Say Bye Bye to Plastics with The Komitmen: An Interview with Melati Wijsen
Five years ago, the Bali born and bred sisters started a revolution on the island, now they are transforming businesses in Bali and have appeared live on CNN before Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa. Melati Wijsen, one of two Wijsen sisters from Bye-Bye Plastic Bag fame, arrived at the semi-vacant restaurant in Pererenan with a cardboard
Men of the Soil, Bali’s Backbone
The people who work Bali’s fields now are no longer young. Their children have all been sent off to school, to get an education, to follow what they see as the way to a better life! But is it? Is there any satisfaction as strong as standing over your newly turned field, or of watching
BASABali : Preserving Balinese in the Digital World
There are all kinds of languages in the world. From verbal to visual communication, we can agree that language is one instrument we have in common. Some of us, however, may have nestled comfortably in one linguistic bubble that we tend to ignore a variety of other languages practised around the globe. Did you know
Is Bali still the “Morning of The World”?
This was the question I was asked to address at the 2018 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival which took place in October. The UWRF is an amazing event which brought together 180 writers, some very famous, others just “emerging”, and thousands of readers from all over the world. In the esteemed company of Balinese intellectual
Future Farmers Indonesia : Saving The Country’s Agrarian Industry
As a predominantly agrarian society, we would think that Indonesia has excelled in self-sufficient food production. Not only owing to the bountiful nature and supportive climate the nation is blessed with but also the available labour force. The reality, however, is Indonesia’s rural agricultural labour continues to decline with 70% of current working farmers aged
Those Wild Men of Karangasem
There I was, far from home, surrounded by hundreds of wild eyed men, each brandishing a wicked looking Kris – the killer dagger used in many countries of the Asian world. While the scene sounds slightly surreal, strangely enough, it was far from dangerous! These beautiful folk were all in deep trance, as part of
How the IMF-World Bank Conference Was Good for Bali
The Annual Meeting of the IMF-WB was really good for Bali and Indonesia. Despite the inevitable disruptions to the island’s traffic and airport access, the meetings meant that Rp3 trillion was invested in improving the infrastructure in Bali, especially the new airport-Nusa Dua underpass. It is claimed they also increased job opportunities by 1.26% across
Do You Know What an Authentic Experience Is?
Hello and welcome to Bali. I’m sorry about the technical question above but it will become relevant to you as you explore this marvellous island. There is a fascination – no, an obsession – of governments around the world to drive increasing numbers of tourists to their best destinations to increase their economic benefit and
Pink Ribbon : Bali Without Breast Cancer
Breast cancer has become the leading killer in the world population of women since the last decade. Age is the strongest risk factor for this disease. It can strike at any age, but it usually affects women ages 35 to 54. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), more than a million
Kids, and Making New Discoveries in Bali
“Little children should be seen and not heard” was an arrogant and misguided belief held in the Victorian era in UK and probably across the Western world. I don’t think it was much better in China or India where discipline for children was considered essential and freedom of expression strictly controlled. “Speak only when spoken
Say Bye Bye to Plastic Bags : A Bali-Born Initiative
It doesn’t take much to see that this island is drowning in plastic, and that there is no escaping from this reality. Who is going to do something about it? Sometimes we forget that it only takes one person to create change. Instead of pointing fingers, asking people to change the world, why not look
The Children of Bali
The children of Bali are like a special breed. Smart, cheeky and often devout, they enliven every day with their cheeky attitudes. When Robert Koke, author of “Our house in Bali” in the ‘40’s, revisited Bali after an absence of almost 40 years, he was asked if he found Bali had much changed. His reply was
Living in Harmony
Welcome to Bali where Mother Nature continues to breathe her blessings from the caldera of the active Mount Agung. The threat of disruption from volcanic ash (and of course there is a possibility of actual danger to aircraft if they are not 100% careful) caused great havoc with the tourism industry early in the year
