Founder of Yayasan Tri Hita Karana (THK) Bali, Chakra Widia, promotes how beekeeping benefits the growth of vegetables, fruits and flowers. “Bees are one of nature’s most productive pollinators and can have a dramatic beneficial effect on yields in terms of seed yield and fruit yield in many crops,” says Chakra. “And best of all you get the honey. In fact, we’d say beekeeping is a honey of a hobby.”

Using Permaculture principles, THK Foundation educates, advocates and acts to bring about more environmentally and economically sustainable practices in all fields of human activity in Bali. On March 24-25 THK will hold a beekeeping workshop at their learning center in Pengosekan, Ubud. The theme of the workshop is “BEE the change” a playful spin on the famous Gandhi quote “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

According to Chakra, beekeeping is not something you just do on a whim. “It’s a responsibility and to undertake it, you need to have a basic understanding of bees, especially the wild bees we have here in Bali,” says Chakra.

Workshop participants will be learning from I Gede Panca, an expert honey beekeeper in Bali. With a lifelong involvement in beekeeping, Panca is not only an expert but also a passionate advocate for the island’s wild bee population.

Panca was the inaugural winner of Indonesia’s best beekeeping title in 1998. Panca has founded three local beekeeping organizations in Payangan, Tegallalang and Petak and they meet together twice a year.

The bilingual weekend workshop is designed for novice beekeepers who want to learn beekeeping and start a colony of their own. During the workshop, participants will learn about Bali’s native bees, as well as an aggressive new kid on the block that may ultimately upset the island’s bee biodiversity.

Participants will also learn about flowers and their influence on the taste of honey, with plenty of honey tasting to sweeten the session.

Each participant will construct a modest bee box best suited to house the island’s native bees. This bee box may be taken home afterward or donated to the THK Permaculture demonstrations farm.

Much of the workshop will take place at the THK learning center – constructed from bamboo in a light and airy design. There will also be a field trip to explore a bee colony that has inhabited a neighbor’s family temple, quite a common occurrence in Bali.

Panca will show participants how to locate the queen in the colony and move the bees from the temple into a bee box.

Participants will also learn where to place bee boxes to attract bees, moving the bees to new food sources, and methods of identifying and dealing with predators. Panca will demonstrate how to harvest honey and how much to take from a colony so that enough food remains to sustain the bees and their larvae. He will also demonstrate his beesting “treatment” to reduce the risk of blood clots.

Assisting Panca during the workshop will be THK’s medicinal herb expert, Tri Suda Pala. Tri will lead a workshop session on the medicinal qualities of honey and the importance of pollination for medicinal herbs. Those attending can order bees, honey, or extra boxes from Panca, as well as medicinal herbs from Tri.

Chakra hopes that the workshop will be a springboard for helping to expand the knowledge base of bees and beekeeping in Bali and provide a network of sentinels to warn of any changes in the island’s bee population. “We hope we can foster the establishment of an umbrella organization of Bali beekeepers to work in cooperation with local beekeepers to ensure that our island’s native bee colonies continue to flourish,” he says.

Visiting beekeeper Steve Black from the Isle of Man, between England and Ireland, says ongoing support for novice beekeepers is vital and endorsed the formation of a group that meets regularly to continue the learning process.

“Nobody can hope to learn all that there is to know about beekeeping in a weekend workshop,” he says. “When situations arise with your bees, it’s important to be able to network with other more experienced beekeepers for advice.”

Places are limited and bookings close on March 19^th. Booking inquiries can be made by email to: thkbalicommunications@gmail.com or by phone: 087 861 463 406 or 081 338 794 571 (Chakra).

Participants should bring their own lunch or, for Rp. 15,000 each day they can have lunch provided. They should also bring a hat, sunscreen and, if they are allergic to beestings, it goes without saying that they should bring an EpiPen.

Though the volcanic soil surrounding Lake Batur should be fertile, the region is suffering from environmental degradation. But Tegal Matanai is attempting to reintroduce chemical free farming practices to make a difference.

The first time I set foot in Songan was in January 2007. What I felt then must have been what Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana (STA) experienced when he first arrived in this village 50 years ago. Like the characters Yasin and Molek  in the romantic novel written by STA, Dian yang Tak Kunjung Padam (A Shimmer of Light that Does not Fade), I was in love.

Far from Bali’s touristic atmosphere, this village has everything it needs to survive today and into the future: A stunning natural view, widespread farming fields, hot bathing springs, and cool pools for freshwater diving—difficult to come by on the tropical island of Bali. Songan village is located in the volcanic highlands. The cool mountain weather creates fertile soil for fruits and vegetables to grow, and the produce from this region can then be distributed to markets all across Bali.

It appears that nature prepared everything that the people here could need, despite the geographic location of this village far from any larger town center and its difficult accessibility.

The first time I went to Songan I stayed the weekend, spending hours exploring the hillsides, playing in the lake, walking through the village or just sitting in front of the poet’s library. When I entered the village, I could still find the house where STA used to live. In 1971, STA founded the art center Balai Seni Toyabungkah. He once dreamed that this village would become a center for the arts.

