Author: The Lembongan Traveller

Galungan is the day when all Balinese Hindu people celebrate Darma (good spirit) win over Adharma (bad spirit). Galungan is always celebrated on a Wednesday and ten days later, Kuningan is on a Saturday every 6 months (210 days) in the Balinese calendar.

The spirits of deceased relatives who have died and been cremated return to visit their former homes, the living family members have a responsibility to be hospitable through prayer and making offerings.

It is celebrated with colour, as magnificent penjors ( large bamboo poles with offerings suspended at the ends) are installed along the roadside of businesses and homes.

25 days before Galungan, Hindus people will have ceremony call “ Tumpek Wariga’’ which is for the trees, especially those that will be used for Galungan like coconu, mango & banana trees.   They pray that these trees will having fruit for them to use as offerings on Galungan day.

6 days before Galungan, is called ‘’Sugihan Jawa’’, in Lembongan people will clean all the temples, surrounding areas and also the things that they will use for the ceremony on Galungan day

5 days before Galungan, is called  ‘’Sugihan Bali’’ on this day people will start to making offering from coconut leaves. Woman in the family will start making a variety of offerings totally over 500+ by Gulangan day.

3 days before Galungan , is called ‘’Penyekeban’, people will go to their garden to harvest fruits and do fermentation for banana so they can use it in offerings and ceremonies for Galungan.

2 days before Galungan, is called ‘’Penyajaan’’ on this day Lembongan people will make Balinese cake and crackers to use in offerings for Galungan ceremonies.

1 day before Galungan, is called ‘’Penampahan’, men from the families will put up Penjors they have made from bamboo, coconut leaf, rice, garden produce, some will include seaweed, fruit, Balinese crackers & cake, plus one piece of yellow and white  cloth with the gods symbol on it. Families decorate their temples, house and prepare food such as satay and a special Balinese soup called “ares” made from chicken/pork  and banana tree trunk ready for the day ahead of celebrations.

On Galungan day,  people will start the day early with ceremonies from 5am at their house, they will then move onto their family temple and continue visiting other temples in their village. Normally the ceremonies will finish around 1pm.  They then return to their homes to enjoy a feast of food with their family and friends.

The day after Galungan, is called ‘’Umanis Galungan’’ this is time for the Lembongan people to take a break and relax with their families after long days preparing Galungan ceremonies.

Kuningan day, is celebrated 10 days after Galungan by the Lembongan people with smaller offerings than on Galungan.

5 days before Kuningan is the day Lembongan people will start to make offerings from coconut leaves.

3 days before Kuningan is called ‘’Penyekeban’’ people will go to their garden to harvest fruits and do fermentation from banana so they can use it in offerings and ceremonies for Kuningan.

2 days before Kuningan, is called ‘’Penyajaan’’ on this day Lembongan people will make Balinese cake and crackers to use in offerings for Kuningan ceremonies.

1 day before Kuningan  is called ‘’Penampahan’’, people will decorate their temple with new offerings for Kuningan also making satay as they did at Galungan, plus preparing the special dish called Nasi Kuning (yellow rice) which is symbolic of Kuningan Day.

On Kuningan day Lembongan people will start earlier than Galungan,  at 4am in the morning offerings and ceremonies will begin.  This is because on Kuningan day the Gods only come to the temple for half day so they need to start early. On Kuningan day families only visit a few temples for the ceremony not all temples like on Galungan. In the afternoon Lembongan people will gather at the main temple for a Barong dance.

Same with Umanis Galungan, the day after Kuningan day everyone returns to their family house to clean and tidy up everything used for the recent ceremonies.

30 days after Galungan , the penjors are taken down and burnt along with the offerings that were used to decorate these bamboo structures.  The ash is gathered in respect to the gods and spread in the house garden.

Food & Literacy Relief For Lembongan Update

11^th March 2021

COVID has now been with us for nearly 12 months, it has impacted every corner of the globe.

For the Lembongan locals it is likely to be the biggest and most far reaching challenge of their lifetime. With tourism responsible for majority of  income and driving private enterprise, the island has been at a standstill since March 2020.

We (Mal & Tania Walker) returned to Lembongan in early January this year and have spent the last 6 weeks seeing first hand the enormous impact the pandemic has had here and will continue to have until international travel resumes.

The personal struggles and closure of 95% of businesses is heartbreaking: there is no government support or safety net, for the few that have remained employed they are on reduced base salaries and with no service which often makes up 50% of their income.

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FOOD

The ability to put food on the table has become challenging for so many.  Our aim is to deliver food packages of staples ( rice, oil, sugar, noodles) to as many families as possible.  We can assure you, your contributions to this fundraising effort will be received with the greatest of gratitude by the Lembongan community.

The landscape has changed dramatically, the most cost effective staple for families are tempeh, tofu, eggs and rice which they also mix with corn and cassava to bulk up rice supplies.

For most of the population consumption of chicken and fish has decreased considerably. Fishing by boat is now not an option for many simply because they can not afford the fuel.  Therefore many people are only using canoes, SUP boards and even tyre rings to fish, which impacts where they can fish (only inside the reef) and consequently resulting in smaller varieties and quantities.

We will work with the 10 Banjars (villages) across both Nusa Lembongan & Nusa Ceningan to facilitate distribution to those most in need.

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LITERACY

On our return to Lembongan, after spending time with both friends and our staff, who all have school age children, it became apparent to us very quickly that education was another area that has been hugely impacted. With primary schools having been closed since March 2020 and online learning being conducted via Whats App.  We feel the 6 – 8 year olds on the island have missed out on vital learning of basic Indonesian literacy which is crucial during Grades 1, 2 & 3.

