Sunday Morning at Coban Putri: Learning to Live, Not Just Playing

 

On Sunday morning, the air was still fresh and invigorating across the expanse of Coban Putri in Batu City. It was here that Elang Muda Adventure, with great earnestness, applied all the skills and knowledge it had to offer for a mentoring program. This activity, conceived as a platform for growth, was initiated and designed together by Yoga, Nami, Damar, Cimeng, Jaenab, uma and Ghoni, supervised by mas Topeng. This group of young people agreed to create an educational service devoted to training focused on strengthening the inner and mental capacities of children aged 7-10, with the outdoors as both a space for interaction and a ground where they can grow and develop. The training curriculum was designed to be simple yet full of meaning: a unified, integrated space for growth, neatly packaged in the form of games, carrying the theme "learning from nature, growing in limitation".

 It began with a simple conversation over the phone, warmly brokered by Mbakne Juney. That was when the opportunity was seized: a sincere wish that EMA would be willing to join as companion and facilitator for an activity to be held in the outdoors. And amid that conversation, something profound touched the heart: how human beings truly sustain life. How we learn to adapt to what is available before us. How we manage to face what feels difficult. The parents who attended did not merely want strong children; they wanted to shape resilient souls, resilient not because every comfort has been prepared for them, but because they know how to rise again precisely when everything feels limited. That was the pure intention woven through those conversations.

 So, after the team deliberated carefully together, an agreement was reached: a simple curriculum, neatly packaged into a span of 4 hours. Within this simple form of training, meaningful elements were arranged, among them: an introduction to basic survival techniques, an understanding of nature conservation and protection, observation of birds flying freely, learning to read direction with a compass, descending a steep yet safe cliff slope, following the course of a clear river, learning to map out problems so they can be understood, and practicing storytelling to convey what they feel and understand.

The parents' enthusiasm shone brightly and overflowed in welcoming this method. They gathered not merely to fill empty free time; they came because they felt that some part of education had not been fully met in the places where their children learn day to day. This does not mean what schools provide is lacking, far from it. They fully understand: character building is the responsibility of all of us, not of one party alone. It must be supported by a mutually integrated social ecosystem, complementing one another and adding spaces that may not yet have been touched.

 Their backgrounds vary: some are lecturers, traders, employees, and even information technology workers. Yet among these differences, one thing unites their outlook. They do not pamper their children with comforts handed out unconditionally. Instead, they want to instill independence, as if giving an "experience vaccine" that strengthens the children's resilience of spirit. Through measured challenges and games that hold simple yet real tests, they accustom the children to recognizing what limitation is, and then learn to overcome it. Just as a true adventurer accepts what is there and then steps forward, not complaining about shortcomings but adapting to everything available.

 The mentoring activity in nature itself ran from preparations such as surveys and so on, until that Sunday arrived, starting at exactly 8:00 in the morning, with 16 participants, mostly aged 7-10. At the start, an introduction and the opening of the theme were delivered to the parents, inviting them into the storyline being presented: a game story themed "Searching for a Knight of the Land".

At first, something distinctive could be seen in these children — the Alpha generation, growing up amid a fast and torrential flow of information. Before setting off, many already felt they "knew" the answers. There was an attitude as if everything was already understood, as if nothing new could surprise them. When asked: "Where did you learn how to survive?" their answer sounded short and blunt: "From artificial intelligence."

But everything changed when direct contact took place deep in the forest, along the river, while climbing and descending cliffs, when feet touched damp earth and the air greeted faces without a screen in between. In that moment they began to truly understand. There is a natural fear that needs to be recognized and understood. There is courage that needs to be nurtured, managed, and realized in action.

It is clear here that children need real experience, lived firsthand and felt by the heart. Not merely knowing through the mind or reading from the written word, but experiencing it fully  uniting olah pikir (training of the mind), olah roso (training of the heart), and olah rogo (training of the body) into one living whole, which returns them to being fully "human", as one of the participants' parents put it.

 Almost all of the parents expressed the same hope: that programs like this can continue, with a diverse and new curriculum developed as soon as possible. They also volunteered to become partners, to offer encouragement, and did not hesitate to share the good news about the Elang Muda Adventure program with others. "The service from Elang Muda Adventure this time felt different compared to other activity organizers. Elang Muda was able to serve wholeheartedly, sincerely, and with a deep understanding of the children's needs," said the mothers who were present. The sincerity radiated was palpable, clearly felt by every parent present. It is not about how luxurious the equipment used is, or how complicated the plans are. Rather, it is about reminding all of us that, amid all the conveniences of this age, the most precious thing we can give to children is the ability to stand tall  even when everything feels limited.

 And at Coban Putri, on that Sunday morning, it truly happened. One small step taken, one real experience, and one heart that grew, not grown through ease, but grown to be stronger. Stronger still because there, a transfer of knowledge flowed sincerely among the children, the companions, and the parents.

Batu, 4 October 2026