Latest news with #WestJava
Japan Times
a day ago
- Business
- Japan Times
'Furikake' app to help manage children's health in Indonesian
A Japanese organization promoting furikake sprinkle seasoning aims to launch an app in Indonesia by the end of the year to help manage the health of children in the Southeast Asian country as well as to improve their academic performance. After downloading the app via a QR code on furikake product packaging, children will be asked to input information such as their height and weight and do practice academic drills. If they complete the data input or the drills, or both, they will be able to enjoy Japanese manga on the app, according to the International Furikake Association. "The data will be provided for free to the West Java provincial government, which lacks enough information about local children's health, for big data analytics to better manage their health," said Shintaro Matsue, head of the association based in Kumamoto Prefecture, known as the home of furikake. "The drills will improve the children's basic academic skills," Matsue added. The International Furikake Association's cooperation is expected to help various fields, a senior Indonesian food agency official said. Set up chiefly by food companies in Kumamoto, the organization has already announced a plan to outsource furikake production in West Java and voluntarily supply products made with dried ingredients rich in protein, calcium and vitamins to the provincial government under Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's free school meal initiative. The products are also due to be sold for use in prison meals under a joint study with the University of Tokyo to see if calcium works to curb irritation. For the app, the manga works to be posted will be chosen from pieces contributed by amateur artists. All episodes of a manga series will become available if users pay a fee on the app. "The charge system will provide amateurs with professional debut opportunities," Matsue said. The app will also facilitate Japanese companies' employment of Indonesian workers by accepting help-wanted advertisements. It will also give its users chances to win motorcycles in daily sweepstakes supported by Japanese makers. Noting that the award winners will be required to declare that they will wear helmets while riding the motorcycles, Matsue said, "We hope to contribute to reducing fatal traffic accidents (in Indonesia) as well."
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Malay Mail
F-16 veteran pilot dies, one injured in light-sport aircraft crash in Indonesia's West Java
JAKARTA, Aug 3 — A light-sport aircraft crashed in Bogor, West Java province, on Sunday morning, killing one person and seriously injuring another, according to a spokesman for the Indonesian Air Force, Xinhua reported. The aircraft, operated by the Indonesian Aero Sport Federation, went down in Ciampea area at around 10.00 am local time, shortly after taking off from Atang Sendjaja Airport in Bogor at 9.08 am. It was piloted by former Indonesian Air Force spokesman Fajar Adriyanto, with civilian Roni Ahmad serving as co-pilot. Adriyanto died in the crash, while Ahmad sustained serious injuries. Both were taken to a nearby hospital. Indonesian Air Force spokesman I Nyoman Suadnyana said the plane was in airworthy condition before departure, adding that authorities are investigating the cause of the accident. — Bernama-Xinhua
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WIRED
24-07-2025
- Business
- WIRED
Meet the Indonesian startup pioneering 'farm to closet' fashion, with help from Rolex
Sukkha Citta, founded by Rolex Awards Laureate Denica Riadini-Flesch, wants to connect customers to Indonesian farmers and artisans—creating clothing that regenerates more than just the land. Where do your clothes come from? Not just the shop, or the country of origin—where were the garments sewn, the crops dug and planted? So diffuse are modern supply chains, there's a good chance even the brand couldn't tell you. But Sukkha Citta knows. The Jakarta-based fashion label is pioneering a 'farm to closet' model, where each of its garments is traceable to the artisans that spun it, right down to the farm where it was grown. Denica Riadini-Flesch launched Sukkha Citta in 2016, after working in Europe as a development economist. When she returned to her native Indonesia to take a job at the World Bank, Riadini-Flesch saw up close the limits of aid. 'It was building bridges and building hospitals and all that, but I started understanding the incredible impact that you can have on other people's lives when you simply create opportunities that weren't there before,' she says. In Indonesia's rural areas, farmland is latticed with humid rainforest, and farmers growing crops such as cotton are often older women, known as Ibus , only 2 percent of whom earn a living wage. The impact of intensive agriculture—and particularly the garment industry—on the countryside has been profound: the Citarum river which runs through West Java, for example, is among the most polluted in the world, partly due to an influx of dyes from the country's textile factories. 