SAMAS keep on pedaling to nurture bike-to-school preference

By Agnes Winarti 

Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post  | Tuesday, November 6, 2012

While many underage students in Bali nowadays have turned to riding motorcycles to school and elsewhere, parents and teachers acknowledge that they hold a significant role in nurturing the bike-to-school preference among their children.

“Parents’ lifestyles determine their children’s inclination to ride a motorcycle or bicycle. Teachers are also significant role models in promoting the bike-to-school preference among underage students,” said parent and teacher Made Darwi on the sidelines of a bike-to-school campaign by the Denpasar-based association of bicycle communities (SAMAS) at SMP Sunari Loka junior high school in Kuta over the weekend. Around 300 first grade junior high school students attended the campaign.

He claimed that about 200 out of the over 1,200 students cycled their way to school, apparently because their headmaster was actively engaged in the Sunari Loka bicycle community, and sometimes biked to school himself.

For another parent, I Gusti Ngurah Wirata, who is also an active member of the Denpasar-based Lelasan Berseri bicycle community, similarly cycling to school is part of his way of educating his four children about the deeper philosophical importance of appreciating a process in life.

“Cycling to school is not only for health or to save the environment. As a father, I see it as a way for my children to understand that things in life do not all come in an instant. There’s a process in everything,” the clothing entrepreneur said. He only allows his children to ride motorcycles on public streets when they have reached the age of 17 and have a driving license.

Wirata applauded the school’s effort to drum up student appreciation for cycling through sightseeing activities to tourism locations like Nusa Dua, Taman Ayun in Mengwi and Garuda Wisnu Kencana cultural park, which take place by bike.

SAMAS secretary Endra Datta told Bali Daily that promoting bike-to-school among junior and senior high schools in Denpasar and Badung remained challenging work. “We are trying to strengthen the bike-to-school preference that is already present in schools like Sunari Loka. When we try to promote bike-to-school in schools that don’t possess a bicycling culture, it is extremely difficult.”

As of today, SAMAS has so far initiated visits to encourage the bike-to-school attitude among junior and senior high schools in Ubud, Denpasar city and Badung regency. It plans to widen its bike-to-school campaign at the upcoming Green Camp Festival on Serangan island, in which dozens of schools will participate.

Both Darwi and Endra regretted that the bike-to-school promotion efforts seemed to face a quite peculiar challenge from the law enforcers (police) themselves. “Just last week, personnel from the Kuta Police came to Sunari Loka junior high school promoting safe riding to the underage junior high school students. Apparently, the police said underage students may ride motorbikes after all, so long as they wore their school uniforms, a safety helmet, and carried the STNK [vehicle registration document],” said Darwi, shaking his head in disbelief, while he cited another occurrence where he saw the son of a policeman in his neighborhood allowed to ride his own motorcycle, although he is not yet 17 years old.

Endra noted that similar motorcycle safety guidance had been promoted by police personnel at another junior high school in Denpasar. “Supported by a motorcycle company, the police came to a junior high school located on Jl. Gunung Agung to raise awareness of safe motorcycle riding. While we come to schools asking underage students not to drive motorbikes, the police say otherwise. That’s just incomprehensible,” said Endra.

Meanwhile, head of Denpasar Police Sr. Comr. Wayan Sunartha told Bali Daily over the weekend that students without a driving license who rode motorcycles were violating traffic laws.

“We have repeatedly come to schools to remind students of this traffic regulation. Despite wearing helmets, underage students, who obviously do not have a driving license, will have their motorbikes confiscated. We will call their parents and teachers too. We can’t give them tickets as ticketing is not a solution for this problem. Parents and teachers must also take responsibility to keep reminding their children not to violate the law,” said Sunartha.

New minibuses offer some certainty to passengers, drivers

By Agnes Winarti

Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post Wednesday, October 17 2012

It has been almost 20 years since Balinese society abandoned public transportation due to its unreliability. However, that could become history as Denpasar residents enthusiastically take to the newly launched bright green minibuses.

For over a month now, as many as 48 feeder minibuses that complement the province’s Trans Sarbagita buses, have been roaming the city’s streets, carrying with them passengers from various walks of life, including a 95-year-old grandfather, housewives, the over-60s, office employees, 20-something youngsters and school children.

“Previously, my knees hurt waiting for the bemo [public minibuses]. They took forever to arrive. But things have changed since these new minibuses have been operating. They really are on time,” said Wayan Robin, a grandmother from Sidakarya, who on Tuesday took a ride on the minibus to get to a family wedding ceremony.

“And when they start to charge, it will still be cheaper than those bemo that charge Rp 5,000 [52 US cents],” she said. Until Dec. 31, all rides on the minibuses are free-of-charge, while, starting January next year, adults will pay Rp 2,000 for a one-way ticket.

Cyprianus, an office worker, also acknowledged that he had been taking different feeder minibus routes since they were launched in September. “No, it’s not complicated at all,” he said.

The bright green minibuses currently operate on four different return routes: Route 1 runs between GOR Ngurah Rai and Renon; Route 2 from Matahari Terbit to Simpang Teuku Umar; Route 3 connects Simpang Teuku Umar and Jl. Bypass Ngurah Rai; and Route 4 connects Jl. Sudirman–Jl.Waturenggong–Jl. Sidakarya. They intersect with each other, as well as with several stops — including Matahari Terbit, Jl. Sudirman, GOR Ngurah Rai, Jl. Diponegoro and Benoa Pesanggaran, along the two main Trans Sarbagita routes.

First-time passengers like Nanik and Adi, who live in Nusa Dua, acknowledged that taking the minibus was much more comfortable when dealing with traffic jams and the scorching heat on the tropical island. “These days, it’s so hot and traffic is worsening, so if we’re not in a hurry, taking the minibus is a good option,” said Adi, who is in his 20s.

From the overall routes, the Denpasar Transportation Agency has recorded around 1,000 passengers per day using the feeder minibuses, especially on Saturdays and Sundays, a number which has doubled from earlier days when they had just been launched.

Maps of the feeder minibus networks are available and can be requested from the drivers.

“Right now, our main target is to operate punctually, according to our timetable and stay on track with the routes. We want to make public transport reliable, and thus, gain the trust of our passengers.

