The Java Village Foundation

The Java Village Foundation supports women and children in desa Cisarua, Indonesia, helping them to break the circle of poverty and to build a brighter future for their community. We are a small scale foundation and base our help on the priorities of the people of Cisarua. An important condition for our help is that it stimulates independence and cooperation. Once a month our field worker in Indonesia visits all the projects. We work together with local experts and organisations/companies. Because we work only with volunteers, our help benefits the people directly. This is our focus:

· Youth and education;

· Micro-credits for women;

· Health and environment.

Kopi Luwak: What Happens When Bum-Nuggets Become Gold-Nuggets?

By: Daniel J. Newcomer, first published in Bali Expat

There’s nothing like a nice and warm cup of excrement in the morning to really get the day going strong is there? With the aroma, the flavour, and the low acidic content, just thinking of my morning cup of bum-nuggets makes all my endorphins dance crazier than a jazz trumpet king high on benzos. Although this is quite the dramatic overstatement, it seems to make sense in the world of Kopi Luwak, or as some people like to call it – “poop coffee”. With prices on the international market varying between $100-$600 for every kilogram, Kopi Luwak is easily the world’s most expensive, and most luxurious coffee; which is all thanks to one adorable little animal and the contents of its digestive system.

Cleaning Up Landmines in Cambodia

By: Ate Hoekstra

More than twenty years after the peace agreement was signed, landmines and other unexploded devices are still a problem in parts of Cambodia. But thanks to hard working deminers that problem is getting smaller day by day.

Kuon Samraong is cleaning up landmines. The young Khmer man started the job at Halo Trust a few months ago, one of four organizations that are dedicated to remove all explosives left in the country after decades of war. And, like many other Khmer people in the north and northwest of Cambodia, Kuon grew up in an area that has been affected by landmines. An area where having a landmine in your backyard is not that unusual. That's what made him decide to become a deminer.

The Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia

Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment (ELIE) is a registered local non-government organization based in Mondulkiri, Cambodia. ELIE’s aim is to improve the health and welfare of the captive elephants in Mondulkiri Province, to work with the local people and the problems that face both people and elephant. The Elephant Valley Project (EVP) is an ecotourism project of ELIE that invites visitors to come and experience these wonderful creatures living in their natural habitat, while providing an alternative approach to elephant care, rehabilitation and conservation and providing employment for the local people.

Sukacita: Information centre in Bali for children with an intellectual disability

By: Yvette Benningshof

‘Sukacita’ in Bali provides information about children with an intellectual disability for special schools, teachers and parents. The founders of Sukacita have their own distinct vision on development work: ‘We share our knowledge and help people to develop. We don’t build schools or give money.’

‘In Bali the circumstances for children with an intellectual disability, like the ‘Down syndrome’, are not too favorable. There is a lot of misunderstanding and that’s why we got the idea to start an information centre’, Yolanda Onderwater of Sukacita explains.

Sukacita, originally a Dutch organization, was founded one year ago by Yolanda Onderwater, Marieke Nijland and Mila van der Meer. Sukacita collaborateswith the well-known Suryani Institute for Mental Health, led by Balinese professor Luh Ketut Suryani. This institute has several special programs to help people with a psychological disorder. ‘Ibu Suryani and I are both healers and mental coaches. We met in Bali and we immediately ‘clicked’, says Onderwater.

Seametry, a Dream School for Village Children in Cambodia: Muoy You Comes Full Circle

By: Gabrielle Yetter

Forty years ago, Muoy You’s pursuit of a quality education in France saved her life. Today, she wants to give the same educational opportunity to young Cambodians.

In 1972, she received a scholarship to study overseas. She never dreamed it would be 31 years before she returned home to Cambodia.

Unbeknownst to the enthusiastic young woman at the time, her education probably saved her life. The journey to France took place while tables were turning in her home country and, exactly two years and five months after her departure, the Khmer Rouge marched into Cambodia, evacuating thousands and tearing the country apart. From her apartment in Paris, Muoy watched it on TV, powerless to connect with the family she’d left behind and unable to return to her home.

After decades of searching, waiting and reuniting with lost family members, Muoy returned in 2003 and opened Seametrey Children’s Village in Phnom Penh as a way of giving back to the country which, she felt, now needed her help.

Win+ a Step further!

Dear Win + friend,

Since a year and a half now  Latitudes.nu provides information for everyone who feels connected to Indonesia and Southeast Asia. We bring news, interviews, as well as highlighting welfare initiatives from all over Southeast Asia. We strongly believe in the exchange of information, opinions and culture. With the Win + section we support initiatives concerning welfare, sustainability and green development. Visitors of the website and members of the online community can support the Win+ projects by sharing their knowledge and network with these projects, to be the link to a better world.

The Tileng Foundation

The Tileng Foundation’s mission is to improve living conditions in the villages Imogiri, Baturraden and, of course, Tileng on the island of Java in Indonesia. It achieves this by financing and supporting locally initiated projects.

The Tileng Foundation has been actively supporting projects in Indonesia since 2000. Through these projects, houses and schools have been built, scholarships provided and a prestigious cattle project has been set up.

The Mad Tuk Tuk Challenge: Part Charity/Part Madness

By: Gabrielle Yetter

Picture the scene: You’re riding your bicycle along a dirt road near Prolit village near Siem Reap when a tuktuk flies by. Nothing new in this part of the world, right?

Until you notice the driver is dressed as Fred Flintstone.

Another one bumps along in your rearview mirror. This one’s driven by an Aussie with a painted face. The next one bears an American flag. Then there’s the piece de resistance – a gold trimmed tuktuk complete with padded leather seats, a TV/DVD, electric fan and mood lighting.

It’s invasion of the tuktuks, barang (barang is the word used for a foreigner in Cambodia) style - better known as the MaD Tuk Tuk Challenge.

Cambodia’s One & Only Mad Tuk Tuk Challenge: A WHEEL Life Adventure!

GET READY to kick off a Cambodian adventure with the 2012 MaD Tuk Tuk Challenge, charity rally. A TURBO adrenalin rush! How about a gruelling challenge set to keep your blood pumping for a whole 11 days and more than 1,750kms!!!

The THIRD YEAR of the MaD Tuk Tuk Challenge, a tuk tuk rally with a difference, is set to commence on the Easter Weekend holidays on 6th APRIL 2012. A guaranteed adrenalin rush on 3wheels - with a bonus, for those forever searching for that perfect hit!

Teams are allowed to pimp up their Tuk Tuks to the max [OPTIONAL] then take to the tracks of Cambodia, crossing some of the most unexplored and extreme areas of South East Asia all in name of charity. The route will take the entourage through remote villages where they will set up camp. Each team is also fundraising for their Tuk Tuk Team through sponsorship and donations to reach a combined target total of US20K in partnership with MaD Cambodia.

Primary focus of the event is to raise enough funds to continue the charity MaD’s work in Cambodia and to build & manage their new projects in the coming 2011/2012 dry season. 100% of funds donated and raised go to MaD Cambodia's Projects... Not 10%!