Bali faces the future

By Jane Beresford
BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents

Bali was a magnet for tourists

Since the Bali bombing in October 2002, the island's hotels have been almost empty, and a population once dependent on tourism has had to find new ways to survive.

Crossing Continents meets one woman who is keen for the island to break its mass tourism "habit" and work towards a more sustainable future.

It is hard not to be distracted while sitting on Ida Ayu Agung Mas' veranda.

I was shocked by the scale of the tourist development Ida Ayu Agung Mas

Glistening paddyfields hug the river valley, and hibiscus plants flicker as turquoise coloured butterflies catch the leaves.

Mas returned to Bali, the place of her birth, in 1980 after 20 years working abroad.

"I was shocked by the scale of the tourist development," she told Crossing Continents. "And by the fact that less than 40% of the bars and hotels were owned by locals."

BALI AFTER THE BOMB

How the Balinese are adapting to life after the bombing.

In pictures

In an attempt to restore some balance she created "Sua Bali".

Meaning "to meet Bali", Sua Bali is a small, almost self-sufficient, mixed-use community. It employs 10 people full-time, and they share a vegetable garden and rubbish recycling unit. There are also six cottages for visitors to rent.

It exists on the edge of Kemenuh village "so as not to destroy the village structure".

Traditional village life

Mas is trying to educate the locals

"The staff come from the village not just to work but to learn," she told the programme.

"Locals need to understand the tourism business, positive and negative."

Sua Bali has no air-conditioning or swimming pool. Here, guests dip in the river to cool off.

Each visitor pays about 70 pence a day into a support fund for the nearby village, and is invited to participate in those aspects of village life that villagers feel comfortable with.

Ceremonies and rituals are a cornerstone of Balinese life.

Tourism has become a drug, they do not know how to work on the land anymore, they are used to such high salaries Ida Ayu Agung Mas

Mas told the programme that each tourist gains a short-term membership of the village, "with rights and obligations, just like any other member".

The community has been affected by the aftermath of the bombing, just like everyone else.

Bookings at Sua Bali are down by a third. Thousands of young men previously employed as waiters and pool attendants in beach resorts are returning to their villages.

But Mas still cannot find enough labourers for her organic rice fields.

"Tourism has become a drug," she said. "They do not know how to work on the land anymore. They are used to such high salaries."

A darker side to paradise

Rubbish is a huge problem in Bali

Not everyone is as enthusiastic about Sua Bali as she is. About five years ago she returned from a trip overseas to find her veranda bulldozed and her 600-metre drive knee-high in rubbish.

"I felt full of despair, I knew it was one of the village leaders who was envious of me... and because I am a woman, you know. He was getting his own back," she said.

As is common in Bali, she consulted a local "wise woman".

"Why has this happened to me?" she asked her.

"Mas, there is no answer," the wise woman replied, "but rubbish is gold."

Bali is supposed to be paradise but it is full of rubbish Ida Ayu Agung Mas

All the way home Mas kept turning this thought over in her head.

"The next morning I had the idea for the rubbish recycling plant," Mas said.

"You know, Bali is supposed to be paradise but it is full of rubbish, and now we make good money out of it, as well as helping our environment."

Like many Balinese, Mas believes the bomb was part of the island's destiny.

But she believes that if all the 3.5 million tourists came back tomorrow, no lessons would have been learnt:

"If you are hungry and you are given junk food, you will take it again, even though you know it is not good for you."

Crossing Continents: Bali after the bomb was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, 21 August, and repeated on Monday, 25 August, 2003 at 2030 BST.