Agriculture plays an immense role in Indonesia’s national development agenda. This is mainly due to Indonesia’s ever-increasing population number which correlates positively with the increasing need of food supply. Unfortunately this vital sector has yet been given enough attention and care by the government. According to Balai Pusat Statistik (BPS) data, the number of Indonesian population who works in agriculture sector decreases every year. In one year span since 2013, a total of 39.22 million farmers decreased to 38.97 million. The numbers drop once more in 2015, to only 37.75 million farmers. This continuous downturn is a reflection of Indonesia agriculture sector’s inability to support and provide a decent livelihood for its farmers. read more

Sand dune, or locally known as Gumuk Pasir, is a hill of loose sand built by wind or water flow processes which might occur in different sizes and shapes. Apart from being a very unique coastal area natural phenomenon, sand dune is also a newly emerging tourism destination in southern region of Yogyakarta.
For those who wants to enjoy a desert-esque landscape while still enjoying a relaxed sea breeze, this is absolutely the place to be.

For Mathilde Mallet and Maxie Elisa Netzhammer, two German students enrolling in SCS-CEL UGM program who belongs to sub-unit two and three from Grogol X village Bantul unit, the Parangtritis Beach sand dune comes calling. As quoted from Maxie’s SCS-CEL story, their unit assignment was to initiate the sand dune conservation program, in which they also have to consider a restructuration process to improve this tourism magnet. Working together with 28 other Indonesian students, their unit dove in to the SCS-CEL program at the 6 th of November 2015. read more

As one of 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) key points promoted by the United Nations, ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages is a very essential step in achieving the totality of goals. According to Badan Statistik Yogyakarta, in 2015 alone, 39.6% of Yogyakarta total population (3,457,491 people) had health related complain every one month. 48.2% of those complainants, had an average of 5 working days disturbed. In other words, almost 659,938 people had to postpone their work every 5 days due to health issues. This numbers puts the importance of health and hygiene promotion to perspective because it correlates positively with a society’s welfare. read more