“That’s why we continue to roam the streets although there are still empty seats,” said driver
Mochammad Sangkala, 56.

The networks not only offer certainty to passengers, they also provide a steady income for the 56 drivers currently working eight-hour shifts.

Sangkala, who previously drove a bemo connecting Ubung terminal to Sanglah hospital, said: “Previously, I did not earn a regular income; sometimes I could get Rp 200,000 a day, others Rp 15,000 or come home with nothing at all. Now, although it’s a small sum, at least, every day I can be sure of receiving Rp 100,000 for driving and the gas.”

Sangkala, who is also driver coordinator for Route 2, acknowledged that maintaining discipline was among the toughest challenge. “Some drivers, not all, are still having difficulty in being punctual,” he said.

Dewa Adi Pradnyana, head of the land transportation service unit at the Denpasar Transportation Agency, told Bali Daily of the agency’s commitment to ensure discipline among the drivers. “Exactly a month after launching, a driver was caught red-handed driving off his route. We found out from our GPS system that he was chartering his vehicle to Sentral Parkir Kuta. We immediately fired him,” said Dewa, citing that next month, a system complementing GPS would come into effective use, enabling the agency’s monitoring personnel to remotely stop the vehicle’s engine if it was discovered violating their operational routes.

“Among other challenges which concern behavioral change is ensuring the drivers don’t smoke while driving. We only allow them to smoke during break times,” said Dewa.

Aiming for better service, next year the administration expects to install air-conditioning in the vehicles, and open a couple of additional routes to connect the western and northern sides of the capital city. “Around 20 more vehicles will be required,” said Dewa.

“We understand if residents are still reluctant to try this mode of public transportation. But please do try it and have your say,” said Dewa. The public are welcome to share their comments by emailing: transdar_dps@yahoo.com, or calling 0361-419295.

Denpasar-Jimbaran route lacks details

By Agnes Winarti

Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post Saturday, August 11 2012

The buses on the new 54-kilometer round-trip Trans Sarbagita route from Denpasar to Jimbaran officially hit the roads on Friday and officials quickly found the need to address the various first-day flaws.

At one instance, the Sarbagita bus had to stop for a while at one of the bus stops inside the Udayana University compound in Jimbaran, while a worker — instructed by personnel from the local transportation agency — jumped onto the bus roof and used a string to tie up the entangled electricity and telecommunication cables just a few inches from the bus roof.

“Small things like these are often overlooked. We passengers could all get electrocuted by those cables,” said 69-year-old Sarbagita enthusiast and former private bank employee, Made Wirta, who was among the very few passengers who took the time to try out the newly opened route on Friday. A single journey from Denpasar to Jimbaran takes around 1.5 hours.

Believing that Sarbagita, the island’s integrated transportation system, would be one of the solutions to the worsening traffic in southern Bali, Wirta also highlighted the importance of equipping bus conductors with route maps to be distributed to passengers.

”The map is a very useful source of information for passengers. It should be distributed on the bus, as well as in other locations, like at Ngurah Rai [International] Airport,” said Wirta, after a passenger had to argue with one of the Sarbagita-Bali transportation agency members of staff to successfully get a copy of the route map as there were apparently only limited numbers available.

Indeed, the devil is in the details, and many details had not been carefully considered on the first day of operations.

One problem was the rows of private vehicles and small public transport vans, locally known as bemo, parked carelessly along and near the Sarbagita bus stops, especially at the Sanglah hospital stop and Jl. Surapati.

“I can’t find the bus stop. Where is it? These parked vehicles are stopping my bus from getting closer to the bus stop,” complained driver Made Sudana.

A member of staff from Bali transportation agency stepped out from the stop and waved Sudana on to continue the journey, while his passenger had to get off the bus right by the side of the road rather than safely at a bus stop.

For a Rp 2.1 billion (US$222,600) project funded by the provincial annual budget, it was also quite disappointing to find that a mere temporary staircase had been placed at the side of the road to take the place of a bus stop.

Meanwhile, although 2 kilometers is considered the ideal maximum distance between two bus stops, at the moment, there are stops that are up to 5 km away from each other, for example, between Sanglah and Pesanggaran stops in Sesetan area.

According to the plan, Jl. Diponegoro, also known as the Sesetan area, will be serviced by public minibuses that operate four different routes.

The Denpasar transportation agency has promised to start operating those so-called feeder buses by September.

Currently feeder buses connecting GWK to Tanjung Benoa and Uluwatu are already available. However, they are stationed at the entrance gate to the park, while the Sarbagita bus route ends at a bus stop inside the park, about 1 km from the entrance.

Head of Trans Sarbagita operations, Ida Bagus Parsa, acknowledged that they were currently still holding discussions with the Badung administration and the GWK park operator about options, including whether to build a new Sarbagita bus stop near the entrance gate or to have feeder buses stationed inside the park.

“With all the current flaws, we’ve decided to persist in running the buses because we want the public to notice our presence over the next couple of weeks. While operating, of course, we will continue improving our services, while also hoping that matters related to funding are cleared,” said Parsa.

Sarbagita, which stands for Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar and Tabanan regencies, began opera-
tions opening the Rp 4 billion Batubulan-Nusa Dua route in August last year.

Bike to school, not for the faint-hearted

By Agnes Winarti 

Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post 

 | 

Saturday, June 16, 2012

  

With the almost non-existent public infrastructure for bicycles, the growing number of vehicles on the roads and motorists’ low level of tolerance, to name just a few hurdles, the implementation of the Bike to School program is a hard sell indeed.

“The bike to school program is only realistic for junior high school students who live just a stone’s throw from their schools,” junior high school (SMP) PGRI 2 Denpasar headmaster I Gede Wenten Ariyasudha told Bali Daily on Thursday.

“Other than that, I believe parents’ priority will be their children’s safety. Letting the children bike through the bustling main roads for long distances would not be an option,” said Ariyasudha. The school has about 1,600 students, 200 of whom cycle to school daily, while most others are picked up by their parents from homes as far away as the Batubulan area in neighboring Gianyar regency.

