What is Kepayang?
Kepayang is a personal newsletter by Chalafabia Haris (Fabi) that focuses on telling stories and creating essays on food, sustainability, and culture. Expect fresh, fruity, and also mundane topics - from debating on whether or not sugar belongs to espresso, to how veganism can be a tool to live more consciously. Published biweekly every Monday so you have one more thing to look forward to besides your work.
Kepayang is also pangium edule - a native Southeast Asian fruit that is used a lot in Indonesian cuisines and is a pantry staple in the Jawa Timur region where my family is from. It is known for being poisonous and intoxicating when eaten fresh, hence the reason why Indonesians tend to ferment, soak, or boil the fruit first to get rid of its cyanide content. There’s even a popular term of ‘mabuk kepayang’, which essentially means that you are drunk.
Kepayang is based in Jakarta, Indonesia! 🇮🇩
Umm, wait, who are you again?
This is a hard question since I used to wear multiple hats (figuratively and maybe literally). I’m a full-time content creator on TikTok (@berusahavegan) creating videos on multiple topics from plant-based cooking, a lazy guide to living more sustainably, a roast on the latest food-related trends, to a discussion on current agriculture issues happening in Indonesia.
It’s a mix-and-match type of content that I find interesting and I hope you’ll find it too even though there will be no video of me dancing to FIFTYFIFTY. I’ll be speaking in Bahasa Indonesia in most of my TikTok videos, but please don’t be lazy. Read that damn subtitles.
Also, I own a plant-based food business called Tamanan. I sell vegan and gluten-free protein balls, brownies, and tarts. Made using mostly local ingredients.
So, why should I subscribe to Kepayang?
If you need reasons why you should subscribe to Kepayang, I have five of them here. But essentially, Kepayang is the extension of some of the content that you would see on my TikTok. You can still find most of the gist in my TikTok but remember that - that version has been through multiple rounds of me chopping down and recrafting it so that it suits the format and language of TikTok users. You will get the full director’s cut of the content published in My TikTok - except that I’m no director and it will be in a written format.
On top of that, a newsletter allowed me to express my thoughts and opinions more freely and comprehensively without the one-minute attention span limitation that you would face in TikTok. So unless you need the TLDR version, I would be more than happy if you read this instead! :)
How do I support Kepayang?
Kepayang is free for now, so any engagements on this platform mean so much to me. You can subscribe to get the newsletter sent directly to your email, like, comment, and share if you resonate with what I write.
Alternatively, you can buy me a coffee through my PayPal here: https://paypal.me/chalafabia - or if you’re based in Indonesia, you can send your donation through QRIS here (under the name Tamanan). Any amounts are welcomed and will directly contribute to sustaining this platform to cover expenses related to operations, research, writing, and marketing. ☕️
If you are a brand, Kepayang is also opening an opportunity to tap into the biweekly newsletter to give information or offerings that help build a stronger foodie community. Product placements are subject to sponsorship fees and this will go directly to cover the platform’s expenses. Let’s chat! readkepayang@gmail.com.
Follow me everywhere:
TikTok: @berusahavegan
Kepayang’s Instagram: @readkepayang
Instagram: @menggemaskan
LinkedIn: Chalafabia Haris
Work with me: readkepayang@gmail.com
