Archive for January, 2008
The first thing Gil Cowen sees when she looks out of her Balinese villa each morning are rice fields and palm trees as far as the eye can see.
But it’s not just the lush landscape or proximity to one of the world’s best surf breaks that lured Cowen to the village of Canggu three years ago.
As the owner of Australian leather accessories company Mogil, Cowen also sees Bali as an ideal manufacturing base for her handbags, belts and shoes.
“The labour is very cheap here compared to Australia,” admits Cowen, who owns a factory where she employs 200 full-time staff.
It’s no threat to China, but Bali’s recent manufacturing boom has enticed several Australian fashion designers to set up their manufacturing base and often their homes on the Indonesian island. Whereas Chinese factories crank out high-volume clothing orders (thousands of each item), the Balinese manufacturers specialise in smaller orders, attracting the boutique labels interested in small runs.
“We’ve definitely seen more and more Australian designers coming here to manufacture. Some of them live here full time and others will spend maybe three months at a time here,” says Cowen, who also manufactures leather accessories for other Australian and international fashion brands, including UK retail giants Selfridges and Urban Outfitters.
“There’s a nice little community of Aussie fashion designers here now. We all tend to stick together. In fact, it’s not just Australians, there are designers here from all over the world, from Europe and the UK, the Middle East, America and Canada. It’s becoming a real hot spot for boutique clothing production.”
Other Australian designers living and working in Bali include Nicholas Morley and his fashion designer partner Alice McCall; Melbourne designer Ebony Eagles from Ebony Eve; pro-surfer turned fashion designer Mic Eaton from streetwear label, Material Boy; Sydney designer Jessie White from Shakuhachi, and Kerry Grima - one of the very first Australian designers to move to Bali 19 years ago.
Many more - including Courtney Saxon and Jade Schilling from Melbourne accessories label Luxe and Sydney designer Natalie Cohen from Cohen et Sabine - share their time between Australia and their manufacturing base in Bali. Then there are others, such as Bettina Liano and Sportsgirl, that outsource some of their manufacturing to Bali.
“They (the Australian designers) start coming here for two weeks at a time to oversee production, then the next trip they’ll come for a month, and then the next time they’ll stay for three months and then eventually they just take out a house here,” says Sean Cosgrove, the Melburnian behind children’s label Littlehorn. Cosgrove, who also runs a cafe, The Corner Store, in Seminyak, says Bali was his first choice when he decided to move his two-year-old business offshore in 2004 to cut costs back.
Bali’s just “a lot more inviting” than China, says Cosgrove, who runs a small sample workroom in Kerobokan with 10 full-time staff. He outsources most of his production to factories in nearby Denpasar. “You’re not locked into these huge minimum orders like you are in China. The other big attraction is the artisan component. They are just so skilled when it comes to beading and crafts and jewellery or carvings for castings.”
Meanwhile, Cosgrove’s cafe has become a hangout for other Aussie fashion expats. “Because I’ve got the shop and cafe, I see them all and there are more and more coming all the time. Everyone sits in there on their laptops all day doing their work out of the cafe.”
So popular has Bali become among Australian designers that Melbourne designer Georgia Hall, who lives in Bali and produces her State of Georgia label there, is planning to open her own factory to cater to the increased demand.
“I’ve been here for almost six years now and it’s the busiest I’ve seen it. I plan to set up a small production factory so I can start doing production runs for other Australian companies because there is such a huge demand for it.”
Hall says she’s no sweatshop boss. “I love my staff and I treat them really, really well,” she insists. “I give them above-award wages and if you give, then you get from these people, and that’s what I love.”
But the way she talks about her staff wouldn’t be acceptable in an Australian factory: “They’re like young children, they learn so quickly, and if you’re kind, then they’ll be even kinder back.”
Hall employs 15 people directly - including a patternmaker, an accountant and a team of runners - and also outsources some of her handiwork to village craftspeople.
