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Dozens of people with happy faces landed on Nusa Penida.
The sky was blue, the sea water looked calm and the wind was blowing gently at Banjar Nyuh harbor that morning, Wednesday (23/9). A green banner reading “A Journey for a Powerful Impact on People, Culture and the Environment” belonging to the Village Ecotourism Network (JED), appeared prominently welcoming their arrival.
“WELCOME! “Congratulations on taking part in the Nusa Penida ecotourism tour trial,” said Siska, JED Program Coordinator in a friendly manner.
Each participant was given a bag containing a face shield, mask, hand sanitizer, vitamin C and information about the activity organizer, just before they entered the vehicle. Tour guides and drivers are also seen using health protocol equipment to prevent transmission of COVID-19.
Slowly a convoy of three minibuses, each with four passengers, made its way through the empty streets of Nusa Penida. Umah Melajah Bukit Keker in Ped Village was their first destination.
Umah Melajah Bukit Keker is a place that focuses on developing customs, arts and culture and the environment for children and young people in Nusa Penida. The Wisnu Foundation together with partner institutions, one of which is JED, focuses a program they call Ecologic Nusa Penida here.
Ecological Nusa Penida is a program to increase the socio-cultural and ecological resilience of communities on small islands, in facing the strong pressure of globalization. This program is supported by GEF – SGP Indonesia and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). At Umah Melajah Bukit Keker there is a solar panel and biogas pilot as a form of utilizing clean and environmentally friendly energy, an integrated waste management site (TPST), a gallery for displaying local products, a household scale agroforestry model and a stage for cultural arts performances.
JED also used this place as a kind of “lobby” for his series of tours in Nusa Penida to show the principles of the Ecological Tourism Village that he implemented.
Jointly Owned
Ecological Tourism Village, if abbreviated, would be DWE. In Balinese, DWE has three meanings as the ecotourism principles developed by JED. “DWE can mean owned potential, DWE also means joint ownership and management, and DWE is also a blessing or sacred concept that must continue to be protected,” explained I Made Suarnatha, one of the founders of JED.
Suarnatha added that these three principles are the basis for JED when developing ecotourism in a village or community. The potential of the region is explored to the maximum, directing it as a collective property that can be used for the welfare of humans and the environment, and making it a blessing that should be protected and preserved.
In Nusa Penida itself, JED established DWE in five places, namely in Ped Village, Batumadeg Village, Tanglad Village, Br. Semaya – Suana Village, and Batukandik Village.
In these villages, JED had previously carried out various activities before the trial was carried out. Starting from potential surveys, outreach at sub-district and village levels, storyline training to get interesting stories and history about the village, local guide training, culinary training, ecotourism management training, to inviting residents to conduct comparative studies to Tenganan Village.
“The involvement of village residents is very important in the ecotourism developed by JED. “Because tourism should actually benefit them,” explained Dega Erlangga as JED Manager. This is clearly visible in the trials carried out.
When the trial participants descended the stairs one by one at the Guyangan spring, Mr. Kadek, who is also the Head of Batukandik II Hamlet, patiently accompanied the participants while telling them about the history and uniqueness of the largest spring (212 liters/second) in Nusa Penida. The steep terrain was indeed challenging, but the stories and the charm of the beauty of the springs made the participants tired and paid in full.
Likewise, when participants continued their journey along Banjar Semaya, which is famous for its seaweed. Diah, one of the members of Sekehe Teruna Teruni (a youth organization at the banjar level), quickly explained how seaweed has supported her village for decades. His hands look dexterous in practicing the daily activities of him and his friends helping parents tie seaweed.
“From seaweed we can go to school,” he explained proudly.
Night approaches. Several dancers were seen starting to prepare. Simple gamelan instruments can also be seen on stage. The children who were going to play the gamelan looked very enthusiastic. In a corner, several women who live in the area around Umah Melajah Bukit Keker can be seen impatiently waiting for the performance.
