Auditya Sari

Nyepi is a Hindu ceremony only commemorated in Bali, Indonesia. It’s a day of silence, fasting, and meditation for the Balinese Hindus. It’s an obligation and culture for all to observe restrictions on noise and travel. This means being confined to your hotel or villa as no one is allowed on the beaches or streets, with all outside lighting switched off, inside lighting kept weak and noise reduced to a minimum.This year, Nyepi was held on the 22nd of March. Many people in the world thank Bali for the courage to take 24 hours off in the era of globalisation, as it takes an extraordinary effort for this tourist town to observe “a day of silence.”Regardless of denomination, everyone is invited to conduct a Catur Brata retreat and evaluate oneself through Tri Kaya Parisudha. Many admit that the morning air after Nyepi is most pleasant, fresh, and clean, not to mention the benefits of saving electricity, which all residents appreciate.There was scientific writing from Anak Agung Gde Raka Dalem [1] several years ago. The article showed a table comparing the pollutants produced in several areas in Bali every time Bali celebrates Nyepi. The results are, of course, easy to predict. A silent day without activity for 24 hours has reduced pollutants in the air, such as SO2, CO, O3, NO2, and NO, by up to 40 per cent [2]. Who doesn't celebrate fresh morning air at Ngembak Geni after Nyepi? Ironically, almost no one.I am proud to say Balinese are the only people in the world who can work together to create such an atmosphere. Nyepi is also touted as a powerful medicine to treat the earth, which is getting old. Many also wish Nyepi to be held more frequently in more locations. However, exchanging ideas with a friend resulted in another thought.This year's Nyepi, I spent at home with two friends, both immigrants from the village. We decided not to be with our families for various reasons. We enjoyed all the simplicity and beauty of the Catur Brata until the morning. We then celebrated Ngembak Geni by visiting the nearest beach, and we intended to exercise.Ogoh-ogoh statues for the Ngrupuk parade, which takes place on the eve of Nyepi day The beach was already very crowded, although it was still very early. Many young men and women from the village were prepared to annihilate the Ogoh-ogoh. At this point, I changed my mind regarding the duplication of Nyepi in other locations. There was rubbish everywhere. Lots of trash was scattered around, especially in the Ogoh-ogoh procession activity in the city centre. Mineral plastic waste in the form of glasses and bottles was everywhere. I no longer feel pride. Rising consumerismThinking about it logically, it's inevitable. We saw increased consumerism in welcoming this holiday. We shopped in droves, from the village and even in the city. And those who live in cities buy provisions to bring to the village. Supermarkets, minimarkets, to franchise outlets are bustling immeasurably. The lines to the cashier were incredibly long. People shop for a month to prepare for Nyepi.Almost all the snacks and cooking ingredients purchased are wrapped in plastic! Unfortunately, Indonesia as a country lacks good waste management. As has been the case so far, most plastic waste is thrown into the river and later emptied into the Bali Sea, which we used to be proud of for its pristine beauty.The name Bali has recently been tarnished due to a viral video by Rich Horner, a British diver. In his video, Rich Horner dived into the waters of Nusa Penida, at Manta Point. It's not the natural beauty of Bali's underwater that was caught on camera, but the clumps of plastic waste everywhere. [3] It's sad. Up to 70 per cent increase in wasteThe head of the Sanitation and Landscaping Office of Denpasar City, I Ketut Wisada, acknowledged the increase in the volume of waste approaching the holidays. In his interview, Wisada said that during regular days, the volume of waste only reaches 2,700 cubic meters per day, with an average person producing 1.4 kilograms of waste per day. However, ahead of the holiday, waste production rose by up to 60-70 per cent. That's just waste created by a person, not including group waste, which is waste produced during Melasti . The calculation is recorded in just one city, not including other areas. Given all that, is it still appropriate to say that Bali contributed to saving the earth on Nyepi Day? Nyepi produced an extraordinary amount of plastic waste for this day of silence. If there is a spiritual score for Nyepi in Bali, it would be ZERO.Why? The +1 score is given for reducing pollution as we observe a day of quietness and self-reflection with inactivity. We must be careful about accepting a lifestyle of producing vast amounts of waste, especially plastic. In this respect, we are -1. The irony is that these two things happened on the same day, on Nyepi, which is supposed to be a day of blessings and trust.In addition, Indonesia lacks an effective waste management system that involves reducing, recycling and reusing. We should turn this shortcoming into an advantage.Hopefully, the next Nyepi will truly become a medium for self-introspection. Regardless of whatever happens in this world, it will make us embrace the Abhyasa nature. Abhyasa, which means for good deeds, do it and get used to it every day; no need to wait for Nyepi. Minimise the use of plastic, save water and electricity, and start by being responsible for preserving the Earth.At least, start with not throwing garbage carelessly. We were taught from childhood to dispose of trash in its place. Why is it that when we grow up, we give ego and laziness a chance to feel victorious, even if only temporary? After all, whatever the impact on this Earth, we will feel it. Bibliography[1] A. Raka Dalam, Kearifan lokal dalam pengelolaan lingkungan hidup, Denpasar: UPT Universitas Udayana, 2007.[2] N. L. R. Tirtawati, “Makna Hari Raya Nyepi Bagi Lingkungan,” Lingkungan, pp. 1-5, 10 June 2016.[3] detiknews, “Laut Nusa Penida Bali Penuh Sampah Plastik,” Sumber berita terkini dan terpercaya, pp. 1-2, 8 Maret 2018.[4] D. K. d. P. K. Denpasar, “Laporan Volume Sampah Kota Denpasar,” Dinas Kebersihan dan Pertamanan Kota Denpasar, Denpasar, 2015.

