Foraging can be defined as to search for, to identify, and to collect food; medicine; materials for tools that are sourced from nature. Humans have lived this method of surviving for about 90% of history, usually by the help of simple tools to collect fruit/leaves/seeds, to fish, or to hunt animals. Currently, only about 0.002%…
The Making of Broadleaf Plantain Salve
I was inspired to make the multipurpose plantain salve after returning back to the big city of Tangerang. The fierce instinct of mosquitoes to survive there triggered itchy and inflamed bumps on my skin. Fortunately, I had brought a small jar of broadleaf plantain infused oil with me there. Before making this salve, you need to make broadleaf plantain infused oil first, and the method I usually use is…
Broadleaf Plantain (Plantago major), The Healer Plant and Egg Substitute
In Indonesia also known as: ki urat, otot-ototan, daun urat, daun urat-urat For foragers, the surrounding nature is not only seen equals to a supermarket to find food, but also a pharmacy. Many wild plants that have healing properties appear on the side of a ditch, cracks on streets, or in your yard, like this…
Bread Mushroom (Calvatia sp.)
This mushroom is pseudo-stemmed, with fruit that is spongy and soft like real bread, and varies in size. When it is old and under pressure from its surrounding, the skin will break and spread its spores.
Scaly Tangerine Mushroom (Agaricus trisulphuratus)
Location: Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta It was a perfect day in the early June, for me to stay away from Wi-Fi signal and to walk amongst the trees, during lunch break at the office. The soil was still damp from late afternoon rain of the day before, so I could find several variants of…
Achiote, The Lipstick Tree (Bixa orellana)
This one plant has a special place in my heart, as this Rambutan look alike plant fruit was one of the first plants that introduced me to the world of foraging. It was in 2018, the first time I started to get to know this plant, when me and a friend took our bicycles for a…
Dryad’s Saddle Mushroom
November 2021, was the beginning of the second rain season for me to practice identifying wild mushrooms. While I was looking out the window of the office building where I work, my eyes caught the first stunning sight of this mushroom. As a brief background, my current office happens to be in a village that…
Getih-getihan (Rivina humilis), A Plant with Bloody Berries
Getih-getihan is a non native herbaceous shrub plant in Indonesia. Originated from South America, it has been naturalised and widely distributed to some parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Eastern part of Australia, and Pacific islands. In the province of Yogyakarta where I live, I often find the plant wildly grows in abandoned buildings’ yard…