Javanese traditional music performed by the palace gamelan music ensamble directed by (pengeprak) Mateus Anwar Widodo, in the Srimanganti Pendopo (performance pavilion) of the Yogyakarta Kraton (Sultan’s Palace).

The melodious gamelan music is being played by the Niyagas (gamelan players) dressed in traditional Javanese costume. The Pesinden (female and male) are singing with distinct, beautiful voices. The Pengeprak, the man who beats a wooden slit drum called the Keprak, directs the performance, and usually also is the dance master. With the sound of keprak, he gives order to the gamelan players, to the singers and to the dancers.



We have a new section up at our Bouvet Foundation media project sister web site, 'the bas/bou files': 
Classical Javanese court dance from Yogyakarta. 
You will find both a narrative, a web photo gallery and a downloadable pdf ebook there. Enjoy, and please share this info with others...

Javanese palace dance (tari kraton) performed by Maria Vincentia Ika Mulatsih SS, accompanied by the palace gamelan music ensamble, in the Srimanganti Pendopo (performance pavilion) of the Yogyakarta Kraton (Sultan’s Palace).

Kraton dance performances are accompanied by traditional ‘gamelan’ music, and follows strict rules as to dance movements, body and hand gestures that requires discipline to learn. The serene elegance, slow pace and constrains of its movements give Javanese court dance a meditative quality. These dances are heavily influenced by Javanese Hindu-Buddhist legacy, which is often reflected in the costumes, jewelry and story.

Since Basil is happiest when being creative, we made this his playground where he can present things that fancy him. Can end up anywhere, but may also be interesting — he’s a kind of ‘round peg in a square hole’, and they tend to try and change the world. That could be nice.

We hope this web site may serve as an example of what the Bouvet Foundation may help others with. Everything here is produced in-house. Media presentation is important for all organisations, and we would love to discuss with you how we might help improving your information activities.

This web site presents activities through several channels: A web page with a description of the activity; a presentation through a photography web gallery, and a pdf brochure to be downloaded and shared. We plan to add videos as well.

The documents presented are produced with professional equipment, allowing flexibility in design and production.

The photographs are taken using a Nikon D3 camera, as raw files, and optimised for web presentation in photography web galleries made with a customised template in Apple Aperture.

The pdf brochures are made with Adobe InDesign software in print quality, and then optimised for web presentation.

The optimisation for web presentation reduces the size of the documents, making them ideal for on-screen viewing, but unsuitable for printing. This makes the opening of the web site much quicker; important when it comes to viewing photographs, as they start out quite large.

In other words, please don’t print this stuff, it will not look as nice as it was intended. If you want to use anything you see at this web site for printing, or for any commercial purpose, please contact us and we will find a satisfactory (and legal, ref our terms of use) way to do this.

Thanks, and enjoy the files!

Senior member Ibu Jami (right) with Ibu Suryawati from Aspekasi.
Photo © Basil Rolandsen (http://bouvetmedia.com)

Mat weaving is an old tradition in Sigulai, as well as in other places in Simeulue. The mats have many applications, from covering floors, to materials for containers for rice and other things. They are also used as gifts during wedding ceremony, and young girls start weaving their mats from an early age in preparation for this.

Meeting with the victims of the 2004 Boxing-day tsunami, the Norwegian Red Cross was urged to help them start livelihood activities. They decided to organise women in groups and train them, so that they might generate income to help their families. Mat weaving turned out to be a popular activity as basis for such groups, including with the Melekhewa (“diligent”) group in the Sigulai village, counting 49 members.

Jami is the senior member of the Melekhewa group. She is a widow with seven children, and works hard to help them through university – five have already finished, and the last two are now studying! She describes the benefits of joining the group, underlining the cooperation between the women, developing new products like bags, tissue boxes and more. The training on how to run a small business has been very important, as has the group marketing and sales efforts been. For those investing their revenue in opening a small business, the access to saving and borrowing money through a microfinance scheme has also been a fantastic support.

For Jami, the income from weaving mats has been a means to educating her children. Others have started small businesses; small shops or cafes, trading cloth or other products, breeding chicken or fish, and more.

