Indonesia Service Trip - January 2024
In January 2024, I went to Bandung, Indonesia to do a short-term course at Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) in diversity, sustainability, and education. I covered a diverse range of activities, combining cultural immersion, academic learning, and fieldwork to provide a holistic understanding of Indonesian culture, sustainability, and community development.
Cultural Immersion and Exploration
The program includes several opportunities to experience Indonesian culture firsthand:
City Tour of Bandung: A day dedicated to exploring the city’s landmarks and gaining an understanding of its cultural significance.
Cultural Exchange in Motekar/Ciamis: I engaged with local communities, learning through social mapping, traditional games, and cultural performances such as gamelan music. They will also stay in homestays to experience everyday rural life.
Engaging with Local Children: In Bandung, I spent time at a free school, learning about education in the local context and engaging with children through play and learning activities.
Academic Learning and Discussions
Participants will attend various academic sessions focused on critical topics:
Cultural Identity and Conflict Management: These lectures explore cultural and individual differences, conflict types, and strategies for managing conflicts. They provide foundational knowledge for navigating cross-cultural environments.
Circular Economy and Sustainability: Multiple sessions will delve into sustainability practices, including innovations in the circular economy. Activities such as urban farming, waste management, and making sustainable products like soap and candles highlight practical approaches to environmental challenges.
Navigating Differences Across Identities: Discussions centered around how to manage and appreciate diversity across cultures, identities, and conflicts are key to building cross-cultural competency.
Field Research and Community Engagement
Participants will take part in fieldwork aimed at understanding local communities and their needs:
Social Mapping: I learned about social mapping techniques to assess and understand the structure and needs of a community, with applications in both urban and rural settings.
Field Research on Community Empowerment: This hands-on research helped me understand how to empower communities through local initiatives and sustainable practices.
Women Farmer Community: In Motekar, I engaged with a local women farmers’ group, learning about agriculture, gender roles, and community development in a rural context.
Practical Sustainability Activities
The program integrates hands-on activities focused on sustainable practices:
Circular Activities: I engaged in urban farming and waste management. Also, I learned how to create sustainable products such as soap and candles from waste, offering practical insights into recycling and reuse practices.
Garden-to-Table Lunch: A unique lunch experience where I explored the concept of sustainability through food, directly linking agriculture and consumption.
Reflection and Final Presentation
Towards the end of the program, participants will reflect on their learning:
Group Discussions: I shared insights and prepared for the final presentation, which will summarize my experiences and learning from the program.
Final Presentation: The culmination of the program includes a presentation where I discussed my fieldwork, research, and overall takeaways from the experience.
Farewell Dinner: The program concludes with a celebratory dinner, marking the end of the journey and an opportunity for final reflections and goodbyes.
Free Time and Independent Learning
Throughout the program, I had free time to explore the area or rest. During this time, we were encouraged to attend museums, events, or activities related to Indonesian culture, STEM, or the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We are expected to reflect on this independent learning experience in a written piece at the end of the trip.
This mix of academic learning, field research, and cultural experiences provides participants with both theoretical and practical knowledge about Indonesian society, sustainability practices, and cross-cultural communication.
What began as a program I thought would allow me to contribute to local communities evolved into an enriching experience of mutual exchange. Through my interactions, I understood service learning in a deeper sense, where I learned as much from the communities as I aimed to give back.
The program was structured to blend academic learning with cultural immersion and community service, offering us a holistic experience. While participating in activities such as social mapping, urban farming, and waste management, I quickly realized that my role wasn’t simply to serve but to learn and collaborate with the people I met. Engaging with the women farmer community in Motekar, for example, allowed me to understand the intricacies of rural life and agriculture from a local perspective. Through their knowledge of sustainable farming, I saw how innovations could be adapted to specific contexts, and in return, I shared insights from my own experiences and studies, creating a two-way exchange of ideas.
One of the most profound aspects of the trip was the engagement with local children at a free school in Bandung. I had initially thought I would contribute by teaching and supporting their learning, but the interaction became a lesson for me in how education is shaped by culture and local resources. The children’s curiosity and resilience left me with a deeper appreciation of education as a tool for community empowerment, reinforcing my belief in giving back by developing solutions tailored to meet local needs.
Through activities such as social mapping and field research on community empowerment, I learned about the structure and needs of the communities we visited. This service-learning component opened my eyes to the role engineers and designers play in creating sustainable solutions that respect local cultures and environments. It wasn’t about imposing outside ideas but listening and co-creating solutions that would truly benefit the community. Whether it was learning how to recycle waste into usable products like soap and candles or discussing sustainability with local groups, I realized that giving back starts with understanding and integrating the wisdom of the people you’re working with.
By the end of the program, the sense of service learning became clear. Service wasn’t just about doing for others, but also about receiving knowledge and using it to contribute in a meaningful way. As I reflected on the experience, I found myself deeply committed to giving back to these communities—not just through the skills I gained, but also by applying the lessons of sustainability, collaboration, and community empowerment in future projects. The trip reshaped my understanding of service learning, making it not just an act of giving, but a dynamic process of shared growth, where both sides contribute to and benefit from the experience.
