Thursday, February 18, 2010

Traditional House Competition in Manokwari Papua

There is Papuan traditional house competition which is carried out in Manokwari town every year. The houses that the local Papuan build are called Rumah Kaki Seribu (meaning A Thousand Feet Houses). The city dwellers build these Papuan wooden houses at empty yards in front of their houses all over the town. The competition is carried out to celebrate the Gospel Landing Day on 5 February. The construction materials which are used for building such houses are from the nearby forest, mostly in the Table Mountain. 
Rumah Kaki Seribu di Manokwari
Recently, some nature lovers have expressed their concerns over the exploitation of woods from the forest for the competition. Every year hundreds of cubic meters of woods, tree barks, and plants, leaves are taken from the forest for the traditional home building competition. Until now, local authorities are not aware that such competition has caused more damage to the tropical rainforest in the Table Mountain and the Afrak Mountain of Manokwari regency. Unless they stop such competition, more woods will continue to be cut from surrounding forest of the Manokwari town every year. 
Arfak mountains - A Popular Hiking Destination
Arfak mountains of Manokwari is a world class hiking and trekking destination which attract backpackers from all around the world every month. The tropical rainforest that covers the mountains is the natural habitat of various species of animals that are endemic to New Guinea island such as the magnificent birds of paradise, the vogelkop bower bird, cuscus possum, tree kangaroo and giant lizards called soa-soa. To watch the birds of paradise, travelers can go hiking in Kwau village (high elevation forest) and Warkapi village (low elevation forest). 
For those who are more interested in meeting the indigenous Papuan people who live in the Arfak mountains can take a hiking trip from Mokwam to Anggi. It takes around 2 days to complete the walk and hikers need to bring their several backpacking tools such as Swiss knife and machete with them. These tools are needed to cut twigs of woods, make fire and cook food. In addition to bringing the above tools, hikers also need to have a water resistant tent with them as a comfortable shelter at night. Because heavy rain frequently occurs in the tropical rainforest of Arfak, a special water resistant tent should be carried while hiking in the mountains. If possible, buy a tent that will keep you dry from the muddy soil and safe from snakes and bugs while sleeping at night. Click the following image of the tent if you are interested in buying it.

The above tent has been specially designed and manufactured for those who want to go hiking in the tropical region. It is light and more resistant to moisture, mildew and rain. by Charles Roring
Also read: Hiking tours in Inggramui forest

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Watercolour Sketch of Bird

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Vector art illustration in Inkscape
Baby leatherback turtle was reaching for the sea

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Drawing of Paradise Bird
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Digital Drawing in Autodesk Sketchbook
A Couple of Red Bird of Paradise