Lis, as she is called, considers the nourishing nature of Flores as the most beautiful gift, offering positive energy for everyone. That is why she is committed to her nature-based business of Dapur Tara, which stands in stark contrast to what Labuan Bajo has become.
She wants to preserve the culture of Flores Island while providing her guests with a taste of home.
Dapur Tara Flores
Amid modernization, economic development, and social change on the western tip of the island of Flores, this restaurant offers a different concept. It’s an inspirational demonstration of how the local people of Flores live, it is also a place to keep old traditions, customs and their culture alive.
We had the chance to talk to the founder & owner of Dapur Tara, Elisabet Yani Tararubi, at this year’s Ubud Food Festival. Let’s see what she has to share:
“Personally, I see luxury in living in our own roots. To feel at peace with nature, that’s my silent treasure”
– said the woman from Waigete, Sikka.
Dapur Tara Flores is a traditional, community-run Flores restaurant
The restaurant, together with their eco-stay, is located in Melo, about 17 kilometers from Labuan Bajo. It takes about 30 minutes to get there. Here you will find a variety of traditional drinks and foods from different regions of Flores Island.
If you want to learn more about how Flores is for a traveler, read our article here.
These include Manggarai coffee, spicy coffee or herbal tea, fresh fruit and ground coconut, bamboo rice (Nasi Kolo), smoked chicken and much more. There are many healthy foods, and the raw materials are grown on site.
Dapur Tara not only offers traditional food and drinks from Flores but also works on projects for children:
“When I was a child, there were no schools near my house, so my sister and I had to walk a long way. I always found it hard to get the things needed for school and when we finally got to school, we could not start with the first grade because there was still no teacher.
Also, there were no books at home, my father always brought newspapers and we tried to read them instead of books. These difficulties helped us to become more creative. I wondered why children in Flores still didn’t receive a quality education, so I decided to change that with my projects.”
This is what drives this inspiring woman to take a different path.
We believe that everyone deserves access to education.
With Anak Alam, her project to provide education, she has gotten the support of the Head of Village in Liang Ndara in order to make a primary school from one of the empty buildings. They teach children of the three villages of Melo, Mamis, and Cecer.
Barter system
The primary schools are all free of charge for the parents. Instead, they are using a barter system for parents to donate what they have in their own gardens, fruits, vegetables, rice or maybe a chicken.
“That is the way we lived for thousands of years, and with our system of exchange, we’re able to provide education where otherwise it wouldn’t be possible due to the lack of money.”
Books for children and libraries
They are receiving many books. These donations are used in the schools and are also given to the kids. As there are no libraries in the villages, their goal is to manage one or two libraries strategically located so the children can come there and read in their free time.
Health control
Doctors also come to the villages to check children’s health. The most common issue is malnutrition. Also, the water is not clean, so it affects their health as well. Teeth and eye problems are common because they don’t get checked regularly.
“We’re hopeful that we can arrange these checks more frequently. The doctors come here for free because they want to do their job and help the children.”
Their culture has been preserved for millennia, but it is now threatened by modernization. The Flores people are facing a lot of difficulties such as mindset, money and material goods, but they are still keeping their ancestral beliefs alive and building the social system that is needed, the Flores way.
Elisabet’s main goal is shaping the character of the next generation to be proud of their heritage.
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