Suryawati works for Aspekasi, the umbrella organisation set up to help the women groups develop further, assisting with marketing and sales, and coordinating microfinance activities. She tells us that the 11 groups differ in size and focus. The smallest group has 25 members, while the largest has 70. The total number of members is about 450, much larger than the original target of 240 – and most are growing. Some groups are more focused on mat weaving, others on micro finance and savings, and some are more active than other.

Suryawati is optimistic about the future, and thinks the groups as well as Aspekasi are maturing and can manage after the project ends later this year. Even if some members are worried about losing the regular follow-up, most realise that the training they have gone through and the time spent together have strengthened them so that they now can function independently. Judging from the Melekhewa women, she just may be right!

Text and photos: Basil Rolandsen (http://bouvetmedia.com)

The Melekhewa (“diligent”) mat-weaving group was founded after the 2004 tsunami, and has 49 active members. They weave traditional mats and other related articles, and sell them with support from the umbrella organisation “Aspekasi”. In addition to the members, we see Livelihood Programme Officer Abdul Rozak Tanjung (right) and Red Cross Delegate Erna Skau (behind Rozak).
Photo © Basil Rolandsen (http://bouvetmedia.com)

NorCross Mat-weaving Livelihood Project

• Responding to the emergency after the 2004 Boxing-day Tsunami, the Norwegian Red Cross (NorCross) initiated several projects in the Indonesian province Aceh, North Sumatra, in close co-operation with the Indonesian Red Cross and Red Crescent Society (PMI).
• Activities on the island of Simeulue, situated in the western part of Aceh, included both infrastructure development and capacity building, the livelihood projects being a part of the latter.
• A total of 450 women have joined of one of 11 village-based groups established as a part of the project, each with from 25 to 70 members.
• The women have received training, included in small business management and micro finance.
• The groups are based on weaving traditional mats, and help with diversifying products, as well as organising sales. They also operate micro-finance saving and borrowing for their members, enabling them to start small-scale businesses.
• The project also established the umbrella organisation Aspekasi, which assists the groups with marketing and sales, as well as with coordinating microfinance activities.

Ibu Ani lives 500 metres from the water post, and like many people in the area she has to fetch water three times a day, in addition to washing clothes there, carrying the wet clothes home again. Installation of a tap supplying drinking water to her house, as well as to more than 500 other households, is an anticipated improvement.
Photo © Basil Rolandsen (http://bouvetmedia.com)

Ani lives about 500 metres from the village water source, situated a bit into the woods. She and many of her neighbours in the Babul Makmur village have to carry heavy water containers back home three times every day, in addition to the heavy wet laundry for a household of five. Her neighbour Afrila’s burden is worse, her family counting seven. Chairuddin, an old age pensioner, is glad they are only three, as he lives 1.5 kilometres away, and feels the strain on his aging body. No surprise then, that they are all looking forward to the day the new water supply system will deliver clean drinking water right to a tap at home – and in time for the wet season, saving them the extra burden of dragging the water containers along muddy roads…

The new water supply system is constructed by the Norwegian Red Cross (NorCross), as a part of their post-tsunami programme in Aceh. NorCross has partnered with the district drinking water supply authority, PDAM, and are expanding the pre-tsunami water supply from 42 households to up to 800 households, or 4,000 persons. The water will start flowing by November 2009, and initially cover 507 households and 18 public tapping stations.

Red Cross Delegate Shir Shah Ayobi is in charge of the constructions, supported by Consultant Supervisor Eddy Gultom and PDAM technician Mudarsono. Shir Shah complements the contractor, Sukamto of the Nusantara Water Centre, for quality work, which is essential when dealing with pressurised water constructions.

The water is collected from two springs, led into a pumping station and from there up to a reservoir on a nearby hill, where up to 450,000 litres are collected in two tanks. A pipeline distributes the water to the five villages through a 20 kilometres long penstock, and the capacity is high enough to supply up to 4,000 persons with 75 litres of clean water per day – a huge improvement for the population around the sub-district centre Sibigo.

