Community
In Pemuteran there is a close cooperation between the resorts and the community.
Tourism brought jobs and income and there is awareness to develop the area in a sustainable way. The village protects the reefs and safeguards a peaceful stay for visitors. It is one of the few places in Bali where you will not be bothered by beach hawkers.
One of the Indonesian principles is "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" which means "unity in diversity". Pemuteran is a good example of a place where several groups and religions live together in harmony. Next to the ethnic Balinese there also is a muslim community, mainly consisting of fishermen. The entire community is involved in protecting the Pemuteran Bay environment.
There are several community support initiatives. They focus on improving the opportunities for education and providing fresh drinking water. Protecting the reefs, stimulate traditional dances and culture, protecting turtles and keeping the beaches clean.
Some foundations are
LESTARY BIOROCK INFORMATION CENTRE
The Biorock Centre is in charge of maintaining the Biorock structures. They are the guardians of the reef. Go by and have a talk. There is an information center on the beach between Amertha and Taman Sari. They will inform you on the status of different projects.
Bio-Rock is a technology that uses low voltage electrical current on artificial underwater structures to encourage growth of Corals and other reef life. Experiments with the technology worldwide have shown that it can help counteract some of the difficult environmental factors affecting coral growth.
The Pemuteran area is unique because no other part of Bali has such large areas of shallow reef, and these are accessible to divers and snorkelers because the region lacks the extremely strong currents and waves that characterize other coastal areas of Bali. However, in the past Pemuteran reefs have suffered greatly from damage by destructive fishing and the El Nino effect. Pemuteran village residents have taken action to prevent use of these destructive methods in their reefs, whether by locals or by outsiders.
Coral nurseries were built using the Electrolytic Mineral Accretion Technology, which provide unique advantages for restoring coral reefs. Corals grown on mineral accretion are exceptionally brightly coloured and rapidly growing, and support dense fish populations. The coral nursery structures are made of welded construction steel bars, of around1 centimetre diameter. They are built in a variety of shapes. The success of these structures in stimulating rapid coral growth was apparent within months, leading to requests to greatly expand the project. All structures are charged by power supplies located on the adjacent land.
More then fifty-six Biorock coral nursery structures have been installed since June 2000 in Pemuteran Village. With a total length of 300 metres situated in an area of 2 hectares, this is the largest Biorock coral reef nursery and restoration project worldwide.
REEF GARDENERS
The reef gardeners are initiated by Chris Brown of Reef Seen. Reef Seen Aquatics has trained a number of local fisherman to PADI Recue Diver standard and employed them as “Reef Gardeners”. The gardeners protect and maintain various reefs in Pemuteran Bay. They remove pests like the crown of thorns that destroys the coral. Cris and his staff have worked hard to also educate the local villagers as to why, and how, they need to protect the reefs for their own survival.
TURTLE HATCHERY
A short stroll along the beach and you will find the Turtle Hatchery at Reef Seen. The purpose of this project is to protect the living sea turtles to increase the chances for turtle hatchlings to reach maturity. They buy newly laid eggs from locals who find a nest. By doing so they encourage villagers not to kill or capture mature turtles, who are likely to return and lay more eggs.
The hatchlings are protected and kept at Reef Seen in a holding tank where they are fed and cared for until they are bigger and have a greater chance of survival in the open sea. Depending on the season they have eggs from three different species of sea turtles, Green turtle, Olive Ridley and Hawksbill.
Reef Seen also makes the villagers aware of the need for conservation. Local fishermen increasingly recognize the problem of exploiting natural resources.
For a small donation you can hear the story of the project and visit the centre. You can sponsor and release a juvenile turtle (numbers permitting). For this or any other form of assistance to the project you will receive a certificate of recognition.
TRADITIONAL BALINESE DANCING
Traditional Balinese Dancing is an important part of Balinese culture. You can enjoy young Balinese dancers at Reef Seen, a two km walk along the beach. They help the children of Pemuteran carry on this beautiful tradition. Young girls and boys gather here twice a week to train with the older, more experienced dancers. Guests are welcome to join the dancers and step into traditional Bali.
