First Karma Kitchen in Jakarta
July 5, 2014 — A Ramadan evening that sparked a regional movement
We were thrilled to launch Karma Kitchen in Indonesia during the holy month of Ramadan. Because it was Ramadan, we held it as a dinner from 6-10PM on July 5th at Miitem restaurant in Jakarta.
We had a full house with 200 diners, served by a committed team of 25 incredibly happy volunteers. We started the day with a pre-recorded video address by the KK founder in Berkeley, and as the day progressed, it led to so many beautiful moments.
Growing in Generosity
Prior to the event, there was uncertainty — but it seemed to dissolve in the spirit of love. We opened with a video from one of the Karma Kitchen founders, and anchored ourselves to practice "growing in generosity". I couldn't have been more inspired by our 25 enthusiastic and happy volunteers:
Goodness All Over
We had lots of art with values, customized aprons, tablemats that explained Karma Kitchen's gift cycle, a kindness table with personal (and anonymous) notes in every item that was offered, and more. Goodness was all over.
All that generated even more generosity from literal strangers — one of whom even offered to create a short video for us! We experienced many unexpected moments of joy, like one of the volunteers and the restaurant owner sharing their birthday, and celebrating it together:
"My heart is touched to see our growing international family and our shared values of generosity, compassion and inter-connectedness. Looking forward to spreading more love and light together with all of you."
The Surplus of Love
By the end of the day, we had an $800 surplus that would be gifted to the next Karma Kitchen in the region. Let alone Indonesia, there were requests from Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines. We also planned to host one in Bali.
A Beautiful Serendipity
In another beautiful play of serendipity, one of the co-founders of Karma Kitchen Japan heard about us through social media. Since she happened to be in Jakarta, she came over to visit! Here's our quick selfie together — proof that the Karma Kitchen family spans across borders.