Water is important for our daily lives, wherever we live. Some of us can just turn a tap and get fresh, potable water; others have to put in more effort. Chairuddin, Ani and many other people in Western Simeulue will now be able to do other things than carrying water for hours every day, like working in the field or taking care of their family. Since the tap water already is clean and can be consumed directly, they can also save the cost of energy for boiling the water, and even more time, without fearing for their health. Clean water is a precious gift, out of which life grows.

Text and photos: Basil Rolandsen (http://bouvetmedia.com)

Installation of water pumps in the Sibigo water station. Work inspected by (from left) Consultant Supervisor Eddy Gultom, PDAM Sibigo technician Mudarsono, NRC WatSan Delegate Shir Shah Ayobi and Contractor Sukamto. Water collected from two springs will supply tap-based drinking water to more than 500 households in five villages within 20 km of the centre.
Photo © Basil Rolandsen (http://bouvetmedia.com)

NorCross Drinking Water Supply Project

• Responding to the emergency after the 2004 Boxing-day Tsunami, the Norwegian Red Cross (NorCross) initiated several projects in the Indonesian province Aceh, North Sumatra, in close co-operation with the Indonesian Red Cross and Red Crescent Society (PMI).
• Activities on the island of Simeulue, situated in the western part of Aceh, included both infrastructure development and capacity building, the drinking water supply project being a part of the former.
• Villages covered include Sigulai, Lama Mek, Baturagi, Mal Asin and Babul Makmur, all situated in Western Simeulue sub-district.
• A total capacity of 800 households (or 4,000 individuals) in 5 villages may be supplied with 75 litres of drinking quality water per day.
• Initially, 507 households (about 2,500 persons) will receive water to their homes from November 2009.
• Water is collected in two springs and pumped to a reservoir with a capacity of 2 times 225 square metres (or 450,000 litres). A 20 kilometres long pipe transports the water to the villages, where it is distributed to individual households as well as to public taps.
• Upon completion, the project will be handed over to the local drinking water supply authority, PDAM (Perusahaan Daerah Air Minum).

Volunteers trained by NorCross (from right Hendarto and Samsulbahri) saved the life of toddler Almodaris (here with mother Misjuarni and father Khaidir) applying first aid when the boy fell into this well July 2008.

Photo © Basil Rolandsen (http://bouvetmedia.com)

Samsulbahri, a teacher at Sigulai high school, was leaving the compound together with his friend Hendarto when they heard a woman scream. Initially dismissing it as a quarrel, they soon observed a desperate quality to the screams, and ran over to see what was happening.

A grim scene met them: Misjuarni crying while a relative held her toddler Almodaris in the air by his feet; more relatives around prayed, screamed, or both. The 14-month-old boy fell into the well while playing, and when his mother managed to get him out of the water, he had stopped breathing. Relatives tried to help, but by the time the teacher and his friend arrived at the scene ten minutes had passed, the boy had turned blue, and nobody expected him to survive.

Samsulbahri and Hendarto had recently attended a health and first aid training, conducted by the Norwegian Red Cross as a part of their post-tsunami programme in Aceh. Realising all hope may not yet be lost, they offered to try and help. The toddler had no pulse and did not breathe, so they decided to try CPR – an advanced part of the training, which they had learned in theory but not really practiced.

They worked for almost half an hour, applying chest compressions and artificial respiration, before anything happened. Around them, the screaming had given way to crying, and the prying was supplemented by the reading of verses from the Koran. Hope had left the group, they started accepting that Almodaris was dead. Then the wonder: The boy started coughing, vomited and started to breathe. Now Almodaris was the one crying, and the family started cheering and laughing.

It took another half an hour before they considered the boy to be stabile. By now he was hungry, but otherwise in good spirits. The mood in the group was festive, a feeling of having observed a wonder, of prayers being answered, the two rescuers regarded as heroes.

A year after the incident, Samsulbahri and Hendarto describe the scene that day in calm voices. They are happy they were there, and were able to do something. Just a coincidence, they modestly claim. Truth is, they made a difference by having the courage to act and to practice what they had learned in the training, and thus saved a life. Now they share their knowledge on health and first aid at a monthly session, usually after Friday prayers. More that 20 people from the village normally participates. Not surprising, perhaps, as the knowledge had proved to be very practical!