'I saw how these women unknowingly use chemicals that are banned in most developed countries, dumping it into the rivers where their children play in,' Riadini-Flesch says. 'And for the first time, I understood that there's someone else, somewhere else, who is paying the true cost of all our things. I realized the simple choice of choosing what shirt to wear today links you profoundly to the lives of these women who are making them.' At the time, Riadini-Flesch had another reason to make a change: she had been diagnosed with a bone tumor. 'I think, for the first time in my life, I started asking questions about, what is it that really makes me happy?' ( Sukacita means 'joy' in Bahasa.) She began working with small farmers to explore how they could change their farming practices, moving away from chemical-intensive methods and returning instead to indigenous, regenerative techniques. It wasn't an easy sell, after years of lobbying from the chemicals industry. 'I asked them about what they remembered growing up on the farm. What did their grandmother plant?' says Riadini-Flesch. One of the Ibus responded, offering up a single hectare, where they planted cotton next to corn, chilli, mung beans, and other crops. 'The corn is what they call the protective crop—it protects the cash crop from too much sun. The chillies are a trap crop—the pests go there, not to the cotton. And then the mung bean is actually a nitrogen fixer,' she explains. The results were profound. 'Within three years, the yield increased six times.' At the same time, Sukkha Citta began to work with collectives of local artisans, who could not only cut and sew the designs, but dye them using all-natural methods, such as locally-grown indigo. 'That's the unique thing with Sukkha Citta ,' Riadini-Flesch says. 'It's 100 percent farm to closet. Our clothes are dyed with plants that we are growing ourselves.' To date, Riadini-Flesch says the company's practices have prevented over 5 million litres of dye pollution, and regenerated more than 60 hectares of land. It estimates that each of its designs—menswear, womenswear, and unisex garments, from floating dresses to sculptural coats and delicate accessories—touches 12 families, and takes 180 days to produce. Most importantly, the women working with Sukkha Citta have found that their earnings grew sixfold. 'That's when I started to understand that not only does this way of doing things empower women, it can increase their livelihoods at the same time. It can restore soil health, it can improve biodiversity, it can sequester excess carbon.' As a social enterprise (it's a registered B Corp) Sukkha Citta reinvests its profits in the communities. Working with local artisans, the company has opened craft schools in the villages, where locals can learn craft and farming techniques. 'It's a place where we are repairing the broken lineage of craft,' she says. Sukkha Citta is working to revive traditional crafts and celebrates natural, local materials. Sébastien Agnetti In 2023, Riadini-Flesch was awarded a Rolex Award for Sukkha Citta's work supporting regenerative farming and sustainable fashion. Originally launched in 1976, the Awards support individuals pursuing innovative work and causes that protect the environment, improve human well-being, or advance our understanding of the world. Since 2019, the Awards for Enterprise have been made under the company's Perpetual Planet initiative, with a major focus on ocean conservation, protecting wilderness, and preserving the natural world. To date, Rolex has supported 160 Laureates all over the world. 'It's been incredible, because I feel I get to share this story on a scale that was before unimaginable,' she says. ' Sukkha Citta is not a business, Sukkha Citta is a movement, and my endgame is to have this blueprint adopted across industries, across sectors. So the Rolex Award has allowed me to do exactly that, and start pushing for this to be adopted globally.' With Rolex's support, Sukkha Citta has expanded its schools program—it has four, and is working on a fifth—and has enabled it to digitize its teachings. 'The Rolex Award is helping us build an app that digitizes our curriculum, that allows us to train farmers in regenerative farming without me being there.' That, for Sukkha Citta , is the true impact of farm-to-closet: changing the culture of fashion. The brand's clothing, for example, is not seasonal, with its styles instead designed to last years, and to fit multiple body types. 