“I’ll bargain with them to get a price and then we’ll agree to it and I use these contracts, which are very important to Balinese and to me. They’re called the 6000 stamp and you pick it up from the post office and it’s a legally binding little stamp, so if they see this stamp, then they have to sign it, and if they don’t do it, then they believe they’ll be in trouble. So I use them a little bit to get a job done.”
Fair trade practices are already well-established in Bali - its largest fair trade organisation, Mitra Bali, has been operating since the 1940s, brokering prices and working conditions for local craftspeople. And while wages are still low by Western standards, the local industry’s reputation - all happy, grateful employees working in the sunshine - also attracts designers keen to be seen to do the right thing at a time when ethics can be a selling point.
Ali Charisma, a local fashion designer and chairman of the Bali Fashion Designers Association, says the influx of foreigners has improved the quality of manufacturing on the island.
“Because there are a lot of expats here now, the quality is a lot better than before. We have come to learn that our clients want better quality. Also, because a lot of expats have their own factories in Bali now, they have trained their employees, so the skills are getting better,” says Charisma, who also manufacturers for Australian and other international fashion companies from his 120-man factory.
“We used to have much more clothing factories here in the late 1990s. The factories were a lot bigger, it was more mass produced and the quality was not so good. These days we specialise in smaller boutique factories with better quality.”
And while the Australian clothing industry may grumble about the rush for offshore manufacturing, many Bali-based Australian designers believe they are making a valuable contribution to the local Balinese community.
“When we started, being honest, (helping the Balinese) wasn’t a consideration,” admits Cowen. “But as we’ve grown, our growth has allowed us to control a lot more.” Cowen says she tried to introduce superannuation but “that was a bit of a hard one to get workers to understand”. Instead, her company offers training and computer courses and catering and medical benefits. “I really feel that our staff do benefit from us being here,” she says.
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/
January 31st, 2008
Bali Dynasty Resort is once again holding its annual charity event “Back to Bali Dynasty Party” in Perth, Western Australia on Saturday, 9th February, 2008.
This will be the 15th consecutive year the party has been held. The charity event will take place from 5.30pm at the WA – Italian Club, 219 Fitzgerald Street, North Perth. The theme for this years’ event is a “Tropical Island Party” theme which should enable people to come casually relaxed and in the mood for Bali! The biggest draw card to this event is more than 60 raffle prizes which include flights and holidays at the Bali Dynasty Resort as well as many prizes for attractions in Bali.
This Perth event has become the major fundraiser for the Bali Dynasty Charity Effort and is held annually to support over 80 impoverished children in their educational needs in order to provide future sustainability.
The Bali Dynasty Resort has been committed since 2000 to this project which is managed by the East Bali Poverty Project. This is a remote mountain hamlet in Pengalusan. The village is approximately 85km from Kuta and until recently could only be reached by four wheel drive vehicles.
Up to 2007, there are 42 children (25 boys and 17 girls) of Primary High School and 12 children of Junior High School (7 boys and 5 girls) at Pengalusan have graduated. The main impact has been an overall improvement in their standard of living. Through education they have developed better hygienic practices and are generally healthier. The organic farming programme has enabled them to grow a wider variety of crops as opposed to the “cassava” which contributed to the high level of goiter at that time.
“The Back to Bali Dynasty Party has always received great support from our guests from the first time it was held in 1993” explained General Manager, Robert Kelsall “each year the event is supported by more than 350 past guests of the Resort who get an opportunity to renew ties with select staff members, enjoy an evening of good food and entertainment and participate in the highlight of the event; which is the raffle where guests can win some great prizes.”
This years’ event has been made possible through the support of major wholesalers including Asia Escape, Creative Holidays, Freestyle, New Horizons Holidays and Garuda Orient Holidays.
Source: http://www.etravelblackboard.com/
January 30th, 2008
Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA News) - Bali needs tourist guides who speak Russian fluently as more and more Russians are visiting Indonesia`s most famous tourist island, an official said.
