As Sany and Ifa are working on different projects connected to permaculture, educating the community about becomming self-sufficient and producing their own biological fertilizer, we worked in a different site almost every day. That way it took me a while to get the concept of the workcamp but therefore gave me the opportunity to see many different places and projects and get a broad understanding of their foundation and work. On one hand we did gardening sessions in different places, where Sany designed the permaculture beds. We fertilized the soil, harvested vegetables and more. On the other hand we did human library sessions in a kindergarden, in a boarding school and with students, where I told them about my home town and my life there, which opened the possibility for rich discussions, as the kids and students always had interesting questions that made me think deeper. Also the kids and students showed me the games they like to play or for example how to play one of their traditional instruments.
As it turned out I`m going to be the only participant in this workcamp, Sany and Ifa were very flexible in adapting the schedule accordingly. Instead of staying in a seperate place for the participants, they let me stay in their house and live among them, which was very generous. Also it opened the possibility for me to live their daily life with them, meeting the people they are close to and joining their schedules and daily tasks. That was a very rich experience for me, especially because I became a part of their routines. For instance every morning Sany and I would clean the floor together and I helped him cooking, where I could learn a lot from his skills. Also this way opened the possibility for us to have a lot of discussions inbetween the daily tasks. We discussed a lot of questions about Indonesian and German politics, Indonesian history, postcolonialism and so on. Sany and Ifa were very open to discussing any topic that came to our minds, even the ones where I first needed to find the words for in a world that is coloured by stereotypes and categories. That way we could learn a lot from each other and I´m very grateful they gave me so many opportunities to challenge my existing presumptions about the world and open up.
Besides the official activities of the workcamp I could experience and join so many other events like Halal Bihalal celebrations, weddings, a tea session with a friend, yoga class and gymnastic in the neighbourhood and others. Also I met a lot of their friends and also people my age that took me for ice cream or a hike. Besides that, Sany and Ifa let me try all of their favourite food and took very good care of me, so I always felt safe. And even their son took good care of me and took me to join their games in the neighbourhood.
The only thing that was disturbing for me after a while was that I couldn´t move freely in Semarang. I couldn´t drive a motor cycle and as the traffic is quite heavy, Ifa and Sany didn´t want me to get lost, so I was always dependent on others to take me somewhere. At the beginning it didn´t bother me at all because I was very curious about every new place and activity but after a while in Semarang it got a bit hard for me, that I couldn´t go for a proper walk, as the streets are not made for that and I got confused in the busy streets easily. I guess this is important to know, but I would still definitely go there again!
All in all the workcamp was such a rich experience for me and I´m very grateful for the possibiltiy to be part in so many activities and especially Ifa´s and Sany´s daily life and meeting so many of their friends and partners. I learned a lot and the experiences shaped the way I see European culture and my part in it in many different ways.
I would definitely recommend taking part in Sany´s and Ifa´s workcamps as they are very sensitive, very generous and know a lot of things, so there is always a place for rich discussions about world politics and history and so much to learn about gardening and permaculture. They took such a good care of me and let me learn so much. I´m very grateful and I´m looking foreward to meeting again!