“This is the first time I will watch my husband perform outside the temple. He rarely entertains me. “I also want to be entertained, just like the guests who come here also get this entertainment,” said Bli Wayan’s wife with a smile. The Bondres performance with a simple play about life at Umah Melajah Bukit Keker was very fluid and full of jokes.
The interaction between dancers, trial participants and mothers makes the boundaries between guests and hosts invisible. So familiar, even in a short time.
According to Wayan Karta, Chairman of the Taksu Tridatu Foundation, this is the reason they develop arts and culture here, because we live in it. This foundation also teaches children to dance, read lontar, make handicrafts from local materials, teach about clean culture, environmental management, so that this culture continues to support.
“Even without tourism, like in this pandemic season,” said Wayan Karta, who is also a dancer and has dedicated his family’s land to building Umah Melajah.
Appetizing
JED conducted a trial of the Nusa Penida Ecotourism tour for two days and one night. The next day, the morning light had not yet appeared, when the participants penetrated the mist of the hills of Tanglad Village towards Atuh beach.
Watching the sunrise on one of these iconic beaches is certainly an experience that is hard to forget. The participants’ amazement at the charm of the beauty of the Creator’s handicrafts was directly proportional to the participants’ interest when they saw the process of making Cepuk and Rangrang cloth produced by the community in Tanglad Village. This village, at an altitude of 460 m above sea level, is famous for its production of traditional cloth for generations.
“These fabrics not only function as clothing for us, but have deep meaning in the ceremonial rituals that we carry out. “For example, this Mekawis motif Cepuk cloth which is specifically used to wrap bones in death ceremonies, as well as this black and white Sudamala motif cloth, which is specifically used during melukat (self-ruining ritual),” explained Pak Alit, Bendesa Adat Tanglad to the participants.
Local knowledge told about each village is one of the attractions in village ecotourism. “Tourism should not only be about selfies, but also about the exchange of life values that comes from the love of tourism itself. Don’t we travel because we want to seek different experiences for all our senses and to gain new knowledge?” explained Siska.
“For us at JED, every village or community definitely has its own uniqueness which could be a potential worthy of being presented, both in terms of its nature, its products and even its food. JED always tries to present local food to treat guests, you know!” Siska explained excitedly.
In Batumadeg Village, which is the next destination, you can see a row of appetizing food dishes. “Here we will serve our village’s typical spiced tuna tuna soup, papaya leaf anointed vegetables, kecombrang chili sauce and even free-range chicken betutu, with drinks made from Cang wood which are fresh and warm,” explained Mrs. Setiawati, presenting the food she cooked with the other mothers. .
Participants were seen going back and forth adding food enthusiastically. Some even ordered kecombrang chili sauce to take home. “The chili sauce is delicious!” praised Megumi Maeda, a Japanese journalist from API Magazine who was one of the trial participants.
“I like the fish soup,” said Guna Warma, one of the local musicians participating in this trial.
“Yesterday’s lunch was also delicious, especially when the wrapper was made from banana leaves. “It’s good for the stomach and the environment,” explained Christopher, a website designer who is also taking part in this program.
It is widely known that mass tourism, which is an industry in Bali, not only has an impact on economic growth, but also a significant increase in the amount of waste produced. “JED tries to minimize waste production from tourism practices. Apart from packing food in natural packaging, we always advise tourists to bring their own drinking bottles that can be used repeatedly. “We provide water in gallons in the vehicles they use,” explained Siska again.
The coolness of the forest and the clear water in the Temeling natural pool are the completion of this series of Nusa Penida Ecotourism Tour trials. In one version of the local story, Temeling comes from two words, namely tamba which means healer, and eling which can be interpreted as conscious. This spring is believed to be a cure for those suffering from certain diseases, and makes them aware of always respecting life.
Likewise with tourism which in recent years has made Nusa Penida a new favorite. He can be considered to heal the potential of Nusa Penida which was previously often ignored, but awareness must also be followed to maintain and preserve these potentials.
“This tour made me learn that there are many unique things in the village that might be taken for granted. “But at the same time I also realized that this was not just for sale, but to be preserved,” said Juni, a citizen journalist as he was about to board the boat that would take him home. [b]
