The Last Entry

The number of days I have left in Indonesia is dwindling to an end. At present, I’m back in Bali enjoying the sun in the pleasant little town of Padang Bai, and killing time until my flight out from Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport.

I’ve had a great experience the past months travelling through Indonesia and taking a more focused look at the tourism industry in Java, Bali, and Lombok. It’s been very informative speaking with people involved in so many diverse aspects of the travel sector and to see the progress of various responsible travel initiatives. Implementing projects is not always easy, and the outcomes are sometimes different than originally intended, but there is something to be said for all the hard work and creativity being applied to try and improve tourism.

In this last blog entry, I’d like to mention an innovative organization called Wild Asia who is working to promote sustainable tourism throughout Southeast Asia. I first discovered the Wild Asia website before I left for this trip while I was searching for information on responsible traveling in Indonesia.

As I mentioned, it isn’t always easy to implement programs geared toward sustainability, but what Wild Asia does is provide the resources - print, multi-media, and video information, as well as inspiration, to help travel businesses do just this. Each year the Responsible Tourism Awards they host promotes best practices. By recognizing tour operators working towards responsible tourism Wild Asia is providing a showcasing of positive ideas that other operators can then think about adopting. Wild Asia is also involved with projects at the local level such as seed grant programs and other sustainable agriculture initiatives. And, while Wild Asia helps and encourages tourism businesses to adopt responsible practices, they also do an excellent job promoting responsible travel through online articles and a RT resource library.

So, of course I was excited to find their website, and I contacted the Responsible Travel Coordinator, Rebecca. I explained to her the project I was doing and she was happy to send me some useful information materials. Not to mention, further inspection of their website provided a great resource to learn about various responsible travel initiatives in SEA, and to read entries in the resource library about other people’s experiences travelling through Indonesia. I decided while I was travelling to also submit some entries to Wild Asia, to further add to their library. A site like this is a great way for travelers to participate and share information on places and organizations demonstrating responsible travel characteristics, which was one of my original goals with “The Exotic Durain.”

Anyway, check out their site at:

That’s it for the blog. Or maybe, I should say “to be continued …” at some future date unknown ;)

P.S. If anyone would like to see additional photos of my trip they are located on Flickr for "travelbaxter"

Lazy Days on Gili Air

I only spent one day on Gili T., then took an island hopping boat to Gili Air, a more laid back and less developed island. It’s easy to get stuck on Gili Air, which I did. This island still maintains mostly bamboo huts, like the one I stayed in ...

While staying on the island I did my best to minimize the resources I used and the trash I created. This meant quick showers, refilling a water bottle at local restaurants, and if I did generate any trash (paper, broken headphones, etc.) I took it with me when I left the island. I spent tranquil days reading in a hammock, tanning on the beach, and I went snorkeling for the first time in my life. I went with guide from the guest house where I was staying and we rented snorkels and fins from a local vender. Amazing. Internet access is so slow to the point of being useless (which explains the delay in posting these entries), but I did have a chance to look up some eco-snorkeling tips before my original departure. Like, many websites giving eco-advice, these tips seem obvious, but then you see the pictures of people holding up the coral they found … anyway, here’s the link.

(Gili Air)

There are far fewer visitors that stay on Gili Air. While Gili Trawangan has a community group called SATGAS managing the community’s and tourist’s interests, the only type of local authority on Gili Air and Meno is from the local village head who handles disputes. At this time I’m not sure if any waste management programs have been started? Most of the places are still locally owned, but two professional dive schools have opened on Gili Air, as well as a few upscale establishments. One place even tries to appeal to visitors by offering a “gym.”

On my last day on Gili Air, and the Gili islands in general, I sign up for a full day glass bottom boat tour of the three islands. I was also able to visit Gili Meno for the first time. From what I understand most visitors to Meno, especially during the offseason, are just day visitors. I went with an Italian couple, a German couple, and the Indonesian 2 men who operate the boat to various snorkeling places around the islands. Their boat, along with a few other glass bottom boats originating from the other islands, tie up to a pre-arranged anchored buoy – so everyone is snorkeling at the same spot. We end up seeing several turtles, brightly colored fishes, and at one location a large stingray quickly zooms by some meters under our feet. And, if the call to prayer seems mesmerizing to my foreign ears usually, it seems even more so when snorkeling underwater and hearing it echoing around the fishes.

It’s a Catch 22 when it comes to the fish surrounding the islands – visitors love seeing the multicolored fish, but they also love eating them. Each night the restaurants on the islands display a selection of newly caught fish available for BBQ, and served with rice and vegetables. While Gili Trawangan is trying to work with fisherman to modify their fishing methods, there is still a steady demand for fish created by tourism … and, um, I admit it’s delicious.

After several days spent on Gili Air, I finally drag myself away. Taking the slow boat away from the island, I can’t help but ponder the future of this little island. Tourism will undoubtedly increase, but I just hope the island is able to adopt some appropriate management strategies to keep the tourism industry in balance. Gili Air has such a tranquil character and rich marine environment it would be sad to see it overexploited for only short-term gain, but as the projects on Gili Trawangan demonstrate even the best intentioned sustainable development ideas can lead to problems.

The Gili Islands

I brushed away the flies and continued to wait for the boat. Other passengers dozed on the nearby benches. Farm women waited outside with woven baskets brimming with food. This food was destined for island restaurants - short juicy bananas, spiky bunches of pineapples, unknown greens, buckets of fish, and one lady held a chicken by its feet. From where I sat, melting into a bench in the Indonesian noontime heat, I could clearly see brown naked boys laughing and jumping off docked boats into the clear blue water of the sea. This is the tiny port of Bangsal, a departure point for the Gili islands – Gili Air, Gili Meno, and Gili Trawangan – off the Northeast shore of Lombok. To reach the Gilis one can either go the slow and cheap way, a public boat from Bangsal, or the fast and expensive way, a speed boat from Bali (well, relatively expensive- $20 versus .50 cents).