The Bike to School program, an effort to reduce traffic jams and create a less-polluted environment, was initially launched in 2010 by the Denpasar-based bicycling community SAMAS, and was supported by the Denpasar municipal administration. Last year, SMP PGRI 2 welcomed SAMAS’ Bike to School campaign. This year, SAMAS secretary Endra Datta said that the community had also been campaigning at junior high schools, including SMP Dwijendra, SMP 1 Ubud, SMP 8, and senior high school SMA 1 Ubud.

Since 2009, Denpasar has only provided 20 kilometers of special cycling lanes, which cover Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Raya Puputan, Jl. Tjok Agung Tresna to Jl. Hang Tuah and Jl. Danau Tamblingan in Sanur. However, the lanes cover only a miniscule part of the route required for the 58 junior high schools and 45 senior high schools around the capital. Also, the lanes can’t be properly used, as they are often full of parked cars, not to mention that cyclists have to compete for space against motorcyclists who dominate the main streets of Denpasar.

Last year’s data from the Denpasar Transportation Agency’s traffic division showed that the streets of the capital city were packed with 575,111 motorcycles, the number of which has grown rapidly throughout the years. In 2010, there were 492,285 motorcycles on the streets of Denpasar, while in 2009, there were only 457,772.

Even the prestigious state senior high school, SMA Negeri 3 Denpasar, that had a compulsory policy for 30 years obliging all its students to bike to school, has now surrendered this policy and has allowed students to ride motorcycles since 2006.

The school might have won the 2012 Adiwiyata Nasional award from the Environment Ministry for its numerous environmental efforts, such as waste sorting, composting, making biopore holes and building greenhouses for plants, as well as academic writings and films on the environment, but it currently has to rent a 2,500 square meter plot of land to continue expanding its parking lot for its students’ motorcycles.

“The consideration to terminate our compulsory policy for students to cycle to school initially surfaced in 1992. We were overwhelmed performing daily raids on the students, who secretly rode motorbikes to school,” said teacher Anak Agung Ayu Sri Adi, who is also the school’s environment coordinator.

The bike to school policy was terminated in 2006, with the claim that it would ease the journey for students coming from homes more than 10 kilometers away in Kuta, Jimbaran, Sukowati, Peguyangan, as well as Singapadu. “We are still urging those living nearby to bike to school, but now almost all of them drive motorbikes,” Sri Adi said.

Only about 10 students at SMA 3 still routinely cycle to school every day, while the other 851 students in the 10th grade to 12th grade ride their own motorbikes, despite the fact that it is illegal to have a driving license below the age of 17.

And what do the students have to say about Bike to School?

“Studying at class covered in sweat won’t be convenient. Besides, when it’s time for us to return home, at noon, it’s hot and the streets are too crowded with motorcycles. So it’s better we ride our own,” said 11th grader Putu Sri Adnyasari, 17, who has been driving her own motorbike since 10th grade and lives just about 1.5 kilometers from school.

Another student, Diah Gayatri, 16, who drives without license, said, “I have too many activities after school. Riding a motorcycle saves my time and energy, I couldn’t bike all the way.”

Most students also said that having no driving license was not a problem, as long as they knew how to avoid streets where traffic police were on watch. Some parents even slip Rp 20,000 notes in their children’s motorbike STNK (vehicle registration card), so that the child can use the money to bribe the police, just in case they are caught.

“It happens,” regretted teacher Sri Adi, highlighting just another attitude that will block the realization of the Bike to School program.

Mercury phase-out at hospitals faces uphill battle

By Agnes Winarti

Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post Wednesday, June 13 2012

The phasing-out of mercury-based equipment is proving to be an uphill struggle as it faces resistance from hospitals in Denpasar. This is despite the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) planning a global legally binding treaty on mercury.

In 2013, the UNEP expects to launch a global legally binding treaty on mercury to gradually terminate the use of mercury worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Care Without Harm have also targeted a 70 percent reduction in the usage of thermometers and sphygmomanometers at worldwide medical facilities by 2017.

“Resistance comes from some hospitals, as they argue that digital thermometers and sphygmomanometers are lacking in accuracy. Speaking subjectivity, the mercury-based blood pressure measurement tools are actually more subjective and less accurate due to mercury leakages inside the measurement tube that are often left unnoticed,” Bali-based environmental NGO Balifokus founder Yuyun Ismawati told Bali Daily recently.

For the past five years, Prima Medika private hospital in Denpasar has been promoting the use of digital thermometers to service patients. The hospital’s general affairs manager, Dr Dian Ekawati, said that currently some 80 percent of the thermometers used in the hospital were digital, while the remaining 20 percent were mercury-based.

“Digital thermometers are easier to use. When measuring patients’ temperatures with the mercury-based thermometers, we sometimes need to wait longer for the Hg movement,” said Dr. Dian.

“However, to monitor blood pressure we prefer using the mercury-based equipment, because when we are reading the blood pressure we also feel and listen
to the systolic and diastolic pressure [of the heart muscles when relaxing and contracting]. If we use a digital monitor we have to fully rely on the equipment, so the result is less convincing and sometimes erratic,” Dian added.

Sanitation coordinator at Bali’s top referral hospital, Sanglah, Ketut Gede Surata, acknowledged that the process of gradually ending the use of mercury equipment was a matter of changing the medical staffs’ behavior and mindset, which he said, “is not as easy as turning the palm of your hand”.

Money matters also speak volumes in hampering hospitals to terminate the use of mercury-based equipment.

“The purchase of the non-mercury equipment would cause a bulging allocation from the hospital budget. A mercury sphygmomanometer only costs between Rp 700,000 [US$74.2] to Rp 1 million, while the digital or aneroid ones are Rp 3 million to Rp 5 million,” said Surata, adding that Sanglah currently planned to reduce the use of mercury fluorescent lamps and was working on setting its own Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) to cope with the chance of mercury spills in the hospital’s compound.

Balifokus staffer specializing in toxic waste, Luh Putu Kusuma Ririen, said that all 20 hospitals in Denpasar had yet to have a special storage for their mercury waste due to budget constraints.

Yuyun highlighted that the mercury phase-out efforts were seen as disrupting the long-standing business cooperation between hospitals and vendors of mercury-based equipment.

“We hope the vendors are willing to share responsibility with the hospitals to recycle the waste from their products. Equipment vendors are only concerned with selling their products, but they have no idea what to do with their products’ waste,” said Surata, citing that Sanglah also faced confusion in dealing with its silver bromide liquid waste, which was the end-product of developing x-ray films.

