Bali is a real estate hot spot for the villa culture these
days. Land prices are shooting up like bamboo and real estate
agents are rubbing their hands together so hard they could
start a fire.
How good is all this for Bali? Many of the developments are
cookie-cutter, off-the-shelf plans without much Balinese character.
They run the full range of environmentally sustainable design
to who-gives-a-damn extravagance. We assume that environmental
safeguards are in place, as they are in our home countries,
when we build our dream homes. But sadly, that’s not
the case. Everyone who builds or buys a house in Bali needs
to take responsibility for the social and environmental impacts
it will cause. Some of my good friends have bought or built
villas without considering the increasingly rare resources
they are thoughtlessly consuming. A marble-floored palace
in the rice field with five air-conditioned bedrooms gives
a mixed message to the farmer next door who is struggling
to feed their families.
On the other hand, there are ethical designers and builders
in Bali who are creating beautiful, sustainable homes which
have a minimal impact on the environment.
Take the Ethical Villa Quiz and give yourself a star for each
of the following statements that apply to you
* No agricultural land was lost when I built/bought my villa
Is your villa beautifully located in the middle of rice fields?
That means you’ve directly contributed to the rapid
decrease of Bali’s precious agricultural land. Yes,
there’s a law that says you can’t do this. No,
it is not enforced. The ethical choice is to build on the
land at river edges that the Balinese don’t use for
farming, and which will also safeguard your view.
* I’m sensitive to the water issues in my neighbourhood
Water is a big issue in Bali. There isn’t enough, and
what remains is increasingly polluted. The crater lakes that
provide household water to southern Bali are now also being
tapped by desperate farmers, and water levels are dropping
alarmingly.
All wells lower the ground water table. If you drill a deep
well that is tapping the same water supply as your neighbours
who have shallower wells, they may lose their water supply.
A big problem in the coastal areas is that if the fresh water
wells take out more than rainfall returns to the ground, then
the heavier salt water from the sea will intrude inland and
rise into the existing wells. The cancellation of irrigation
water brought in from the mountain subaks is another problem.
“Much of Seminyak has been blocked off in the last few
years due to building,” notes engineer Nick Lee. “The
irrigation water was helping to keep the fresh water table
up and hold back the saltwater intrusion. I fully expect our
wells to become saline in the next few years.”
The water situation on the Bukit is unique. The whole peninsula
is formed of very porous limestone starting near the surface
and going down to sea level. Nick, who helped conduct a ground
water investigation there in the 1980s, found the fresh water
table was very far down. “There’s only a shallow
layer of fresh water on top of saline water, which will quickly
be exhausted if uncontrolled development is allowed,”
he stated. And guess what?
Australia has a great system of capturing and storing rainwater
in underground cisterns; it would make sense to adopt it here.
* My septic tank has a floor and runs through a wastewater
garden
Sewage is a subject not often discussed in the villa set,
but it’s a growing problem in Bali. Many builders skimp
on the important issue of the septic tank, making it too small
and/or allowing polluted water to enter the water table. A
simple, inexpensive waste water garden addresses this problem.
If you’re building on the beach, make sure you know
where your effluent is going.
* I don’t use chemical fertilizers and pesticides in
my garden
All the chemicals you use in your house and garden will eventually
leach into the surrounding water table and/or enter the rivers
and irrigation systems used by Balinese for bathing. Chemicals
sold here are often banned in the west, including DDT.
* I recycle as much of my solid waste as possible
Even the most distracted visitor can’t help but notice
that Bali has overwhelming waste management issues. There
are systems in place in the most populated parts of Bali to
recycle plastic, paper, glass and metal. The informal bicycle
scavengers seen all over Bali provide a valuable service;
arrange to leave your recyclables outside the gate for them
to take away. In the Ubud area, ABC Solutions (tel 0361 978963)
will collect your waste, recycle what they can and deliver
the rest to a controlled landfill. In the south, Ecobali Recycling
(ecobali@yahoo.com) collects recyclables weekly and delivers
them to the Temesi demonstration recycling plant. Organics
can be composted.
* I used minimal or recycled wood in my villa
Wood is one of the hottest political issues in Indonesia today.
The country’s rapidly disappearing forests are being
plundered for this increasingly valuable resource and trees
in national parks and other protected areas are routinely
harvested as well. There is practically no legal hardwood
left in the country. Kudos to those who are creative enough
to use recycled teak, ironwood or treated bamboo, or minimize
the amount of wood used in building.
* I am sensitive to the amount of electricity I consume and
incorporate solar/alternative power where possible
Bali is already facing serious power problems. Most of its
electricity is imported from Java, which itself is experiencing
shortages. The typical Balinese compound, which is these days
often home to large extended families, is wired for between
400 and 800 watts of electricity. How would you feel if your
kids didn’t have enough light to study at night, while
the villa down the road is burning 5,000 watts?
* I support sustainable projects in my community
When a foreigner builds a villa in Bali, the local community
seldom benefits. The owner of the land usually runs through
his/her windfall in a few months. Locals may or may not be
used in the actual building of the villa (Javanese being so
much more cost-effective and not having to constantly stop
work for ceremonies). A few local people might be hired as
staff. If you rent out your villa, the money usually goes
overseas. I know of real estate companies and individuals
who make a point of repairing village schools which they then
sponsor children to attend (see www.ykip.com), subsidize older
or handicapped kids in job training (j-mantjika@yahoo.com),
start recycling programs (www.idepfoundation.org), and bring
craft production or other work to their communities.
Tropical Living Magazine has pledged in its October-December
issue that all its villa projects will be ecologically responsible
from now on. Congratulations for setting an inspiring example
for the industry, and may this mark the beginning of a culture
of Ethical Villas.