The Gilis look like a slice of paradise with their impressively blue clear water, bamboo huts, horse drawn wagons (no motor vehicles are allowed on the islands). Located in the waters off the NW corner of Lombok, the Gili islands remained uninhabited until fisherman from nearby islands started setting up homes, and starting coconut plantations. Rumor has it that a German travel writer visited during the 1980s, and this is what led to the development of tourism on the island. Originally guests would just stay in the homes of villagers, but tourism has since grown and all the islands offer hotels, guest houses, and restaurants.

The first place I visit is Gili Trawangan. Many of the bamboo huts on this island have been replaced with more solid and posh establishments, but there is still a relaxed beach vibe – at least during the day, during the nighttime Gili T. is known for its party reputation. Walking around the island there was a fair amount of building going on, and places planned for hotels – like “Eden Edge,” though when I walked past it didn’t look particularly Eden-ish. This island is also supposed to be the smallest island in the world with its own Irish pub.

(Eden's Edge - said completion "2008"?!?)

While the other two islands have remained more rustic and less “spoiled”, Gili Trawangan’s popularity has led it to become the most developed and pricey of the three islands. The island is home to several foreign owned dive schools and up market hotels established by international business interests. Gili Trawangan has also become the subject of several case studies discussing sustainable tourism. In particular, I found an excellent 4pg article discussing “What Hinders the Path to Sustainability?” The paper discussed several of the barriers the island faces and what actions have been taken.

In brief, the dive schools organized the Gili Trawangan Eco-trust and started charging divers a tax of about $3. The collected money then went to projects to repair damaged coral by using metal rods to create artificial reef, paying fisherman not to fish using explosives and other environmentally dangerous methods, organizing beach cleanups, and running a waste management disposal program. However, from the theory stage to implementation the projects hit snags due to various barriers like lack of resources, education, and motivation. I did witness the rods still in place helping to re-grow reef, but many fisherman continue using explosives and damaging the marine environment. The beach cleanups had organizational problems and ended up fizzling out, and the waste management system without the proper knowledge ended up being just a large dumping pit. The walls put up around the pit were stolen, and the big open pit ended up breeding rodents and disease. However, this took place on the interior island, where most tourists don’t venture.

Trekking at Gunung Rinjani

The gigantic Rinjani volcano dominates the small island of Lombok. It reaches to the hight of 3726m and is the second largest volcano in all of Indonesia. Tourists, Travelers, and pilgrims climb this holy mountain, which usually takes four to five days of intense hiking. However, not me!

It’s true, I really hate climbing mountains, even if this is a good example of well managed community-based tourism. So instead, I will leisurely sip my coffee at a pleasant café, where I can see and appreciate Gunung Rinjani, while still being able to write this entry from the comfiness of civilization :)

(Here's a pic provided by Wikipedia)

Besides reading that Rinjani is a good form of community based tourism in a guidebook and hearing positive word of mouth recommendations, I also discovered that the APEIS (Asia-Pacific Environmental Innovation Strategies) lists the Rinjani program in their summary of best tourism practices. The community based tourism management program at Gunung Rinjani was implemented through the funding of New Zealand Aid, the Indonesian National Park Service, and the West Lombok Tourism Office.

Most trekkers follow a route that takes them from the town of Senaru (West) to Sembalun Lawang (East). There are two information centers set up where visitors can arrange treks, the Rinjani Trek Center-RTC in Senaru and the Rinjani Information Center-RIC in Sembalun Lawang. The centers use a rotation system so that all qualified trekking guides get their turn, and the same trek packages at the same fixed prices are offered at both.

Behind the scenes, to develop the tourism at Rinjani the different participating communities were given a needs assessment survey. The results of this survey were used for developing capacity building programs in obvious activities like guide training, cooking, and improving English, but also for related tourism aspects like screen printing for souvenir tee-shirts, training for cultural performances, women’s weaving, handicraft production, and general management/bookkeeping ideas. A Rinjani Trek Newsletter was developed to share information with all the various stakeholders, and updates on how the revenue generated from the trekking is being channeled back into education and conservation programs to help the local environment and communities – thus sustaining tourism for the long term.

www.info2lombok.com

The Pondok Pekak Library and Learning Center

On my final day in Ubud, I spend a leisurely day visiting the Pondok Pekak Library and Learning Center. Named after a priest/healer from the area, Pondok Pekak roughly means “Gradfather’s little resting house in the rice fields.” Located near the large (and only) football field in town, the center offers a relaxing place to spend an afternoon. The center was started in 1995 primarily as an expat library, but has expanded their focus into encouraging local kids in the “love of reading” mentality. This led to the development in 2001 of a children’s library with books in Indonesian and English. As their brochure attests, and I can well believe, they have a collection of over 10,000 books in a wide range of topics including Indonesian, Balinese, and SEA studies.

An on-sight learning center offers traditional music and dance classes, woodcarving lessons, Indonesian language courses, etc. Plus there is a restaurant, tours can be arranged, and water bottles refilled for a minimal charge. The library has become self-sustaining because of these services and programs offered to tourists.

It’s at this center that I finally find a copy (actually 2 copies) of the Natural Guide to Bali – a guidebook that I had read about online, but could never seem to find. This guidebook is unique as it rates places based on how traveler-friendly, nature-friendly, and community friendly they are. Basically, it’s trying to appeal to more conscious travelling, and letting people go beyond the price when choosing a guesthouse, restaurant, or a sightseeing activity.

Selecting a few books, I find a cozy place to read on the 2^nd floor of the building.

In the evening I decide to try the Bali Buddha cafe listed in the Natural Guide to Bali book. In the book it gave the restaurant/organic health food store extra points for a project they run called ABC solutions, a waste management program they organize with local households and small tourist operations to collect recyclable waste, sort it, then transport it to the Denpasar recycling facility. They charge roughly $5 US a month for the service, so provides a good service to the community as well as providing extra income for their business which is visited mostly by tourists and expats.

The restaurant is located above the organic food store, so is rather small in size – about 10 tables and another room that acts as a sitting/waiting room full of couches. When I arrived the restaurant was full, but by the time my food arrived I had found a vacated table next to an interesting faux-wall made up of linked together wind chimes. I have to agree with the guidebook, the food is very good and healthy, while going that extra step to provide a valuable community service within the area.

Ubud’s Sacred Monkey Forest

On my second day in Ubud, I walk to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary on the far South side of town. This tourist attraction is run by the Padangtegal village, and contains local holy temples – and it really does have a lot of monkeys.