Out of the 7,039 certified tourist guides available on Bali Island, only 41 speak Russian, Made Sukadana, chairman of the Indonesian Tourist Guide Association (HPI), said here on Monday.
Of the total number of tourist guides, around 2,586 speak English and 2,160 Japanese, he said.
Bali`s tourism office had recorded the arrival of 31,267 Russians visited at the Island in the January-November period in 2007, an increase of 64.5 percent from 19,000 in the same period in 2006.
A total of around 1.5 million foreign tourists visited Bali last year with the number of Japanese topping the list followed by Australians and Taiwanese while the Russians came in 13th place.
Bali was visited by 327,301 Japanese tourists in the January-November period in 2007, an increase of 40 percent from 233,588 in the same period in 2006.
The number of Australian tourists visiting Bali last year was 182,301, up by 54 percent from 117,969 in the previous year.
Bali received 132,165 Taiwanese tourists last year, a slight decrease from 132,171 in 2006.
Last year, Bali saw a total of 1.5 foreign tourist arrivals, the highest figure in the past 10 years. (*)
Source: ANTARA News
January 29th, 2008
(Balidiscovery.com) Bisnis Bali reports that the presence of illegal Tourism Information Offices operating across the island of Bali is a source of growing concern.
Travel agencies, souvenir shops and even street vendors are displaying “tourist information” signs, complains the Coordinator of the Bali Tourism Board (BTB), Ngurah Wijaya.
As a result, Wijaya is calling on the government to quickly bring some order to enterprises displaying “tourist information” signs in order to safeguard Bali’s image. Wijaya warned: “Imagine if everyone can easily set up a tourism information office. The information they provide can be incorrect or be used to mislead tourist visitors.”
Fearing that the current situation, if allowed to continue unchecked, will cause Bali’s recovery to come off track, Wijaya wants illegal “tourist information offices” to be closed and replaced with E-Kiosks providing tourist information for the Island’s visitors.
To this end, the government has appointed a local company PT Ochabawez Dinamika Persada to establish 275 “E-Kiosks” across Bali in February 2008.
Source: http://my-indonesia.info/
January 28th, 2008
Lombok lies around 35 kilometers east of Bali, at the start of the Nusa Tenggara-Timor island chain that stretches hundreds of kilometers across the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Sumbawa, Flores and Sumba. Lombok is the westernmost island of this chain, which becomes arid and dry after the Wallace Line.
The Wallace Line is a deep undersea trench separating Bali and the islands of West and East Nusa Tenggara. The trench was discovered by Alfred Russell Wallace in 1859, during the zoologist’s 10-year travels across the Indonesian archipelago when he noticed a distinct change in the zoology, climate and flora between Bali and the southeastern islands.
The flora and fauna east of the Wallace Line are classified as Australasian, and the western species are classified as Asiatic.
Lombok is a mountainous island, and its capital is Mataram. Indonesia’s second highest mountain, Mount Rinjani, is located on Lombok and can be seen from most parts of the island, towering high above it at 3,726 meters.
The indigenous people of Lombok are the Sasak, who are famous around the world for their beautiful handwoven textiles, called songket and ikat. The dominant religion of Lombok is Islam.
– Trisha Sertori
Source: The Jakarta Post
January 28th, 2008
Luh De Suriyani, Contributor, The Jakarta Post, Karangasem
Chris Doran, an Australian geography lecturer, woke up in the Ashram Gandhi\Candi Dasa building in Karangasem, Bali, on the first day of 2008.
A knocking sound coming from a bamboo bell alerted him to join 13 other Ashram residents for breakfast.
This was Doran’s last breakfast with Ashram residents since he was to return to Australia that day, but this made him a little more excited. He even asked for a plate of rice — he usually only ate a cup of sweet potato porridge with brown sugar and grated coconut.
Ashram residents eat one cup of rice, vegetables with noodles and a slice of fried tempeh. There is no meat on the menu because they are all vegetarians.