I worked in the cocoa sector in 2016 for a short time. I was involved in renewable energy research, primarily on biogas. The multidisciplinary project was led by a consortium comprising Global Green Growth and Strategies for Sustainability and Climate Action (GreenWIN).I remember it so well. It was my first trip to Jembrana, about 100 km from Denpasar, the capital of Bali, with a team of four. There was an engineer from Italy, two other engineers from France, and a final team member who had just graduated with a master's degree from Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands. I then left Indonesia to continue my studies in sustainable development in Northern Europe. I chose this field of science because I believe the approach will enable this wealthy country to become more balanced and wiser in managing its natural resources. Nature cannot provide everything we want at our current level of greed.The next time I visited Jembrana was after I finished my studies in 2019. I was involved in Sustainability Action and Advocacy in Cocoa (SUBAK) with a local NGO named Kalimajari Foundation. UTZ, a certification body based in the Netherlands, funded this project, and they are advocates for sustainable farming and better lives for farmers and their families. I became a regular visitor of Jembrana to support local cocoa farmers, who ranged from expert and novice farmers to young and women farmers. The focus was on those particularly interested in the vision and mission for sustainable cocoa.My journey became more interesting after I was involved in training on making the Most Significant Changes (MSC), a monitoring and evaluation programme that encourage farmers to share significant changes in their lives before and during the Cocoa Lestari programme. It was then that I learnt about I Gede Eka Aryasa's story.“Ten years ago, cocoa answered my prayer,” the 38-year-old father, usually called Guru Eka, said. He was from Penyaringan Village, Melaya District, Jembrana Regency.He loved farming. He didn't remember much, but since he was two, he has helped his father work on the farm daily.For him and his family, being a farmer is a hereditary livelihood. The farm that his father owned was quite large, and it had various kinds of fruit, plants and other natural products. He was proud to be a farmer at that time.However, some years later, a family conflict caused a rift between him and his biological father, the first person to introduce him to cocoa.His father had a gambling habit. He often came home angry, breaking the furniture around him when he got violent. His parents later divorced, and his father remarried. Guru Eka's stepmother was a young woman of his age. The separation led him to live with his biological mother. A decision that caused his father to hate him. Guru Eka helped his mother sell produce from the farms around the village to the market in Denpasar. The crops sold came from other people’s farms, not their own. Since his father remarried, he has never returned to their farm, which was leased to someone else. His complicated relationship with his father made Guru Eka think he would never own a farm.His last memory of the farm was an argument between his father and mother. His father had some superior cacao seeds called Lindak, a local cacao variety, and had planned to plant the seeds with Guru Eka before the fight. His mother often said he was entitled to part of the farm owned by his father because he was his son. In Bali, sons have the prerogative over “gono gini” assets.Sometime later, the lease on his father's farm ended. His uncle believed strongly that the farm belonged to Guru Eka and that he should buy it. Guru Eka was initially hesitant but eventually sold his only treasure ─ his wedding ring ─ to buy the farm. He used the money from the sale of the ring, plus a small loan from a neighbour, as a down payment. The rest he promised to repay in various ways.It's odd that Guru Eka had to buy his father's farm, which he could have for free. However, he believes this is the best way. The 5-hectare farm is very productive. Half