There are three holy temples in the forest. The first is the Holy Bathing Temple, its use is pretty self explanatory, and it’s located next to a stream. The second is a large temple called Pura Dalem Agung, and the third is a cremation temple that’s located next to a graveyard. One must pay careful attention when walking around these temples, since monkeys really are everywhere – I almost tripped over quite a few (probably not the best interaction between a human and the revered monkeys of the “sacred monkey forest”. ) Staff in green outfits stand around the park, and give guidance on feeding the monkeys. I asked one of the staffers how many monkeys are in the park. “Over 300.”

The Sacred Monkey Forest is run by a council called The Padantegal Wenara Wana foundation, and different stakeholders and village members serve on the council. Their goal is to maintain the sacredness and culture of the area, while promoting it to domestic and international visitors. No easy task, as tourism has jumped from 800 a month in 1986 to around 10,000 visitors a month at present. While the early morning and late afternoons are fairly quiet, the temple receives a large amount of tour buses during the day. Here are the 3 goals of the foundation, as listed on their website:

· Educating people about the importance of conserving the Sacred Monkey Forest's natural and cultural resources.

• Maintaining a team of highly trained staff members that are responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the Sacred Monkey Forest.

• Monitoring and whenever necessary restoring the integrity of the Sacred Monkey Forest's natural and cultural resources.
  
  
• Unfortunately, due to the rainy weather my pictures of the place weren’t that great, but if you’d like to see the monkeys here is a video someone youtubed.
  

So, is this an example of responsible tourism? Unfortunately, the information office next to the forest was closed when I visited. The only thing I saw besides some darkened and locked offices were cheeky looking monkeys hanging out on the balcony nearby. I asked Sherry, the Ubud expat I met, about the forest and she did mention the local village was benefiting economically from the tourism. Environmentally, tourism has created a reason to protect the woods and animals inside – though with all the bananas being handed out the monkey community seems to have expanded disproportionately with the size of the forest. And what about socially, what are the effects of this site as a tourist attraction – does it still maintain a cultural meaning to Padangtegal village???

www.monkeyforestubud.com

Meeting Sherry

As I mentioned, there are quite a few expats living in Ubud. Before arriving I’d been in contact with Sherry, who used to write for the Inside Indonesia (www.insideindonesia.org) online magazine. While she has moved into more translation and editing work, she still sat down to talk with me at Three Monkeys Café, located just a few blocks away from the Monkey Forest.

Canadian by birth, she’s lived in Indonesia for over 10 years and almost 8 ½ of those years in Ubud, Bali. Sherry has helped with the organizing part of several alternative tourism programs, and has worked as a communication facilitator between groups and locals. Sitting down with her, I got to hear some interesting stories about taking a group through Papua to talk with the local tribes people in the Baliem valley. Closer to home, she also discussed the challenges of village home stays in Bali. From the tourist perspective, she explains, “they want a genuine experience, not someone trying to sell them something.” From the perspective of those just beginning to operate local homestays, many were a bit shy and embarrassed about hosting visitors in their humble home. In addition, while some go on pilgrimages, very few travel for the sake of travelling, and it is still a foreign concept, especially in villages, to go to a place with no set purpose, but just to observe. In a creative activity Sherry helped arrange, they took the tour group and the villagers running the home stay to the Bali bird park. This allowed both parties to interact together, and for the villagers to get a glimpse of what it was like being a tourist.

Another interesting pointer I received from Sherry is the importance of stories. From her observation at the local level, many of the community created programs that last are the places that integrate a story and connect with their visitors. For example, just taking visitors to a village doesn’t produce a connection. Even taking visitors to a village and pointing out different trees, plants, etc. doesn’t produce a connection. However, going that next step of taking visitors to a village, and integrating stories people can relate too, and pointing out trees and plants but explaining their use from a cultural standpoint is more likely to engage visitors.

It was an enjoyable time sitting down and talking with Sherry, and she offered some very interesting insights about developing tourism initiatives at the local level.

Threads of Life

The town of Ubud seems like a contradiction to the sun and sand tourism of the Southern Bali. Here is the cultural hub of Bali, where traditions and art on display, though the town seems as equally developed as the popular tourist areas farther South. The central part of Ubud is full of homestays, restaurants - many offering organic fair, and boutiques. These chic little boutiques sell upscale versions of local arts and crafts. Ubud used to be a much smaller village, but its popularity as a tourism destination caused the village to grow and absorb some of the neighboring villages. To support this expansion many rice fields were developed into hotels and home stays, though Ubud is still a very popular place to take walks, or bike rides, around the scenic surrounding area. I’m also noticing it is a popular place for expats, and sign postings for apartments to rent are common on all the billboards.

One slight hassle I am noticing, every 3^rd person appears to be a pseudo-taxi driver. In Ubud, there aren’t many official taxi cars, but these pseudo-taxi drivers offer rides in private vehicles and on the back of motorcycles. It’s a regular soundtrack when one tries to walk anywhere, “taxi?”, “you need taxi?”, “taxi, miss?”

On one of my ventures around town I discover the “Threads of Life” Indonesian Textile Arts Center off a quiet street in the far North part of town. Proudly displayed on the glass window near the entrance is a letter and certificate from Islands magazine nominating the center as part of their December 2007 issue "Blue-List of 100 Responsible Tourism Attractions." There is also a seal of approval from the International Fare Trade Association displayed on the sliding glass door into the cool air-conditioned building.

The Threads of Life center works with weaving associations on 9 different islands, and showcases products at the center in Bali. I look around the store at the different textiles, each includes a name tag that describes the item, its traditional use, and who it was tied by, dyed by, and woven by. As the store clerk lady proudly points out, not only are all the textiles produced laboriously by hand, but the dyes used are sustainably and naturally produced.

As she tells me, Threads of Life works to help each weaving center based on their individual needs. At some associations they help train weavers in order management, quality control, and bookkeeping. At others, the focus is on reaching a broader domestic and international market. Since 2005 the group has been organizing a yearly conference, the Nusantara Weaver’s Festival, to join these women from the different programs in one place where they can discuss their craft with other weavers. At the center a DVD of the conference plays continuously on the small TV in one corner of the room.