“This is a very quiet place and I really enjoyed New Year’s Eve here,” he said.
In the Ashram, Doran said, he could experience a different side of Bali, unlike the one seen in advertisements and the media at home, which often presented Bali as an iconic “second home” for Australians.
“The second home for Australians is Kuta not Bali,” Chris said, adding that the icon had hidden Bali’s spiritual tourism objects like Ashram Gandhi.
He said Ashram Gandhi had rejuvenated his spirit and peace of mind after he attended the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (UNFCC) for two weeks in Nusa Dua.
The spiritual atmosphere at the Ashram is not only developed by the devotions practiced by the Ashram’s residents (they devote every morning, noon and afternoon) but also by their mutual cooperation and philanthropic actions.
Every morning, all the residents clean the Ashram area. They cook, wash, take care of the cows or do gardening.
When they eat, nobody tries to get in first ahead of the others. They wait patiently for each other to eat together.
The late Gedong Bagoes Oka, the Balinese woman who established Ashram Gandhi in 1976, aimed to allow people an opportunity to adopt and experience the life principles of (Mahatma) Gandhi in daily life.
During the 32 years of its establishment, Ashram has been visited by those interested in joining an anti-violent, vegetarian and swadeshi (self sufficient) community which implements principles of religious tolerance.
Consequently, Ashram residents, most of whom are Hindu, are used to living with Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and people of other beliefs, including those considered heretical by the Indonesian government.
To keep its simplicity and spirituality intact, Ashram guests are not allowed to smoke, drink alcohol or have sex.
Source: The Jakarta Post
January 25th, 2008
Bali (MNN) ― Last year,
Book of Hope showed the GodMan film for the first time in Bali. The GodMan is a 3-D animated story of the life of Christ that supplements the distribution of the Book of Hope.
Bali, a South Pacific island, has a long history of Hinduism. The team there must request permission from village leaders before they show the GodMan. In one village in particular, the village leader, Ladra, was not accepting of the idea. However, while the team was at his home, they found out that Ladra’s wife was very ill. They offered to pray for her, which he allowed.
Before they left, they noticed that Ladra was very touched by the fact that these strangers were concerned not only for his village, but for his wife as well. Ladra invited the team back in a few weeks.
Book of Hope’s Ty Silva says the situation when they returned was quite different. ”This time Ladra had prepared a place for the GodMan to be shown. In fact it was in a field right in front of his own house. They had the film showing, and the children and the people of the village were very excited. In fact, they filled the field and overflowed into the street.”
After the showing, Ladra gave his life to Christ. The team was excited, and the news spread. But local priests in other villages were angry. They told the local police who began to tell villagers that Ladra’s decision would bring him under a curse.
Threats came in, and prayer began. ”One day, not too long after that, the chief of police in Ladra’s village called the pastor to report to his office. There the pastor was given the opportunity to present his side of the story, plus he was able to share the Gospel with the chief of police and other policemen that had gathered around,” said Silva. The Hindu chief granted the BOH team protection as long as they reported any more threats.
Local priests were still upset and stripped Ladra of his leadership responsibilities. ”Ladra gave a very similar response as Nicodemus. He said, ‘If they turn against me for showing the story of a Man who taught so many wonderful things and did so much good, then let it be,” said Silva.
Ladra’s response impacted his entire family. They unanimously decided that Ladra would be the priest of his family. Now, the pastor of the Book of Hope team has begun a discipleship and training program for Ladra.
Source: http://www.mnnonline.org/
January 25th, 2008
Wasti Atmodjo, I Wayan Juniarta, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar
The religious festival of Galungan is a profitable time for the vendors of ritual paraphernalia, particularly those selling penjor, or decorated bamboo poles.
“I have been overwhelmed with orders for a week,” penjor seller I Ketut Runa said Monday.
Galungan, one of the Balinese Hindus’ biggest religious festivals, is this Wednesday. As a custom, the Balinese erect penjor in front of their houses one day before the festival.