Every month, Sanglah’s x-ray lab uses 60 liters of liquid and at the end of the month there is about 1.5 liters of silver bromide chemical waste. “There are currently about four cans, or 20 liters, of silver bromide chemical stored in our warehouse. We still don’t know what to do with it,” said Surata.

Medical waste from 45 Bali hospitals: Where does it go?

By Agnes Winarti 

Photo by Anggara Mahendra

Published in Bali Daily/ The Jakarta Post Saturday, June 09 2012

Alone: 
BD/Anggara Mahendra
A technician pushes a cart filled with medical waste in an alley at Sanglah Hospital, which operates the only industrial-grade incinerator on the island.
Due to urgent calls to lower the operational capacity of its eightyear- old incinerator, Sanglah Hospital has, since March, ceased receiving medical waste from 45 private and public hospitals and clinics around Bali.

“We are trying to prevent our incinerator from breaking down. Previously, it could burn up to 700 kilograms of medical waste daily, but now we are limiting the total to 500 kilograms per day,” head of household and supplies at Sanglah Hospital Dr. I Wayan Aryana Yudiasa told the Bali Daily recently.

Since the initial operation of the incinerator eight years ago, Sanglah waste facility has served as the disposal point for medical waste from 93 hospitals and clinics throughout Denpasar, Gianyar, Klungkung, Tabanan and Bangli. Most of these are private institutions, 87 of which actively renew their yearly contract with Sanglah.

Between March and April, 45 hospitals and clinics had their yearly contracts ended. Sanglah is mulling whether to continue the heavy workload that has been taking a toll on the one-and-only incinerator for the whole island.

Among those with yet-to-be renewed contracts is BIMC Hospital, near Simpang Siur intersection. BIMC’s monthly medical waste amounts to 300 kilograms and is among the largest amount arriving at Sanglah. As Sanglah itself generates up to 350 kilograms of daily medical waste, a staggering 8,000 kilograms monthly, the incinerator can only accept an additional 150 kilograms daily from other hospitals, forcing Sanglah to halt the over-100- kilograms senders.

BIMC Hospital housekeeping manager Ari Prana Indra acknowledged to the Bali Daily on Friday that its contract with Sanglah had ended on April 1. However, when asked what measures had been taken for the past two months to handle their medical waste, he was reluctant to reply. Asked the whereabouts of BIMC’s medical waste since the contract ended, Ari said: “It is not here [at the hospital’s disposal area] anymore. It’s been transported for disposal, but it’s not a public disposal site. I’ve no further comment.”

Other hospitals that have been served by Sanglah’s incinerator also include private hospitals Prima Medika and Surya Husadha, just a stone’s throw away from Sanglah.

Surya Husadha’s household manager, overseeing sanitation and waste management, Desak Mahayani, declined to comment and suggested the Bali Daily contact a member of the hospital’s marketing team instead.

Surya Husadha’s daily medical waste, claimed to weigh up to 29 kilograms, is disposed of at a temporary disposal site and picked by trucks predawn. When asked where the trucks transported the waste, head of night-shift security, I Dewa Ketut Edi Adnyana, replied, “Please direct the question to the hospital’s public relations.”

Prima Medika’s general affairs manager, Dr. Dian Ekawati, said the hospital’s 15 kilograms daily medical waste was still transported to Sanglah as usual. “We’ve been cooperating with Sanglah since 2002,” said Dian, citing the contract had been renewed earlier this year.

“We’ve not thought about selfmanaging our own medical waste due to limited space. Building a waste management installation is difficult with regard to permits, not to mention a costly investment,” she said.

Among the 20 hospitals in Denpasar, only four are governmentowned, the rest are private hospitals. Sanglah’s incinerator was purchased with a grant from Australia in 2004. Every year, the incinerator requires up to Rp 80 million for maintenance, with a total allocation of Rp 150 million (US$8560) for operational expenses for both solid and liquid waste. Sanitation coordinator at Sanglah Hospital Ketut Gede Surata said, ideally, the annual allocation for the waste management system would be about Rp 600 million.

“This year, we requested a new incinerator with the same specification from the Health Ministry. But we are not sure whether the unit will arrive this year,” said Surata, who suggested that the hospital waste management system should have been divided into four zones, east, west, north and south Bali, to ease the burden of Sanglah as the island’s sole medical waste facility as it is today.

Good things come in small ‘furry’ packages

While the cheerful four-legged golden retriever has secured an eternal spot in the hearts of most dog-loving people, nowadays, smaller sized pure-bred dogs and other petite cuddly pets have also captivated animal enthusiasts in Denpasar.

“The smaller dogs eat and poop less than their larger canine counterparts. So saying, they are relatively easy to groom and friendlier on the pocket,” said visitor Ngurah Gustra, while looking for a pug and a beagle at a pet shop in Jl. Setiabudi in Denpasar on Thursday.

The shop’s grooming and spa services, for instance, are all based on the size of their furry clientele. The prices for grooming treatments, which include bath, blow dry and nail cutting, range from Rp 50,000 (US$5.4) for petite dogs to Rp 150,000 for extra large ones.  Meanwhile, canine spa and massage treatments vary from Rp 150,000 to Rp 500,000 according to size.

Coming from a family of animal enthusiasts with a love for reptiles and larger dogs, Gustra, who already owns a mini pinscher and Pekingese, said he was thinking of opening a pet shop of his own that would specialize in selling small pedigree dogs. He estimated that start-up capital of Rp 50 million would be enough to begin his small-dog shop. “The start-up investment is affordable, while the selling prices are promising,” he said.

A dog’s small size does not necessarily indicate a small selling price.

At the shop, a shar-pei costs Rp 8 million, a shih tzu Rp 6.5 million, a cocker spaniel Rp 12 million, a Chihuahua Rp 8 million, while a toy poodle can be up to Rp 15 million. The larger canines are just as expensive, a Labrador costs Rp 5 million, with a rottweiler Rp 7.5 million, the same prices as an imported breed of golden retriever, while locally bred ones are about Rp 4 million.

