Tag Archives: scholarship

16Mar/26

Learning English, Protecting Gibbons: SwaraOwa Scholarship for Village Youth

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from left to right : Iyan, Lukni, Alek

by : Imam Taufiqurrahman

Nowadays, foreign languages—especially English—have become essential to learn. Mastery of this language is essential for interacting with the global community. English proficiency is a prerequisite in many fields, particularly in tourism.
The tourism sector, in the form of wildlife ecotourism, developed by Swaraowa in Kayupuring and Mendolo villages, is also meeting this need. As villages with abundant wildlife potential and attracting numerous international tourists, developing the English language skills of the villagers is crucial and essential.

That’s what motivated Swaraowa to facilitate three young men, Lukni Al Khabib and Feri Fitriyanto from Kayupuring Village, Petungkriyono District, and Alek Ripa’i from Mendolo Village, Lebakbarang District, to learn English. The three have been involved in the development of special interest tourism, gibbon watching, in Kayupuring and Mendolo, which has attracted international tourists for at least the past three years. They are also members of the biodiversity monitoring team, which conducts participatory wildlife observation activities, particularly of the Javan gibbon, in their villages every two months.

They became the first recipients of English language scholarships from Swaraowa in 2026. For one month, from January 12 to February 8, 2026, the three had the opportunity to study at Kampung Inggris Pare, Kediri, East Java. They received intensive learning, not only in the classroom but also in their daily lives while living in the dormitory.

Practically, these young people take part in a conversation class program which aims to prepare participants to be able to actively speak English. This program forges confidence in communicating so that you are able to converse fluently and master various types of vocabulary, including grammar.
English language course activities in an environment like the English village also foster self-confidence in Lukni, Alek and Iyan, who live in the forest every day, meet with course friends from various regions in Indonesia, exchange experiences and of course help promote the Javan gibbon among their friends.

The three truly took advantage of the learning opportunity in Kampung Pare as a means of self-development. During their stay, they interacted and gained experience with other participants from various regions in Indonesia.
Each weekend, they were each assigned to write a weekly story and experience. The content included both classroom learning and their daily activities in Kampung Inggris Pare. They undoubtedly experienced many stories, both joys and sorrows (notes are available in the link at the end of this article). At the end of their notes, each shared their impressions and reflections on the various experiences they had experienced.

We’ve excerpted them here:

Lukni Al Khabib:
After one month of studying at Brilliant Kampung England, I felt a significant improvement in my English skills, especially in speaking and vocabulary mastery. Daily practice, supportive tutors, and a friendly environment make the learning process effective and enjoyable. This program provided valuable experience and motivation for me to continue improving my English skills in the future. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to SwaraOwa and my colleagues at Swaraowa. Thank you for providing a scholarship to study English in Pare.

Ferry Fitriyanto (Iyan):
I say a big thank you to Swaraowa, with this scholarship from Swaraowa I can learn English because this opportunity is not available to everyone. And I have a desire to continue my English lessons in Kampung England for maximum results.

Alek Ripa’i:
It’s really fun and exciting to study here. Thanks to Swaraowa for giving me this opportunity! And last but not least! Thanks to all my tutors, my classmates, campmates, and everyone in Kampung England. Thank you, for all the good memories, and I will see you when I see you!

They, the young generation from the villages that are home to the Javan gibbon, have raised hopes for the future. They will represent their communities, showcasing the potential of their respective villages. Going forward, their role as ambassadors will be to welcome, interact, and communicate with the global community that visits their villages.

Translated from original article : https://swaraowa.blogspot.com/2026/03/beasiswa-swaraowa-bahasa-inggris.html

15Nov/23

Story from the field : Javan lutung in Sokokembang forest

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Javan lutung ( Trachyipithecus auratus)

By : Intan Rachmadanti Al-Huda

I am students of forestry, University of sebelas maret Surakarta, I received swaraowa’s scholarship program to conduct research on Javan lutung. Here  I wrote my story from the field during my study. Field work observations were conducted from May to June 2023, we observed the population and distribution of Javan lutung in the Sokokembang forest, Petungkriyono, Pekalongan.

Javan lutung (Trachypithecus auratus) is an endemic animal to the islands of Java and Bali whose population has decreased in the last 36 years. Javan lutung  are protected primates listed in Indonesia law. Based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List 2021, the lutung  is included in the Vulnerable. Meanwhile, according to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), the lutung is included in the Appendix II category. We made observations in the morning and evening during the active hours of the lutung. During our observations, we observed 11 groups  with a total of approximately 100 individuals spread across the Sokokembang forest.

Javan lutung with her baby

Not only the lutung, we also found other species during our observations. Rekrekan , the leaf eating monkey (Presbytis fredericae), Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch), and long-tailed mocaque (Macaca fascicularis) are primates other that we found in the Sokokembang forest. Apart from primates, there are also several other wildlife such as the Javan hawk eagle (Nisaetus bartelsi), wreathed hornbill (Rycticeros undulatus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), and deer (Muntiacus muntjak). While observing the Javan lutung, we also found footprints of a mammal which is thought to be a Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas).

Each group of lutung generally consists of adults, juveniles and infants. Newly born  have orange hairs which is very different from adult  which have black hair. At the time of observation, there were several individual orange babies that were in their mother’s arms. Apart from that, there were also young individuals that had changed color to black which were also observed with their mothers. In this observation, it was discovered that the number of adult individuals dominated the age structure of Javan lutung in the Sokokembang forest.

grooming on the branch

Javan lutung groups are uni-group (one male and multi female), that is, there is only one adult male individual who dominates and has the responsible of being the group leader who must supervise, protect and ensure that the group members are safe. Therefore, the Javan lutung is a polygamous primates because the number of females is greater than the number of males in one group. Based on our observations, Javan lutung in the Sokokembang forest consist of 3 to 23 individuals in each group. This happens because of differences in the regeneration abilities of each individual and the presence of different predators in each Javan lutung range in the Sokokembang forest. Javan langur is an arboreal primate that spends almost its entire life active in trees. Starting from eating activities to resting activities are also carried out on trees. We also observed Javanese langurs carrying out grooming activities on trees. Grooming is the activity of looking for and removing dirt or parasites from the surface of the skin and hair.