We have the commitment of our charity partners, Bali Children Foundation (BCF), to develop an Indonesian Literacy Curriculum for these grades and provide teachers to facilitate the learning in extra after school classes once schools re-open, which is currently planned for July.

Our aim is to raise enough funds to provide the 444 children in Grades 1, 2 & 3 across the 5 primary schools, with a pictorial Indonesian dictionary.

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DONATIONS

We understand it has been an extremely difficult 12 months for so many people, COVID has not discriminated, this horrendous infectious virus has infiltrated the lives of everyone in every country on the planet.

Its impact on our daily lives has been immense, however our ability to survive with it around us is dependent on where we live in this global space and the industry we are reliant on.  If you are in a position to donate as little as $10, this contribution will go a long way to helping the Lembongan locals.  To help with the context, $10 will buy a 10kg bag of rice, which is not grown on Nusa Lembongan.

Your donations will go direct to the Lembongan Community. Our first priority is to provide as many food packages as possible, whilst in the background give the team at BCF time to work on the literacy curriculum, ready for implementation in July and, fingers crossed, also have enough funds to provide each child with a dictionary.

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THE PEOPLE

As harsh as the situation is currently and will be for some time yet, the local community remain humble, have shown incredible resilience and admirable efforts to pivot their skills where possible.

We are so proud to be a small part of this wonderful community.  It is with heavy hearts of the reality here that we have decided to reach out to our networks in an effort to raise money to give them hope and some relief in the journey ahead.

Thank YOU for your ongoing love & support for the Lembongan community.

Kind regards

Mal, Tania & The Lembongan Traveller Team

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2020 will certainly go down in history as a year we will never forget.  However amongst the fog of challenges and times of crisis it has delivered, there are also the moments of hope and immense admiration for sense of community we have seen.  The Lembongan locals have been incredible in how they have shown resilience, ability to re-invent their skill sets and unite as a community.   Thanks to the vision of expat and The Coconut Hut owner, Sophie Eves, the Lembongan Community Market was created and has proven to be the perfect platform for so many to showcase their fresh produce, locally made products and unique services.

We recently chatted with Sophie to find out more about how the concept came to fruition.

TLT: As the founder of LCM, what was your motivation to set up the market?

Sophie: One of the primary considerations in establishing the market was to provide an income for the locals who had lost their jobs due to the virtual shutdown of the island. In addition, we are dependent upon fresh fruit and vegetable supplies coming in from Bali and Penida and with restricted travel in place the supplies became very limited. Although we do have some small grocery stores on the island that have fresh produce, if you don’t speak the language it can be a little challenging and I knew there were quite a few tourists that had chosen to sit out the pandemic here. A few resourceful locals had begun a shopping service where their family members in Bali would purchase your requests and put them on the boats to send over, but again if you were a tourist here it was difficult to know who to contact and what products were available.

After being in lockdown for 6 weeks and feeling so isolated from our community, I also felt the need to create something social that also had purpose. In Australia I used to love perusing markets with a latte in hand, and bumping into old friends and new and realised it’s exactly what I could recreate here on the island. I approached my friend Aura from Island Fresh, who supplies produce to my restaurant, and asked if she would be interested in setting up a stall for a market and explained my vision. From there we teamed up and approached other businesses, and friends, and people that were unemployed and asked what they could produce to sell – and our first market was born on 26th July 2020.

TLT: COVID has put a hold on tourism in Lembongan which accounts for 90% of the island’s economy and people’s income.  How have you seen the local community take up this challenge and first hand seen their ability to adapt to adversity? 

Sophie: The local people are incredibly resourceful, and so when the pandemic hit I wasn’t surprised to see so many turn their hands to many different projects. It was very humbling to see previously well-paid, well employed people, now baking cakes and biscuits, making headbands, scrunchies, handbags – finding ways to keep themselves occupied and earn a little income. Empty blocks of land have been transformed into vegetable gardens, and seaweed farming is back on the island which is incredibly hard work for a small return. The locals have seemed to adapt well to our current situation and smile everyday, grateful to be here on our paradise island.

TLT: The markets have a huge range of stall holders, what can visitors expect to experience when they attend? 

Sophie: We have fantastic fresh organic fruit & vegetables, as well as herbs such as fresh rosemary, thyme, and oregano to name a few. We also have homewares, natural bamboo products, coconut bowls & kitchenware, fresh cold press juices, traditional jamu and even bonsai coconut palms. You can have your oracle cards read, purchase doggy treats, and of course you can buy beautiful batik print face masks! All items sold at the market are either local fresh produce, handmade items, or locally sourced products, keeping the money on the island.

TLT: We have been attending the markets and showcasing them on our stories to our Instagram and facebook followers with such positive responses, so many people are asking if the markets are here to stay once tourism returns?

Sophie: The markets are definitely here to stay. It has been the most amazingly positive experience to come out of such a challenging time, for all involved. Locals and expats working alongside each other and supporting one another, is something I love seeing the most. I have made some wonderful new friendships out of the market, and I have been so proud to see the ingenuity of the local people asking the customers what they would like to shop for and if they don’t have it, they find it for the next market. It’s mostly women who have the stalls, and it is a great excuse for us all to catch up over coffee and chat about new products or recipes, or just how our week has been.

TLT: Congratulations on creating an opportunity for the Lembongan community to unite and showcase their products, do you see this as a model that can grow to become a tourist attraction in its own right in the future, effectively giving many people a second income stream aside from their mainstream tourism based work? 

Sophie: Absolutely. The market has already expanded, and will continue to do so with more and more people coming up with creative ideas on what to sell. It has created a lifeline for many who lost their jobs as a result of COVID, and when tourism comes back I believe it will remain because it has become such a positive, social, community event. It truly has become something special that we all look forward to, every fortnight.

Here are some faces you may know that are stall holders at Lembongan Community Market