We began our journey to inner Flores in Labuan Bajo, which is a growing tourist destination site since it’s located near Komodo Island. As we neared Ruteng city to meet some of the facilitators in this Kelola Foundation project, we noticed the island’s rich and attractive nature.

While it has been categorized as “underdeveloped” in the eyes of the Indonesian government in Jakarta, we were taken in by people of Flores who were so hospitable and helpful to complete strangers. Our work in this island was to document the activities surrounding Kelola’s participatory video workshop in at least 8 scattered villages.

And so, for almost 7 days we moved from one location to another, documenting and learning so much along the way. We met several people from these workshops who fascinated us with their stories of how they’ve been introduced to cameras, learned how to edit video, write stories, and the challenges that they’ve faced.

On this journey, we also noticed how video or media literacy can change people, making them feel more confidence. The workshops also became tools to bring diverse people together to discuss their social problems and looking at the various solutions they have come up with by themselves.

At the end of trip, when we were just about to leave this island for Labuan Bajo, we left reminiscing the amazing experience, and hoping that we can return very soon!

Videos documenting Kelola’s work can be seen here.

Yerry Nikholas Borang is the Engagement and Learning Specialist of Engage Media