Pet vendor War, whose tiny shop on Jl. Hayam Wuruk offers Pomeranians, mini pinschers and pugs, to name a few, highlighted some of the qualities of the smaller breeds. “Although they are small, some of them are noisy enough. They can serve as good house guards too,” said the former trader of larger breeds, including German shepherds, pit bulls and golden retrievers, who prefers to go by his one syllable name, War, while pointing at his continuously barking mini pinscher.

A senior member of staff at a pet shop-cum-kennel with 32 air-conditioned rooms on Jl. Teuku Umar, Komang Suryani, acknowledged that the fad for small-sized dogs in Denpasar has grown over the past year or two. “Since six years ago, large purebred dogs, like golden retrievers, Labradors and rottweilers, have been warmly welcomed here, and they still are. The smaller breeds are now following suit over this last year,” said Suryani.

Today, apparently, it’s not only the large and small pooches that are capturing the hearts of animal enthusiasts throughout the capital, as the cuddly rodent pet known as the golden hamster is also stealing some of the spotlight among the youngsters.

Hamster pet owner, Wayan Riska, whose parents have a Kintamani dog at home, said, “My dog only looked cute when he was still a puppy. I like my hamsters more because they stay small and are cute forever.”

The 17-year-old teenage girl has apparently already sniffed out some business opportunities from her rodent pets as they have been breeding; she initially had three, but now has 15. “They breed so fast. Sometimes I give away the pups for free, other times I sell them from Rp 25,000 to Rp 250,000, according to their type,” giggled Riska.

By Agnes Winarti 
Photo by Anggara Mahendra
Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post, Friday, May 25 2012

Dog’s day: A member of staff at a pet grooming service trims a dog’s fur. BD/Anggara Mahendra

Italian wines: Poetic respect for nature’s simplicity

Italians call their wines “poems of the earth” as wines are considered the best thing that agriculture can give them. This explains how the taste of simplicity and naturality are the very traits in every drop of Italian wine.

“Italian wine means simplicity, respect for nature and for the raw materials. They smell just like their vineyards and the flowers of their grapes,” the owner of Distilleria Bottega, Sandro Bottega, passionately explained during a recent Italian wine tasting and seminar.   

Bottega is the third generation of the Italian wine distillery in Bibano, 45 kilometers north of Venice, in the heart of the Veneto region, which has a strong tradition in Italian wines and grappa production. Sandro inherited his love for wines from his grandfather, Domenico Bottega, a passionate enologist and wine trader in the 1920s.

Bottega cited the similarities between Italian wines and cuisine: “Our cuisine really appreciates raw materials. We want pasta to taste like pasta, tomato as tomato, meat as meat, cheese as cheese, fish taste [like it’s] from the sea. Not much cooking. It’s the same with Italian wines.”

Italian wines are characteristically fresh, fruity, simple, natural, light and therefore versatile. “Thus, you can drink Italian red wine with fish, while the white wine with barbecued meat and vice versa,” he said.

Seventy-five percent of Bottega’s wines are exported to more than 100 countries and have now reached Indonesia, mainly Bali and Jakarta, answering to the flourishing wine-drinking culture among Indonesians.

For Bottega’s initial market penetration into the archipelago, six wine producers have been introduced, including Italy’s most popular sparkling wine Prosecco Doc Brut, the fruity Chardonnay; the sweet flowery aromatic Moscato; the light Fragolino Rosso and the elegant Brunello di Montalcino. 

Bottega pointed out that the spicy yet fresh Indonesian cuisine was a perfect match for Italian wines. “I understand that Indonesians might prefer the sweet taste of Fragolino and Moscato, however, I personally recommended the Prosecco and Chardonnay because they are fresh and fruity,” said Bottega.

Italy produces about 300 different types of grapes, more than the grape varieties in France. Both Italy and France are the biggest producers of wines in the world, each comprising 25 to 30 percent of the worldwide wine market. Italy impressively produces about 7 billion liters of wines per annum. 

By Agnes Winarti 
Photo by Anggara Mahendra
Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post Thursday, May 24 2012

Lavish liquid: A bottle of very fine Bottega wine. BD/Anggara Mahendra

Bonsai lovers hope to revive local, int’l markets

The Bali chapter of the Indonesia Bonsai Lovers Association (PPBI) expects to revive the huge potential of bonsai and open up Bali’s opportunity to export these artistic miniature trees to overseas markets.

“As Indonesia’s international window, Bali has welcomed many wealthy visitors and foreigners who show huge market potential for purchasing bonsai,” PPBI Bali chairman, Winarto Selamat, told Bali Daily on Monday.

He cited demand for bonsai from European countries such the Netherlands and Germany, as well as South Asian countries like India.

“However, Indonesia has not been able to make the most of these demands,” said Winarto, stating that currently bonsai buyers from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand usually make individual purchases from Indonesian collectors, while large-scale bonsai exports are monopolized by a Belgian national who only buys mass-produced bonsai plants from farmers in Malang, East Java.

“We hope to break that domination,” said Winarto, who is hopeful that within the next two years bonsai hobbyists in Bali would be able to break into the global market with more professional promotions in online media and at various exhibitions.

Winarto emphasized that Bali has been home to numerous bonsai hobbyists-cum-artists who are highly skilled at training the trees, planted in shallow tray-like pots, into the beautiful forms required; bonsai literally means “planting in a tray” in Japanese. There are more than 500 bonsai lovers here on this island alone, he estimated.

Winarto’s initial efforts since he started chairing the PPBI Bali last year include inviting more bonsai hobbyists in Denpasar to collaborate in reviving the bonsai market and take up places among the rows of decorative plant and landscape businesses along part of Jl. Hayam Wuruk.

One of the hobbyists joining the collaboration is bonsai lover I Made Simon, who has 300 bonsai in his collection, worth around Rp 500 million (US$54,000), displayed at an outlet belonging to the street’s most senior bonsai trader, Hadi Subeki, whose father Mohammad Tawi was the one of the island’s first generation of bonsai traders.

“The creative process for making bonsai never ends, which makes this art an eternal kind of hobby,” said the garment businessman, who developed his passion for bonsai over the past 20 years and started bonsai trading only three years ago. As more bonsai hobbyists join the collaboration, it will lead to better transfer of knowledge among hobbyists, who will be able keep improving the artistic form of bonsai from many kinds of plants, which in turn will result in increasing value.

