Chances are . . . . you know someone who’s been to Bali.
(16.9M tourists came in 2019.)
You’ve probably been here yourself.
Regardless, how is Bali typically portrayed?
Spiritual
Natural
beauty
Friendly
Sacred
Artistic
Culturally rich
Content
. . . . a Paradise.
Bali, with its locals who seem to always be smiling, is all of these . . . . and more.
But behind all the smiles, especially for the women, there's a
harsh reality they must endure.
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(This is a true story, but the names & locations have been changed.)
We want you to meet Indra. She's from a small banjar
(neighborhood) in Bali, near Canggu.
She's 26 years old, married to her long-time
sweetheart right after high school, and has a 5 year-old son and 8
year-old daughter.
Indra, like all Balinese women, wanted a good life and followed
the traditional path that her mother, and her mother before here, and
so on, and so on . . . . had done.
She married a Balinese man within Hindu custom, following all
the traditions that come with it.
And like many Asian cultures, she had to choose this path.
She gets up at 4 a.m. every day and has a daily schedule
like this:
- clean the house of her husband's family
- make
offerings
- meditation (if possible)
- go food
shopping
- prepare offering for her husband's business (even
though it's closed due to the pandemic)
- cook breakfast for the
kids
- bathe the kids
- prepare the kids for the
day
- wash the clothes from the day before
- clean her
family's rooms
- if the kids have school, she picks them up - if
not, then she's ironing clothes
And then . . . . it's her job to watch the kids 24/7.
While her family (her in-laws) have staff who could help, should
Indra want to use them, she must pay for them out of her own pocket.
If you're wondering, "Where's the husband?", well . .
. . he doesn't have to help if he doesn't want to. He can go play with
this friends for the day, and doesn't even need to be home at night.
He can even have a girlfriend on the side.
You see . . . . in Bali . . . . the culture is very advantageous
for men.
In fact, most Balinese will tell you that . . . . “The Man is King."
And many of the women will say, "When I re-incarnate, I
want to come back as a man."
In
this cultural mix of Hinduism & Balinese traditions, here are the
realities that Balinese women must endure:
- there's more shame assigned to a women than a man if she does
something considered embarrassing by her family, including not being
married by a certain age (usually by 25) or causing a scene with her
husband who may be cheating on her
- she must leave her own, blood family entirely to be
with her husband, to now be his “property” and that of his family
- they will never inherit any land (land is passed down
from generation-to-generation if it has not already been sold), no
matter if they’re the oldest . . . . it will always go to a son, no
matter if he's the youngest in the family
- should there be serious, domestic problems with her
husband and she gets a divorce, she will lose her children and would
not easily be accepted back by her original family due to shame (this
is why many women have to "accept" their husband's behavior
- they don't want to lose their kids)
Even with just these (there are more), she's trapped.
(While some Balinese women have it better, about 80%
of them endure this according to our own, Balinese friends.)
Unlike the West where there are places women can go to cope and
work through these issues, Balinese women have none.
Despise this, these women remain devoted daughters,
mothers, wives, and Hindus.
And how about the children, especially the daughters? They see
what's going on . . . . how do mothers help them navigate through
this? 
They need help.
This is why NaiAsa Institute has created
the Saraswati Seva Project.
For the past 9 years, NaiAsa Institute (previously called Soul
Flow Alchemy) been at the forefront of pioneering new paradigms and
technology for healing, education and transformational learning based
in scientific, spiritual, and somatic principles, with a special
humanitarian interest in empowering women and children all around the world.
While
we would love to introduce this education to every woman on the
planet, starting with Bali, we know it's not easily accessible from a
technological and/or financial standpoint.
So, one of the goals of the Saraswati Seva Project is to
create a center where these Balinese women can come and be held in a
safe container and learn this valuable education.
Having said that, with the advent of the Covid age, we realize that
more basic needs have taken priority. Regardless of their societal
status, the lack of tourism has affected over 80% of the island. And
while the Balinese got help from the Indonesian government in 2020, it
is not the case in 2021.
The Balinese, it seems, are on their own so everyone in the house
must contribute . . . . even if you already have FT job of raising
the kids.
Some mothers have no choice but to take a job that’s not
only dangerous, but also illegal.
——————————————
Meet Ani
We met Ani in July 2020 while taking a walk down to the Petanu River,
one of the most powerfully spiritual rivers in all of Bali.
Ani was an amazing guide and her love of the land, and the
importance of taking care of it, left an impression on us that we
wouldn’t forget.
(If you'd like to see the full story of our adventure with her,
watch the video below.)
It’s now August 2021.
We reconnected with her recently and we’re saddened by what we
learned about what she must do to feed her family & how so many in
this village are going hungry.
Because her work of tour guide has disappeared, she must go back
to carrying heavy paras batu (sandstone) blocks from the
river bed (the same Petanu River that runs below our land) up 100 m to
the road so they can be picked up by trucks and sold as building material.
Each trip up she carries approximately 30 kg
(66 lbs).
She’ll do 20 trips if working a full day.
For 8 hours of her effort, she earns only Rp 100,000 (7 USD).
In addition . . . . this trade is illegal.
It's her only choice right now . . . . and it’s not enough
because her husband can't work due to a back injury.
We want to help Ani avoid this fate when she’s older. Photo
by Emma Clark Lam
Ani can be considered “lucky” as she can work and is willing to do
jobs like this to feed her family.
Many Balinese aren’t so lucky.
It’s been over a year since Indonesia closed its borders to
tourism. Those who relied on tourism for their income never imagined
the borders would still be closed.
With another round of lockdowns and no end in sight, the
Balinese have lost hope. The painful reality is that they don’t know
when it’ll open up again and even if when it does, things won’t be the same.
For many, putting food on the table has become a daily struggle.
As four-year residents, we want to help.
We’re partnering with Ani to grow food for the banjar
(neighborhood) as quickly as possible. And why is she the perfect
person to partner with?
Turns out not only is Ani an amazing guide, she also happens to
be a gifted gardener . . . . she’s the only one in her banjar of
approximately 160,000 with a garden!
However, she shared with us that most villagers don’t have
enough land or have rented or sold it.
So, we want to use part of our land to help grow food and help
these families.
That’s why we’ve chosen to work with IDEP , an Indonesian NGO whose motto
“we help people to help themselves” aligns to our vision. In addition
to the many programs they have, they harvest local seeds that are
non-GMO and organic, seeds which we’ll be using.
Combined with a Ani who’s committed to organic farming, we feel
we’ll be growing and donating the most nutritious and healthy food possible!
We’re starting small but here are things we’re trying to do:
1. Every time we harvest, donate organic produce to as many
families as possible in the banjar.
2. Give Ani and others like her, more meaningful and, for some,
less dangerous work.
3. Encourage and educate other residents who have long-term
leases to do the same with their land, if they reasonably can.
This is the 1st project that NaiAsa Institute is taking on as
part of the Saraswati Seva Series, but we have others. So, your
donation towards our $44,000 will not only help this project but also
the one mentioned earlier . . . . the creation of a Women’s Center to
help Balinese women learn how to be empowered while living in a
patriarchal society.
Obviously, we won’t be able to feed thousands of Balinese
people, or help thousands of its women awaken their inner feminine
fire, all at once, but only a handful here and handful there.
With your help . . . . it’ll be a good start.
L to R: Ani’s husband (Wayan), father-in-law, Komang (youngest son
of 3), and Ani on the NaiAsa Institute land
