With storm clouds looming overhead ETA Conor Jackman, Mbak Indah and Kevin scoured the overgrown hedges along the highway. They sought a very plain looking but abundant vine known locally as krinyuh, internationally as Siam weeds and scientifically as Chromolaena odorata. Krinyuh is despised by farmers for its rapid growth and death grip that kills crops, yet it is held in high regard by traditional healers from Indonesia to Ghana for a variety of curative properties.

Conor has a tendency to smile and nod when he doesn’t understand a question, often resulting in commitments to which he professes to know nothing about later on. Early this September Conor committed to assisting in a project with teachers and students at SMAN 1 Seluma. That’s how two teachers – Mbak Indah and Bu Milma, two students – Kevin and Pajar and ETA Conor ended up on that roadway. That’s also why they spent hours in the kitchen mixing, mashing and sampling various pudding concoctions containing the krinyuh extract.

These members of the SMAN 1 Seluma school community will submit a paper about krinyuh to the Science and Technology Innovation Contest hosted by the University of Bengkulu. During the past few weeks, they have discussed topics ranging from the nexus of traditional knowledge and pharmaceutical study to the different pudding consistencies between the United States and Indonesia. They learned to work together in spite of language barriers, even growing their respective vocabularies, and look forward to continuing learning together.

Conor Jackman is currently teaching at SMAN 1 Seluma, Bengkulu.