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Let's eat! Magazine April 2015 |
Dr. Ir. Ni Luh Kartini, M.S
Founder of Bali Organic Association (BOA)
Born in the North of Bali on 1960, Kartini
spent her youth in the green and lush rice fields of Bali when the word
‘organic’ was not just a term but the only way of life. The same Bali is now in
a dire condition, exhausted and toxic after 40 years of continuous usage of
chemical fertilizers on its land. We got the honour to chat with this
formidable lady on the current condition of the island, the wisdom of worms as
well as what we can do to restore the balance.
How is Bali doing now? How does it cope with
massive land conversion and rising population?
I am afraid
that Bali is not doing too well. Our land are in a bad condition after the
onslaught of pesticide, no resting time
in between crops, land conversion that destroys our water irrigation system,
the list goes on. We are threatened by water crisis; three of our lakes are
polluted while our rivers and ocean are swarmed with rubbish. We are in an
environmental crisis. It deeply saddens me that our local wisdom, created by
our wise ancestors and embedded in our religion and philosophy are not strong
enough to ward off the destruction that is happening now.
What will happen to Bali when this destruction
continues?
Bali will
not be Bali anymore. Take water, for example. On 2011, Bali’s land surface
water is in deficit. One village has 1,000 boreholes. One hotel needs 50,000
litres of clean water every day. We can all do the math. In the future, we will
looked back and realize that our biggest mistake is that we do not take care of
our home despite the fact that our livelihood that comes from tourism is
intertwined with our environment. Once we lost our taksu, that spirit of Bali, it will be hard to recover.
Let’s talk about organic farming. What does
your study in worms got to do with it?
Organic
farming was our culture until the Green Revolution became mandatory on 1969. I
noticed that the so-called “fertilizer” killed the ducks and worms in our rice
field. It was a turning point in my life. Since then, I have learnt that worms
restore fertility to damaged soil. They are the sign of a healthy land and
that’s why we founded BOA, to facilitate the farmers who want to return to our
ancient tradition of farming, as well as assisting them during the process.
What can we do to help our local farmers?
Know where
your products come from. Actually Bali is blessed with the perfect soil and
climate to grow almost everything. Land conversion must stop if we want to
survive and the government must stick to the blueprint that they have created
themselves. Creative program that benefit farming and the farmers will need to
be created, like one hotel adopting one water irrigation or subak and use its produces.
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