Laurie Billington and her husband Made Sumendra are the founders
of the Pondok Pekak Library & Learning Center, a lending
library full of holiday reading in various languages, an amazing
non-fiction section, and extensive literature
on Indonesian and Balinese culture. The center’s children's
library constitutes the largest bi-lingual (English
and Indonesian) collection of children's books on Bali.
This combination library, music and dance sanggar and cultural
center is a busy place. Dance and music classes, children's
performances, a cappella singing, and a kid’s story
hour are just a few activities you will find there. Food and
drink are also served and the center offers a variety of other
services. In a word, it’s an excellent and vivacious
place to hang out.
First of all, how did you get your love of books?
I've loved reading and books since I was old enough to chew
on them and remember many a night hiding under my blanket
reading with a flashlight long after 'light's out'.
Where did you get the idea for Pondok Pekak?
Well, it's a long story full of serendipitous events but I
think the seed was first planted in 1987 when a psychic suddenly
looked at me and said, "You will be instrumental in starting
a global learning center somewhere in the world." At
the time this seemed pretty far removed from my immediate
reality - working in the television industry in rural America
- but there was something inside me that knew I had just been
shown the path which I would eventually follow.
And where did Bali come in?
The path I was following at the time eventually led me to
graduate school and a career in cross-cultural education -
which (oh, darn) clearly required the need to travel.
I kept hearing about Bali and its 'integrated society' where
the lines between religion, culture, art and life were supposedly
less defined than they are in American culture. I was
intrigued and bought my ticket. As I stepped off the
plane I had the inexplicable but distinct feeling of coming
'home'. I've basically been here ever since. Although
I was to discover that my preconceived romantic picture of
Bali did little justice to the complex reality of life here,
I also saw that it was clearly one of the 165 'special' places
on the planet.
How did the idea for the library come into your head?
For a number of years I ran a semester abroad program here
and was amazed at how little of the extensive research done
ABOUT Bali was actually available IN Bali. Second, I
was starved for reading material myself and third, was dismayed
to find that most Balinese had almost no access to books at
all. That's when I had the idea of starting a multi-lingual
library filled with good books, a copy of every book ever
written about Bali and an array of colorful children's books.
I started with my own small collection and it grew from there.
How did you support the library?
Because the library has no outside funding, we supported it
ourselves while seeking creative ways to sustain it.
We implemented the 'Robin Hood' approach of supporting it
through tourist services such as internet access, refilling
water bottles, serving food and drinks and providing language
and art classes. This worked for awhile and allowed
us to begin taking further steps towards our vision.
We borrowed money and built a larger space, donations allowed
us to buy a small selection of children's books in the Indonesian
language, and we began networking with local schools.
Then in 1998 the economy collapsed, our running costs doubled
and tourism began its first of many dives.
So why didn't you give up?
Well, essentially, several conversations convinced me to persevere.
I was with a group of grade school kids at a local public
school on my first day teaching them English. "Where
do you live?" one student asked. "On the east
side of the football field," I replied. "Oh,
at Pondok Pekak?" "Yes," a bit surprised. "What
is that?" he asked. "A library," I said,
and proceeded to explain the concept of the library and ask
them if they would like to see it. Another boy jumped
out of his seat and asked, "You mean we can read books
there for FREE?" "Yes," I said, and made
a date with them to have a 'library tour' the next week.
They didn't wait that long. The following Sunday a large
group of kids showed up on our doorstep. The next week
the group doubled, then tripled - and they've been coming
ever since. Those kids are why we not only didn't give
up but began planning the building for a children's library…but
that's another story.
To visit, give a donation, become a member or get more information:
Pondok Pekak Library
East side of the football field
Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud
(on the path next to Tutmak's Restaurant)
Phone: 0361– 976-194
Email: pondok@indo.net.id
For anyone interested in being interviewed for Siapa, please
send CV to : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright@2004 Al Hickey
You can read all past articles of Siapa
at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz
