By Marwaan Macan-Markar

TENGANAN, Bali, Indonesia , Dec 19, 2007 (IPS) - When they next harvest the the terraced paddy fields on a gently sloping hill, the farmers in this village will reinforce a tradition that celebrates harmony between people and the environment — and do their bit to slow down climate change.

Credit, carbon or otherwise, must go to the young men in this community of some 200 families with a history going back centuries. For it were they who took the lead in building a micro-hydro power generator to produce electricity using run-of-the-river water to run a small mill to husk and polish locally grown rice.

”This generator can produce 12 to 15 kilowatts of power,” says Putu Wiadnyana, 25, the architect of the single-room micro-hydro generator, which is located near the shimmering green terraced fields along the eastern border of Tenganan. ”The mill should be ready by early next year in time for the next rice harvest.”

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Makepung or bull race is the only spectacular crowd-gather event that is held in Jembrana Regency. Even the regency itself is nick named after this sport event, Bumi Makepung or Land of Bull Race.

trekearth.com/members/hubertjanuar/

The origin of Makepung is quite a mystery, some say it began as nothing more than rivalry between local farmers; others assume that it is introduced by Madurese migrants to celebrate the end of the rice harvest.

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Jembrana Regency, located on the far western coast of the island, is Bali’s most sparsely populated district and rarely visited by mainstream international travellers’. There is an expanding Islamic community here due to the close proximity to the island of Java and over the centuries there has always been an interesting blend of Muslim and Hindu cultural traditions. However, the regency of Jembrana does in fact come to life several times a year for an attraction known as makepung or water buffalo racing.

photo taken from trekearth.com/members/hubertjanuar/

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