“For example, I learned from Pak Winarto to prune the ficus species of bonsai, while he learned my specialty, pruning the santigi species [Phempis acidula],” said Simon.

According to Hadi, bonsai prices have a huge range, from as cheap as Rp 50,000 for a dwarf plant that simply looks pretty to the eye, to a starting price of Rp 200,000 for a bonsai that adheres to the basic movement of the tree and shows a certain character and style.

“The most expensive bonsai, however, could be worth up to Rp 1 billion,” said Hadi, citing a number of elements that determined its value, including the rarity of the tree, the visual balance, the basic movement, the harmony it creates, as well as the tree’s health, impression of age and the anatomical balance between its main stem and branches.

“In Bali, bonsai art has been a remedy for the Balinese who were previously addicted to gambling. That’s a good effect for the Balinese people, I believe,” said Hadi, whose father started bonsai trading in 1980s.

By Agnes Winarti 
Photo by Zul Trio Anggono
Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post Wednesday, May 16 2012

Miniature: Bonsai enthusiasts stroll through a spacious garden showcasing a variety of their beloved plants. BD/Zul Trio Anggono

Nusa Penida people spread wings

Previously a wild bird poacher, Nengah Sudipa is now enjoying what seems to be the unlikeliest chance of repentance as a birdwatcher at the Bali Starling bird sanctuary on his home island, Nusa Penida, just off the southeast of Bali.

Eleven years ago, Nengah was a nine-year-old boy with a skillful flair for trapping birds in the wilds of Nusa Penida with only one intention: sell them for extra cash.

Nengah said, though, this was now a thing of the past for him; he’s no longer interested in making money from wild birds. Since being recruited by the Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF) that initiated the Bali Starling bird sanctuary, Nengah’s tasks include feeding the quarantined birds, monitoring the birds in the wild and taking visitors and newly arrived volunteers on guided tours.

“I would have been rich by now from selling wild Bali Starlings. I can easily catch them if I want to, because I know where they nest. But I just don’t want to anymore,” said Nengah, citing around 15 different spots throughout the island where the birds breed. It is estimated a pair of mature Bali Starlings costs up to Rp 50 million (US$5,450), while the chicks cost Rp 10 million each.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and natural resources declared the Bali Starling an endangered species in 1966. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species placed the Bali Starling on its critical list in 1978. As early as the 1980s, the government and bird protection organizations worldwide saw the urgency for immediate action to prevent the bird going into extinction. Captive breeding programs were successfully run in Bali, yet, the birds released into the wild were quickly poached and their population continued to plummet. In 2005, FNPF founder, veterinary I Gede Nyoman Bayu Wirayudha, estimated there were fewer than 10 birds left in the wild at the Bali National Park, the bird’s native home.

After thorough studies on the environmental situation between the West Bali National Park and Nusa Penida, as many as 70 first-generation Bali Starlings were released throughout Nusa Penida from 2007. The latest FNPF data shows that there are currently more than 100 starlings living in the wild, some of which have even flown across to the neighboring Nusa Lembongan island.

The Manager of the FNPF base camp in Ped village on Nusa Penida, Si Nyoman Sukarta, acknowledged the challenges faced during the early establishment period on the island.

“At first, it wasn’t easy to introduce the concept of conservation to the Nusa Penida villagers, who had never even heard of the term.” Sukarta recalled the first two years of the program was spent approaching the 40 villages to gain agreement on the creation of an awig-awig (traditional law) to prohibit the capturing of wild birds. The awig-awig stipulates that anyone capturing wild birds on Nusa Penida would have to pay a penalty worth the market price of the birds and release the captured birds into the wild again. They would also be obliged to make a public apology.

“We assured the villagers that the presence of the Bali Starling would eventually grow tourism on the island and thus generate more income for them,” said Sukarta. He stated that in recent years, the island has indeed started welcoming more local and foreign visitors, while some of the villagers have also discovered new sources of income, such as tour-guiding. The six people employed at the FNPF center are also local villagers.

FNPF also embraces the community through various programs, including providing scholarships for students from each of the villages, building water catchments, land reforestation, distribution of free saplings to village communities and promoting the island’s traditional cepuk cloth weaving. In addition, financial rewards worth Rp 1 million are also disbursed to every village that continues to support the conservation project.

“I love this island and I truly believe in this project. It would be very hard if we only supported the wildlife, without involving the community. Protection comes first and foremost from the locals,” said the sanctuary’s self-proclaimed “permanent volunteer” and a retired special-education expert, Mike Appleton, 60, who has called Nusa Penida home for the past year, unwilling to return to his native United Kingdom.

By Agnes Winarti 
Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post, Friday, May 04 2012

Seaweed yields to slump

For the past five years, seaweed harvests on Nusa Penida island have been decreasing due to the extreme changes of climate and the declining quality of the seeds.

“We estimate that this year Nusa Penida will continue to experience reduced production due to the ongoing extreme changes of climate,” head of Bali Marine and Fishery Agency, Made Gunaja, told the Bali Daily on Monday.

Bali has a total of 700 hectares of seaweed farms, 80 percent of which are located in the district of Nusa Penida, which also includes Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan islands. Last year, the Nusa Penida district produced around 141,863 tons of seaweed, a decline from the production of 152,226 tons in 2007.

The largest seaweed collector in Nusa Penida, Wayan Nurada, 64, recently lamented the production slump. “We have been seeing reduced production over the past five years. We used to buy some 200 tons of seaweed from the farmers of Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan every month. But lately we can only buy around 75 tons per month,” said Nurada, who with his wife, Made Alep, has been ruling the seaweed trade in Nusa Penida since its cultivation started in 1984.

Seaweed farmer I Made Raja, who owns a 70-square-meter farm in Banjar Bodong, Ped village, acknowledged that he could only harvest half of the amount he had usually harvested in the past. “Especially in the dry season, the seaweed does not grow normally and much of it dies before being harvested,” said Raja, whose monthly production of 400 kg could shrink to only 200 kg.

Raja, like most other farmers, prefers to replant the buds from his own crop because buying new seaweed seedlings costs too much. A knot of spinosum seed costs Rp 5,000 (US 0.5 cents), while a knot of katoni seed is tagged at Rp 15,000. “For a 70-square-meter plot, I would have to buy 200 knots. I can’t afford that,” said Raja, who earns between Rp 500,000 and Rp 800,000 a month.