'It helps people in reducing the amount of things that they have to buy. Like our dresses, they all have pockets, and are field tested to be able to fit multiple body types. Women's bodies change; our clothes are engineered and designed to be able to allow women to go through these life changes without having to buy more stuff,' she says. 'That means we also have no pressure to push products to you. We don't have to empty our warehouse because it's no longer the season. You can wear it today and five years from now it's still relevant.' For Riadini-Flesch, the impact of Sukkha Citta's work can be felt in the clothes themselves. 'Our customers keep telling me that when they wear these clothes, it makes them think about what is it that they actually really want to do outside of the hamster wheel. It makes them think about purpose. It makes them think about being part of something bigger. And then they get inspired to actually do something in them,' she says. There are challenges, of course. Not least the weather: recently, wet weather has slowed down production. 'In rainy season, we tend to be able to only work with really blue colors, because that's when the Indigo is in harvest. So what you see in our stores are products that follow these seasons. It's the same with your farmer's market: you buy what's local, you buy what's abundant, and when it's available, right? And I think that's ultimately what we need more of, as a consumer.' By 2030, Sukkha Citta aims to impact 10,000 lives and regenerate 1,000 hectares of land. 'I think that's the beautiful thing about our work: the bigger the business grows, the more people we can lift up.' To find out more about Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative, visit and explore our Planet Pioneers partnership page here.
RNZ News
16-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Donald Trump announces trade agreement with Indonesia, including 19% tariff
By Elisabeth Buchwald , CNN A worker inspects fabric for export before the dyeing process at the Trisula Textile Industries factory in Cimahi, West Java on 15 April, 2025. Photo: AFP/TIMUR MATAHARI US President Donald Trump says the United States has reached a trade agreement with Indonesia after speaking with the country's President Prabowo Subianto. Hours after announcing the agreement on Truth Social, Trump told reporters that it calls for Indonesia to not charge any tariffs on American exports, while the US will impose a 19 percent tariff on Indonesian exports. In a subsequent post on Truth Social, he said the agreement was "finalised". However, the Indonesian government had yet to confirm the details, saying on Tuesday that a joint announcement was in the works. "We are preparing a joint statement between US and Indonesia that will explain the size of reciprocal tariff for Indonesia including the tariff deal, non-tariff and commercial arrangements. We will inform (the public) soon," Susiwijono Moegiarso, a senior official with Indonesia's Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, told Reuters in a text message. Trump also said Indonesia committed to buying "$15 Billion Dollars in U.S. Energy, $4.5 Billion Dollars in American Agricultural Products, and 50 Boeing Jets, many of them 777's". Before departing the White House to speak at a summit in Pittsburgh, the president said Indonesia is "known for high-quality copper, which we'll be using". That may mean that copper from the country could face lower tariffs, or no tariffs, if Trump proceeds with his threat to levy a 50 percent tax across all copper imports on 1 August. While Indonesia shipped $20 million worth of copper to the US last year, according to US Commerce Department data, that's far behind top suppliers Chile and Canada, which sent $6 billion and $4 billion worth of the metal to the US last year. "No tariffs there; they pay tariffs here. Switching the asymmetry our way," US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday. Trump said India is "working along the same line" with regard to securing a trade agreement. In April, Trump briefly imposed a 32 percent tariff on goods from the country before pausing so-called "reciprocal" tariffs. Countries that were due to face those tariffs have been charged a minimum 10 percent tariff for the past three months. That's due to end on 1 August. "Great deal, for everybody, just made with Indonesia. I dealt directly with with their highly respected President," Trump wrote on his social media platform Tuesday morning. "DETAILS TO FOLLOW!!!" This marks Trump's fourth trade agreement announcement in three months. He had previously promised dozens of deals with US trading partners over that time frame, but that has proven tough to reach. One of the four agreements he previously announced was with Vietnam earlier this month, similarly posting on Truth Social. But the administration has yet to announce any more information on that agreement. Trump's volatile trade