of the land is planted with cocoa, and the other half has many other crops, such as mangosteen, mango, banana, nutmeg, cloves, coffee, vanilla, and teak.Guru Eka needed to figure out what to do the first two months after taking over the farm. He watched how others tended and cared for the farm for two months. The process of planting to harvesting. His hard work paid off, and his cocoa farm harvested 500 kilograms of dry cocoa beans every 15 days. Then disaster struck.In the 2000s, there was a crop plague. Almost all his cocoa plants died from vascular streak dieback (VSD) disease. This condition causes crop yields to drop sharply to only 70 kilograms per harvest. He decided to cut down all the cocoa trees he owned. The goal is to replace it with other plant seeds, such as teak; at least, it's safer for investment. On returning from buying teak seeds, he saw four cocoa trees that continued to bear fruit even though the others were almost dead. He was confused but felt there was hope to keep his cocoa farm, especially when he realised the four trees were Lindak clones his father had planted on the last fateful day before he left the family. Then he turned to God and prayed.“Ida Sang Hyang Widi Wasa, show me the way. If cocoa is my life, show me the way. Show me the way. Again, show me the way.” Guru Eka’s cocoa farm survived. Little by little, he succeeded in recovering the diseased cacao trees. He studied and sought knowledge from anywhere - through farmer friends who had been successful, training from experienced workers and the Internet.The road wasn’t easy, but he firmly believed that cocoa farming was his calling. In 2016, his meeting with the Kerta Samaya Samaniya Cooperative (KSS Cooperative) and the Kalimajari Foundation as a part of the Cocoa Lestari programme answered his prayer ten years ago. Through the assistance of the Cocoa Lestari programme, he learned how to ferment beans to produce higher-quality cocoa. The beans initially sold were only Rp. 17,000 per kg (US$1.15), but after fermentation, the cocoa beans were bought by the KSS cooperative for Rp. 42,000 per kg.He often attends training facilitated by KSS Cooperative and Kalimajari for both the upstream sector relating to planting and harvesting and downstream on marketing. Kalimajari and the KSS Cooperative help develop farmers’ skills to become more efficient through organisational management and UTZ sustainable farming certification.The MSC programme, in which I am involved, is also one of the efforts to increase the capacity of farmers related to journalism and photography. The training assistance was provided by Anton Muhajir, a freelance journalist in Bali, who was chosen because of his credibility and consistency in voicing changes in civil society.The aim of this MSC training is for farmers to be able to talk about the changes that have occurred in their lives individually and as a group. The hope is that by sharing the experiences and voices regarding the struggles of farmers in the field, the stories will help motivate anyone involved in sustainable cocoa development in Jembrana, as well as in Indonesia as a whole.This activity allowed the recording of proof that the Cocoa Lestari program in Jembrana, which had been running for nearly eight years, had produced favourable outcomes for cocoa farmers in Jembrana. These changes should be personally and professionally beneficial for farmers regarding environmentally friendly agricultural practices and sustainable market practices locally and internationally.I appreciate chocolates even more now that I know the struggles of cocoa farmers in Indonesia. Their situation might have improved, but it is still far from perfect. There is still much work to be done, which will require the support and involvement of multi-stakeholders. All must join hands in fighting for farmers’ rights in the fields.

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Auditya Sari

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Nyepi – The Irony of Bali’s Day of Silence

Sustainable Cocoa that Transforms Indonesian Farmers' Lives