Duck Egg Harvest of KAIL Garden

In KAIL garden there are twenty-six ducks, six males and twenty females. The ducks are kept in a special place by a bamboo fence. In it there is a pool for the ducks to drink and swim. There is also a sort of raised bed under the sapodilla tree to place the ducks shelter when it is hot or raining.

Ujang, who lives in our neighboring house, takes care of the ducks. He is in charge of feeding the ducks twice a day. The food is varied, ranging from rice bran, corn, leftover of rice and vegetables as well as snails. Sometimes KAIL staffs also stop by to feed the ducks with leftover food brought from home.

Initially, ducks rarely spawn. Usually they do not lay eggs while molt. Once observed, nesting frequency likely influenced by the number, the type of feed and the quality of the happiness of the ducks. The last two months, they have started diligently laying eggs. Perhaps this is due to the snails that Ujang captured from rice fields.

Now we can begin to enjoy duck eggs. Our staffs can buy duck eggs with the price of Rp. 2.500, - per item. When there are remaining eggs, outsiders can buy them. So far, the eggs are still consumed by KAIL staffs, either to take home to stock the protein, or fried or boiled for lunch at staff meetings and other activities KAIL.

Duck eggs taste delicious. The egg can be boiled, can also be fried. It could also be marinated first. The yolk is round and large. It is very savory and delicious. Eggs can also be used as a mixed for baking cake or other food preparations. Hopefully with more diligent ducks lay eggs, more people can enjoy the savory duck egg. Thanks, ducks!

Kenikir in KAIL Garden

Have you ever eaten urap? Urap is a salad dish of steamed vegetables mixed with seasoned and spiced grated coconut for dressing. Well, one of the best vegetables for delicious urap is kenikir leaves. Kenikir, known as Cosmos caudatus, is a tropical plant originally from Latin America, grows wild and easily found in Indonesia too. The leaf for urap is not just any kenikir leaf. It is the one with tiny flowers with a crown of pink on the outside and white in the middle, and its stigmas are amber.

In addition to the salad, kenikirs also have other functions. These plants are also often planted as an insect repellent because the smell is particular. The types of kenikir that are commonly found are the one with yellow and orange flowers. The leaves of these kenikir are not to be eaten.

How to plant kenikir is very easy. The old flowers will produce seeds. Dry seeds will fall on the ground and grow into new kenikir trees. In KAIL gardens, there are many new kenikir-growing from seeds that fall from the first kenikir tree.

Ginger harvest in Gardens KAIL

About 15 months ago, Deta, Dhila and Mrs. Ela made beds in front of the kitchen Home KAIL. Bed was created as a means to practice practice makes permaculture-style gardens. Bed in front of the kitchen it aims to provide the necessary spices for cooking. Most are planted rhizome-rimpangan variety such as ginger, turmeric, kencur and buffoonery.
When viewed from above, the bed is shaped like a keyhole. Parts such as keyhole used as a place to plant, maintain and harvest; while parts such as keyhole part of the house used to create a worm. Whenever there is activity KAIL, we incorporate many leftovers home to worms. Included in the category of food waste is a farrago of grain. Grew among others the seeds of citrus trees, jackfruit, mangosteen, avocado, bark and cayenne pepper. Most of the seedlings are moved elsewhere, while the rest are still in the bed.

Nothing feels more year has passed. Seasons change, drought dries the entire bed followed by a rainy season that grow leaves rhizome-rimpangan verdant meet bed. Then, at this time, drought comes again. The leaves to dry rhizome. Bulbs popping. Well, turns out tiny little bulbs germinate once planted, now grown up. Ready for harvest. Fun! The plan, ginger ginger will be made to complete the course in one of the activities KAIL come.

Chicken

There are three chickens roam freely in KAIL garden. They belong to a neighbor. They like to visit the gardens since last Eid. The chickens are beautiful, glad to see them. However, a problem arises. When they visit the garden, they often search for food among the plants in the garden. So, many plants are damaged. One bed of corn and peanut depleted ruined. Not to mention the grass in the backyard. And, the ginseng plant leaves are exhausted. Sniff! Hopefully soon we find a best solution together to solve this problem with the chickens.