policy has paralysed many businesses. Some fear that new orders they place for products manufactured overseas could be tariffed at dramatically higher rates given Trump can - at the flick of a switch - change rates charged on a country's exports. Trump has said companies can avoid such headaches by moving production to the United States. But it's not so simple in practice: Businesses may not only encounter difficulty finding the right workers, but it could take years - and many millions of dollars - before manufacturing facilities are up and running. Then, once production is moved to the US, costs could increase, leading to higher prices for American consumers. Representatives from the Indonesian government did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. Indonesia is America's 23rd top trading partner, US Commerce Department data from last year shows. The United States imported $28 billion worth of merchandise from there last year. Apparel and footwear were the top two goods Americans bought. Meanwhile, the US exported $10 billion worth of goods there last year. Oilseeds and grain as well as oil and gas were the top two exports. - CNN
CNA
15-07-2025
- CNA
6 babies rescued as Indonesia busts trafficking ring, 5 bound for buyers in Singapore: Reports
SINGAPORE: Six infants, with five allegedly intended to be sold to buyers in Singapore, have been rescued by local authorities in Indonesia after they busted a baby-trafficking ring that has reportedly carried out 24 such deals since 2023. And of the 24 infants that have already been sold, 15 were taken to Singapore, Director of General Crime Investigation of West Java Police Department Surawan told CNA when contacted. He added that of the six babies rescued, five were ready to be sent to buyers in Singapore, while one was to be sent to Pontianak. He had earlier told local media that the six rescued babies were aged between two to three months old. 'According to the suspects' statements, the babies were to be adopted in Singapore but we are still investigating this further,' Surawan was quoted as saying by news outlet CNN Indonesia. Twelve people have been named suspects in the alleged human trafficking case and were arrested, Hendra Rochmawan, head of public relations for West Java Police, told local media on Monday. It is unclear when they were arrested. He said the 12 suspects held different roles in the syndicate, including acting as initial recruiters to being caregivers to the babies as well as couriers who deliver the infants to the clients' intended locations that include Singapore, local media Kompas reported. CNA has reached out to Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs and Singapore Police Force for comments. INVESTIGATIONS ONGOING Authorities in Indonesia say the 12 suspects are undergoing interrogation for further investigations. 'We did not only detain the suspects, we also seized some evidence such as (fake) identity cards, passports and other documents identifying the victims,' Hendra was quoted as saying by local media. Meanwhile, Surawan also confirmed that the babies were intended to be transported to Singapore. 'Through the suspects, we managed to rescue five babies in Pontianak that were supposed to be sent to Singapore and already had the necessary documents. We also rescued another baby in Tangerang a few days ago,' Surawan said. He added: 'We are still investigating the babies that are already in Singapore and will coordinate with the Interpol to pursue this case further.' According to Surawan, the six infants rescued were sent to Bhayangkara Sartika Asih Hospital in Bandung for medical treatment. 'The plan is for all victims to be placed in the shelter of the West Java Social Service,' said Surawan, as quoted by Kompas. He said that the baby trafficking syndicate came to light after a parent made a report that his child had been kidnapped by an unknown person. 'Most of the cases originate from West Java. The case started from a report made by a parent whose child was kidnapped and we developed the case based on the suspects in West Java,' Surawan was quoted as saying by CNN Indonesia. Based on interrogations of the suspects, the police found that each baby successfully transported to Singapore was sold for the price of about tens of millions of rupiah per baby. 'The babies were bought from the biological mothers for about 11 million to 16 million rupiah,' said Surawan in another interview on Tuesday, as quoted by CNN Indonesia. Surawan added that the suspects had obtained some of the babies from parents who voluntarily gave them up while others were allegedly kidnapped. This is not the first time a baby smuggling ring to Singapore from Indonesia was reported. In 2016, Indonesian authorities arrested three suspects in Batam for allegedly planning to sell a three-month-old baby boy to Singapore for about US$8,000.
