Travelling by ‘‘Bali Mercy’’ at Sri Buwana Park

Sri Buwana Park that is motorized by a number of volunteers is now intensively developing populistic tourism by highlighting the indigenous rural lifestyle, including the activity that introduces ancient planting system.

Sri Buwana Park is located at North Beng Hamlet, Tunjuk Village, Tabanan—some 8 km north of Tabanan city or some 28 km from Denpasar. By making a visit to this hamlet, you can sit down on the traditional harrow driven by two cows. Tourists that have sat down on the harrow frame admitted they had ridden Mercy. At this pristine village characterized by cool climate, you may also plant rice seedling as the local farmers do. Having closer look at the life of this rural community takes only five hours starting at 09:30 to 14:30 Local Time.
Visiting an elementary school at that village begins the passage. Guided by local villager, you will see the process of teaching and learning at such school. With distinguishing smile of cheerful school children, you can communicate by introducing one another through simple conversation. Similarly, you can teach, if required. In fact, such milieu can motivate all school elements to learn a foreign language.
Few minutes later, the passage is proceeded to a traditional house compound belong to local inhabitant. Activity of the house owner can be seen straightforwardly. For instance, the activity of mejejahitan (making the sacrificial arrangement), plaiting pandanus mat that constitutes the typical handicraft of Tunjuk Village, traditional method of cooking and feeding the cattle like pig and cow. Typicality of smiley Balinese people when receiving guests in expressing their regards can be experienced here. Even, due to their intense tolerance, they will invite the tourists to join the activity on progress if they would like to get involved.
To end the family visit, some village farmers have been waiting for in front of their house to resume the passage to rice field on the purpose of feeling the comfort of rural atmosphere that is indeed genuine. Before leaving, you will be supplied with farming tools and accessories like farmer’s hat, hoe, sickle and so forth. Later, you will walk together while pulling the cows. Within some 15 minutes walk, you have arrived at rice field of the workplace. The group will not work directly, but is preceded with worship to invoke safety.
The work is commenced from ploughing the land by means of ploughing tools like uga (controlling frame), ambet (rattan scarf to tighten the frame with the cow), plough, harrow, flat frame to spread the soil and so forth. If you are interested, you will be given the opportunity to plough the land with the cow power. Ploughing process, from breaking up the soil to flatten again by harrowing and flattering and finally the land is ready to be planted with paddy seedlings.
Prior to planting, you will be introduced to seedling along with its process. For instance, certain ritual is performed at the beginning of seed germination and when it reaches 3 weeks of age, it is ready to plant. Seedlings are put onto a tempeh (bamboo-made seed base) and planting them backwards with the distance of 21 cm.
When the work is over, the passage is continued to the estate and participants bring along the cows. This journey passes through the bund of rice field while observing the plants and other farmer’s activity for some 500 meters away. At the estate, you will be introduced to some kinds of plant like banana, pepper, papaya, clove, coffee, rambutan, pineapple and so forth. If your visit coincides with the fruits season, you may pick the ripe ones.
At the estate, you can take a seat relaxedly in a hut. A farmer then demonstrates how to climb a coconut tree traditionally and you will be served with fresh water of young coconut to quench your thirst. At the estate’s corner, you will be introduced to cassava and withdraw it. Afterwards, peel its skin, boil or roast and taste it on location.
Having watched and experienced it at the same time the series of farmer’s activity at that village, you will be proceeded to a family house compound to have a lunch with distinctive rural menu like jukut ares (soup of banana shoot), rice cone, twisted satay, pepes (steamed meat or fish in banana leaf), sayur urap (Balinese salad dressing), eel sambal, assorted crisp and sambal. All are served in traditional kitchenwares without disregarding the hygienic aspect.
Though it has no specific target market, yet according to Made Candra, the coordinator of Sri Buwana Park, it is mostly visited by European and Japanese tourists. In addition, it is also relished by domestic tourists, especially those from Jakarta and Yogyakarta. It is said that, his program has no fixed schedule. It entirely depends on the request, sometimes it is held once in two days or in three days. “We just promote our product through travel agents and brochures that distributed to hotels and restaurants,” remarked Ketut Buana as the owner of Sri Buwana Park while admitting that such activity has been deeply involved since last December 2003.
He also added that, except for that, the Sri Buwana Park also held social activities by delivering vocational training to children at that village such as learning English, computer, abacus, plaiting kisa (basket made of coconut leaf), klangsah (coconut leaf plaits for roof or partition) and other ritual paraphernalia for Balinese customary rituals. (BTN/015)