Robber fly - Nature photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in amazing portraits of tiny insects. It isn't easy. Shahan says that this Robber Fly (Holcocephala fusca), for instance, is "skittish" and doesn't like its picture taken.

Nature by Numbers (Video)

"The Greater Akashic System" – July 15, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) (Subjects: Lightworkers, Intent, To meet God, Past lives, Universe/Galaxy, Earth, Pleiadians, Souls Reincarnate, Invention: Measure Quantum state in 3D, Recalibrates, Multi-Dimensional/Divine, Akashic System to change to new system, Before religion changed the system, DNA, Old system react to Karma, New system react to intent now for next life, Animals (around humans) reincarnate again, This Animal want to come back to the same human, Akashic Inheritance, Reincarnate as Family, Other Planets, Global Unity … etc.)

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle
American zoologist played by Sigourney Weaver in the film Gorillas in the Mist would have been 82 on Thursday (16 January 2014)

Monday, January 21, 2008

Coffee farmers, exporters missing the high price momentum

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While many cafes like Starbucks and Coffee Bean are enjoying an ever-increasing number of clients, Indonesian coffee production is in fact on a decline, apparently missing the commodity's high prices on the global market.

Starbucks Indonesia uses Sumatran and Javanese Arabica coffee as a part of its coffee blend, which also make up the bulk of Coffee Bean coffee although only after being processed abroad.

The declining trend in coffee production and export was voiced by more than 350 exporters grouped under the Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters (AEKI), who purchase coffee beans from the farmers from between Rp 7,000 and 21,000 per kilogram.

AEKI executive secretary Rachim Kartabrata said recently the exporters were in fact struggling to procure more coffee from Indonesia, with international demand outweighing supply.

"The prices are good, but exporters can't get enough, so they can't sell much," he said.

He explained that the lack of beans from coffee growers had much to do with the country's production capacity which recently declined by 18.1 percent, from 550,000 tons in 2006 to 450,000 in 2007.

With domestic consumption also on the increase, exports of coffee last year were estimated to drop by 7 percent from 307,880 tons valued at US$497.613 million in 2006, to 286,237 tons worth US$589.494 million, he said.

"The shortage will force us to increase our imports because the domestic market is growing along with the development of coffee shops and cafes," he said, adding that most traders imported coffee from Vietnam.

Rachim said domestic consumption this year could reach up to 200,000 tons, a 33 percent increase from 2007, meaning the Indonesia could import up to 100,000 tons, 50 percent more than in 2006.

"Due to high demand and a limited supply, exporters and domestic coffee producers are jostling to meet their clients' needs."

According to data from the Agriculture Ministry, in 2007, 12 percent of trees were defective in the country's total coffee plantation area of 1,312,030 hectares.

From the remaining area, 73 percent is supposed to be able to produce around 700,000 tons of coffee beans, with the remainders not yet productive.

"In fact," Rachim said, "our plantations only produce around half as much as Vietnam's 600,000 hectares."

Herman, a researcher of coffee and cocoa at the Indonesian Plantation Research Institution (LRPI), said a lack of comprehensive measures to revitalize the industry had led to this gradual shortage of domestic supply.

Coffee for instance, is excluded from three major export commodities -- rubber, oil palm and cocoa -- which the government pledged to revitalize. These commodities have enjoyed, among other things, Rp 40 trillion worth of assistance in the form of interest rate subsidy between 2006 and 2010.

According to the association and LRPI, Indonesia saw the worst price of coffee in 2002, when coffee farmers in Indonesia had to sell their crop for as little as Rp 2,500 a kilogram, hitting more than 170 exporters in Lampung, the country's biggest coffee-growing province.

After this, many coffee farmers became reluctant to plant coffee and turned instead to cocoa or corn, which are simpler to cultivate and bring more profits.

Their reluctance has also been driven by the increasingly unpredictable weather, such as extended dry or wet seasons, which dramatically affect the harvest.

Rachim said in order to encourage farmers to grow coffee, the government should provide assistance for them in the form of easy bank loans.

"I hope the regional administration ... will pay some serious attention to the mainstream coffee industry," he said.

Indonesia is currently the second biggest producer and exporter of Robusta coffee after Vietnam. When combined with its Arabica exports, Indonesia is the fourth biggest exporter in the world, after Brazil, Columbia and Vietnam.

"We actually have a strong selling advantage because we grow two types of coffee," he said.

Up to 80 percent of Indonesia's total production is Robusta and the remainder is Arabica, with America, West Europe and Japan being its main export destinations.

He said exporters saw increasing demands from other emerging markets like Russia, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia.

Indonesian coffee is mainly traded in London and New York. (ind)

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