If I said that I was overwhelmed on Bali it was only because I hadn’t yet been to the island of Java Indonesia. As soon as we landed in Semarang on the north central coast of Java we ceased vacationing and starting traveling. As all travelers know, there is a big difference between the two! With a few exceptions, Java is not a tourist destination like Bali. One of the world’s most densely populated islands, Java is overwhelming in the sheer number of people and what those numbers do to the infrastructure, the landscape and the capacity for anyone to get anything done. We had been warned not to drive ourselves but sometimes found that even being a passenger could be extremely challenging.

The trip from Semarang to Jepara was nerve racking! Jepara (shown at right) is on the Java Sea so there is a lot of fishing and fabulous fish to eat. It is the center for small-scale furniture production in Java with lots and lots of wood depots and furniture workshops. Ornate carvings are the order of the day. This industry and the planet need our help as good wood becomes more and more scarce due to declining forests and illegal log sales to China - where the furniture is made more cheaply and then imported into Indonesia! So, the U.S. is not alone in trying to manage a trade relationship with China that works for everyone!

–Karen LeAnn McKay, Manager of Ten Thousand Villages