On November 15th and 16th, 2012, Taman Bacaan Pelangi [Rainbow Reading Gardens] held a two-day workshop for our volunteers who manage our libraries in Flores. The workshop was presented by Ms. Murti Bunanta, a famous children’s books writer in Indonesia and also the founder of Kelompok Pencinta Bacaan Anak (KPBA) or in English its known as the Society for the Advancement of Children’s Literature, and Ms. Dina Tuasuun, her assistant. The two-day workshop was held at La Veria Restaurant in Labuan Bajo and attended by 30 participants from 15 locations of Taman Bacaan Pelangi in Flores! Wow! It was awesome! Volunteers came from 15 villages, even the ones which were far faaaar awaaayyy! We’re all happy to be in one place and learned new things together. The objective of this workshop was to teach our volunteers on how to do story-telling nicely, create interesting programs that will attract kids to …

Ketika saya mengantarkan sumbangan buku-buku ke Kampung Megalith di Bena, Bajawa, Kab. Ngada (Flores), anak-anak yang saya pikir akan berada di sana dan menyambut kedatangan buku, sedang tidak berada di tempat. Kedatangan saya siang itu disambut oleh Kepala Desa dan Ketua Lembaga Adat Kampung Bena, dan buku-buku yang saya bawa diletakkan di ruangan khusus di dalam bangunan tradisional cantik  yang juga berfungsi sebagai pos penjagaan dan pendataan kunjungan wisatawan. Saya membawa dua box berisi ratusan buku-buku. Ketika box pertama dibuka, tumpukan buku-buku tersebut layaknya magnet bagi warga yang kebetulan sedang berada disana. Kebanyakan dari mereka saat iktu adalah orang tua dan anak-anak muda. Satu demi satu menghampiri kami yang sedang sibuk membongkar buku-buku bacaan dari box-nya dan dengan rasa keingintahuan yang tinggi mereka “mengacak-acak” dan memilih buku yang masih tertumpuk tak beraturan di atas meja. Ketika saya sibuk menyusun buku dalam rak, saya menyadari sesuatu, suasana saat itu agak hening, …

Ade Irma (@ubudamelia), one of our volunteers set up a new library of Taman Bacaan Pelangi in Bena Village, Bajawa, Flores. She brought 400 books with her from Labuan Bajo to Bena Village by herself! Thank you, Ade! Bena Village is located in Ngada district, in the center of Flores Island. The village is famous for its traditional houses and culture dated from Megalith era. There are sixteen beautiful traditional houses located in a secluded forest, all still in very good condition. And.. guess what… Taman Bacaan Pelangi is located in one of those traditional houses!! Not only kids, the adults were also excited in reading the books at the reading garden! Check out photos taken by Ade here: Again, thank you, Ade, for setting up a new library for Taman Bacaan Pelangi! Also, for all of you who have donated the books! Without your support, we wouldn’t be able …

It’s rainy season in Flores, but the rain didn’t stop us to visit Kaca (kaca means mirror) Village that is located in Central Manggarai, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. The trip from Labuan Bajo to Kaca Village took around 5.5 hours by car, but we stayed in Iteng Village for a night as it was already dark when we get there. The next morning, we were rushing to Kaca Village as we couldn’t wait to open a new library there! But… the trip wasn’t so easy! During rainy season, Kaca Village can’t be accessed by car! The dirt path gets slippery — so people can only go there by motorbikes (only for the expert bikers!) and foot. Oh dear… we should’ve came here during the dry season! But hey, let’s just enjoy the trip.. and look at the amazing scenery around! We walked on the off beaten path for one hour. Some …

Today, we established a new reading garden in Flores. The 10th Rainbow Reading Gardens in Flores is located in Iteng, Central Manggarai. Iteng is a small town in Flores, surrounded by mountains and rice paddy fields. What makes this town unique is the beach! So, this town has mountains and also beautiful beach, too! How lucky the people who live in this town…! Rainbow Reading Gardens in this town is located in a local’s house. It’s a house of Mr. Man. Mr Man is a teacher of Paka Elementary School. He is willing to “sacrifice” his guest room in his house as a reading room for the kids. We feel so touched by his good will! Thank you so much, Pak! This morning, I was accompanied by my friends from Labuan Bajo to meet the school principal. We wanted to tell him about our plan to set up Rainbow Reading …