Robot-Robotan or Balantrok

Robot-Robotan or "Balantrok"
-(Traditional Game, Nature Game)-

Robot-robotan or "Balantrok" is a traditional game in my place (West Java). But I think many variation of this game also being played by children all around the world. This is a fun activity to develop children creativity, and it also teach children to re-use and to re-cycle.

Needs
For this game we need 2 milk/biscuit can (larger is better) or 2 coconut shell (cut the shell into two, bigger is better), a small diameter of plastic rope (or you can use another rope as replacement), nail.

Make two hole in each can. The range between each hole is about 10 cm. If you choose coconut shell you can make only one hole.

Then tie a rope in both hole. You maybe need about 2 meters rope for each can (it will become 1 meter length after you divide it into both hole). For coconut shell, you need 1-1,3 meter rope. Place your feet in each can, and use your hand to control the rope, so you can step easily.

And now you can start the game. Play a competition game between children at the same age. This game is better if we can use used can / rope or get the stuff from nature e.q. rope from banyan tree hanging root.

Modification :
- Playing soccer with robot-robotan
- Playing run competition with robot-robotan
- Playing adventure / treasure hunting with robot-robotan

Bentengan / Cingbenteng

Bentengan / Cingbenteng
-(Traditional Game)-

Bentengan or cingbenteng is a traditional game from Indonesia. I found some similarity and modification when I check "capture the flag" game, and some other game in Asia country. Bentengan means base, and cingbenteng (Sundanese words) means base game.

Rule
Participants are divided into two teams with equal number of team members. The object of the game is for one team to try & capture the base of the other by reaching the other's home base first & tagging a pre-decided item (e.g., a tree trunk, a rock, etc) symbolizing the opposite team - without getting tagged by the defending members of the opposite team.

The base will function as a power charger. Participants who tag their base earlier is lose from an opponent who tag their own base later (if they catch each other), and it works for all participants. To get more power, then he/she has to get back to their base to re-charge the power

POW
A member of an opposing team who go first can be chased & tagged by the member of other team who go after his/her. If the attacker gets tagged before he/she manages to get back to his/her home base, he/she becomes a prisoner (POW) of the opposite team. He/she can be rescued by his/her teammates if one of his/her teammates manage to get close to the base & tag the POW without getting tagged himself/herself by the guard or one of the defenders in the opposing team.

POW place is about 3-5 meters from the base. We can mark the POW place by placing stone, tree trunk, or else. If there are more than one prisoner, they do hand in hand from the POW point, to make the line longer, make some distances from the enemy base. In this line form, if one prisoner rescued, so the other will be free.

The game ends when a member of an opposing team manages to tag the symbol of the other team or when all the members of one team are captured by the other leaving their homebase free for the opposite team to attack and capture.

What you can discuss and relate it into issues:
- animal topics - hunting and preying. Relate the team work with animal (like wolf, hyena, wild dog) team work. Which one is more effective : individual or team hunting ? After discussion, start to tell them how important is to have kind of hunter / top predator in environment, to maintain nature balance...
- or maybe you got better ideas ? I think you also can relate it with social hierarchy in animal kingdom ^^ ... goodluck then !

Galasin, A Story about Mangrove

Galasin, A Story about Mangrove
-(Nature Game)-

This is a traditional Indonesian game. We call it : gobak sodor, galasin, or maybe in another kampung (village), children play a same game with another technical term.

The rules different in every kampung. It show some modification, but basicly it have some basic rule:

GUARD
Children who guard the line must catch the attacker by touching part of the body by hand. The guard feet must always step in the line.

ATTACKER
Children who try to cross the line. They need to avoid being catch by the guard

LINE
There are some lines, according how much the kids are.

PICTURE - RULES

To help children understand about the concept of mangrove ecosystem in preventing the wave destruction we need to modified the secondary rules about this game.

We will discuss about :
- Use of mangrove tree to prevent damage by strong wave / current in the shore
- Different kind of mangrove tree characteristic, or maybe if you like this kind of activity you always can discuss more : relation between land - mangrove - coral - open sea ecosystem...

Needs
A line (plastic, or by drawing)

First divide children into 2 groups. For this game, I assume you have about 20 participants, divided into 2 groups.

NORMAL ROUND :
Play normal. One team try to go back and forth. To win the round, all the team must succes cross the line and go back to the start point. If there is any participants being catched, the team switch: the one who play as guardian then play as attacker.

MANGROVE ROUND:
Play as a normal game, but put 2 guards in one line (generally, in back line to make it more difficult). Notes: yes, so it will be an empty guard in one or two line.

MORE MODIFICATION:
- Extend the line to make it easier to play
- The length of the line is must not always be the same
- Make vertical line. In Indonesian game, we call it "geledek" or as lightning. It is a suplement line to hit the attacker

Notes:
Play normal round for about 30-60 minutes. Then you can play MANGROVE ROUND because they already used to play with normal rules
For facilitator: seek information about mangrove and don't forget to arrange discussion method... ^^

Reflection:
- If the guards are mangrove tree, you should show that mangrove tree also have different characteristic (which one is fast and big, small and slow to catch the wave? Try to relate with different kind of mangrove tree, and the size of tree
- In nature, a small tree always find difficulties to adaptate with big wave, so what must we do to make the survival rate higher ( placing kind of fence, water breaker, plant with bigger tree, placement strategy, and more)
- What happened if the mangrove trees being cut? Are there any options to show the people that economy and ecology can work together, to support life ?