The house of natural fiber (HONF), Yogyakarta, is a New Media art laboratory, founded in 1999. We practice the principles of  critique and innovation. Since the beginning, the house of natural fiber has consistently focused on cultural development and New Media art, running numerous related projects and workshops.
All projects at HONF concentrate  on interactivity between people and environments. Positive, creative, futuristic thinking is  a part of the vision for the community we serve. In the implementation of this vision, we work toward the development of art with technology. This exploration of  the  co-evolution of technology and art, is essential for the integration of  technology into society in productive, creative ways.  New Media is a platform for social networking, for expressive communication, for local technical empowerment, We cannot yet imagine all the ways New Media will be used and reflected in our culture, It is a deep well of inspiration and ideas.  The results of our exploration may or may not always be considered ‘art’, but we are redefining our culture through technologies like New Media. We believe that  anything can be art and anyone  can make a work of art, with various forms and definitions. If there is reason and responsibility in it it is legitimate.
Our exploration of technology and art has produced  a rich outreach program for the public including: interactive projects, technology research projects, media art festivals, DIY gatherings, workshops, media performances, lectures, electronic music movements, etc,.    (not sure about this info: this is perhaps because of their bargaining position, drawing on their various supporting backgrounds.)
HONF reaches out to  younger communities through the Education Focus Program (EFP), which holds various workshops for children, and ‘newcomers’ to New Media technologies:.

Education Focus Program (EFP), is a project conceived for  a developing country. The main goal of the project is to build a modern conception of a future between technology and people. It thus includes activities and research focusing on people, technology,  communities and beyond.

Education Focus Program (EFP) concentrates on working with New Media art. In short, New Media art is a new genre of contemporary art, a mix of aesthetics and new technologies. In order to be relevant and constructive within communities we must understand their diversity, and the resultant implications for  the relationship between art and technology. This relationship depends  on the efforts of both artists and  members of the community. Mutual understanding will in future encourage a positive effect for the outlook of the community, in general, but particularly concerning new technologies.

We propose to build a fab lab in Yokarta in connection with our EFP program, to facilitate our outreach to the community and to empower them technically and artistically with an eye toward the future.

As background HONF has had a number of successful collaborations  with foundations, institutions, universities, and other community-based organizations. A few are  described below:

YAKKUM PROJECT

Today, Indonesian people are consumers of  technology. However, as a third word country many cannot afford technology and  still consider  it   a luxury. While television and internet advertise what  grand humans we will become by using the newest technologies ,  such as  mobile phones, televisions, computers, software, cars and many other things, many Indonesians  use  outdated, discarded, low-end technologies to make life better,
easier  for others.

For example some junior high school students in Yogyakarta created a robot from  simple technologies and unused, discarded  things. They have designed the robot to help disabled people. During our last workshop with them, they applied the line follower robotic system to a wheelchair , prototyping a system that will potentially  become a public facility for the disabled.  Simultaneously at YAKKUM rehabilitation centre, the students  try to help the disabled become  more self-confident and independent.
s to integrate into a more normal endence  for the disabled population. nity and to empower them technically and artistically wi
YAKKUM rehabilitation centre is a Christian foundation for public health. They rovide  rehabilitation for disabled people --mostly for children and young people. It is not only a rehabilitation centre that performs surgery, therapy and mental development, it also facilitates economic independence  for the disabled population. They teach  a number of workshops and classes in  electronics, crafts, arts, sewing, and many others to give them skills to integrate into a more normal life in this society. For further information about YAKKUM rehabilitation centre please visit: www.yakkum-rehabilitasi.or.id or www.yakkum-rehabilitation.org

HONF, as a digital community and a new media art laboratory has been volunteering  at YAKKUM since 2003. We taught an art class; the goal was not to make a grand art but to help the mentally challenged to gain their self-confidence.

In YAKKUM there are several divisions that can work with Fab Lab.
There are some points of the goal for this mission.

1.    Protheses:
YAKKUM has a laboratory that produces prostheses  The patients AND the  workers are disabled people and they   distribute the prosthetics all around Indonesia, but they especially make them  for their own needs. One of their difficulties is to produce a good model for legs and arms in a short time. To make one model  you need 1-1.5 months.  And the human resources  required are quite  demanding: you  need 3-5 people just to make one model. We thought with some of the fab lab machines we could Yakkum  increase their productiveness,  and reduce the time and costs.
2.    Special transportation:
Yakkum already produces a special bicycle for disabled people. Fab lab could help them to produce other transportation devices-, like a special model for motor bikes or any other innovations from spare parts that a disabled person might  need so they could move around and feel comfortable and secure. Generally public transport, the traffic and public facilities in Yogyakarta,  isn’t friendly for disabled people.
3.    Creative Developments.
There are some workshop and classes at the YAKKUM facility. We would like to develop some programs to stimulate their creativity. We would like to have a class in which patients have the chance to make anything they want or imagine.


BIOTECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

Yogyakarta as a module

This past 4 years, HONF has worked with a biotechnology laboratory at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta. This laboratory has created many technical inventions for the farming industry, especially in food quality developments.  Research is  conducted by students and lecturers on how the new technologies are able to improve farmers’ income and food quality. he laboratory offers an opportunity for other cross educational disciplinary research, such as medical and pharmacological studies looking for applications in the areas of  DNA extraction, or microbiology.

The first ‘Intermedia’ project between HONF lab and Biotechnology lab was about bacteria that cause earaches, and that may cause hearing impairment or loss, often attacking middle class society in small villages or isolated villages area in Indonesia. The objective of this project was  to find ways to detect this bacteria accurately.   So HONF collaborated with  researchers and scientists from the medical and biotechnology fields to create a system to  detect for this kind of bacteria accurately. The result of this collaboration was the creation of a more holistic health approach including the ability to detect the bacteria, to determine the extent of damage, and to prescibe a curative treament for the bacterial infection. The next step in the collaboration was to share the information and approach in a concrete way with the community so that people are able to access the information easily for their needs. Complete information about this project can be found at:  http://www.natural-fiber.com/dna.html


Biotechnology as one of foundation

In our perspective, Biotechnology has become one of several  important knowledge components that combine to solve problems or to answer questions in today’s society.

HONF continually seeks to identify problems and questions that relate to  creative,/social,,cultural/new media and connect them to research in the fields of health, medicine and societal support systems.  The Fab Lab project will be used to enable invention  focused on this creative/social cultural/new media field.  Our mission and vision is to build a ‘real bridge’ between aesthetic and technology  that can be  applied directly into society through the  biotechnology field.

The infrastructure, tools, and materials  of the fab lab will be used to support research process. For example, some researchers and scientists in the biotechnology lab have developed a method to create a  seed of a basic food plant that has better structure and better quality than the current hybrids for farmers in Indonesia. To support the research, they need to prototype the following:

-    equipment that keeps a bacterial colony in a gel form, so that scientists are able to keep it viable for a longer period of time
-    a tool for DNA extraction, to have quicker results of protein analysis
some kind of projection tools, to get the result of “protein analysis” into a color diversion displayed on infra red lights
-    a simple tool or device such as a ‘glass house’ do to hasten the process of plant growth with hydroponics method
In summary,   the fab lab would provide the prototyping environment  supporting the process of research and development in the local biotechnology industry, and potentially having a good impact pn society.

FabLab as a Public space

Based on the YAKKUM, Biotechnology Lab and Robotic Project, HONF and Fab Lab will have an open lab for :

1.    YAKKUM staff and clients to work on prostheses
2.    Biotechnology Lab  staff, researchers, and lecturers f to work on the
biotechnology prototypes
3.    Students, teachers and mentors to work on the robotic project for the disabled,

Together with FabLab, we will make a vital  connection between technology and the community. In Yogyakarta the fab lab will serve a large community: students from elementary to university. As you can find in our website, we already have some programs with schools and universities in Yogyakarta, We propose to grow these relationships with the fab lab capabilities. There are some points that we will do as an approach;

1.    Our Research and Development division will conduct  workshops and debates to identify what the student community needs and wants from this program.
2.    We will offer them new  perspectives of how the tools and the machines in the lab work
3.    We will have  open lab and studio sessions, so we can work together with all the facilities. This is very important to stimulate creativity by making something, or solving some problem.
4.    The impact of these steps, and our goal,  is to inspire  students to go back to their communities with new ideas and perspectives empowered to make new things and solve local challenges. 

A second approach is: in Yogyakarta we have a large community  of young people and artists who create a subcuture of ideas around many things such as clothing, music, art, and film. Yogyakarta also has many workers and workshops  for  handicrafts, furniture etc, that still work with  traditional machines and techniques. This will be our next group to focus on for public outreach.

1.    Gather documentation about Fab Lab aaround the globe and create a good publication materials for the public, well distributed so that public is  introduced to what Fab Lab does in Yogyakarta
2.    Make a website for Yogyakarta Fab Lab to have documentation all activities, which is as main projects or others
3.    Invite diverse groups and communities to come to our lab.
4.    Offer  2 days a week of open lab for public  access outside of HONF projects we have mentioned above
5.    Based on background and experience, train the public users in the skills of using the computaion and machinery in the fab lab. .
6.    Foster collaboration within and between community.  Have them together come up with local solutions, share ideas and points of view. 

Using these approaches, through schools and young communities, we hope to have  a good impact on our public. Sharing ideas and knowledge will be one important aspect. Through this lab we will become a bridge from one community to others, helping  them to help themselves and each other.