Mulberry in KAIL Garden

Several months ago, Fitri from the Joint Study Group presented a white mulberry tree to House KAIL. The tree was planted in front of the bed along with paper flowers, kale, marigolds and other crops. One tree is then grown, flowering, fruiting and multiply into many. The flowers are tiny and white. The young fruit is green and becomes red when ripen. It tastes sweet and sour. Slurp! According to Ms. Fitri, mulberry fruits are best for jam. Hmmm ... we still have to wait though. Because, the fruits in KAIL garden are still too few if you want to make jam. Hopefully we’ll get more and more fruits. Thank you, Fitri.

Mulberry

Yellow Cambodia (Plumeria) in KAIL Garden

Years ago, a friend from Jatihandap, Esti Wijayanti, gave a Plumeria cuttings for KAIL garden. Plumeria, also known as Frangipani, is native to Indonesia and is called as yellow cambodia by the locals. The cuttings are then planted in the front beds of House Kail at the beginning of the last rainy season. The cuttings are then grown leaves. At first was two, then four, and now widely. Well, this month the cuttings start flowering. First flowers bloom on the date of August 3, 2016. The next day, the second flower follows. They are very beautiful. More and more flowers are in bloom. Really beautiful! Thank you, soil and water. Thank you for helping to grow this beautiful yellow frangipani. And, thank you, Esti.

Paper Flowers in KAIL Garden

Last year, when sending my son to participate in the Batik for Peace, I took a walk around the location of the event. On the roadside, grow colorful paper flowers. Very beautiful! The flowers that are drying are filled with seeds that can be planted again.

I took them with me and scattered the seeds in KAIL garden. Initially, they were on the back beds. But, as the beds are lack of sunlight, the shoots of paper flowers trees do not grow up, alias dwarf-dwarf. Finally, some of the shoots were transferred to the front bed with more sunlight.

Then, some trees grow well. Now they begin to bloom. Some flowers are white and some red. Some crowns are formed in a row, some are stacking piles. They color the front beds very nicely. Soon, the flowers will dry up. The seeds would be planted again and would produce more flowers in KAIL garden.

Coffee Harvest of KAIL Garden

by : Any Sulistyowati

In KAIL garden there are several coffee trees. Two of them started to bear fruits and the fruits began to mature. On July 9, 2016, we harvested them. Very well, we’ve got one plate of beans. The beans will be dried, roasted, grounded and then brewed into coffee drinks.

The trees were planted three years ago, when KAIL House was. Seedlings were donated by Pak Nas, the carpenter who built the house KAIL. There were approximately fifty trees. Unfortunately, the tree growth is not uniform. Some grow rapidly because they were in the heat of sun; others grow very slowly because they were under the shade of trees and bushes on the sidelines. The trees grow without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. So you could say that the coffee in KAIL garden is organic coffee.

Before fruiting, the tree produces flowers first. The flowers are white, organized in clumps and highly scented. It is so beautiful, like strands of jasmine into ornaments bride. These flowers are then pollinated by butterflies and produces fruits. Young coffee fruit is green. Over time the color changes to red, purple and then black. That's when the coffee fruit is ready to be harvested. Hmmm ... cannot wait to brew coffee crop of KAIL House.

Translated by: Bernadetta Tarigan

Students Bandung Gardening at KAIL House

By: Any Sulistyowati

Thursday afternoon before iftar, June 16, 2016, several dozen students filled holiday in KAIL House. They volunteered gardening at Home KAIL. In this gardening activity, their role was to prepare a bed named "bed student". Unlike the daily activities on campus were using paper and pen, in this day they worked with hoes and sickles. Joy showed in their faces when plowing and hauling the soil, filling the beds with fertile soil, forage and manure.

 KAIL’s garden is designed using the principles of permaculture. Following these principles, the garden is divided into several zones, ranging from zone 0 and 1 which is closest to the house up to zone 5 at the riverside of the most distant from the house. Zone 0 and 1 contain plants that are commonly used, such as vegetables, spices and flowers, while zone 5 contains hardwood and bamboo plants that serve to greening, firewood and barriers to erosion. Among these zones, there are zones 2, 3 and 4, which contains fruit trees, fish pond and ducks.

Before gardening, the volunteers got an explanation of the principles of permaculture. In addition to learning about the zoning, they learnt about healthy agriculture, maintaining the balance of nature and promote local biodiversity. Included in it were free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. They also learnt about the stages of preparation of the land to be conducted in their bed.

They worked vigorously while joking. According to the plan, this bed would be planted after the Eid. Hopefully by then forages and manure would have decomposed into fertile soil. Happy were their faces when they finally finished bed before sunset. Activities ended with group photo. Thanks for the students.

translated by: Bernadetta Tarigan