Gunaja pointed out that the practice had resulted in a reduced quality in the harvest saying, “The seaweed has become vulnerable to disease and to extreme changes of weather.”

“We hope that the farmers will keep in mind a more sustainable practice of cultivation through planting new seedlings,” said Gunaja, expecting that farmers would leave one third of their farming plots in Nusa Penida to specifically cultivate seedlings. The agency last year initiated seedling cultivation at a smaller seaweed farm in Kuta.

Monitoring the quality of water in the coastal area where all the seaweed farms are located is also necessary, according to environmental observer I Wayan Suarna, the former director of the environmental research center of Udayana University in Denpasar. “There should be a routine monitoring of the quality of water in the region, to measure the amount of phosphates and nitrates, sedimentation and pollution, all of which may disrupt the growth of seaweed,” said Suarna. Founder of local environmental NGO, the Wisnu Foundation, I Made Suarnatha, also warned of escalating levels of chlorine that may pollute the water surrounding the three islands, due to the rapid growth of tourism, especially in the neighboring Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan.

In addition to the issues of climate change and seed cultivation, Nusa Penida seaweed farmers have for decades been facing a problematic situation concerning the unstable price of their crops. The agency’s head of crop processing and marketing division, Agung Sanjaya, acknowledged, “It’s truly difficult for us to interfere in the established ‘godfather-like’ seaweed trading system in Nusa Penida.”

“However, we will try to help strengthen the farmers associations by providing capital for the farmers through loans without collateral and subsidizing the seedling price. But that also remains difficult to implement because farmers prefer to get quick funds from the moneylenders,” said Sanjaya.

By Agnes Winarti 
Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post Tuesday, May 01 2012

Seaweed farmers bear the ebb-and-flow of price and tides

Not only dealing with nature’s tidal ebb and flow, the tough seaweed farmers of Nusa Penida Island, southeast of Bali, have been putting up with the unpredictable price of their harvests for decades.

A resident of the coastline of Nusa Penida, 73-year-old Wayan Repung, has been harvesting seaweed for the past 30 years, and, until today, he continues doing so alongside his wife, Ketut Kanthi.

“Our age should have forced us to stop working, yet the situation has made us do otherwise,” bare-chested grandpa Repung smiled radiantly despite the hardships showing off his toothless gums, as he dried his seaweed harvest under the scorching heat of the sun one afternoon near his home in Suana village.

Sunset chore: A Nusa Penida seaweed farmer repairs the net that secures her plants when the tide ebbs. In the background is Mt. Agung, the island’s holiest mountain. BD/Agung Parameswara



As their earnings are simply enough for one day’s meals, 60-year-old Kanthi added, “How can we stop working if our stomachs are empty?” The couple could only ensure that their two now-adult children completed junior high school as higher education was just too expensive to pay for from the seaweed harvests alone.

Just like the couple, dadong (grandma) Ni Nengah Lagri, a resident of banjar Bodong in Ped village, who is fondly called the Iron Grannie by her neighbors, keeps returning to the sea as the tide recedes during harvest time. “I’ve just harvested this morning at 4 a.m.,” said the hunch-backed grannie, who has no idea of her actual age.

Over the past decades, the dozens of kilometers of seaweed farms — beginning at Toya Pakeh village and ending at Suana village along the western to eastern coastline of the secluded Nusa Penida — have served as the backbone revenue generator for the villagers, yet to some extent, it is failing to improve their basic quality of life.

“Seaweed prices have always changed drastically. Although seaweed farming is the main economic activity on this island, we can never count on it alone,” said Nyoman Sukarta, a seaweed farmer for eight years, who sent two of his four children through university. He could only achieve this because he also earns an income from his cattle and a 16-hectare coconut tree farm.

Spinosum (eucheuma spinosum) and katoni (eucheuma cottonii) are the two most sought after seaweed types on the island.

In a banjar (local neighborhood organization) owned by farmer Nyoman Carti, spinosum fetches Rp 4,200 per kilogram, while katoni brings in Rp 7,000 per kg. “Last year, katoni went up to Rp 12,000 per kg,” said Carti.

All the farmers pointed out that their hardships were due to the fact that they have no say in determining the selling price, as all prices are controlled by the collectors and tengkulak (middlemen), who are often also loan sharks. When facing cash shortages, farmers borrow money from the tengkulak because the island’s only Village Cooperative Unit (KUD) does not function, thus the entangled situation weakens the farmers’ bargaining position.

Nusa Penida’s seaweed farming was initiated in 1984 by the Jungutbatu villagers of the neighboring Nusa Lembongan Island after seeds were distributed there by some seaweed businesspeople from Surabaya, recalled Made Alep, the largest seaweed collector in Nusa Penida who owns a 300-ton capacity warehouse in banjar Batumulapan in Suana village.

“After the first harvests in Lembongan were purchased by the businessmen, the news of how seaweed could provide quick cash spread fast among villagers here. Within that same year, the entire Nusa Penida coastline, from east to west, turned into seaweed farms,” added Wayan Nurada, Alep’s husband. Prior to the emergence of seaweed farming, villagers of the arid Nusa Penida mostly earned irregular incomes from selling cattle and farming corn, cassava and other harvests that depend heavily on the rainy season.

Most of the seaweed harvests of Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan are purchased by the husband-and-wife team of Alep and Nurada, who have dominated the seaweed trading business since 1984. They sell hundreds of tons of seaweed on a monthly basis to traders in Surabaya and Jakarta that export the processed harvests to China, Japan, France and the United States. Spinosum seaweed is an ingredient used in cooking in China, while katoni is processed into seaweed flour for various industries, including cosmetics, medicine and food.

Alep acknowledged that competition is tightening nowadays due to a rise in other local collectors who trade with businesses in Jakarta and Surabaya after the opening of the ferry port in Mentigi-Kutampi.

Nurada blamed the uncertain demand from Surabaya and Jakarta, as well as the low quality of harvests, as the main cause of the fluctuating prices. “We pay a high price only if the harvests have been dried correctly, resulting in the ideal 24 percent water content. We have received harvests that are insufficiently dried and sometimes even mixed with trash,” said Nurada. Buying wet harvests would be expensive, because after his workers dried the seaweed the remaining volume would shrink up to 45 percent.

Despite having applied the correct harvest-drying procedure to reach the expected export quality, farmers said they still had to put up with drastic price fluctuations. “Five years ago, we dried the harvests correctly, but the prices remained unsteady. So now, farmers just sell the harvests whenever the price is seen to be suitable,” said Sukarta.

“The trade politics of seaweed here is fierce. We need the presence of stronger investors to compete against this couple that have been monopolizing the trade here,” said another Nusa Penida resident Wayan Suryanta, who quit farming seaweed to work for the island’s Bali Starling bird sanctuary.

Nowadays, many of the seaweed farmers are the elderly, while younger residents prefer to search for work in the city of Denpasar or transmigrate to Sumbawa or Sumatra.

By Agnes Winarti 
Photograph by Agung Parameswara 
Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post Monday, April 30 2012

I Nyoman Adi Saputra : Breathing new life

By Agnes Winarti 

Photo taken by Agung Parameswara

Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post  | April 16, 2012

I Nyoman Adi Saputra

After working in the hotel business in Denpasar from 2000 to 2006, I Nyoman Adi Saputra, 31, returned to his home in Tunjuk village, Tabanan regency, to dedicate himself to being an elementary school English teacher. Upon returning home, Nyoman also reignited his childhood passion as a Wayang Wong performer, part of his heritage as a member of the Pasak Gede Bendesa clan. This time, he is bringing along youngsters to follow in his path to preserve one of Bali’s most precious performing arts legacies.

Wayang Wong is an ancient form of masked dance usually performing stories taken from the great Hindu epic Ramayana. It is both a wali (sacred art performed only in religious context and settings), and a bebali (performing art that can be staged for entertainment purposes). Its popularity as a bebali dance has steadily decreased, primarily due to the language barrier — Wayang Wong uses the ancient Javanese Kawi as its primary language.

Here are excerpts of his views on the preservation of Wayang Wong in Tunjuk village as he shared with Bali Daily’s Agnes Winarti recently.

Question: Why do you believe your Wayang Wong is sacred? 

Answer: Wayang Wong is performed in our clan temple to complete religious ceremonies or Yadnya. We call it the wali (sacred) dance, because it is not staged for entertainment purposes, although people can watch the performance. We hold a special ceremony before Wayang Wong can be performed outside our own temple, for example, at the Tabanan Arts Festival.

How have you initiated the revitalization of your clan’s Wayang Wong?

I myself have been performing Wayang Wong since I was a fourth-grade student in elementary school. I was the only kid allowed to perform, because I kept crying if the elders forbade me. I started playing a small role as a monkey soldier, then, at the age of 17, I was promoted to play in the key roles of Hanoman, Rama and Rawana. After graduating from senior high school, I joined both Wayang Wong and Wayang Kulit shadow puppet groups. Afterwards, I continued to invite more youngsters, including my nephews and nieces, to join in Wayang Wong.

From 1987 to 1992, our clan’s Wayang Wong troupe entered a quiet period. There wasn’t a single performance during that time because the dancers, who were quite old, were in low spirits and did not want to perform.

Finally, we (the younger generation) begged the elders to change their policy on who could perform in Wayang Wong. Now, little kids can perform after they have undergone a special religious purification ceremony. We have just started this regeneration recently, in the past four years. Now, we welcome kids as young as 10 years old to play both as performers or penabuh (music players).

Interestingly, after the young dancers began their training, the senior dancers started returning to the troupe. Apparently, the spirit showed by the kids inspired our older performers.

In previous years, why was there no regeneration?

The children had only limited interest in performing because Wayang Wong is regarded as tenget (highly charged with supernatural power that could hurt performers unless they are blessed by the gods first). Kids could not even touch the gamelan musical instruments, so they could not participate.

How did you develop the interest of these kids to join in?

We recruit those who can dance and sing, talk with them and convince them to join Wayang Wong training. We continue to support those who are talented; we ask their parents’ permission too. The training is not that long, two or three training sessions and then they are ready to perform. Usually, those who are talented grasp the essence very quickly. We usually place those who are still training in small assisting roles that can use a mix of languages, or have less dialogue interaction with other performers. During training, we allow new performers to use a mix of Balinese, Indonesian and Kawi languages.  For the young monkey warriors, we give them a few simple Kawi words to say during the performance so they only need to memorize a little. Then the kids aren’t over-burdened and frustrated due to the language difficulties. Our first goal is to build their interest in Wayang Wong, make them happy and enjoy performing it.

Honestly, we still don’t have enough youngsters. Our current performances are played by 12-15 people, instead of the ideal 20 dancers. We are still looking for more talent, and we are not exclusively seeking people from inside the clan. We welcome anyone who wishes to join our group, even if they are from outside our village.

How crucial is the ability to use Jawa Kuna or Kawi language in the Wayang Wong dialogue?

Anyone who plays the central roles, such as Rama, Sita and Laksamana, must have full ability in Bahasa Kawi, which is a complex language. The Wayang Wong format requires the use of Jawa Kuna or Kawi. But not all people or spectators understand the language, which is why we have the punakawan (court jester and advisor) characters, such as Sangut, Delem, Merda and Twalen that will interpret the main actors’ Kawi dialogue into Balinese, Indonesian, or even English. This is why the punakawan roles are still played by the more senior performers, who have a better knowledge of vocabulary than children.

How optimistic are you that this breakthrough will help preserve Wayang Wong?

I’m quite confident that this legacy can be preserved. We will keep going with this way of preservation. Welcoming child performers into the Wayang Wong, I believe, has only been done in our village. We received warm applause when these youngsters performed in the 2010 Tabanan Arts Festival. Other villages were still featuring Wayang Wong performers of over 60 years old.

They were amazed to see that their grandchildren’s generation can perform as well. Hopefully other villages will follow our path. Wayang Wong is such a precious legacy dating back to the 18th century. It’s not that we are disrespecting its sacredness, we just want to preserve it. How else can we achieve that, if not by letting the children take part? If we don’t do this, 10 years from now, nobody will be performing this art form anymore.