain what he knew about rice paddies. The smell of the goat manure that Ika used to fertilize her farm didn't seem to bother us at all. If all, it was such a nice reminder that we're getting back to nature for a change. Where can we smell fresh manure in the city? :-)

And the lunch we had after our nice walk - served on banana leaves instead of plates - was simply delicious! Ika's mom prepared Nasi Liwet Sunda, a traditional rice dish from West Java cooked in water, lemongrass, sauteed shallots and local spices in a heavy pan. To accompany the already-delicious nasi liwet were fried fish - the fish were from the pond right outside the place where we're having our lunch (talk about fresh!), fried tempe and tofu, sayur asam (clear vegetable tamarind soup), sauteed kangkung (water spinach), perkedel jagung (corn fritter), home-made sambal oelek, and of course kerupuk, a must-have item in every meal in Sundanese family. We were so happy with the food that we talked about it again during our dinner at Kafe Mangiare and still talked about it the next day. :-)




Gasol Pertanian Organik 
Desa Gasol, Kecamatan Cugenang
Kabupaten Cianjur
e-mail: gasolpertanianorganik@gmail.com