Sumatran School Child
A group of school children were on an excursion to the crocodile farm at Asam Kumbang near Medan, where we made our first road stop of the day.
Some time ago – last April, to be exact – I wrote about the breathtakingly awesome experience of meeting Sumatran orangutans in their wild jungle habitat (Ursula’s Weekly Wanders: Meet the Locals). Truly, it was a memorable encounter – one not easily matched.
It was hard to leave the Gunung Leuser National Park, but our itinerary called for us to move on. And, much of the overall impression of any trip comes from the smaller things: the insights into day-to-day life, the “ordinary” landscapes, and the people you meet along the way, as you travel from one place to another (q.v. Ursula’s Weekly Wanders: Medan to Bukit Lawang).
We were driven by car from Bukit Lawang back to Medan, and then on to Berastagi in the foothills of the Barisan Mountains: three hours according to Google Maps; closer to twice that according to my trip notes.
Taman Buaya: Crocodile Farm
Our first road stop was at Indonesia’s largest private crocodile farm near Medan. The crocodiles bred here can not be exported or sold, so the owner must feed them from the entrance fee. This probably accounts for the crowded and run-down nature of the place.
Sumatran School Children
A couple of classes of school children were at the “farm” when we visited. With her pen and notebook in hand, a schoolgirl climbs up on a vantage point to better see the crocodiles in the swamp.
Schoolgirls
Her smiling friends below wait their turns to climb up to the fence.
Crocodiles in the Swamp
In the swamp, the crocodiles are almost invisible, …
Crocodiles in the Swamp
… hidden by the algae until they lift their heads.
Sumatran School Girl
A young girl sits in front of the fence around the swamp.
School Children at Lunch
More girls, in their school uniforms, sit in some shade eating their lunch.
School Boys at Lunch
In another corner of the hot, concrete yard, the boys find a patch of shade for their break.
Sumatran Baby
After the crocodile farm, we drove back to Medan, where we took our coffee break in the home of our local guide, …
North Sumatran Baby and Dad
… and met his young son.
Santa Maria Annai Velanghanni
Our next stop was at Santa Maria Annai Velanghanni. Built in 2005 in Indo-Mogul style, this extraordinary building is a Catholic temple.
“Our Lady of Good Health”
The shrine is a devotion to Mary, who was said to have appeared in the 17th century in Velanghanni, Tamil Nadu.
Medicinal Bats?
We then stopped briefly at the side of the road where bats were being kept – reputedly as medicine for asthma.
Woman with Cinnamon Bark
Our last stop was at a mixed small farm holding, where cinnamon, from the bark of the cinnamomum burmannii tree, was one of the products being harvested.
Shaving Cinnamon
An inherently sustainable crop, cinnamon trees grow easily, …
Shaving Cinnamon
…albeit slowly, and can be intercropped with other plants.
Young Coffee
North Sumatra has the perfect soil for Arabica coffee. Most of it, too, is grown by smallholders.
Cocoa for the Picking
One of Indonesia’s most important agricultural export crops: cocoa, is another product predominantly grown by smallholder farmers.
Dried Cocoa
With rumours of an impending shortage, cocoa is a lucrative crop.
Spilt Cocoa
Ironically, the government’s attempt to promote value-added processing industries by taxing the export of cocoa beans puts pressure on small growers.
Pineapple
The beauty of cinnamon, coffee and cocoa – unlike the rubber and palm oil mono-plantations that are threatening the local orang-utan habitats – …
Cassava or Tapioca
… is that these basic food crops can be mixed in with cash-crops.
Cinnamon. Coffee. Cocoa.
Add some smiling children…
No orangutans, but still pretty special.
Keep smiling!
17February2014
