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The Desa Kemenuh Culture & Economic Development
Community Livelihoods Mapping at Desa Pekeraman, Sumampan
Thanks to help from Bli De, Swastika, Pak Agung, Bu Maya and other awesome TPENers, in Oct/Dec’11, our lovely Dewi & Dayu, worked together with various advisors & supporters to conduct an community livelihoods assessment. The assessment covered the 3 Banjars included in Desa Pekeraman, Sumampan. Our goal was to get a better understanding about what makes the local economy in Kemenuh tick.
Back in the '70s and 80's Kemenuh had one of the stronger economies in the Gianyar District. Many of Bali's true 'Master Carvers' were from, and based in Kemenuh. They produced magnificent artifacts that today are held in revere in museums world wide. But over time, the demand for great works of Balinese carved art was replaced by the demand for low-cost, mass-produced handicrafts, and Kemenuh struggled to re-align its creative expressions and compete with other areas in Bali that were more geared up for mass production type craft work.
Today in Kemenuh, there is a mixed aura of a truly traditional Bali, with all its values and creativity and deep cultural beliefs, and the clash of modern seeking for income, careers in the tourism industry. Many, in fact most of the youth of the village are working outside, a majority on crise ships far from home, while meanwhile local small industries suffer from a lack of access to new ideas and opportunities for economic development in this more modern era. The current basic economic conditions in the area surrounding the Taman Petanu Eco Neighborhood's area were studied by the team, some of their key findings follow…Out of 45 business owners the majority were small Warungs, some of which only sold pre-processed foods and goods (retail only) and others that also prepared and served meals. Items that are being regularly sourced from outside the area, and in other words have good potential for local enterprise development, include all sorts of basic commodities including Eggs, Vegetables, Fruit, Meat, Rice, Packaging, Household items - Pretty much everything! Click here to access or download the complete report.
For a wonderful booklet made by the team that showcases many of the local small business owners in the area click here...
The Cultural Tourism Program for Desa Kemenuh
Desa Kemenuh has been working on the development of an integrated Cultural Tourism Program, for which they have strong government support. TPEN members have been supporting the program and have helped to design a series of promotional billboards that are now placed at both entrances to Kemenuh and along the main road.
This flurry of activities supported by TPEN occurred in conjunction with the Desa Kemenuh Cultural Tourism Program Launch (on 11•11•11). The promotional materials help to highlight the cultural and environmental beauty of this truly lovely village.
Since that time, the team has also been working with the head of the Cultural Tourism Program, Pak Sila, to develop a website that will help to showcase some of the great aspects of the village's program, including opportunities for people to experience and explore Balinese culture more deeply. Click here to see the site that is currently under development... And please do try out some of the great tourism opportunities showcased on there!
Interested in getting involved and experiencing the joy of being part of a vibrant Balinese community, while in and supporting this great Program?
Desa Kemenuh is always seeking people who are interested in spending some time supporting foreign language classes that are regularly happening at the Desa Office for local youth... Go on down and introduce yourself and sign up!
A Key Challenge in Kemenuh... The Paras Mining Actviities along the Tukad Petanu River...
Taman Petanu is currently lobbying to end the destructive mining that is occurring along the sacred Tukad Petanu River. To read more about why this river is special and connected to Balinese heritage, including the well known Galungan Ceremonial Days click here...
Mining along the river bed is quite rampant in the area, and TPEN is working with local people who understand the importance of preserving this natural and cultural heritage site by lobbying for the conversion of mining activities to the more sustainable livelihood practice of organic farming.
Here is a documentary film produced by PT Alam Santi in cooperation with IDEP Media that gives an overview of the mining activities currently underway along the river bed, how the mining systems work and the challenges of that the people involved face each day. The film also explores economic alternatives that the miners could explore including organic agriculture along the river bed areas, which at the current time people generally feel is "un-valuable land".
This film is currently being used by the TPEN Community Outreach team to conduct community screenings in the area to help facilitate more dialogue about this complex issue amongst local stakeholders. See the photo album here
More information, can be found on the website that has been developed to house all of the data that has been compiled to date about the mining activities.wwww.savetukadpetanu.org
The website is full of data, including maps of the mining locations, who is involved and ket campaigning tools that can be used by anyone that is interested in getting the word out about these serious threats to the eco system fo the Tukad Petanu river catchment. it is very much hoped that this website will be a portal for sharing important information about this critical environmental disaster that is currently underway and stimulate increasing support for ending the mining along the Tukad Petanu River as soon as possible. For more informations see www.tukadpetanu.com - although please note the website has been developed in Bahasa Indonesia.
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