Rayakan Kemerdekaan, Mapagama Lakukan Ekspedisi di Pulau Mules NTT
Rayakan Kemerdekaan, Mapagama Lakukan Ekspedisi di Pulau Mules NTT
The 73rd Indonesian Independence Day is celebrated in numerous ways. For instance, the Nature Enthusiast Team of Universitas Gadjah Mada (Mapagama) celebrated it by holding an expedition to the outermost island of East Nusa Tenggara Province from 3 to 22 August 2018.
It was done in Nuca Molas Village located in Mules Island, Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. They explored 4 villages and cliffs in the area.
Team coordinator, Pandu Arta, stated the exploration in Nuca Molas raised the theme Exploring the Beautiful Island. It took place for at least 13 days and joined by 10 members of Mapagama.
Pandu explained in the village exploration, the team members collected various data and information on history, jobs, religions, technology, myths, government, education, facilities and infrastructures, and various systems in the community. Data were taken by interviewing villagers of Teladan, Konggang, Beji, Labuan Taur, and local government.
“We also went rock-climbing in Nuca Molas,” he said on Friday (8/31) at the campus.
Moreover, the team also held experiental learning-based educational activities in elementary schools. The activity intended to teach students how to take care of the environment by discussing, playing, singing, and motivating them with presents. The team also participated in the ceremony on August 17 at the field of Nuca Molas Elementary School and continued with tug of war contest for kindergarten to junior high school students.
From the exploration in Nuca Molas, the Mapagama team gained various information about the villages. It ranged from the beautiful nature, especially the beach, history behind the island’s name, myths in the community, and other interesting things.
Another interesting finding is the team’s success in solving the mystery of a cave that has been a myth for decades. This is because nobody has dared to enter it until now.
“We managed to explore the cave and find the thing that had been a mystery to Nuca Molas people. Later, the data will be one of the materials for the Exploration of Nuca Molas book,” he explained.