Come and join with the Bali’s 7th annual international event – Kuta Karnival. Bali’s annual international event that has attracted thousands of people to the sands of Kuta, winning hands down The Beat Awards for The Best Community Event in Bali!

About Kuta Karnival

• The Kuta Karnival is a “Community” and “Recovery” initiative of the Kuta Small Business Association (KSBA) for the island of Bali
• The Kuta Karnival is officially endorsed by the Government of Bali, Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) Bali, Bali Tourism Board (BTB)
• The Kuta Karnival is supported by the local authorities Camat Kuta, Kelurahan Kuta & Legian & Seminyak, LPM Kuta & Legian & Seminyak, and the community representatives of the Villages of Kuta & Legian & Seminyak
• The Kuta Karnival committee consists of representatives of all stake holders, and has been socialized within the government, the private sector and the community

Check out their Event Calendar 2009

The international Ubud Writers & Readers Festival is the major project of the Ubud-based Mudra Swari Saraswati Foundation. It was first conceived of by Janet De Neefe, co-founder of the Foundation, as a response to counteract the damaging effect of the first Bali bombing. The first Festival took place in 2004. Since its founding, however, the UWRF has grown and developed into an internationally recognized forum that fosters a global conversation and provides a platform for writers from Indonesia and around the world to share their ideas and perspectives on current issues.

The Festival aims to bring together writers, readers, artists and performers to:

• Exchange information and ideas between the diverse cultures in Asia, the South Pacific and the West, thereby increasing cross-cultural understanding between East and West
• Foster greater public awareness and understanding of writing, cultures and issues in this region
• Create opportunities for emerging and established writers from our region to present their work in an International context and to participate in cross-cultural exchanges
• Foster on-going creative partnerships between writers in the Asia-Pacific region
• Support and provide educational programs for young Indonesians to reach their full potential

Suka Duka : Compassion and Solidarity

7 October — 11 October 2009
Suka Duka is an ancient communal wisdom that for centuries has been one of the main pillars of Bali’s traditional institutions and communities. The principle has guided the members of the traditional institutions, such as banjar (neighbourhood organisations) and desa pakraman (customary villages), to act as one single entity in dealing with life’s hardships and blessings. The suffering of one member will be shouldered by all, while the joy of one will be shared by the other.

The theme reflects the Festival’s commitment to turn this literary gathering into an inspiring moment, through which writers and readers from every corner of the world can establish a mutual understanding as well as a common platform to remind the world of the need to think and act as one single, compassionate entity, particularly during this epoch of violent conflicts and social turmoil.

Read more at ubudwritersfestival.com

Initiated by community of Sanur through the Sanur Development Foundation, at first Sanur Village Festival is held to revive tourism sector and to attract more tourists to visit this area and the island of Bali . Famous for its tranquility Sanur is the first tourist destination in Bali and the only resort type tourist object owned by the Denpasar municipality.

Since the first celebration of the Sanur Village Festival, this event has been listed at Bali ‘s event calendar as one of the annual tourist attractions. The fourth Sanur Village Festival is set for the 12 to 16 of August 2009 at the same venue with full of fun activities in five days festivity. This year theme is “Marine Lifeâ€� in line with the extension of our national program Visit Indonesia Year 2009.

Cultural activities will still dominate this festival such as traditional performances, parade, music, collaboration show, water sports and food festival as our main attraction, also not to forget our green program under water festival with its coral reef plantation. We invite everyone to participate and enjoy an unforgettable experience in the serene beauty of Sanur.

Read more at GoToSanur.com

Canggu, Bali (ANTARA News) – Villas are part of the latest building boom on the famous Indonesian holiday island of Bali, where homes for wealthy holidaymakers and expatriates are mushrooming across the bottle-green landscape.

Some see the growth of the villas as a boon. Others such as Sukadana, who toils not far from a beach favoured by expats, see a threat to a way of life that stretches back hundreds of years.

Snatching a quick rest from a day of back-breaking work, Balinese rice farmer I Gusti Made Sukadana contemplates the grey-walled villas crowding the edges of his paddy field.

“Farmers are working harder now but we’re earning less. Our major problem is a lack of water,” said the weather-beaten 44-year-old.

“Concrete buildings are everywhere, blocking irrigation. When it rains, the water flows to the beach instead of being absorbed through the soil,” he told AFP.

“I think mine will be the last generation in Bali working the rice fields.”

While Bali is no stranger to hotels, at both the high and low end of the market, the fad for villas — many with open-plan design and swimming pools in huge gardens — is relatively new.

Developers say they are seeing very little impact from the global economic woes.

Land sales and construction of luxury villas have increased 30 percent every year since 2003, mainly due to demand from well-off Western Europeans and Asians, said Hera Heronika of construction company Bali Property.

“They usually come here during winter and rent out their villas for high prices when they are away,” Heronika said.

The trend is driven by foreigners moving towards quieter parts of the island to be close to nature — and Bali’s unique Hindu village culture — and away from well-worn tourist traps such as southern Bali’s storied Kuta beach.

“They like the rice fields and a view of the beach. Even with the global economic crisis, we continue to receive a lot of requests,” said Bali Villa Rentals Association board member Dharma Putra.

Rent for a top-end villa complete with swimming pool, maid service, gym and private cook can vary from 500 dollars a night to as much as 2,500, he said.

But activists said the villa fad comes with other costs to the island.

Around 600 to 1,000 hectares (up to 2,471 acres) of “green space” disappears beneath concrete in readiness for villa construction every year, especially those areas surrounding the tourist centre hub on the island’s south, said Friends of the Earth Indonesia campaigner Agung Wardana.

The trigger for the explosive growth of the villas was national political reforms passed in the last decade that gave more power to local and provincial governments, allowing the spread of large-scale tourist developments in previously restricted areas, Wardana said.

“It’s like a cancer that spread out very quickly,” he said.

The main environmental problem is one of water. More buildings mean less land to absorb floodwater, leading to the inundation of low-lying areas.

Meanwhile, increasing water use by swimming pools and paved-over land disrupt the intricate irrigation system that waters the famous rice terraces that spread from Bali’s volcanic interior to the seaside.

“Bali is a small island. If this villa development continues, it’s not impossible that in 15 years Bali will be abandoned by tourists,” Wardana said.

Adding to the squeeze is the fact that the demand for villas is pushing up property prices and with them, land taxes, he said. This leaves farmers with ever-decreasing incomes.

In some parts of Badung district, where Sukadana farms, the land tax has doubled annually in recent years, Wardana said.

But Chandra Kirana, the owner of Bali Property, said farmers too can share in the boom.

“As demand increases, the price of land goes up and local people benefit. They can sell their land at a high price and buy cheap land somewhere else,” he said. (*)

Source: Antara.co.id