We live in interesting times. Income streams and single malt whiskey are disappearing like incense smoke. News of personal economic meltdowns are growing as common as cucumbers. It seems that the universe is telling us to hunker down, pull in our horns and bless our luck that we live here in Bali. Many expats are exploring ways to live more frugally and less dependently on imports. This seems an appropriate time to celebrate two imaginative entrepreneurs who are creating international-quality products on the island.
Up in the cool mountains just outside of Sideman, an enterprising Italian is making world-class mozzarella, ricotta and primosale cheese. Guido Beretta is from Milan; his background in social research and real estate did nothing to prepare him for his current role as a dairyman. “I think I may have seen a cow once as a child,” he muses as he shows me around. His graphic account of birthing his first calf will not be repeated here, but certainly confirms his commitment to his new career.
Guido believes that a happy cow is a productive cow. Industrial-scale dairies typically pump their dairy cows with additives to ensure optimal milk production and to produce four calves in four years, then it’s off to the knacker’s yard. Guido’s Dutch Friesian cows are originally from Java. They live idyllic lives, browsing on organic elephant grass and a specially ground meal of chemical-free, food-grade corn, soy, rice bran and wheat with added calcium. This diet ensures milk with a 3.5% milk fat and high casein content; ten litres of milk are needed to make one kilogram of mozzarella, and with milk of such high quality the second run can be used to make ricotta.
Ibu Moo’s milk production is increased gradually without stress or food additives, and some cows are now into their sixth pregnancies. “Maybe they’ll be able to continue to produce calves and milk for much longer than in Europe, because they’re well fed and cared for,” Guido hopes. His vet, who received 3 months additional training in caring for dairy cows in Italy, has been with the project since its inception in 2004. In fact, all of Guido’s staff is original with the exception of one man who died in a motorcycle accident; his wife replaced him at the dairy.
A one-hectare modern dairy in Bangli is home to 45 lactating cows, 25 cows who are resting between pregnancies and 58 young calves. Here a modern, fully mechanized milking facility extracts up to 600 litres of milk a day in two shifts. The milk is filtered and chilled, then sent immediately to the dairy in Sideman for cheese production. Depending on the cheese type, production varies between 60 to 70 kg a day. The technique for making the mozzarella is the same one used in Italy 40 years ago, adopted after lengthy consultation with Italian experts. The milk is slowly pasteurized to preserve the necessary bacteria, then fermented with rennet and culture and agitated before being shaped into balls by hand by a group of young people with hair nets, masks and gloves. Then the fresh cheese is carefully weighed out into plastic tubs, where it is topped up with purified spring water and delivered daily to hotels, restaurants, the Bali Deli and Carrefour. Sorry, he can’t stretch production any further until he has a bigger herd.
Guido’s operation works within a small environmental footprint. The whey is shared among the staff for their pigs, and all the cow manure is distributed to neighbouring farmers for fertilizer at no cost. The woody parts of the elephant grass fodder are used by the neighbours for compost. Every day he donates 20 litres of fresh milk to the Gurukula Hindu school near the cow farm.The local Bangli government has been supportive of the enterprise.
The only cow farm and SME producer of fresh cheese in Bali, Guido looks forward to expanding his business to include the production of yogurt, cream, mascarpone, hard cheeses and other products for domestic distribution. For this he needs more cows and strong, locally based business partners. The herd will increase on its own; interested potential partners can reach Guido at guidoberetta@telkom.net
When Hong Kong based inventor and product designer Charles came to Bali on holiday in 1998, he lay on the surf point around the coast from Amed daydreaming of a bamboo hut on the beach and a simple life. After many adventures he manifested his vision. Today he runs simple production facilities within sound of the sea that provide livelihoods for 10 people from the surrounding villages.
His products range from personal care to personal indulgence but all have one thing in common –- they are made from food-grade ingredients pure enough to eat. In this Charles shares a philosophy with Guido, who won’t feed his cows anything he wouldn’t (in a pinch) eat himself.
Island Mystik soaps in their colourful hand-made paper wrappers are already popular in Bali. This month Charles adds a number of other personal care products to the range, including a pure liquid soap/shampoo, deliciously aromatic Deep Tropic Body Oil, ‘Locean’ aloe vera skin lotion and a chocolate sun block. These all use as many local ingredients as possible and are completely chemical-free. “The skin is the largest organ of the body,” he reminds us. “Anything you put on your skin is absorbed.” It’s a relief to at last be able to buy shampoo without the ubiquitous sodium laurel sulfate. Look for these products in Ku De Ta, Bintang, Delta, Bali Deli, Zula’s and KAFE in Ubud.
Charles brings living locally to a sinful new level with his range of Narkabo chocolate, made with organic cocoa from Sideman. Four sugar-free products ranging from 70% to 85% dark chocolate include pure and bittersweet chocolate and a couple of addictive concoctions with black rice and peanuts. This is like no chocolate I’ve ever tasted –- dark, intense and almost smoky with a silky texture and no cloying aftertaste. The chocolate is sweetened with Charles’ other new product -- pure coconut palm sugar syrup, which has the lowest glycemic index of all the sugars and the added benefit of being divine on pancakes. For wholesale enquiries contact Charles at charles@islandmystik.com
It’s no hardship to live locally with excellent products like these becoming available. Thank you, Guido and Charles, for making it easier all the time to support Bali-based enterprises.
