My interest in foraging started from my daily commuting around the Special Region of Yogyakarta, on a secondhand bicycle I bought on the second semester of my study in Universitas Gadjah Mada. The days when —dare I say as a normal perspiring bicycle commuter in a tropical country— sweat was super close friend of mine. This, gradually grew to be the solo cycling explorations to areas full of wonderful natural landscapes, such as views of rice fields, valleys, waterfalls, rivers, white sandy beaches, hellish climbs, and breezy descending roads around the province. These solemn cycling experiences were what brought me to observe the socioeconomic condition of the people, as well as abundant elements of nature you wouldn’t be able to find in the city. My explorations and curiosities were also followed by the impulse to get to know more about those plants I met with, pushing me deeper to the rabbit hole of foraging. Along with the realization that plants as medicine and food are available in abundance around us, if we want to take a closer look, and allow them to coexist with humans.
As an avid forager without academic background in Biology or Forestry, I mostly learn about plants, mycology, and ethical foraging by observing the ecosystem outdoor, sharing information with other foragers, and lots of time spent being online. In between those activities I also manage to spend time to formulate small batch of artisan soaps, other self care and home cleaning products made from vegan friendly and palm oil free ingredients, called Sendang Mili.
The purposes of this blog, in addition to be my own personal records, are also intended to share profiles of plants/mushrooms available in the west part of Indonesian archipelago, discussion of their benefits, and guides to process them. These, hopefully, can give benefits to all of you.
Have a peaceful foraging time!