Indolanan is a community of the Indonesian diaspora in Melbourne dedicated to introducing and preserving Indonesian culture among children through play-based activities. On September 19, 2026, to mark Father's Day, Indolanan organized an event for children titled "Hutan Otan."
Dian Fikriani, the facilitator for this Indolanan event, is a PhD student in Education at Monash University.
Using the book Hutan Otan, Dian invites children into the world of wildlife inhabiting the forests of Kalimantan. Hutan Otan depicts the lives of animals in Kalimantan, a region frequently affected by forest fires and logging.
In the subsequent activity, older children—or parents accompanying their little ones—help explain the concepts or values introduced during the earlier reading session.
The final activity involves making puppets based on the animal characters from the book, giving children the opportunity to express what they heard, saw, and felt through the story of Hutan Otan.
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