A changemaker is someone who can influence and alter themselves and society. There are many amazing changemakers on this planet from all different backgrounds.
One of them is a woman from Indonesia who began making changes in her village when she was only 10 years old!
Born November 17vol 1997, Ara Kusuma is a woman who loves every little thing related to a cow and dreams of getting a cow in the future. She collected every little thing related to a cow, comparable to a stuffed cow, clothes with the image of a cow and hats. He loves every little thing related to cows. in the future she dreamed of owning a cow and the Moo project was born.
What is Moo Project?
Project Moo is a project initiated by Ara and her family that goals to extend social opportunities. Initially, when Ara said she desired to have a cow, her parents encourage her by going to Sukorejo village in Boyolali to learn the right way to raise a cow.
“After the trip, we (Ara and family) talked about the cows with 5W+1H (what, who, when, where, why and how). I gained a lot of perspective during this discussion,” she said.
Apparently, Ara’s family not only went to Sukarajo village to find out about cows, but additionally to Lembah Hijau Multi Farm to find out about cow management. It began with the right way to manage food for cows in order that high-quality feces and urine were produced for fertilizer and the right way to process milk.
“I saw differences in cow management between a private company and cow management in the village, because in the village the cows are managed by the owner himself,” said Ara
She then wondered the right way to implement the integrated agriculture she obtained from a non-public company within the countryside so that everybody would profit.
Project Moo was successfully implemented in Sukorejo village from 2008 to 2012 under the slogan “Cozy Together” what does shared prosperity mean? This project created good cow and landfill management. There are Enam Emas (six golden) cows. Firstly, the management of milk that could be processed right into a latest value-added product comparable to pudding, ice cream, cakes and others. Secondly, meat, thirdly and fourthly, fess and urine, from which you’ll be able to produce high-quality fertilizer for plants. Fifthly, agritourism and lastly, biogas. About 150 farmers were involved within the Moo project
It was a challenge
Although the Moo project was a hit, the implementation process was not as smooth as we thought. Ara, who was only 10 years old, talked to the villagers about the right way to take care of cows and was ignored. It’s normal, like someone suddenly wanting to listen to a stranger suggest what to do with their cows.
Then Ara and the family decided to alter their strategy. His father, Dodik Mariyanto, became a communicator because he can speak Javanese fluently, and her mother, Septi Peni Wulandari, became a women’s communicator. Ara, Enes Kusuma (her sister) and Elan (her brother) play with children within the village.
“I discovered that the youngsters there didn’t drink milk because they thought milk smelt, after which my siblings and I attempted to make some improvements, like mixing milk with chocolate powder, making pudding and other things,” she said.
Clearly, this strategy is the perfect technique to implement because in the long run, people were completely happy with working with Moo Project.
The Become a Young Change Maker of Ashoka journey
Ashoka Young Change Maker is a platform for young change makers on this planet. There was an open source application for this program. Ara, who was only 11 years old, desires to try it. However, Ashoka Young Change Maker was only intended for people between the ages of 18 and 30.
“I knew I used to be underage to use to Ashoka Young Change Maker, but I just boldly wrote my application explaining concerning the Moo project and sent it in with the hope that a miracle would occur. However, if I didn’t accept, not less than I can get feedback. She said
Her parents encouraged her to hitch the Ashoka program and she or he received an email from Ashoka informing her that the age limit had been lowered from 18-30 to 12-25. The Ashoka Committee also encouraged her and said that it’s okay to be an Ashoka Young Changemaker even when she is simply 10 years old
Ara’s activities within the Moo project led to her becoming an Ashoka Young Change Maker after the interview phase. She got a workshop from Ashoka in Bogor on making a vision board, motion plan and implementing ideas. She was the youngest member and gained plenty of knowledge and networks.
“What I gained most from this program was networking and capacity building through this program. Back then, I had no idea about vision boards and social entrepreneurship. I also had the opportunity to present the Moo project at several events that collaborated with Ashoka,” she said
Home education
Ara’s success actually comes from her parents’ involvement of their kid’s education. Thanks to the “homeschooling” system, her mother, who was the founding father of Jarimatika, is an incredible mother. She heard every opinion of her children with all her heart. Her mother believes that each child has its own strength.
“In my family we called it homeschooling. Any educational path we choose there will be home education. The curriculum is developed by the family.” She said
Ara received a Royal Holloway scholarship to the University of London in Singapore and on the age of 18 accomplished her Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Management.
She visited many countries, including: Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Korea, Japan and the United States of America. There was a Change Makers Exchange program within the Philippines that she joined. About 22 changemakers from many countries in Asia and Europe participated on this program. In Korea, she went to Korea on a visit and ended up sharing her knowledge because her teacher asked her.
Now he has a brand new project namely Ur Travel Learner. This project is about learning through traveling and exchanging knowledge. This will normally be a themed tour lasting 3 days and a couple of nights.
“Young people have energy and imagination, use it to bring about positive change. Open our eyes, our mind to open many possibilities in life. Ask as many questions as you can to increase our empathy and do something about it.”
_Ara Kusuma_