On Saturday evenings at 7 pm you can watch the dance group perform at Reef Seen or at one of the hotels. You can also watch the practice sessions on Saturday and Sunday from 3 pm to 5 pm.
PEMUTERAN FOUNDATION
PROJECTS IN HEALTH, EDUCATION & ENVIRONMENT
It can't be a coincidence that the word 'Pemuteran' means 'comes back to you'. The aim of the Pemuteran Foundation is in fact to give something back to Pemuteran, by making a contribution to restoring and protecting the natural environment and by supporting projects in the areas of health, education and environment.
The Pemuteran Foundation's envisions anchoring projects into the local communities. Efficient project management leads to results that are both necessary and directly visible; results that create employment opportunities and encourage the local population to acquire new knowledge and skills.
The Pemuteran Foundation is happy to be working hand in hand with Chris Brown and Reef Seen Aquatics Dive Centre in helping to protect the local reefs and seas as well as the local ecology and environment.
To meet this aim we are looking for sponsors; businesses or people who believe that our projects can make a difference; who feel involved with nature, the environment, healthcare and education, and who are willing to stand up for people living on the other side of the world.
http://www.pemuteranfoundation.com/
PEMUTERAN ORG.
EDUCATION FOUNDATION OF SANTANA DHARMA.
Providing good education for our children is the best investment in the future of our world. Over the last years we find more and more small foundations being established that provide education and literacy possibilities for children in North Bali. One of these foundations is ”Santana Dharma Foundation” in Pemuteran, North West Bali.
The foundation was founded by a native citizen to Pemuteran, Gede Santana. The purpose of the foundation is to support children to gain skills that will make them independent and competitive in their adult lives. With limited means and under a simple roof a group of teachers started to teach literacy classes to SD and SMP/SMA students.
Financial support for the project came from Ines who is originally from Germany but has lived in Pemuteran for many years. Ines talked to TLP about her motivation to help the foundation. Many children in the Pemuteran area do not finish high school until SMA level. Parents can not afford schooling so children drop out before finishing.
So the foundation teaches them skills they do not learn in their normal schools, like, handling computers, English, mathematics, art and dance and music classes. Ines believes that extra education after school is necessary to help children develop their own potential and make them people who can stand up in their community as business and professional working people.
Classes take place after the normal school hours. The motivation to come for extra study will have to come from the child itself. Today, 45 children join classes in the foundation. To have more children joining in more support would be needed.
http://www.pemuteran.org/
YAP
Yayasan Anak Pemuteran (YAP) is a non profit organization, established on November 10th, 2007. The YAP Foundation was set up to tryto help the children in Pemuteran Village from poor families who would like to continue to go to school. As well as providing them with all the extra curricular help and support they need. The children are supported by the foundation from the first class in secondary school until the end of high school. If there is a change for one or two students to carry on to college, we try to find the money to help them.
All the children supported by the foundation are provided with a bicycle, two pairs of shoes, school uniforms, school textbooks, exercise books, stationery, school fees for Senior High School Student, pocket money for the Junior High School students and also voluntary payment for the school.
Our "School After School" at the foundation is open from 15.00 - 18.00 everyday. A retired teacher is in charge to supervise the children during the time to help with homework. We also provide a small library and 10 units computers. The children can take part in Balinese dance and martial art classes. Build motivation and empower
In the academic period of 2012 - 2013, we support 37 students at Junior High School (SMP) and 59 students at Senior High School (SMA). Last year 5 students graduated from Senior High School. One of the girls continued on to Midwife School.
The idea is not only to help them with their school work but to motivate them to seriously consider building a future for themselves outside the village.
With regard to the above and also to help the children who cannot continue on to college after Senior High School, we are building a Pemuteran Kid’s Kafe on the Foundation property. The students will learn to prepare simple dishes, help out in the kitchen, serve the guests, learn general food hygiene and basic food & beverage skills. Hopefully they will then give them a chance to find a job In one of the restaurant or hotel business.