The Bali way of Reducing Green House Gas Emission By Doing Nothing

December 2007

During the opening of the 13th session of the Conference of Parties to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a very brief film ”Nyepi (Silent) Day for the Earth” was screened. This film, made by the Bali Collaboration on Climate Change, illustrates the situation in Bali during Nyepi the Day of Silence observed for 24 hours, once a year in Bali during the Saka New Year. All activities cease during that day.

People have asked the question how can an entire island cease activities, light only minimum lights and everyone stay home? This paper provides a background information on this old practice, within the context of reducing green house gas (GHG) emission.

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No Balinese in his right mind will hold a ceremony without consulting a calendar for an auspicious day for the execution of the ceremony, and the best calendar for determining a good day for ceremony is a Modern Balinese paper calendar. This calendar is an amalgamation of three different calendars, the pawukon calendar, Saka lunar calendar and Gregorian calendar. Modern Balinese calendar contains various information ranges from the date to the date of anniversary of various temples all over Bali, from the occurrence of full moon and new moon to list of auspicious and inauspicious day.

The main section of the calendar consists of columns of the dates, each square of these columns contains a date in the middle of the square and surrounded by the names of the day of this particular date, a red dot if the date coincides with full moon and a black dot if it coincides with new moon. Each date in this calendar may have ten different names as a result of the complexity of Pawukon Calendar.

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If you are heading to Bali in search of a land of relaxation where watches, calendars and appointment books are unheard of, you’ll be in for a surprise. While the Balinese are indeed faithful followers of the relaxed island tempo known as “jam karet” or “rubber time,” they are also among the most time conscious people in the world. And no, we don’t mean just the scores of sellers of fake Rolex and Cartier watches who swarm the streets of Kuta. We mean the many Balinese who organize their lives around the traditional Balinese calendar.

In Bali, the calendar determines good days and bad days for virtually every human activity, and many actions are only undertaken after consultation with a ritual calendar specialist or taking a glance at the comprehensive traditional calendar virtually every Balinese family has hanging on their wall. There are auspicious days for planting rice, for holding ceremonies, and for cutting down trees. There are favorable days for digging wells, building fish ponds or house foundations or learning to dance. There are times that are opportune for teaching your buffalo to plow, weaving a fishing net, or getting married. And in traditional Balinese belief, there is a direct relationship between the day of one’s birth and one’s character and potential.

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