Rice Terraces Between Lovina and Jimbaran

Between Lovina and Jimbaran the volcanic soil coils around to form steep hills. Indonesians have industriously terraced them into a unique combination of rice paddies and irrigation system.

The irrigation system is called subak. It is woven into the landscape and the culture of Bali. UNESCO World Heritage protects the entire subek area.

Rice is first planted in a small nursery area within the fields. This is because many seeds won’t sprout. Rather than letting large patches of field fall fallow, the plants are grown to a certain height, then transplanted into the rest of the field.

They are transplanted in small clumps of seven seedlings per bunch. with about a foot around each clump. This is all done by hand. It’s back-breaking work. And talk about pruney toes!

Actually, lets start at the beginning of the process.

After harvesting, the farmers leave the straw, which they let dry, then flood with water to rot, then plow under. The farmers turn it with a hoe, then turn again with buffalo dung. Tractors don’t do well with changes in level. Hand tractors too shallow. It’s all done by hand.

Then the farmers let the fields rest for 5 – 7 days. Then spread rice seeds in small area. When it reaches a certain size, they replant.

Then every day the farmer must tend the rice – making sure there is the right amount of water and watch out for bugs, fertilize, and thin. Every two weeks they mix in a combination of buffalo dung and straw.

At certain points they will add chemical fertilizers – such as when the plants start to produce rice – nitrogen, sodium and phosphor. When the heads droop and turn gold, there will be actual rice in the pods. Before that it just looks like water when you open them up. Then the farmers put down straw and leave for a while. Then the husks must be dried repeatedly to separate the rice kernels.

A mud slide like above can wipe out a part of the crop, and must be attended to quickly even when there are no plants to preserve the irrigation system.

Permanent, reinforced ditches run along the top of the slope, going all around the farm. They are lovely, but intended purely as a matter of practicality.

One particular farmer happens to grow coconuts near the ditch. When it is time to harvest, he drops the coconuts into the ditch and lets the water carry them to the road where he has a bamboo net set to catch them. Then he just pulls them out and tosses them on the road. Quick, easy, and efficient.

We walked out to where someone was drying coffee beans above the terraces and talked about male vs female beans. Who knew there was a difference? Apparenatly the flat beans are the female and the round ones are male. This is a variety of coffee called Aribica.

This particular stretch of land is owned by one person, and farmed by several. Each farmer stakes out a territory within the farm. I thought at first the sticks with flags were to mark of whose was whose. Turned out the farmers tie rope to the sticks, then pull the rope to scare off birds.

Huts are scattered all through the farm. Inside would be a variety of things ranging from hoes to clothing. These are for the comfort and convenience of the farmers who work the field.

Likewise, small platforms on bamboo poles set about waist high are scattered through the field. These are altars for offerings asking for protection of the crop. Each one is set up by and for an individual farmer.

It’s a lot of work with little time off, and the end result is low pay. Many young people will no longer do it. The government set up a department to control the price of rice, soy, chili, garlic, onion, and other daily foodstuffs. They control by buying the crop for a good price. Then sell in the market at the normal price.

Extreme increases in beef prices have become a problem lately. In the morning news they announced that the government would import 50,000 cows. They get them from Australia. Private operators must get permission from government to get them. It’s a place where corruption is rampant. Even if many Indonesians don’t eat it, the hotels need it. Our tour guide only eat it 2x/year in childhood. Once a year she got it from the Muslims who have a ritual that includes offering beef to everyone in the village. Now she has entirely too much of it.

After looking at the subak, we wandered across the road to a restaurant that featured pet bats.

These are giant fruit bats. Normally they would roost in a very high place. It was said that they must drop forty feet in order to gain enough air speed to be able to fly.

They were captured then brought to the bush outside the restaurant where they could hang and kind of walk around upside down, but couldn’t get up enough speed to escape. They weren’t caged or clipped, but might as well have been.