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About Nusa Penida:
Nusa Penida is a small island on the northeastern edge of the Indian
Ocean. Though it has strong religious and cultural ties to Bali, 20 miles away by sea, it is a very
different place. While Bali is lush and heavily touristed, untouched Nusa Penida is dry and ruggedly
beautiful, with stone terracing clinging to the sides of steep limestone hills. In small villages,
the island’s 40,000 inhabitants survive by farming and fishing. On the south side of the island,
a spectacular bamboo stairway leads down 700 foot cliffs to waterfalls just above the sea. This remarkable
setting is matched by the richness of the local culture, where Hindu traditions and arts are
unaffected by Western influences. With almost no tourist infrastructure, and only three Westerners
owning homes on the island, our group’s experience has much in common with accounts written
about the region by Margaret Mead, Colin McPhee, and Miguel Covarrubias in the 1930s. Diving
and snorkeling sites are among the most beautiful and unspoiled in the world. There is virtually no
crime on the island, and few of the health risks found in other locations in the region.
The Project:
The group begins with a
two-day orientation in the cultural center of
Ubud, on the island of Bali, where students
experience the music, dance, and visual arts
of the former kingdom of Giruyer while staying at a small inn consisting of ironwood bungalows
overlooking waterfalls and lush gardens. They then cross to Nusa Penida by boat to live in the
project village of Tiagan, where students undertake community service projects in small groups
with local friends. The village’s 250 residents grow tapioca, corn, peanuts, papayas, bananas,
and mangoes. Past groups have made improvements to the town’s most sacred temple, taught
conversational English and art to island children, repaired a dilapidated community building,
improved sports facilities, and undertaken agricultural work with subsistence farmers. This
summer our group will work on similar projects
based upon the community’s greatest need as determined
by our hosts, the Tiagan Banjar (governing
body). Living conditions are extremely
simple; the group sleeps in two buildings. Students
work together preparing meals and shopping
for food in outdoor village markets.
Weekends:
There is time to join local friends
in celebrations and to hike, snorkel, and scuba dive.
Those who wish to become certified divers may do
so in an intensive two-day course on the nearby
island of Nusa Lembongan. Temple ceremonies,
which occur frequently, are open to any student
willing to wear appropriate ceremonial garb. The
program ends with two days on the magical island
of Bali where our group visits beaches and makes an
extraordinary trek to the “Top of the World”, the
summit of Bali’s highest volcano, Gunung Agung.
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