As a tourism student, I’ve found it particularly interesting how they’ve combined tourism in with the weaving program and shop. At the center they offer classes and workshops that teach about textiles, and how to make them. At a full day Batik workshop they offer, participants pick their own leaves for coloring, and watch the preparation of the indigo vat and paste. They then learn to hand-draw designs on cloth, and dye and re-dye their cloth. There is an even longer program that involves an 8 to 14 day trip around Bali that visit weaving programs and delves into the socio-cultural links.

The Threads of Life organization seems to be doing very positive work to impact the environment, society, and economy of those involved in the weaving programs. In particular, the program encourages sustainable dye plant use and handspun thread, which promotes organic farming of cotton and indigo and avoids chemical dyes. The program also encourages pride in culture through the act of making the traditional fabrics, which are then promoted as an art form – and sold at similar prices, thus generating revenue that goes back to the weavers and their families.

If you’d like to learn more about the organization, here is their contact information:

Threads of Life
Jalan Kajeng 24, Ubud
www.threadsoflife.com
tac@threadsoflife.com

Mangrove Information Center

When I visit the PPLH Bali center, the coordinator mentions that they sometimes take kids to the Mangrove Information Center on the South side of town. Curious, I decide to stop here next.

A mangrove doesn’t refer to a specific type of tree, but instead to any group of trees that grow between the high tide and low tide water lines. I find this out, and more, in the display cases arranged around the Mangrove Information Center. The center, which works to teach the public about mangroves, is another project supported by the Japanese organization JICA. This is the same organization that funds programs with the Indonesian National Park System, such as Gunung Halimun and Ujung Kulon NPs.

These coastal areas around Bali became particularly at risk as tourism started booming in the 1970s. As part of the coastal eco-system they prevent land erosion, and provide a safe harbor for fish to grow, they also provide ideal places for hotels and restaurants where one can sip mojitos and stare out at the sea. In 1992 this particular mangrove forest was designated as “Tahura” – grand forest park, and in 1993-1999 JICA and the Indonesian Department of Forestry started The Development of Sustainable Mangrove Management Project. This project resulted in data collection about the mangrove forest and the birds, crabs, and other wildlife that live inside. A nursery was also established to provide seedlings for the rehabilitation.

(The nursery)

While this project did result in rehabilitation of portions of the Mangrove forest, the deforestation going on was to a greater extent. That’s why from 2001-2006 JICA and the Forestry department decided to engage in a second project, The Mangrove Information Centre Project. This project focused on awareness through environmental education as well as an ecotourism aspect. The third and newest project, The Sub-Sectoral Programme on Mangrove, is currently underway from 2007-2010 and acts as a follow up to the other two programs by focusing on maintenance and resource monitoring. The lobby of the MIC clearly explains the work of all these projects, as well as a mini diorama of the Mangrove forest with original forest in dark green and rehabilitated area in light green. I continued my stroll through the center which includes several exhibit rooms talking about the function of Mangroves in the ecosystem and has large aquariums that mimic the mangrove habitat with creatures crawling around inside.

(Crab wildlife in the Mangrove Forest)

At the center I meet Yuni, Assistant Expert of JICA in Museum Management. She tells me about the different environmental education programs and the incorporation of ecotourism into the forestry management strategies. The MIC and nearby boardwalk were both created in 2003 and currently receive about 6,000 domestic guests a year, mostly students and teachers. Special projects are also held at the center, such as summer camps and a weeklong Mangrove Arts festival. At the festival local sculptures, painters, and cooks are invited to the Mangrove forest to find inspiration in the year’s theme (last year’s was “Hidden Beauty”). Then people from around the community come to see the art exhibits, and view/sample products from the cooking displays that use products from the forest. On the wall near to where we are talking, I can see the finalist from a kids drawing contest also held.

While the number of international visitors is much smaller, closer to 500 a year, many people come who have a special interest in the forest, like bird watching. Two tall hides have been built to cater to bird watchers. A 3km long trail winds through the mangrove forest, very solitary and silent except for the noises of nature one would expect. Acting as a barrier between the land and the sea, the Mangrove forest does suffer problems from rubbish being trapped among the roots. I had a very peaceful walk along the boardwalk, but as the sky began to darken I decided to come back early.

The Mangrove Information Center and hiking trail is located at:

Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai km.21
Suwung Kauh Denpasar, Bali
62-361-726969
micjica@indosat.net.id

PPLH Bali

Tourism in Bali – one could write a book on that subject. Actually, there are 395 currently on Amazon when you type in “Bali Tourism.” This array of books ranges from tourism guides, to more academic materials discussing the impacts of having the island’s economy interlaced with tourism, as well as the crushing effects of the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005.

From Gilimanuk, Java, I took a ferry across the straight to reach the island of Bali. From there buses travel past the scenic Western side of Bali and into the more developed Southern part of the island. When I visited the PPLH Center in East Java, the staff mentioned there was another center located in Bali, so I decide to check it out on my visit to the island. The center is in Sanur, a small beach town on the Southeast coast of Bali.

While the PPLH Bali environmental education center was formerly based at Hotel Santai, the hotel turned into a dive school, so the center moved about 6 months ago. The PPLH Bali center is now located at a quiet building on Jl. Hang Tuah Street. When I turn up at the new center, I’m warmly welcomed by Imade Hariana. Imade works to run and coordinate the programs at PPLH Bali. He admits it’s a smaller operation than the one in East Java, so instead of bringing people to their center, the staff travels to them.

Currently, the center operates a “Green School” program where they visit 5^th graders at 3 local schools once a week to introduce the environment and its problems to the kids. They also have other programs where they visit schools farther away for 2-3 day programs that teach about how to treat the environment and coastal areas. Partners of PPLH Bali include other local and international NGOs. They work with the foundation branch of the P.A.D.I. organization, which gives licenses to divers, in order to produce books on sea life to pass out. PPLH Bali also works with the Bali International Women’s Association, who sponsored a book on water monitoring using bio indicators. The book includes different animals to look for in order to determine the health of the water. Staff from PPLH goes with a “Green Team” of selected kids from local schools and try to identify the bio indicating animals in local water sources. This provides an interactive way for local children to learn about the health of the nearby water sources, with the goal being that these kids will then educate their friends.

