Elias Moning is currently Director of Gaharu Kencana Estate Villa or “Ghrookeville” in West Java, Indonesia, an agro-eco-property development that emphasizes economic and environmental values by using traditional architecture for building, conserving the endangered Gaharu species by planting Gaharu trees, and facilitating the cultivation of durian and mangosteen fruit trees over their 6 hectares of land.

Elias also continues to run Outreach International, a company he founded in 2005 which promotes a program called Jatropha PLUS3, involving the planting of Jatropha trees with fast-growing teakwood, vetiver grass, and pollinating bees on marginal land in eastern Indonesia, in partnership with local farmers. The Jatropha trees also provide green oil as a form of biofuel for export. [2/17]

He wrote to CIE about his environmental projects in 2007:  

I am in Indonesia, busy working on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project. The purpose of the project is to reduce greenhouse gases. My project captures methane gas from municipal solid wastes and destroys it by flaring (burning) or uses it for energy to generate electricity. My company will then earn "carbon credits" that can be exchanged for cash or sold on the international market. Buyers are European and Scandinavian countries and Japan.  

Elias published a book on Reinventing Indigenous Knowledge (Verlag), focusing on Indonesian farmers’ experiences with integrated pest management (IPM) in 2008. He was also hoping to write an Introduction to Organic Farming in collaboration with two organic farmers who were graduates of the FAO IPM Farmer Field Schools in Indonesia.

During his time at CIE, Elias was involved in the founding of the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO) in 1992. The GEO is the student union which advocates for the interests of graduate student workers at UMass Amherst and is still active today.

Email: emoning@gmail.com