One of Manengkel Solidaritas project is to help Desa Tumaluntung Village, an eco-farm runned by Mr. Winny Maramis, located next to Klabat University. The goal of this place is to help students who comes from low income families and who can’t afford the price of their studies. Winny offers them a place to sleep and eat, in exchange of their help with the farm. They learn how to become self-sufficient, to grow their own vegetables by doing sustainable farming, to build houses and to take care of the place.
After one hour drive from Manado, we arrived at the farm, and we were stunned to discover a little piece of paradise in North Sulawesi. Winny welcomed us with a big smile, happy that we will help his project to be known. The farm is really huge (13 hectares), and is composed of some ponds for fishing, some areas dedicated for plantations of vegetables, and a big house at the end of the domain were all the students live together. The place is surrounded by nature, birds, dogs, and is animated by the joy of the students who seems to really like our arrival.