50 Years of ITB: Hong Community, Community that Powering Village Society

By asni jatiningasih

Editor asni jatiningasih

BANDUNG, itb.ac.id - Decorating become an important part in the series of events celebrating 50 Years of ITB. In addition to used to attract visitors and be a characteristic of an event, decoration can also become job opportunity for people in a village. Hong communities as ITB partners in decoring Open House and Science, Technology, Art (IPTEKS) Exhibition involving one village in Jatiwangi, Subang.
Hong community known as the community that moving Indonesian children  to play traditional games. Zaini Alif, the founder and Chairman of the Community, said that technology needs to be balanced with a tradition so that the mix can bring the invaluable wisdom. Such thing showed in series of ITB Open House and IPTEKS Exhibition events(27/02/09 - 07/03/09). Bamboo that processed into forms of ITB representation elephant and rocket-offset balanced flight simulator that displayed by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace (FTMD) in the ITB Open House event.

"Train the craftsman in the village in order to have interaction with the city," said Alif. Bring 10 crafter from Subang to the ITB campus, Alif hopes the Hong Community could become a facilitator of the craftsman into a better life. Hong Community ensures joined the euphoria of IPTEKS Exhibition that will be opened by the Vice President of Republic Indonesia on one of the West Campus Center (CC) stand.

Thousands of bamboo have been used for decorating the event. However, not all parts of the bamboo is used. "Only the outside layer, the bamboo that is not used will be returned to the village for lighting the fire," said Alif to ITB News Office. The Alumnee of ITB and Itenas Visual Arts Department also said that in order to involve one village, it needed a custom approach. The concept of sharing, according to Alif, will be such 'trump card' in powering village society.