Cave clubs push thrill of the unknown
Cave clubs push thrill of the unknown
By R. Kristiawan
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Outdoor activities are popular among students
in Yogyakarta, and almost all the universities in the city have
nature lovers' clubs.
But Palawa at Atma Jaya University is different from the usual
clubs as it also conducts mountaineering, wall climbing and
rafting activities.
It's major activity is spelunking -- cave exploring.
"Approximately 70 percent of our training program is on
spelunking," said Agung S., a communications student and a senior
member of Palawa.
Spelunking was first introduced in Indonesia in the early
1980s and was quickly embraced by many outdoorsmen. "We have just
inherited this from our seniors," said Agung.
Now, among student outdoor clubs in Indonesia, Palawa leads in
spelunking activity.
Palawa was founded in 1976 as a university-funded student
activity unit. Compared to outdoor clubs of other universities,
Palawa is much better off, receiving Rp 60 million from the
university per year.
Equipment for the activities is expensive, about Rp 10 million
per person. Palawa has acquired 312 members since its inception.
"Although we are a student-based club, those who have
graduated are still our members as we have a lifelong membership
system," said Andris, one of the board members.
There are 20 students who are active in the club. Every year,
they recruit new members who undergo basic training, 70 percent
of which is spelunking. They then undergo a tryout, which usually
consists of mountain hiking or spelunking in Gunung Kidul.
The club has a room in the back of the university building
where members gather almost every day. Twice a year, the members
are required to go to the caves. The program consists of mapping
activities and expeditions to new areas.
It's not just a fun day out, because they have to write a
report -- with data and maps -- of their expedition.
"The report is very important for us. Sometimes we just finish
reporting after a year even though it's about a weeklong
expedition," said Andris.
They have also conducted expeditions in Kalimantan and
Kinabalu. Besides the obligatory trips, members often go out on
their own to explore caves.
Subjects
Speleology is important to Atma Jaya University; the School of
Biology of the private university offers biospeleology as one of
its subjects. Biospeleology explores many aspects of caves,
including its social and economic functions.
Lecturer and designer of the course Pramanayudha said
biospeleology was important to the country due to the existence
of many caves in Indonesia.
"There are now 14 students majoring in biospeleology," said
Pramanayudha, who was active in another nature lovers' group,
Mapagama, at Gadjah Mada University. He offers advice to Palawa's
members.
There is also the Agintyagunyata Speleological Club (ASC), a
nonprofit club in the country devoted to speleology, and one
which has made many important discoveries.
"There were many (clubs), but they could not be maintained due
to financial constrains," said Didi Hadi Wisnu Hartanto, chairman
of Agintyagunyata Foundation, the club's patron.
ASC was established on Jan. 1, 1984, and launched in Luweng
Seropan, Gunung Kidul. The founders were six people with outdoor
activities and geology backgrounds.
Later the same year, the group, in collaboration with teams
from England and Australia, discovered the beautiful Luweng Jaran
in Pacitan, probably the country's longest cave.
In 1986, together with a French team, ASC discovered the
deepest vertical cave in the country, the 255-meter-deep Leang
Pute in Maros, Sulawesi.
ASC also works with other institutions to find new uses of
caves. For example, it collaborated with state-owned forestry
company Perhutani to seek the potentials of caves. Together with
an expert from England, ASC found groundwater in the caves in
Gunung Kidul, which could be used by residents there as they
often suffer droughts.
ASC has also helped on the tourism front. It has worked with
Puri Tour travel bureau to explore new tourist destinations, and
assisted local and overseas experts in exploring caves in
Indonesian. It has a good documentation system, with complete
photographic data of many caves in Java.
Since its establishment, it has had 39 members. There are two
kinds of membership: full, who receive registration numbers as
priority for activities, and junior.
"The number of full members is smaller as they must be
committed to caving," said Agus Suharyoto, chairman of ASC.
As it is nonprofit oriented, funds are raised through members
contributing Rp 1,000 each per week and by working for other
groups. ASC hopes that, in future, a funding agency will help it
go deeper in its cave explorations.