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Agricultural tourism at a Bandung dairy farm
A one-day farm trip filled with fun workshops on how to produce do-it-yourself (DIY) foods
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A one-day farm trip filled with fun workshops on how to produce do-it-yourself (DIY) foods.
Twenty-six participants of 'Camp on Farm: Dear Dairy' gathered at the Agritektur office at Jl. Mataram No. 2 at 7 a.m. From there, they traveled in a convoy of vintage Land Rovers, courtesy of Bandung's Land Rover Community, to the Dago Dairy in Mekarsari, Lembang.
'The meeting point was intended as an ice-breaker site for our participants so they could start to get to know each other. By the time we reach the farm, hopefully a friendly atmosphere among the group will have been achieved,' explained Agritektur marketing head Rendy Ega Pradhana.
Agritektur is a creative community of young people in Bandung who share the same vision to bring back the glory days of Indonesia's local farming; when the supply of food and livestock was adequate, abundant even.
With the tagline, 'Think Globally, Eat Locally', which they have spread using the hashtag #TGEL through Agritektur's social media channels, the community has held a number of events to educate people to incorporate the message into their daily lives. The events include a regular Sunday morning local farmers' market (Parappa), where people can purchase high-quality local fruits and vegetables from nearby farms.
'With 'Camp on Farm: Dear Dairy', we want the participants to see the daily activities on the Dago Dairy farm,' Rendy added.
Upon reaching the farm, the visitors were warmly greeted by Dago Dairy's owner, Mark, who later took them on a tour of the farm.
The tour began with Mark sharing a brief history of the farm while looking at Dago Dairy's cows, which he explained were hybrids of New Zealand and Indonesia's dairy cattle to produce a new generation of high-quality local cows.
Mark said that after the calves were born, the cows were usually released into the nearby forest to reduce postpartum stress. This explained the presence of a number of free-roaming cattle on the farm.
The tour continued with a workshop on how to make yoghurt, and then he took the participants to see the chicken farm.
The chicken farm at Dago Dairy uses a conveyor system and it is placed above the open farm to ensure a highly fertile farm soil, fed by chicken manure.
'The best part of the workshop was that the participants were able to take home their own DIY butter and mayonnaise,' he said.
DIY butter and mayonnaise workshops followed after lunch. It turned out that making these was much easier than many people may think. The butter, for instance, was made by simply shaking and stirring up pure milk in a jar.
The best part of the workshop was that the participants were able to take home their own DIY butter and mayonnaise.
'Camp on Farm: Dear Dairy' came to a close with an outdoor meal on the farm. Gathered around a long table, the visitors were presented with an array of international dishes prepared with local ingredients, all of which were served in a joyful atmosphere, sheltered by Lembang's fresh air.
To complete the theme, the delicious feast was followed by a session around a campfire, where everyone sat in a circle and enjoyed freshly grilled corn while sharing their impressions of the day's events.
A Japanese participant shared that in his home country, he had never encountered the concept of agricultural tourism.
'I really had a great time here,' he said, smiling. (Icha Rahmanti/jakpost.travel)