I used to frequently visit Songan, but four years later, I spend less and less time there. I feel like driving two hours from Denpasar to visit a distant village is too much effort for what I find when I get there. Songan today is not as beautiful as it once was, partly because of a cultural shift in the people, who no longer follow the traditional wisdom of their predecessors.

Over the years, I have observed the farming methods in Songan. There is no more than a manageable 50 hectares of land where fruit and vegetables are grown, but local residents have given up traditional farming methods and are now dependent on chemicals to boost production. As a result, the quantity of produce has increased.

Lake Batur has recently been removed from the list of fresh water diving spots in Bali. Six months ago I accompanied several friends for diving there; afterwards I was sick with fever and itchy skin. The local villagers said that we had been ‘disturbed’ by the protector of the lake.

We joked about how the protector of the lake would probably be more amicable if chemical residue from the farmlands and waste from the village did not end up in the lake. Perhaps the villagers have already ‘disturbed’ the protector of the lake, and we were suffering the consequences. That would be the last time we went diving there.

In late November last year I asked locals why it appeared that their entire vegetable crops was failing. “It’s rainy season, the sun rarely shines, it’s just cloudy every day,” said Ketut Sidarta from inside his vegetable patch, where he was pumping chemical liquid onto his crops.

That was all. When crops fail and nature refuses to provide what is needed to grow, people tend to blame nature. Ketut Sidarta is one of many farmers in Songan who has become a victim of modern farming practices. In fact, using good farming practices can improve crop resilience, even in extreme weather. But Ketut does not realize how good farming systems could help him and reduce the risk of crop failure resulting from weather conditions.

We so easily forget what nature has taught us in the past. For hundreds of years, the people of Songan farmed without the help of factory-made chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Healthy soil provides a living environment for beneficial microorganisms to reproduce, including biota that can become a natural antibiotic to protect plants from insects and disease. Some organisms produce food for plants, while others protect the nutrients in the soil. The use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides has truncated this natural chain. These chemicals force plants to grow, even while their roots search for sustenance in nutrient-depleted soil. Songan farmers are forcing the plants and nature to work for them, not the other way round. I believe Songan could potentially be an independent village, but its modern farming practices have been marginalized it.

But now there is now a glimmering hope for change: A few small-scale environmental projects for healthy farming have launched in the area. Tegal Matanai, is one such project, taking its name from the local dialect, meaning Sunshine Farm. Located in Banjar Serongga, a small plot of land belonging to the village priest is being used as a collaborative farming space for students from local schools around the area. Tegal Matanai is farmed according to local wisdom. Everyone involved in this simple project is invited to work with nature and for nature.

In this way, Tegal Matanai attempts grow methods that differ from current farming practices in Songan. In addition to planting fruit, vegetable and sunflower seeds, this project is planting seeds of hope.

Hopefully over time, the people will realize that there is something more important than just having enough for today; hopefully Tegal Matanai can become a shimmer of light to inspire more change, so that Songan can once again become a light that does not fade.

Photos by Teddy Drew.

Urban farming is a social movement where city residents grow their own food. One of the main issues we hear from urban farming enthusiasts is how to plant a garden at home if there is limited space?

As long as there is air and sunshine, plants can grow. Outside of standard planting and growing techniques, what is most interesting about urban farming is how to find creative ways to provide space for edible plants to grow.

Grow crEATive with Bali Urban Farming is an interactive installation about creative farming. This collaborative project will explore creative ways to upcycle used materials and turn them into useful elements for your garden. Bali Urban Farming, students from Bali International School, and Komunitas Djamur will be participating, and anyone and everyone is welcome to come get their hands dirty.

This Urban farming installations offers up some solutions for planting on limited space or land that cannot be cultivated using conventional methods. We hope this installation project can provide inspiration to the public about how easy farming can be no matter where you plant. This installation will be greening the Bali Creative Festival from November 25-27 at Inna Grand Bali Beach, Sanur.

BUF is a creative laboratory striving to invent innovative methods to make urban farming fun. This community hopes to spread the seeds of the urban farming movement in Bali as a solution to food sovereignty. BUF is part of the offline activities of akarumput.com, an online media based in Bali, focused on social and environmental issues.

This community believes that urban farming is one real form of green lifestyle. BUF supports communities, organizations or individuals in creating urban farms in their neighborhoods. One of BUF’s projects is in development at Bali International School (BIS).

Robi Navicula aka Kurt Kebun (kebun means garden in Indonesian) is a Permaculture trainer at BIS for grades 7 and 8 and has facilitated the students in creating an urban farm space behind their school. The training begins with preparing the land for planting, planting the seeds, and transplanting the seeds into the land.

The BUF demo site is located on Jl. Drupadi no15D, Renon, Denpasar and is used as a facility to develop urban farming activities such as trainings. The BUF demo site includes vegetable gardens, fishponds, chicken coops, and birdhouses. BUF is available to hold trainings, and recently completed a training with preschools students from Anak Emas Denpasar.

Follow @BaliUrbanFarm on Twitter.

Steve Cran is a Permaculture expert from Australia. He has worked on many Permaculture and farming projects in post-conflict of post-disaster zones, such as Aceh, Timor Leste, Jogjakarta, Uganda, Ethiopia. You can see his profile here.