The Lestari Mandorak Foundation, now the Ticket To The Moon Foundation, was born after three years of field research: Since 2006, an aid project was initiated by European and Indonesian travelers in Mandorak County in the western part of the remote island of Sumba, Indonesia.

Lacking access to water or electricity, the Kodi tribe of Mandorak struggles with subsistence farming and fishing. Their main source of income is an annual cashew harvest.

Ticket To The Moon has partnered with local partners to help the Kodi people improve their living conditions while preserving their culture.

In eight years, many concrete measures have been implemented - new roads were built to facilitate trade and close the gap between the Kodis and the rest of Sumba, water wells were dug to provide access to clean water, and a primary school was opened to teach children the Indonesian language.

The relief teams have provided fishing nets to prevent bomb fishing, which is responsible for the destruction of the seabed. They have also built a traditional Kodi house as a headquarters, giving the youngest workers an opportunity to maintain the traditions of their ancestors (which are threatened by modernity, such as their unique crafts, horses, etc.). Likewise, teaching waste disposal is part of ongoing efforts to prevent pollution in West Sumba.

On the other hand, they support the existing schools in the Mandorak area.

KODI AND SUMBA CULTURE

According to anthropologists, the Kodi culture that The closest living culture to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages . Burials beneath megaliths are a practice that has survived to this day in Sumba. The tribe's techniques for transporting and carving stones also date back to prehistoric origins.

A living testimony of their ancestral culture are the Traditional Kodi houses with alang-alang thatched roofs stand proudly in the wild landscape of Mandorak County. From the ceiling to the roof—not to mention the pillars—every single wooden element in a Kodi house has a spiritual significance that reflects their animist beliefs.

The Kodi crafts and art forms are unique in the world. The Ticket To The Moon Foundation aims to promote and preserve them.

The weaving of their traditional IKAT fabric , a handmade cloth widely used in India and Southeast Asia, is sought after by museums and collectors around the world.

Horses are also central to the Kodi way of life. Horses are not only the primary means of transport, but also play a key role in the traditional Kodi war games , where they challenge each other with spears ( Pasola ).

EDUCATION OF THE LOCAL POPULATION

While the Kodi people speak their own dialect, the future of their children depends on their ability to communicate in Bahasa Indonesia, which is spoken by 200 million people in South Asia (4th most spoken language in the world).

The Ticket To The Moon team has worked on two levels: First, they opened a primary school in 2007 to teach children from Mandorak County both their traditional language and Bahasa Indonesia. Second, they support existing schools in Mandorak.

Unfortunately, the few schools in West Sumba are poorly equipped and furnished, while they represent a unique opportunity for Kodi children to lead a better life than their parents.

Financial and material support is urgently needed to improve their facilities and provide students with educational materials (pens, books, sports equipment, etc.).

In 2014, the school burned down; in 2015, the support of the Ticket To The Moon Foundation was crucial to allowing the children to return to school.

The inhabitants of the Kodi tribe were regularly tested for malaria and given mosquito nets to combat the disease.

Meanwhile, these improvements have been accompanied by education to preserve their culture along with their original land in West Sumba.