Butterflies in our garden

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These are just a few of the many beautiful butterflies that live in our gardens at Jiwa Damai.

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Balinese religious ceremony

Balinese people are very religious and they regularly hold ceremonies and parades in their communities. They bring offerings to the Gods in order to ask for their good will and to appease them. Wira, the general manager at Jiwa Damai,  invited us to join his familiy in one of the bigger ceremonies held in his village.

We, the foreigners, got dressed up in traditional Balinses clothes. Everyone is wearing a sarong. This is really the essential piece of clothing you need during your stay on Bali!

The festivities started with a ceremony in the local temple.

Balinese ceremony

Afterwards all the people of the village set out to march to the next village, to the next temple to hold the religious ceremony there.

Ceremony walk

The whole march took about 6 hours in the hot Balinese midday sun! The group stopped at 4 different temples to hold ceremonies. It was quite a challenge to walk in the boiling heat for that many hours and for so many kilometers. But it was a very special and rewarding experience at the same time.  We, the foreigners, or the "bule" (how the Balinese people call foreigners) were the attraction of the group. Everyone eyed us carefully & curiously... but they welcomed us in the group with warm feelings.

The Balinese women were all dressed in their most beautiful clothes, carrying basket with offerings on their heads.

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And the little kids were absolutely adorable !

Balinese kids

All in all this day was a great experience!

At Jiwa Damai we offer our guests the opportunity to get in close contact with the Balinese people and to take part in ceremonies and local festivities.

To inquire about upcoming festivities and the possibility to join, write us an email> info@jiwadamai.net.

New coconut house

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A new addition to our Permaculture Garden and Retreat Centre is a building which is going to be used to produce our own Bali Virgin Coconut Oil and honey, as well as any other products from our permaculture garden we may develop in the future.

Coconut house being built

coconut house inside

Balinese wedding

Our long time support and volunteer at Jiwa Damai Philippe fell in love with a beautiful Balinese woman, Ari, and they were married in a traditional Balinese wedding ceremony last week. We wish our Swiss and Balinese combination much happiness ever there after.

Balinese Penjor for Galungan festivities

The Penjor is a traditional Balinese decoration made for the Galungan festival. Galungan is a traditional Balinese celebration, similar to a Western Christmas, where families get together.The Penjor is usually made by the head of the family, and it takes a whole day for the family to put it together.  It is then erected outside each family compound.

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The Penjor is made and assembled then it is erected in front of the house / compound.

What a beautiful piece of art!

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Slow down - chill out

Do it like the snail. Wouldn't it sometimes be nice to operate  on a slower speed,  leave the hustle and bustle of everyday life behind and live life more consciously and deliberatly?

Jiwa Damai is the ideal place for such a time-out. Here on Bali you can relax in a beautiful tropical setting, enjoy nature and find time for reflection and contemplation.

Snail on tree

to be continued.......

Bio Tank for our Balinese Lumbungs

Working on the Lumbungs

Here at Jiwa Damai, we are currently in the process of adding to the retreat center with the construction of two Balinese lumbungs. A type of traditional Balinese housing, lumbungs are small, two-story bamboo huts that are open to nature. Ours sit on the hillside and have a scenic overlook to the jungle and swimming pool.

The first floor has of the lumbung will feature a couch, living area and patio with large hammock. The second story is a bedroom. The lumbungs are for guests who want to be closer to nature. Here, you will be sleeping open to hum of cicadas, singing of frogs and croak of the gecko. The patio provides a perfect place for meditation and yoga.

In our efforts to be the forerunners in environmental friendliness and to pioneer energy efficiency in Bali, we have installed a BioPro, bio septic tank for the lumbungs. We considered a solar water heater but ultimately decided that it was not worthwhile - too many rainy days here! Our bio tank is one of only two pieces available on the island.

Bio tank

The pipe runs, as pictured, from the lumbung bathroom into the bio tank. From there it goes through a treatment process. Clean, recyled water flows out at the other side.

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The outflow of the tank will be used to water the upper garden. This will be particularly useful during the dry season, when every drop of water counts.

Family day for our team at Jiwa Damai

  We invited all our workes with their families to spend an afternoon at Jiwa Damai, to explore the grounds and enjoy a careless afternoon with games and food. This was such a fun day !

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With the kids we played all kinds of games, like 'baloon walk', balancing an egg on a spoon while walking or sack race.

The Balinese families had lots of fun and also our wwoofers took part in the event and enjoyed the day.

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Learn Legong, a traditional Balinese dance

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One of the many activities you can take part in while visiting Jiwa Damai is being a guest at a local dance class for children right here in our local village! Our guests and wwoofers enjoy watching the talented children learn and perform traditional Balinese dance. Because the dance is beautiful and unique one of our volonteers inquired about a private lesson with the local dance teacher.

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What a special experience! She was so lucky to have this lesson because she was getting a genuine traditional dance class. She loved it so much she has been continuing her classes! This type of traditional dance is not as easy as it looks! The low squat and many intricate movements make this dance very beautiful and also very hard to learn in just one lesson! New movements are introduced such as eye direction, winks, hand twirls, and hip sways! Once you start its hard to stop! The gracious dance teacher enjoys it very much as well as having visitors to her class in the village.

Living in nature, in the Balinese Lumbung

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