Imade explains that environmental education currently isn’t a mandatory part of the school curriculum, so PPLH has also organized a group whose name loosely translates to, “Teachers Who Care about the Environment.” The group then discusses how to integrate environmental education into the class room as well as creative ways to keep kids interested. While I’m speaking with him, several young boys dressed in brown and white school uniforms stop by with a bag of empty bottles. In the Green School program, the PPLH staffers teach kids about proper waste disposal and the importance of recycling. They tell the kids how they can exchange plastic bottles and cans for cash. For those who can’t make it to the recycling center, PPLH pays them for bringing recycling to their office, and then during the afternoon the staff will drop it by the recycling center. Imade smiles as he mentions the kids are also welcome to use the onsite library and do their homework at the center, which often means helping with math problems.

While the work of PPLH Bali may not directly relate to tourism, the staff is trying to change local behaviors to the environment, which does interconnect with tourism. The growth of the tourism industry since the 1970s has created an incentive for developing land and has resulted in greater usage of natural resources. The PPLH center in Bali hopes that by educating kids about the importance and value of their environment, they will be keener to preserve and conserve it, thus producing a better place for people to visit and for them to live.

Rosa's Ecolodge

I reached the village of Sidomulyo in early afternoon by bus. The village, on the outskirts of Baluran National Park, is located in the NE corner of East Java and is home to the friendly Rosa’s Ecolodge. While most of Indonesia’s national parks consist of a rainforest environment, the Baluran NP is different in this aspect as it is savanna. The park’s fitting nickname is “Indonesia’s little bit of Africa.” Stepping off the bus I meet up with Rizal, one of the administrators of Rosa’s, who takes me on a short ride through the traditional Madurese village that skirts the park to reach the ecolodge. The cottages and main house are built in a Madurese inspired traditional style and the owners are the sociable Rosa and Rene, retirees who have expanded their house into an eco education lodge.

Though the place is small, only 8 rooms (so reserve in advance during the busy season), Rosa’s provides a very homey atmosphere. After speaking with them, it’s easy to see the owner’s dedication and concern for the surrounding area, both the park and local residents. The problems the park faces is sadly similar to other parks, illegal logging, poaching, and fishing using explosives and cyanide. The local community consists mostly of farmers who feel justified in taking the resources they need from their local environment, which they feel includes the national park. The hope of Rosa and her husband was to use the benefits of ecotourism to protect the park and develop the local community to prevent misuse of the national park. As I talk with them, I hear first hand many of the problems they face.

While Rosa and her husband’s intentions to help the park and the local area are genuine, they are struggling with “how” to make a difference. How does one stop people from just going and taking what they need from the park? How does one get locals, and park officials, to see the value of the park and to take care of it? How does one motivate villagers who are lethargic about hosting visitors? How does one train locals to take on more advanced responsibilities? And how does one find the energy to keep going?

While many villagers are set in their ways, Rosa’s Ecolodge hopes to change attitudes through education, especially by bringing awareness to the local children. All education projects are self funded from the lodge’s revenues, and include hiring rangers to speak at local schools, and taking local kids to the park’s main headquarters, about 22km away, to speak with rangers. While this environmental education center is at a smaller scale than the previous centers I visited in East Java, PPLH and Kaliandra, Rosa’s Ecolodge is working to make a difference in an area where there is little other involvement.

(Rice fields near the park)

While maybe not a “true” ecolodge, as the needs of her visitors do not always mesh with environmental sustainability, Rosa’s is certainly a comfortable place to stay with easy access to the park and a place where you know a portion of the room rates will be going back to aid the local community in various ways. Currently, Rosa is looking for an NGO, or motivated volunteers, to help in her mission to prevent damage to the park and enhance the local community.

To see Rosa’s webpage: http://www.rosasecolodge.com/

Margo Utomo Agro Resort

Unlike traditional mass tourism, agro tourism is an interesting niche industry that allows visitors to learn more about the agriculture products of a place, as well as the interconnection of these goods – both in production and use - within the local community. After leaving Mt. Bromo I had the opportunity to visit the Margo Utomo Agro Resort located in the small town of Kalibaru, East Java. This area is particularly well known for its plantations.

The founder of Margo Utomo, Mr. R. H. Moch inherited 9 hectares of plantation land from his father in the 1940s. After thirty years, and the addition of a dairy farm, Mr. Moch decided to evolve his business into one that showed tourists the interconnection between a plantation, its workers, and the land. The agro resort now includes 51 cottages and sparked the creation of Margo Utomo Cottages, which has 30 rooms. The style of both places is a mix of the colonial past integrated with traditional Javanese. Though Mr. Moch passed away in 2000, the Margo Utomo organization is still managed by his family.

I reached Kalibaru by bus. On arrival I was directed to Margo Utomo’s which is one block off the main street in town, and directly across from the train station. I waited in the open air lobby, decorated with a huge gamelan instrument set, to speak with Ms. Mariana, daughter of the late founder, and with Ms. Lynda Margaretha, head of marketing. Sitting down with the women, they told me a little more about the resort and their interaction with the local community. As a good-sized local business in a small town, the majority of their employees, about 99% of the150 workers, are locals. As Lynda explains, they have a very low turnover so it’s in everybody’s best interest to provide training to maximize the skills of the employees – this makes it easy for employees to switch roles, and those that learn English and/or Dutch also have the option of becoming guides. It was from their staff that they got the idea to start village tours to local home industries, like that of tofu and peanuts, thus allowing the guests more interaction with the local community and allowing tourism to compliment these other business sectors.

The Dairy farm, home to over 50 cows that produce milk, is still a central part of Margo Utomo. Besides providing a fun attraction to visitors, especially the baby cows, the milk and cheese produced is served at the local restaurant. The waste products produced is maybe of more value to the local area, as it is this natural organic fertilizer that is used on the plantation, and even sold to other plantations. In fact, it seems like a very holistic interaction between the 2 resorts, dairy farm, and plantation – guests visit the plantation, eat products produced from the dairy farm, and then the fertilizer is used to grow the crops at the plantation. As Ms. Mariana informs me, while at the present it’s primarily the fertilizer used that’s organic, in the next years they hope to switch their suppliers into providing organic food. Currently, they are working with local farmers to educate them about organic farming, as well as their staff on how to prepare food so that no MSG or other additives are included.

