Pati Eco-Village with MDSI

During environment week we spent 3 days in the village of Pedak-Gower, in Pati, five hours northeast of Yogyakarta. MDSI (Mennonite Diakonia Service Indonesia) hosted us and invited a number of local religious leaders, farmers, and leaders of Javanese cultural associations in the hamlet. MDSI is an Indonesian Mennonite organization working at disaster recovery, interfaith peacemaking, sustainable agriculture, reforestation, and other climate change resilience efforts. 

Reverend Paulus Hartono, founder and director of MDSI, told us about how years of deforestation and illegal logging had degraded the land’s capacity to absorb water, creating serious problems -–flooding in the wet season, water scarcity in the dry season—that MDSI is now trying address. He pointed to the nearby slope, populated with freshly planted mango and avocado trees, and explained their goal of planting 10,000 fruit trees to prevent erosion, reduce flooding, and to diversify the village’s agricultural and economic production.

During our time in Pati we did a little bit of everything, and more: 

An adventurous hike to a swimming hole with stops to look at coral rock, turtle fossils and a boat shaped rock formation.

Facilitated discussion with local farmers and community leaders while overlooking Mount Muria. 

Learned the art of eco-printing using found natural objects and dyes. 

And wore our creations, along with traditional Javanese outfits, for a processional and ritual led by Ibu Retna to prepare for tree planting. With this Ibu Retna and friends aimed to demonstrate how the town is working to reconnect culture and agriculture after centuries of colonization and decades of environmental exploitation.

We were invited to join in the holy practice of remembering ancestors and elders of the community. Here we are pictured visiting the grave site of a revered local evangelist and religious leader of the Pati community. 

We feasted on local Javanese dishes prepared by many hands. 

Toured a cave

Planted mango and avocado trees

Shared stories around the fire

And exchanged dance lessons

We learned so much from the people of Pati and leaders of MDSI on this unforgettable trip. We are overwhelmed by their generosity and ability to draw a group of strangers into their space, their lives, their traditions and their work for an incredibly meaningful time of building connections and working together around shared values. Thank you, MDSI!