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Because Nature Is Key

You said we are in February already ? WHAATTT!

So we are supposed to be taking action our New Year resolutions right?

It is hard to remember what I did this last month. Nothing THAT exciting since, as explained in last month’s blog, the budget is quite tight. Some saving is also necessary to afford future travel post Singapore  visa renewal trip,

One piece of advice if you come on EVS guys. Have either parents or savings to cover your back as the allowance cannot realistically cover your expenses.Well, you can survive but you cannot enjoy the experience. Not for 10 months anyway.hings like the garden.

So I’ve been taking care of the house a little bit more.

 

 Home Sweet Home 

 Wherever you are, to feel home is important. So I guess for me it means to take. care of the plants. We are lucky to be provided with great accommodation so better to take care of it, and kind of own it. Meaning that you take actions to make it your own even if, technically, it’s not yours.

One of the house has a little patch that I like to tender, along with the must necessary weeding of a space that could quickly turned into an ugly jungle.

   

Apparently this is known as “julien’s spot” .This is true that you’re very likely to find me on my pillow overlooking the front-yard.. Great spot to sit in the morning when the rest of the house is still sleeping, but that the street is gradually waking up.

Basil and chili has been planted and it is proudly that I can announce

the birth of 5 basil plants!

Some Italians are set to visit us soon, so if they bring Parmesan cheese,

there will be some “bad ass” pesto coming up!

 

 

I am also recycling some bamboo from the workers next door, planning on a swing bench. I’ll keep you update but it may take time as I try not to spend money on it. I also plan on a little fish pond later on.

Sometime the outdoor comes indoor too as I have that habit is to put flowers fallen off the tree into a stone bowl, or recycling coconuts to put plants inside. Teased by some,it does not matter as long as I enjoy doing it!

But I’ve been working more on a far less natural matter as well : plastic.

“Bye Bye Plastic Bag”

Bali is a paradise. No doubt about it. However, better to come sooner than later as this paradise will have a hard awakening in a few years if serious action is not – at least – planned.

I attended a conference calling for campaigning toward the ban of plastic bags on the island. I was part of the media/PR workshop to define a strategy that would tackle the issue. Great brainstorming! 

The main conference, ran by kids was very interesting. However, and as pointed by one of the speaker, 70% of the attendance was foreigner, highlighting one problem I also identified in various Facebook groups talking about the environment in Bali : A strong domination of foreigners. How much are local people involved in the protection of their own island? Hard to tell.

A very good example of this is the name of the group “Bye Bye Plastic Bag” and the name of the campaign “one island, one voice”. All is in English. The population who needs to be reached is likely to speak little English and in overall, even if they do, it sounds difficult to empower the local population when not using their own language.

With the current music festival project, I try my best to surround myself with Indonesian teammates who obviously are the best to communicate and thus empower effectively to their country-mates. As empowerment is the key.