Community social projects

Thank you JJ & Jane for  your donation to Suara, contributing to his Degree in Architecture.

 Suara has started working doing freelance designs. Pictured above in front of the new 100% solar villa Suber Sari Eco Resort, which Suara helped with the technical drawings.

The Lodge will continue to sponsor Suara for 1 more year until his degree is completed.

This month Oska & I joined our Balinese families children Putu & Susi in the Potong Gigi ceremony.

It was an amazing experience with most of the community calling in over 5 days, sharing food, helping to make elaborate decorations, finishing with a traditional dance in the evening with a local dance troop and gamelan orchestra.

Hi there, Friends of the lodge, We have a new project

“MAKE A WISH COME TRUE !”

Recently we met to talk with our staff about their dreams and aspirations for the future…

Here are their Wishes… if you would like to contribute to help make these wishes come true , please email me through the CONTACT US page.

Pak Ketut

Pak Ketut – village carver Ketut teaches guests to carve at the lodge, freelance. He fell from a coconut tree and was immobile for 5 years. His wife & son left him.

During this time he taught himself to carve wood and stone. He now makes a good daily income from the lodge.  His dream is to set up a shop with his carvings for sale, this requires some input to buy wood and set up an area for displaying his work.

Project cost: Rp 5,000.000 (USD$590.00)

Ida

Ida is recently married with a new baby, she would love to fix her leaky roof with earth rendered tiles, before the wet season.

Project cost: Rp 2,000.000 (USD$240)

Agus 

Our gardener aspires to teach Maths & science at our local school, he is a wizz at maths, and currently we dont have a maths teacher at the school so we would like to support this dream. He would need Rp 900.000 (USD$ 105.00) per month to teach daily at the school.

Project cost: (USD$1,260.00) for 1 year.

Komang

Komang our amazing handyman would like a gas oven and gas bottle for his mum to cook their meals – currently they use a wood fired oven.

Project cost: Rp 1,200.000 (USD$150)

Eka

Eka has been working hard to build a new kitchen and toilet, she would now like to tile her earth floor so it will be dry for her family in the wet season.

Project cost: Rp 2,000.000 (USD$235.00)

Lena

Lena’s son was born prematurely with 1 leg shorter than the other, now he is 8 years old. She would like to have some orthopedic shoes made for him.

Project cost: Rp 3,000.000 (USD$340.00)

It was a lovely day for us to join Iluh & her new born baby girl last week as she celebrated with family & friends her babies 3 month ceremony.

Iluh’s baby is born on an auspicious day in Bali which will be celebrated every year with a bigger than usual ceremony.

I have to say she is sooo… beautiful and was trying to talk to me with her lovely eyes and gurgling phases with such commitment.

For sure she has come with a lot of knowledge. If you would like to send any messages to Iluh please do through our contact us page and I will pass them on to her.

The cow from FNPF’s (Friends of the National Parks) “Half a Cow” program finally gives birth to a healthy male calf

In mid October, after a nine-month pregnancy, the cow from the “half a cow” project finally gave birth to a male calf. For the first week the calf only took milk from the mother but soon was foraging for what it could find around the office area.

Many thanks to Mr David Lambert and Sarinbuana Eco Lodge for sponsoring this programme. The half cow programme not only provides financial benefit to FNPF each time we sell a calf but also produces cow dung everyday that we use in our nursery.

THE ‘SARINBUANA BALI TIGERS’

The Eco Lodge has been sponsoring a kid’s football team in the village, for more than 2 years now. All the boys, who are aged 10-14yrs, receive boots and uniforms, and they train twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Eco Lodge guests are always welcome to join in for a friendly game with the Tigers.

The pitch used to be knee-high in grass, so first thing we did was buy a lawn mower, and during that first year, our son Larz (15yrs old at the time) coached the team, which the boys decided to name The ‘Sarinbuana Bali Tigers’. You can imagine how proud we were of Larz, taking charge of 20 rowdy young boys, and molding them into a team. Nowadays, their permanent coach is Made Putra, a great guy who cares deeply about the kids, and who loves football.

When the team first traveled to compete in the city they did poorly, and for kids who see themselves as having lowly status in the society, this was a hard time. It seemed to reinforce the idea that farm kids from a remote village could not compete with higher-status city kids. Now however, things have changed.

In 2 years, we’ve seen what can be achieved with consistent support and training. From an undisciplined group of farm boys, the team has become an organized football force to be reckoned with. Nowadays, when the ‘Sarinbuana Bali Tigers’ compete in the city, they win 3 out of 4 of their games. Last time, in Denpasar, the opposing coach asked if he could hire several of our boys to play in his team!

As a kid and young man, I never got into sports, it’s only in recent years, via my sons, that I’ve come to learn about, and love the ‘beautiful game’, football. Now I get it. The changes I’ve seen in our village boys have been amazing. They used to act only as individuals, or in small groups. Now, they work together as a team that knows it can compete strongly in the city. Poor kids, farm boys with low status in the society, can stand out and shine on the football pitch. And we can see the psychological and health benefits, they’re stronger and more confident, and they have more stamina.

If you’re a football fan, come and have a kick with us. I’m 53 but I often play with the boys. I aim to become the best, non ex-professional, 60yr old football player in Bali! Many guests have played with us over the last couple of years, it’s great fun and a good way to get a feel for the local kids, but beware… Our boys are pretty good.

If you’d like to contribute, please bring a ball or some other football gear. The boys love shirts from famous teams, and we go through a lot of balls. If you see the value in this program, you’re also welcome to donate. We’re currently making plans to support a team for older boys, 14yrs +, so when our kids leave the ‘Bali Tigers’ and move on to high school, they’ll be able to continue with their much-loved football.

A big thank you to 12 year old Anzia Anderson from Brooklyn New York for her generous donation to help our village student Suara continue his University Education.

Suara is studying to be an architect and has been achieving high marks so far this year.

Thanks again Anzia!

This month saw the opening of our new family temple at the lodge. With the staff, guests our Balinese family and our family all joining in.

The Balinese believe the family temples are a place for them to give daily flower & incense offerings to the spirits who protect the people, land and water on our property.

Although Norm and I are not Hindu we are grateful for this daily appreciation of life.