Bali is at its most enchanting during the 10-day Galungan festivities. During this period, village streets are lined with penjors, bamboo poles on which hand-crafted ornaments are suspended, each element heavy with symbolic meaning. During Galungan, these penjors are not simply decorative, they also have religious significance and considered sacred. They represent the bounty of Mother Earth, Man’s supplication to Ida Sanghyang Widi Wasa for protection and the pursuit of harmony within the microcosm, exemplified in the philosophy of Tri Hata Karana (harmony with God, mankind and nature).
Moving further away from Bali’s tourist enclaves in the south, towards Ubud in the north and beyond, the penjors become more intricate and lavish. But in many villages like Pererenan in Canggu, the penjors are markedly more modest than in previous years. An agreement was made, it seems, among the residents that the penjors should not be too extravagant, to avoid excessive displays of wealth, during hard times.
Indeed Bali, the jewel in the crown of Indonesia’s tourism industry, is currently experiencing another unfortunate downturn not of its own making. Traditionally, the months of January-February are quiet, the low season, after the year-end high. This year, however, it is slower than usual because of the coronavirus outbreak in China and the subsequent suspension of all flights in and out of China since February 5. Under normal circumstances, as many as 6,000 tourists arrive from China per day and their presence is felt. Along Sunset Road, from the airport to the Kerobokan main road, one would see busloads of Chinese tourists visiting the souvenir shops and the many restaurants catering to their palate. You would see them strolling in groups around Seminyak, window shopping. On average, 700 Chinese visited the picturesque Tanah Lot temple-by-the-sea daily, but no longer. Only 600 or so remain.
Indonesians, in general, are warm-hearted and open people, more so in Bali which has long been dependent on tourism. According to Bali Vice-Governor Tjokorda Oka Ardhana Sukawati, 70 percent of its regional income derives from tourism. In 2019 alone, 6.3 million tourists flooded into this small island of approximately 4.3 million people. Almost 19 percent of them were from China, second only to the Australians. They are received with mixed feelings by the locals because they are not known to be big spenders, although more than the Americans. On a 5-day stay, they spend only USD 300-500, placing them in the middle to low end market. In 2018, it was discovered that Chinese tour operators sell cheap packages to Bali, but once in Bali, their customers are taken to shops where they buy Chinese products and where transactions are paid for using electronic money systems based in China. The locals reportedly earn very little from such deals. Still, they are treated with the same hospitality as any other tourist. In Bali they are safe from the virus and safe from the discrimination that is beginning to be shown in some places around the world.
Yet, such slowdowns have their upside. It gives Bali some respite, an opportunity to breathe a little and recover from the ravages of mass tourism. Bit by bit, its green bountiful rice fields start to disappear. Farmers cannot hang on to their livelihood. Earnings are uncertain, costs increase and water for their fields is becoming scarce. As much as 65 percent of water crucial to the subak irrigation system is sucked up by the hotels and luxury villas with their swimming pools, making it more backbreaking to eke a living off the land. Letting go of it becomes a more viable option for the land-owners, some falsely secure in the belief that they are not really abandoning their heritage, but just temporarily lending land out, often for decades. Hence, minimarts, cafes and tattoo parlors encroach on the once splendid carpets of green, even when business is slow.
If water is scarce, garbage is plentiful. According to research by Bali Partnership last year, every single day Bali produces 4,281 tons of garbage, half of which is generated in tourist-popular Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar. This amounts to 1.5 million tons of garbage annually, of which only 48 percent is properly processed while the 11 percent flows into the ocean. At the 2018 Our Ocean Conference, Indonesia, as the world’s second biggest ocean polluter, had committed to reduce waste by 30 percent and to properly manage 70 percent of total waste generated, by 2025. That is only 5 years from now. We know the problem, we even know the solution but time is running out.
The responsibility to do something should not be laid on the government alone to create the right policies and incentives. Every one of us should be changing our ways, given the enormity of the problem. As individuals we can practice water saving habits, get rid of single use plastics, be less consumptive, the list is endless. Needless to say, industries need to continue innovating and implementing more sustainable business practices as well. We need to think in the long term and get it done.
Kuningan, the climax of the Galungan festivities, is just over. As the Balinese pray to Ida Sanghyang Widhi Wasa, seeking protection and blessings, we are once again reminded that in our daily lives we have the responsibility to protect Mother Earth. We cannot allow short-term profits to dominate. The interlude provided by the downturn in tourist arrivals could be used to find better ways of achieving prosperity without sacrificing nature’s bounty.
Natalia Soebagjo
Bali resident and writer