The ladies are kind enough to find a guide to take me around the plantation and dairy farm. The baby cows really are adorable with their big black eyes. I’m also shown how they produce brown sugar, which involves hours of boiling before it is finally at the right consistency to be used for the restaurant’s homemade cakes and desserts. In the back of the resort is the plantation. It’s filled with coffee, cocoa, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and vanilla trees as well as local fruits, including durian. Large pits are dug in the ground, which the guide explains is to provide water during the dry season. All the plants are watered naturally, no sprinklers are used.

The Margo Utomo Agro Resort and Hill View Cottages seem to provide a pleasant type of alternative tourism that is low impact and compliments the local area. While they don’t currently have a responsible tourism policy, both women said it was a part of the plan for the near future. As they put it, guests are more willing to be critical of certain practices they don’t find sustainable, which means the hotels must step up to adopt new and alternative approaches.

Mount Bromo

I had some trouble reaching Cemoro Lawang, the place to stay before visiting Mt. Bromo. While it’s nice from a traveler’s perspective to travel in the offseason when places are less busy, it can also prove difficult in finding transportation. I hoped to take a minibus from Probolinggo to Cemoro Lawang, but the only one I could find was empty and wouldn’t leave until full. After an hour of waiting, I decided that it might be best to hire a motorcycle to make the trip up the mountainside. Unfortunately, I realize in hindsight that I didn’t demonstrate responsible tourism when choosing a bike.

The price was fair for both of us, but I didn’t take the extra step of checking over the vehicle first. When the eager driver went to get his bike, I discovered it was a clunker in sorry shape and missing a dashboard. I admit even the most decrepit machines often seem to get by, but before starting a longer trip the responsible action is to judge that the vehicle is capable of the trip, because if it breaks down it provides problems for both the owner and traveler. Can you guess where this story is going ;)

I think my lack of faith in the bike really showed by my insistence on a helmet for this trip. Finally, after some communication among the group of waiting drivers, they were able to find an extra helmet. Unfortunately, the only available one was several sizes too big, missing a chin strap, and somehow was using metal staples to hold together the visor that had cracked in 3 places. I had to use one hand to hold the helmet down for most of the trip - making its effectiveness very questionable. We start the hour or so trip and everything is going fine and the views from the bike are amazing. However, about ¾ the way up the hill the bike begins to stutter, and to finally stop alongside a steep part of the hill. Another biker pulls over and pokes and prods the bike, but eventually it can’t be helped, or at least to continue uphill. I pay extra since I feel bad about the bike, but this situation wasn’t very good for everybody involved and the driver now had to ride the bike back down. The guy who stopped then takes me up the rest of the way.

While there are several ways to reach Mount Bromo, the most popular is via the town of Cemoro Lawang, which sits on the edge of a vast crater containing 3 volcanic mountains – Bromo, Batok, and Kursi. The crater is filled with a covering of volcanic sand and ash with the smoking mount Bromo sitting between the other two peaks. From the entrance to the park, one can walk, hire a jeep, or rent a horse to reach them.

Before arriving I discovered an excellent 5 page summary of the tourism in this area, “Local Community Initiative in Developing Culture and Nature Tourism in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park.” The report talks about some of the good practices used in this park and includes research from Dr. Janet Cochrane, the Leed’s instructor that told me about Kaliandra. In her research she looked at the tourism practices of Cemoro Lawang and the positive and negative impacts that result from tourism. The practices at CL are unique because the locals follow traditional law, which prohibits anyone non-Tenggerese (the local ethnic group) from buying land or renting it for more than a year. In addition, to decrease conflicts between community members hoping to benefit from tourism, local associations were created based on professions, so there is a horse operator’s group, jeep rental group, food stall group, photographers’ group, and an accommodation group. The groups are all self-regulating entities. As Dr. Cochran’s research shows this provides increased positive impacts for the local community at Cemoro Lawang versus the unregulated tourism offered at the other villages, Wonokitri and Ngadas, which also provide tourism services to Bromo.

The best time to reach Bromo is early in the morning. As I’m a rather unprepared traveler at times, my alarm clock broke the second day into my trip, so I’ve been relying on naturally waking up early – which has served me thus far. That night I had a rather uneasy sleep, as I was trying to use an internal alarm clock to wake up by 4a to catch the sunrise in the crater. When I woke up at 3:30a, it seemed like it was best to just stay awake and start getting ready for the trip to Bromo. Since the association provide a flat rate for a jeep rental this didn’t seem like the best option since there is only 1 of me and I couldn’t find anyone else to share the expense of a jeep. As I paid my entrance fee for the park, an older lean gentleman approached asking if I needed a horse – “why yes!” Learning from my mistake with the motorcycle, I checked the horse first – strong looking legs, well fed with no ribs showing, and a sweet disposition. I was helped on, while the man took the reins to lead the horse. It was about 4am as we started across the volcanic sand sea. The people travelling by jeep took a different route that led to a viewing area of the whole crater first, so we were alone as we crossed. The horse slowly plodded through the sand and white mist, the stars shined bright overhead. I’d like to say that I listed to the steady clump of the horse the whole time, but I am a child of the modern ages (it can’t be helped), so I switched on my music player and listened to “Echoes: Best of Pink Floyd.”
The ride took about 45 minutes, so we waited for the sunrise at the base of the stairs leading up to the volcano’s edge. I enjoyed the solitude of the experience, just us and the horse. At 5am Yaeen(sp?) the horse caretaker, suggested I start the climb. In the distance the sun was just beginning to light up the Eastern sky. I started up alone, no touts, no other tourists. I had talked to someone the day before who mentioned taking over a hundred photos at Bromo, and I wondered how that was possible. Easily. As the sun rises and the mist disappears every moment makes the scene look a little bit different. There is also a trail that goes around the top edge of Bromo, which allows one to see the inside at all angles. Standing alone on the lip of Bromo watching the sunrise to one side and the crater smoking away on the other is an unforgettable experience.

