The Villages’ Hopes

KOMPAS/AGNES SWETTA PANDIA

Since Covid-19 began in 2020, the number of tourists to Bali has continued to decline. However, Penglipuran Village, one of the traditional villages in Bangli Regency, Bali Province, is still crowded with domestic tourists, as on Thursday (28/2/2020).

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the emergence of various social and economic problems. In addition to a health crisis, the pandemic also caused subsequent problems, including an economic slowdown. Based on data from the Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Areas and Transmigration Ministry, as many as 805,479 people who previously lived in cities have returned to their villages because they had lost their jobs.

Anak Agung Anita Cahayadi is among of them. The 36-year-old previously worked in tourism but had to return to her hometown, Kerta village in Payangan district, Gianyar, Bali. Many Balinese people who work in tourism have felt the harsh impacts of the pandemic. The suspension of flights to Bali has killed tourism, which is the main driver of the Balinese economy.

Before the pandemic, Anita worked as a chef in a number of villas, serving domestic and foreign tourists. Four months ago, when the number of tourists began to fall, she and her family returned to their village and tried their luck farming land inherited from her parents.

She began a new life as a farmer. With the help of villagers, she learned how to grow oranges, bananas, ginger, turmeric, galangal, cassava, chili and tomatoes. Due to the high demand for ginger, which is said to boost the immune system, she has made profit from the sale of ginger she harvested last week.

KOMPAS/COKORDA YUDISTIRA

The Provincial Government of Bali held a prayer with a series of Pamelepeh Lan Pamahayu Jagat ceremonies on the front page of Besakih Temple, Karangasem, Bali, Sunday (23/2/2020).

Based on the culture of modern society, moving from the village to the city is something that is common and even considered a positive step forward in one’s life accomplishments. The city represents a higher standard of living, complete with facilities and infrastructure that provide a better quality of life. This urbanization is driven by dreams of abundant employment opportunities in the city.

The rural culture represents a modest life and is also attached to nature.

However, urbanization has its own problems, ranging from the issue of inequality, a frenetic, hectic life and their negative impact on the environment. Anita feels this transition. At first, she felt it was difficult changing the fast-paced habits of the city, but she gradually enjoyed the new lifestyle in the village. The rural culture represents a modest life and is also attached to nature.

We have learned a lot since the pandemic began. Villages are proven to have more resilience in providing a sustainable living, not just in an agricultural region but also in coastal areas. The people in villages around Tanjung Benoa, Bali, for example, depend on the waters of the Benoa Bay to meet their daily needs.

I Wayan Kartika, 48, a resident of the Tanjung Benoa traditional village, felt how vital Benoa Bay was to his village, especially during this pandemic. Wayan Kartika showed off his catch, a skipjack fish, with a

big smile. He was quite grateful for the gift given by Benoa Bay. He stressed the importance of protecting Benoa Bay from a controversial mega reclamation project that could affect about 700 hectares of the ecosystem supporting the area. For eight years, the local people have resisted the reclamation plan.

The pandemic further strengthened the urgency to protect the people in the village. The cultural structure is very important in disaster mitigation efforts. Wayan Kartika explained that when a food crisis threatened the Tanjung Benoa traditional village, residents held a paruman agung nadak sara, a customary meeting to anticipate the crisis. For example, the residents agreed to provide assistance in the form of basic needs through the village’s customary financial institution. The Tanjung Benoa traditional village has allocated around Rp 1.2 billion (US$82,019) for three consecutive months to assist residents in four villages, namely Banjar Kerta Pascima, Anyar, Tengah and Purwa Santi.

Similarly, Ni Wayan Eka Sudi, 22, a student studying agriculture chose to return home to help build her village, the traditional village of Geriana Kauh, Karangasem regency, Bali. She now grows papaya and processes the fruit into packaged jam, which she named Temawang Papaya Jam.

She was inspired to be a farmer because her parents were also farmers. One of reasons she chose agricultural technology was because she wanted to help her parent develop their farming activities with environmentally friendly technology. She hopes that by returning to the village and making farming innovations, she can show young people that farming is a proud and fun profession.

In this system, there is also the meaning of belief, art or moral values.

The word village, which was taken from a Sanskrit word meaning “homeland”, “original land” or land of birth”, means more than a place to live. Through the cultural philosophy approach, the village means a living space that encompasses a cohesive system of ideas and creative expressions, work, as well as tastes from rural communities. In this system, there is also the meaning of belief, art or moral values.

The village is the whole unification of social, spiritual and ecological relations. Land, in this case, is impossible to be separated from human identity. Rice fields, for example, show the principles of collective work, togetherness, equality in managing water to meet irrigation needs.

As stated Bram Büscher in understanding conservation and sustainability.

The characteristics of a village in which the social life is interconnected with nature, creates harmonious life. As stated Bram Büscher in understanding conservation and sustainability. He called it convivial conservation.

Convivial means a life together that goes along with the rhythm of nature. The convivial conservation in the village does not separate nature from the human. Conversely, humans cannot be separated from their environment. Environmental preservation is carried out as a daily activity, integrated in culture, religion and economic activities based on cooperation.

The new order is a challenge to solve the problem of deurbanization as well as deglobalization. How to reverse this misfortune caused by the pandemic into a moment to meet new opportunities? The village shows resilience in times of crisis.

Kompas

Saras Dewi

Village resilience requires government policy support in favor of maintaining the unity of human and land relations. The threat resulting from the conversion of land use, evictions and land seizures is a fundamental problem that impedes the ideals of village independence.

Saras Dewi is a lecturer at the Department of Philosophy, University of Indonesia.