KalaNusa
A mobile-first cultural preservation app with Kala the Lutung, an AI chatbot about Indonesian traditions, and an AI scripture scanner that turns scanned manuscripts into a community-curated digital library.
KalaNusa overview
The problem
Indonesia has one of the richest cultural heritages in the world, but many languages, manuscripts, and traditions are at risk of being forgotten, undocumented, and disconnected from younger generations. The team wanted a way for young people to reconnect with this heritage and help preserve it through AI and digital tools.
My contribution
Designed the app's interface and prepared the pitch deck.
- Designed the KalaNusa mobile app as the UI/UX Designer.
- Prepared the pitch deck presentation.
Design highlights
01 — Chat, scan, and a community library
Chat, scan, and a community library
Users can ask Kala, a friendly lutung character, about Indonesian traditions and folklore, scan artifacts or traditional scripts, and browse a digital cultural library. Each archive page pairs the item with a cultural analysis, and submissions are reviewed by admins and cultural experts before they are published.
What I learned
- Experience
- Building an AI chatbot and a manuscript scanner within hackathon time limits, while OCR struggled with scripts such as Javanese aksara.
- What I learned
- Prompt design is crucial to make AI feel alive and trustworthy, and there is a lot of untapped interest in cultural education through technology.
- Next approach
- The team plans to train a custom OCR for Javanese and Sanskrit, add voice and narration for accessibility, and expand Kala's knowledge to more regional content.