It wasn’t until I was 1/3rd of the way around that I even saw any other visitors. It was very easy to forget that hundreds of thousands had probably visited this same place, as I slowly made my way along the path and at times climbed down channels carved out from lava. It probably took an hour to make it around the whole rim, so when I arrived back near the start more people had arrived and a man was selling flowers as an offering to Bromo and other woman was selling food and drinks. As I walked down the steps I now found that many other horses accompanied the one I’d ridden.

Again we slowly plodded back to the park entrance. My impressions of Bromo and this tourism town were very positive, though I do realize life has probably changed much for the local inhabitants with the growth of tourism and that visiting during the offseason isn’t really a good way to gauge all the impacts. I did witness some positive interactions between visitors and locals, as some tourists were speaking with some secondary school boys who wanted to practice their English, but I also observed some negative interactions as one cranky traveler was very unpleasant to another boy that asked about his transportation needs. I can understand how it is easy to be rude when asked for the billionth time about needing a minibus, even when you are already sitting in one, but it is also very easy to change the subject and to treat people as people.
For anyone who is curious, the report of Dr. Cochrane’s study can be found at: http://www.recoftc.org/site/fileadmin/docs/publications/Seminar_Proceeding/Cochrane.rtf

Visiting Kaliandra

On the slope of a different mountain I discover another well managed environmental education center, Kaliandra. Named after a multi-purpose tree, the center was established in 1997 by five founders with the goal to educate people about the environment. While the PPLH Seloliman center I previously visited is one part of the larger PPLH organization, the Kaliandra Center runs autonomously. While many NGOs receive funding from the government, Kaliandra received its initial investment donations from the founders. This allows the organization to grow independently and to be shaped through the careful attention of the locally based management team. As Mr. Heri Aqus explains to me, “The forest and each nearby village has different potentials. At Kaliandra we work to achieve these potentials through sustainable and long term projects.” Heri is the HR Development Administrator at Kaliandra, and a long time back a former PPLH employee.

The facilities at Kaliandra act as an environmental and cultural education hub for both visitors and locals. The location is ideal, as the center sits on the side of Mount Arjuna, near a heavily wooded preservation area. The lodgings are all built in a classic Javanese architecture style. When I commented on the beauty of the buildings, it was explained to me that one of the founders is an architect, so he designed the whole complex. Bungalows and dorms are available to rent for private groups or organized gatherings and sleep over 100. The management strategies Heri and the other administrators use to develop and manage tourism at Kaliandra are admirably based around responsible tourism principles. As I observed during my stay, the center is working to positively impact and conserve the local environment, promote local customs, and create long term growth and development in the community. Careful attention is also given to making daily operations sustainable.

(Outside and Inside the Bungalows)

Heri fills me in on the programs the center operates. “We have programs with each core group in the community – children, women, and farmers,” he continues. The women’s programs focus more on health while the men’s program centers on farming management that is more profitable and less detrimental to the local environment. The local children’s programs include English lessons Tu-Th, and a Javanese dance and music class on Friday. In addition, the center is working to develop a resource library at Kaliandra and libraries in the neighboring villages. When first started Kaliandra worked with the 2 villages directly nearby, but now has expanded their efforts to work with 6 villages. The goal is to grow to the point where they can work with all 43 villages in the park area. Another branch of the center works to develop additional sources of income and skills enhancements for the community, such as organic farming, metal working, providing access to a drying machine that helps villagers package and preserve fruit for sale, and education on tourism basics including how to operate a home stay. Kaliandra even supported several villagers travelling to Bali to learn massage practices, which they now offer at the Kaliandra center.

(Making Dried Pineapple Snacks)

As an environmental education center it is important for Kaliandra to monitor the condition of the forest around them. In 2006 they were disturbed to see that around 3,900 hectares of the forest had been intentionally burned down and logged. As part of a USaid project, an awareness campaign was launched in the local surroundings. After the year long program educating people about the forest and proper care for the natural environment the results of 2007 was only 86 hectares destroyed. In another innovative program Kaliandra partnered with local businesses in the nearby town on an “adopt the forest” project. While Kaliandra supplied the trees, businesses donated money to pay the villagers to replant trees. Additional compensation was given to villagers who maintained and cared for the trees. The result was approximately 600 hectares replanted.

(part of the Kaliandra awareness campaign about the environment)

(young trees for planting)

I spent a very peaceful night at the center, and in the morning another Aqus, Aqus Sugarto Ecotourism sub manager, takes me on a walk around the cobble stoned paths of the resort. Again I feel very far removed from the busyness and intensity of the Indonesian cities. We pass an herbal medicine garden, and an onsite organic farm. When he sees this, Aqus mentions the branch office that Kaliandra operates in Surabaya to market and sell the organic produce from the villagers. The tour continues and I get to see several gamelan musical instruments where the kids practice, and a huge Outward Bound style ropes course. At that moment several minivans pull up to the park and little kids start pouring out. Almost 40 7yr olds are visiting today from Surabaya to learn about the environment and their interconnection with it.

We watch as they are lead to a nearby open air meeting place, and a traditional style puppet is used to talk with the kids and introduce them to Kaliandra. Leaving the kids to their program, Aqus and I continue on a walk of the area, followed by a motorbike tour of some of the surrounding villages. At the local community garden we see some women taking care of the plants and farther down the road we stop at one of the houses in the local home stay association. Ms. Bu Pinaridah and her daughter welcome us in. Though they don’t know much English, they seem to be enjoying this unexpected visit.

Continue on our tour, we visit a few other places in the nearby area before turning around and heading back to the center. When we arrive, the schoolchildren are just about to start a banana harvesting program. Again we tag along and watch as the kids gather around a banana tree. The staff member from Kaliandra talks with them and then demonstrates the whacking motions to bring down a large bough heavy with bananas. The kids seem to be enjoying themselves, and even more so during the next step when they learn about traditional cooking of the bananas and get the pleasure of eating them.