Text and photos: Basil Rolandsen (http://bouvetmedia.com)

Volunteers trained by NorCross (from left) Samsulbahri and Hendarto, who July 2008 saved the life of a drowning toddler by applying first aid, with their trainer Nadriman.

Photo © Basil Rolandsen (http://bouvetmedia.com)

NorCross Health & First Aid Project

• Responding to the emergency after the 2004 Boxing-day Tsunami, the Norwegian Red Cross (NorCross) initiated several projects in the Indonesian province Aceh, North Sumatra, in close co-operation with the Indonesian Red Cross and Red Crescent Society (PMI).
• Activities on the island of Simeulue, situated in the western part of Aceh, included both infrastructure development and capacity building, the Health and First Aid project being a part of the latter.
• A total of 309 volunteers from 14 villages was trained, and then conducting themselves monthly information meetings targeting other villagers.
• The volunteers were recruited amongst teachers, traditional healers, community leaders, religious leaders, youth representatives, and other respected community members.
• The trainings included both first aid and basic health information, like sanitation, hygiene, common diseases, and more.
• First aid kits are distributed to the volunteers, as well as books on village health care (“Where There Is No Doctor” by David Werner).
• Of the 309 trained volunteers, 128 have undergone additional training to qualify as Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) Volunteers.

First Aid – CPR

First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by a layperson to a sick or injured casualty until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care past the first aid intervention. It generally consists of a series of simple and, in some cases, potentially life-saving techniques that an individual can be trained to perform with minimal equipment.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency medical procedure for a victim of cardiac arrest or, in some circumstances, respiratory arrest. CPR is performed in hospitals, or in the community by laypersons or by emergency response professionals.

CPR involves physical interventions to create artificial circulation through rhythmic pressing on the patient's chest to manually pump blood through the heart, called chest compressions, and usually also involves the rescuer exhaling into the patient (or using a device to simulate this) to inflate the lungs and pass oxygen in to the blood, called artificial respiration. Some protocols now downplay the importance of the artificial respirations, and focus on the chest compressions only.

CPR is unlikely to restart the heart, but rather its purpose is to maintain a flow of oxygenated blood to the brain and the heart, thereby delaying tissue death and extending the brief window of opportunity for a successful resuscitation without permanent brain damage. Advanced life support and defibrillation, the administration of an electric shock to the heart, is usually needed for the heart to restart, and this only works for patients in certain heart rhythms, namely ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia, rather than the 'flat line' asystolic patient although CPR can help bring a patient in to a shockable rhythm.

CPR is generally continued, usually in the presence of advanced life support (such as from a medical team or paramedics), until the patient regains a heartbeat (called "return of spontaneous circulation" or "ROSC") or is declared dead.

Source: Wikipedia

The change (behind the scenes) is substantial: We have moved to the web hosting service Squarespace, after researching this as a solution for a planned web site for a partner. Wanted to try it out on our self first, and then decided to actually make the switch.

The site has some main sections, and the top menu lets you switch between them. On the left side there will be menus which change dependent on the content/sections.

A new media section contains new photo galleries – please check them out!

The blog now has a new engine, and more possibilities. We now show single posts on the page, the latest by default, and let you find older/other posts through the index at the left side.

If this change breaks you old links or bookmarks, we are very sorry! Also important: The blog RSS feed has changed and you need to click the RSS link (up left in the blog page) to subscribe to this new version…

So what was wrong with our old web hosting? Well, nothing! We still have the FatCow site, and the WordPress blog, and they are to be put to good use again, soon. We still recommend these solutions, just that this needed to be tested out. And it’s sooo fun with shiny, new things, isn’t it? ;)

To reach our content, you may use these domain names:
bouvetfoundation.org – the main website page
bouvet.info – same as bouvetfoundation.org (temporary)
bouvetmedia.com – the media pages, with photo galleries
bouvetassistance.com – the back-office part
basilrolandsen.com – basil, with links to résumé and social web pages

bouvetpenguin.com – (update: domain is used for other blog)
basbou.com – (update: domain is used for other site)