Bali Tourism News

Kites changing lives in Bali

August 8th, 2008

By SHERI TRUSTY • News Herald correspondent

On the beautiful Indonesian island of Bali lies the small village of Ubud where all but the strong men are forgotten.
The women are not considered important enough to educate, the orphans must often fend for themselves, and the handicapped are expected to sit on the street corners and beg.

Yet in the midst of this village lives a man who has dedicated his life to a higher vision for the people of Ubud. He has found a way to educate the females and give some self-sufficiency to those who would otherwise be unable to help themselves. And his help all centers on the building of a kite.
I Ma-de Budiasa, or simply Ma-de as he is known, manufactures and sells kites that have been handcrafted by those he helps. He has created a school for girls at his home, and to help keep the school running, the girls paint the kites after their studies.

“In Bali, women aren’t educated. They don’t normally go to school,” said Bill Rost of Curtice. He and his wife, Wati, help support Ma-de’s work by selling the kites here in the states.

“Ma-de supplies the books and teachers for the mornings. In the afternoons, they paint kites for him,” he said.

Orphans and the handicapped are also given the chance to support themselves by doing the same work at one of his shops elsewhere in the village. Rost said that Ma-de tells them, “Your legs don’t work, but you can sit up here at the table and paint.”

“He’s one of the nicest persons I’ve ever met,” said Rost, explaining that between the schoolchildren and the people working in the shops, Ma-de is helping about 500 people. “He basically takes care of everybody.”

The kites are handmade, and all but the paint and nylon are recycled. “The houses over there are made of bamboo,” said Rost. “They use the leftover bamboo to make the frames. And they search for flip-flops on the beach and recycle the rubber.”

The kites are made by a simple process in a simple setting. The workers just sit on the floor and paint.

“Some of them paint the body; some of them paint the wings,” said Wati.

But while the work itself may be unextraordinary, the end result is not. What these children and adults are creating are beautiful works of art. “Seventy-five percent (of the kites we sell) don’t get flown,” said Rost. “They just like them for art.”

But that doesn’t mean they can’t be flown. They are not only lovely, but functional as well. “The peacock is easiest to fly and the most popular because of the colors,” he said.

“I’ve taken them to a lot of parties and got it up in the air and held it down with a rock. They’ll stay up for hours.”

Rost and Wati have traveled to Wati’s native Indonesia several times and seen first hand the work Ma-de is doing. They have chosen to support his work by selling the kites here in America. They sell at festivals, and a few stores, and are looking for more retailers interested in handling the kites.

The Rosts are keeping the costs of the kites down in the hopes that they will generate more money for Ma-de’s work. The kites sell for $12 (x-small), $15 (small), $20 (medium), $25 (large) and $50 (x-large).

This summer they sold their kites at the Maumee Bay Kite Festival on July 19-20, and the Dragonboat Festival in Downtown Toledo on July 26.

Kites can also be purchased directly through the Rosts. Anyone interested in purchasing or retailing the kites can contact the Rosts at (419) 836-8800.

Source: http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/

Entry Filed under: Bali Tourism News