Week 1: the website is complete

If my little family and I could settle in Indonesia, if we could make a living by introducing this beautiful country to tourists from all over the world, if the money we raise could help the children of our village build a better future — these are the dreams that carry me forward. The project is taking flight. During this first week, I spent my days polishing the content of the site's pages, writing articles to fill the news section, and continuing to collect guides' phone numbers.

A digital space that reflects who I am

Building a website is a bit like building a house. I didn't settle on Peupliers Street or Libération Boulevard, but the official address of my business is javahorizon.com. I didn't choose carpet or wallpaper, but background colors and fonts. These aren't rooms dividing up a building, but pages. Every section has its place, neatly arranged where it belongs. I had an enormous amount of fun bringing my concept to life by explaining it clearly and in an organized way. I think I've managed to put together a functional, engaging resource that people will enjoy exploring. I hope it will be compelling enough to make them want to spend their next vacation with us.

Practical guides for visiting Indonesia

All those years traveling there myself, reading other people's stories on blogs or social media, keeping up with the news, devouring books on the local history and culture. I can finally share what I've learned with as many people as possible. I started by publishing articles I'd already written in advance. Do you need to get vaccinated, which airline is best, how do you get a visa. I already had a good ten topics ready to put online. I then got motivated to write advice sheets for each major island of the archipelago. The orangutans of Sumatra, the caves of Sulawesi, the dragons of Lombok, the underwater world of Papua, the volcanoes of Java. I posted all these route guides to whet my visitors' appetite and encourage them to reach out to me for help planning their trip.

A methodical way of gathering information

Every morning since September 2024, the routine has been the same. I wake up at 4:43am, the time Nenden gets up to go to work. I sit down at my computer and go through all the French Facebook groups about Indonesia. I read the questions, sift through the answers to see whether I'd have said the same thing, and note down any details I didn't already know about this or that topic. The posts I find most interesting are the ones where people share detailed accounts of their own experiences. I carefully note down the good addresses they mention, as well as the phone numbers of the guides who accompanied them, so I can recommend them to others in the future. This personalized support will start in September, alongside my communication campaign for my July group trip.

Coming up this week

Samir isn't at the holiday camp anymore, he's spending the rest of the school break with me. So I'll have much less time to write. The few hours I'd have available each day will let me record the voiceover for the promotional video Nenden just finished, sort out my outreach files for the communication campaign, and put the finishing touches on the website. On Tuesday, September 1st, it will be time to get the word out on social media and send hundreds of messages a day to reach as many people as possible. Let's go, onward!