15. Another step towards the boat

Yesterday my friend, Tim Babcock, sent me an email. He was prepared to foot the entire bill for the translation of my book about Rangsa ni Tonun (the book is about both the Rangsa ni Tonun text and our film). This is what he wrote:

This is a small contribution that I am really happy to be able to make --- to a field, textiles, that I love; to causes --- cultural preservation/revitalization, ethical research, community development --- that I strongly believe in, and to various degrees have worked in;
and to the work of someone, i.e. you, whose energy and creative thinking, among many other wonderful traits, really enthuses me!

After I had caught my breath (WOW!), I sat down and looked at the accounts. With a little bit here and a little bit there and a sprinkling of luck, we just might have enough to cover the cost of laying out the book as well. MJA Nashir is looking into the techniques and challenges of copying our film. We want to produce cassettes of book and film. Above is an image showing the way MJA Nashir has visualized it.

The generosity of my friend and believer in our project is a milestone on the long path to launching the Boat Budaya on Lake Toba and finally being able to accomplish the Pulang Kampung III journey.

The clock is ticking and we still have alot to do even just to make the book materialize, but for me this milestone is also a signpost, or a signal tower. It tells us to keep wandering down this path because it will bring us to the Boat Budaya. We will celebrate with the Batak villagers and plenty of happy music.

Thank you, dear Tim Babcock!