Subak Cultural Visits Kicks Off The World Culture Forum 2016 Agenda

Visiting the rice fields applying the values of Subak is not a mere visit, but also exploring the social values in it. Values which are now increasingly threatened.

Bali – World Culture Forum (WCF) 2016 has begun. Opening the event, the participants Subak Cultural Visit consisting of speakers and discussants of the World Cultural Forum visited the World Heritage Sites of Subak in Jatiluwih of Tabanan, Bali, on Monday (10/10). This cultural visit is designed for the participants to understand the rhythm of cultural development in Bali, according to the WCF 2016 main theme “Culture for an Inclusive Sustainable Planet”.

Earlier, participants visited Basukaru Temple to see the ceremony of requesting for holy water to Gods and had an interactive session with Balinese Paddy Field Conservation Director Phyllis Kaplan and Udhayana University International Relations lecturer Wiwik Dharmiasih. After that, participants went to the paddy fields to personally observe the irrigation systems applied in the region.

According to Phyllis, it is important to create an irrigation system for human survival. “Balinese Wetland Conservation Foundation Bali initiated the economic development with the farmers movement, to encourage farmers to produce organic products. With this movement, irrigation systems (Subak) can drain water, so that farmers can continue the system that has been established by the ancestors,” he explained.

This was echoed by Wiwik, said that Subak is an important asset in Bali, which must not only be maintained, but also preserved its continuity. “In this modern time, there are many farmers who advise their grandchildren not to become a farmer, but to become a doctor or other. Thoughts like these that ultimately make Subak become neglected. With the economic development for paddy fields, public awareness is aroused to farm and produce their own products, without having to import goods from other countries, “said Wiwik.

Subak is how Balinese people call water irrigation system, which was formed as a management system to ensure that water can irrigate rice fields in a village. Like other traditional organizations in Bali, Subak is also based on the philosophy of Tri Hita Karana. A philosophy which teaches that happiness can be achieved if human beings are able to maintain harmonious relations between the three elements, namely Parhyangan (Deity), Pawongan (Human), and Palemahan (Nature).

The participants also gain knowledge from the speakers concerning the obstacles to the survival of Subak system. One of the main reason is the demands of the rapid development in various fields, mainly tourism, which is not always in line with the values of local wisdom embraced by local community. Therefore, Subak became one of the issues to be discussed at the World Culture Forum 2016, to put an example on the complexity of the problems faced in preserving local knowledge in line with the demands of development in Bali as a world tourism base. Therefore, the consideration to the effort to inform Subak to the world community is echoed into valuable knowledge because it is expected to bridge the interdependence between man, nature and divinity. (WCF2016)