During my visit I was very impressed with the management strategies used at Kaliandra. The place seems to operate extremely efficiently with unique programs, and very reasonable price structures for both independent and package visitors. They are also happy to provide programs or local tours for domestic and international visitors. They also happily welcome volunteers. Though not in most guidebooks, I learned about this place from one of my instructor at Leeds Met University who took a group of students to assist on several projects during a one month stay last year. One of the students, Andy, even stayed several months longer to assist on additional projects, and helped create a first rate website at http://kaliandrasejati.org/ . The website includes more information and exact instructions on how to reach the center. A visit to Kaliandria makes a very pleasant trip, plus its location is less than half a day away from Mt. Bromo, my next destination.

PPLH Seloliman

Getting to the PPLH Environmental Education Center in Seloliman is fun - or at least the last part where you take a motorcycle taxi (an ojek) from the town of Trawas. Zipping through the backcountry of Eastern Java, we fly past villages and people caring for their fields. We breeze down hills with hair flying, sorry to say no helmets around here, and after an exhilarating 20 minutes ride we reach the PPLH Center. The center is located on the slopes of Mount Penanggungan, and they can also arrange pickups for those not as keen on motorcycle riding.

(Scenery on the ride to the PPLH – and I did take this pic ;)

At the center I was greeted by Purjoko, coordinator for the education programs. Well, first I was greeted by two visitors to the center that wanted a picture taken with the newly arrived “white girl” before I can even set down my bags. Later on this would become the theme of the evening ;) Due to poor planning on my part, there is no dorm vacancy at the center, but Purjoko is happy to set up a stay in the nearby village. As he tells me, if you’re arriving on the weekend it is best to email: pplh@indo.net.id a week in advance, or if you’re coming on a holiday weekend even a month in advance.

I continue talking with Purjoko in the restaurant area of the center, and he tells me about the place’s history. PPLH Seloliman was first established in 1990 with funding from the WWF, but since then it has developed into a self-supporting NGO to educate the public about the environment. The center here focuses mainly on agricultural learning, but other branches of PPLH operate around Indonesia and focus on other topics, such as marine life rehabilitation. The PPLH Seloliman center really sees a wide range of visitors. When I arrive a group of kindergarteners from Surabaya are playing an educational game in the nearby woods, but primary, secondary, graduate, and post graduate students also visit, as do full-fledged adults. We go on a tour of the area, and Purjoko shows me the storeroom for planning the programs oriented for young kids. As he tells me, “most kids are only used to coloring with crayons and other manufactured products, but here we teach kids about natural products.” He shows me a root and the bright yellow streaks it produces. Kids here can also use flowers and charcoal to color their printouts of local wildlife. He also tells me about some other fun projects for the kids including educational hikes, visits to the organic garden, seeing the local animals that reside at the center, learning how to boil down paper to reuse it, and even a game to teach kids how to sort out products to recycle.

We continue our tour to see the other components of the PPLH center. The goal of the center is to be very nearly self-sustaining, so he shows me where waste is naturally composted and broken down under the earth. A nearby PPLH run hydro-electric power station generates electricity for the center, surrounding villages, and even enough energy to then sell to the government. We pass a resource library that holds a collection of Indonesian and English books on environmental conservation, wildlife, development programs, etc. There is also a seminar room, spiritual house for prayer, bungalows, a guest house, and a 60 person dormitory. Again, these spots fill up quickly on the weekends. As we pass the organic garden, Purjoko explains that programs are also arranged with the local community to help develop awareness on how to manage the forest’s resources. The center holds education classes for local kids, as well as working with farmers to plant crops that include those that enrich the soil and prevent erosion. At first, he explains, there was some tension between the locals wishing to use the surrounding forest for its resources and to meet their daily needs, while the center hoped to conserve and manage the natural resources of the area. In addition, government regulations and enforcement on logging had changed, so since 2001 PPLH witnessed an increase in illegal logging. At that time, as I’m told, the center stepped up its efforts to help villagers find other ways of gaining income from the forest that didn’t include cutting down the trees, like harvesting non-timber related assets like fruit. Meetings have also been held with local farmers from the surrounding communities on how to help damaged forest recover and about managing a community forest near the main one with short term and long term crop strategies. The center also promotes organic farming in the area, and has been working to find long lasting business partners in Surabaya to buy the goods. As we walk by a display case, he shows me some of the products for sale made by home industries in the local village, like herbal medicines. Over the past 17 years the center has reached a comfortable level of interconnectivity with the locals in the area, as around 70% of the staff, over 40 people, comes directly from the surrounding countryside and those who don’t come from the area rent rooms in the villages.

(Purjoko explaining water treatment)

In the evening a workshop is going on for a large group of science teachers from Surabaya. I sit in on the presentation. Though entirely in Indonesia, I can easily understand the general ideas of the presentation as they use some easily discernable pictures, like a little devil with horns burning garbage and an image of a sad looking globe with a thermometer in its mouth. After the presentation, I join the group for dinner in the main hall. As to be expected the food here is very healthy, grown locally and without additives or artificial ingredients. By the end of the evening I think I had my picture taken with the majority of the 70 plus group of science teachers. As they posed my in different positions, I couldn’t help but wonder how many random photo albums I’m in throughout Asia.



The next morning I could again observe the science teacher workshop. After a hike, the staff members of PPLH demonstrated nature related science activities, like making paper. The teachers were then given an opportunity to try their skills. Another activity was going down to the river with nets and microscopes to look at the creatures that live in the water. While the group gathered next to the river, I could see a grey haired woman from the village collecting firewood, creating an odd juxtaposition with the merriment of the science teachers.

My last activity around PPHL was to go with the Arief, from the Research and Development staff, to visit the nearby Jolotundo temple and a nearby community garden. Both places are about 1 km away from the center, but up a steep hill. Jolotundo is one of about 80 Hindu temples built into the sacred Penanggungan Mountain, and as one can see from the picture local kids enjoy playing in the water. In a large plot nearby is one of the community gardens that PPLH works to develop with local farmers. As we arrive a boy is just departing with two large baskets of leaves and other food for livestock, strung on a pole over his shoulders. For those who wish to stay longer Arief also conducts educational eco-hikes in the surrounding mountainside.

If you’re curious to find out more about the PPHL Center at Seloliman, they have a website – http://www.blogger.com/www.pplh.org. They also happily welcome volunteers, so if you’re interested contact pplh@indo.net.id.