Penjor are said to represent the victory banner used by ancient Balinese to greet the heavenly army of Lord Indra following its victory over the island’s atheistic king of Mayadanawa. Until today, Galungan is still viewed as the celebration of “dharma” (good) over “adharma” (evil).
Runa is the owner of Wisuka Karya shop on Denpasar’s Jl. Supratman. The shop sells various ceremonial goods, including bamboo poles, young coconut leaves and penjor.
On Monday, rows of neatly stacked bamboo poles filled his shop’s front yard, all from several villages in Tabanan and Bangli regencies. Runa sold a seven-meter-long bamboo pole for Rp 8,000, a Rp 5,000 increase over the regular price.
“Its cheaper here than in other places,” he said, adding that a bamboo pole of similar size could fetch Rp 10,000 elsewhere.
Runa could sell up to 2,000 bamboo poles during the Galungan period.
To make penjor, the bamboo pole is adorned with decorations made of young coconut tree leaves, which Runa sells for Rp 8,000 per stem. Then a sampian (tail crown) of coconut or palmyra leaves is attached with a loose string to the tip of the pole. It sells for Rp 8,000 in Runa’s shop.
The penjor is then erected on the right side of the house’s front gate, next to a small shrine made of woven bamboo strips. Seven days ago, Runa had a stock of 1,500 bamboo shrines selling for Rp 5,000 to Rp 15,000, and by Monday only a few remained.
The erected penjor bears a striking resemblance to the curved tail of the dragon commonly found in Balinese traditional paintings and sculptures.
“Indeed, penjor is the symbol of Basuki, the dragon of fertility,” said Hindu scholar Ketut Wiana.
“Basuki is the supernatural force that guards the island’s rivers, lakes and forests. All these elements play a critical role in the survival of the island’s agriculture sector.”
By erecting penjor, he added, the Balinese conveyed their wish for a prosperous future as well as their gratitude for God’s protection and generosity.
“That’s why the penjor’s decorations comprise rice stalks, fruits, beans and cakes. This is our acknowledgement to the numerous blessings the Lord has provided us,” he said.
Besides bamboo poles, Runa also sold fully decorated penjor.
“These days, many people don’t have the time to make the penjor themselves,” Runa said.
He sold the penjor for Rp. 80,000 each. Despite the heavy price tag, the demand was so high that he had already turned down several orders.
“We could only make 50 penjor. I don’t have enough workers to make more than that,” he said.
Making penjor was a task that required skills and artistry, and qualified workers with were hard to find, he added.
Source: The Jakarta Post
January 24th, 2008
The Westin Resort Nusa Dua is offering wine connoisseurs a refreshing opportunity to sample a choice selection of different international wines during its innovative ‘Wines of the World Flight Promotion’. Available every evening from 7pm until 11pm at IKAN Beachfront Restaurant, guests are invited savour great wines sourced from around the globe.
Choose either a white or red wine flight where a selection of 3 different glasses of wine from 3 different countries, including Australia, Chile, New Zealand and America, will be served at just Rp.320.000++.
This promotion is available for a limited time only. For further information or to make a dining reservation, please call The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali on 771906.
Source: http://www.etravelblackboardasia.com/
January 23rd, 2008
Japanese outbound travel continues to slow, including to Hawaii.
For the year to date through November, Japanese arrivals to Hawaii dropped 3.5 percent to 1.2 million total visitors.
Hawaii remains the fourth most popular draw for Japanese, after China and South Korea, which are primarily of business travel destinations, and France.
Also according to the Japan National Travel Association, travel to the U.S. Mainland has declined 6.2 percent through November, while travel to Canada is down 14.8 percent through October.
Australia, New Zealand, Guam and the Northern Marianas also are seeing fewer Japanese travelers.
However, Japanese travel to Bali, Indonesia, is up 40.7 percent, while trips to Macau have increased 34.4 percent.
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/
January 22nd, 2008
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