Under the Same Vast Sky: Ten Years of “Saung Langit”

How a grassroots documentary comic from Tasikmalaya bridged local margins to the global stage, and why its journey is only just beginning.

I cannot recall the exact month, perhaps it was February, but my memory remains firmly anchored to the years 2014 through 2016. It was during this fragment of time that the creative process of Saung Langit (Shelter of the Sky) was forged. Now, as time moves forward to the year 2026, this work marks exactly a decade since its birth. To the best of my knowledge, this graphic novel stands as a vital piece of Asian documentary comics, published by Slowork Publishing in Taiwan.

The genesis of this international project began in early 2014 when I met Stephanie Mo. A traveler and an avid observer of local movements from Hong Kong, Stephanie served as the historic bridge that connected our small grassroots initiative in Tasikmalaya to the international stage. She traveled to Tasikmalaya with a clear purpose: to study and uncover local communities that could be empowered. 

Prior to this, Stephanie had been working with a community of silversmiths in Kotagede, Yogyakarta, guiding them to create special silver ornaments as gifts for Valentine’s Day. In Tasikmalaya, however, she couldn’t find the exact kind of craft-based community she had initially envisioned for such an empowerment model.

For me, meeting Stephanie felt akin to Santiago’s dialogue with the Gypsy woman who pointed the way in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. The difference was that she asked for absolutely no material gain from this project. For her, meeting us was like unearthing a hidden treasure from the soil of Tasikmalaya, Indonesia. I could feel the vibration of her genuine energy, her free smile, and her wise, reassuring way of speaking.

Our encounter did not end there. About two months after returning to Hong Kong, she reached out to us via Facebook chat with a proposal for an Asian documentary comic project. She informed me that her friend, Pei-shan Huang, the founder and editor of Slowork Publishing, was actively looking for writers and illustrators from Southeast Asia for a new publication. 

In launching this opportunity, Stephanie reached out to both me and the artist, Leo Ruslan Aryandinata, on the exact same day via email and Facebook to see if we could tackle the social and educational themes of the project.

Before taking things further, I made sure Leo was fully committed. Once he agreed, our intensive communication with Pei-shan Huang began in 2014, leading to immediate brainstorming sessions. Alongside Leo as the sketcher, I brought in Syswandi as a co-writer to strengthen the narrative backbone. The editorial helm was held directly by Pei-shan Huang, supported by Olivier Schneider as our comic consultant.

The decision to craft this documentary graphic work was not made in a vacuum. I engaged in rigorous, thoughtful dialogues with various creative minds in Tasikmalaya, including poets, journalists, children’s book writers, educators, and filmmakers, to ensure we approached the subject matter with extreme sensitivity. Having laid out my vision to them, I gained the confidence to focus on the theme of inclusive education.

Casually, the concept wove together the interconnected realities of three distinct margins: school children (Percisa Kids), street-dwelling scavengers (Saung Langit), and orphans (SAI). It was no mere coincidence that these three groups were mentored daily by myself, Panji Jarmiko, and Edi Martoyo. The three of us were longtime friends who frequently crossed paths in social movement circles.

Gradually, the close bond between the mentors naturally extended to the children, who began to forge organic friendships simply because they were constantly brought together in the same spaces and agendas. From this communal dynamic emerged the idea to name the book after the community Panji ran: Komunitas Saung Langit. The phrase Saung Langit (Shelter of the Sky) felt the most precise metaphor to capture the core philosophy of the work, transcending class divides as children from vastly contrasting sociological backgrounds sat together to learn beneath the sky of Tasikmalaya.

Documenting these real-life stories into a comic took two full years before it was finally published in February 2016 across Hong Kong and Taiwan. A production process of that length was dictated by the core philosophy of Slowork Publishing: Mangong Chu Xihuo (慢工出細活), the belief that to produce a masterpiece, one must work slowly and with immense patience.

Yet, to be completely honest, it required extraordinary patience to navigate the lines of communication between myself, Pei-shan Huang, and our internal team, where misunderstandings were not uncommon. Maintaining the rhythm of an international creative collaboration demanded a resilient, fighting spirit to prevent the project from collapsing halfway. Personally, I felt a deep responsibility to keep everyone on the same frequency and bridge the gap between my team and Pei-shan.

Direct communication with Pei-shan Huang was occasionally taut with tension, and translating these editorial pressures to a team with diverse minds and temperaments proved challenging. When administrative friction points and creative egos arose, they became our heaviest hurdles. Yet, driven by a stubborn resolve, even though we walked slowly, we reached our destination—marking our very first official step from Tasikmalaya onto the international stage.

True to the complex nature of such collaborations, our initial agreement slated this documentary comic to be translated into English and French, alongside its bilingual Indonesian and Mandarin edition. Although the English and French editions did not materialize in the end, we still felt immensely proud, carrying only a slight pang of disappointment. The post-publication journey more than validated our efforts, with the book traveling far and wide to global platforms in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China, as well as prominent comic festivals in Portugal and France.

Now that Pei-shan Huang has confirmed the completion of our international contract, the rights to reprint the book in Indonesia have officially returned to us. The timing feels incredibly serendipitous. In celebration of the book’s tenth anniversary, I am beginning to map out concrete steps to republish and distribute it independently within Indonesia, propelled by extensive networks of literacy communities, reading rooms, and writers’ circles. I intend to breathe fresh life into this ten-year-old work, transforming it into a vital, foundational reading text for educators, pupils, university students, and lecturers across the country.

Long after its global release, the footprints of this story continue to leave a mark. A friend once passed along the news that Stephanie Mo wished to reunite with us in Yogyakarta back in 2017. Regrettably, that meeting could not happen because we were unable to travel, while her schedule held her captive in Jakarta for a month of work.

To this day, ten years since the birth of the book, we hold that woman in the highest regard, still calling her our “Bridge to the World”. Somewhere in her room far away, she keeps a copy of our book, preserved with care. I truly believe that we are all children of the universe, gathered together under the same vast, open sky.