Bokashi Balls Permaculture on Bali

Some months ago we had to drain and repair our pond at Jiwa Damai, due to several leaks that caused the water to flow out. http://jiwadamaibali.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/restoring-our-pond/

After we had to rebuilt our high pond, the water quality left to be desired. Emptying the pond, we had lost all the EM which had settled in the nooks and crannies of all the stones. In order to get back to the old clear water we now treat the water with liquid EM (effective microorganisms). Each day a few drops dripping in, slowly but continuously.

The Bokashi Balls are made of clay and EM.

Bokashi Balls_2

The microorganisms like to settle between certain type of stones.So we distributed about 500 balls, all handmade under the stones in the water to allow the organisms to settle again. It reduces the moskitoes as well as keeps the algae growth in limits.

Bokashi Balls

So now we hope to welcome back the diverse aquatic life and beautiful water lily’s!

Our pond before the drain

Jiwa Damais Guardian

Margret

Margret at Jiwa Damai permaculture and retreat center, where she takes care of all aspect of managing, running and expanding the gardens as well as supervising the teamwork .

Permaculture garden expansion

A whole new area is being integrated into our permaculture gardens. We are adding to our planting area another 2.000 square meters.The area is being terassed, turned over, covered with rice straw, covered again with earth mixed with our special compost and then planted.

new gardens_JD (1)

Presently we have 4 people working on the new fields every afternoon. We should be able to begin planting the first seeds wihtin the next week. Two large tanks will be placed on the downward slope to allow the water to run in the waterways naturally without any further aid.

On this picture you can see the beginning of the creation of our garden labyrinth.

new gardens_JD

Fire place for ceremonies

The latest addition to out retreat center Jiwa Damai is a  fire place for spiritual rituals and ceremonies. The fire place is being constructed close to our little water angel island in the back of the garden. One wall is composed of local large pebbles. The floor will be made out of stone and grass.

Fire place (1)

Fire place (2)

Once the floor is done, we will place 12 large stones to sit in a circle, with the fire pit in the center. We choose this area for the fire place, because all thebig  trees are situated in good distance and a fire does not damage any trees or leaves above.

Fire place

River bank erosion control

During the last very strong rainy season lots of damage was done on our premise at Jiwa Damai.  The heavy rainfalls caused lots of erosion, especially at the banks of the small river which is flowing through the permaculture gardens. We had to take care of this erosion and stabilize the river banks. To reduce the powerful impact of the torrentious rains on our lands, we reinforced the borders of the river with sand bags.

Wira, Maha, Suecha and one of our volunteers, Fred from Canada, are doing this extremely demanding heavy work of shoveling the river sand into bags and placing it on the banks. Eventually there will be four layers of sand bags on top of each other.

erosion (1)

erosion

erosion (2)

PDC Course with Rico Zook and Jeremiah Kidd

Next year Jiwa Damai will be hosting a Permaculture Certification Seminar with two internationally renowned permaculture designers: Rico Zook and Jeremiah Kidd.This is an intensive 17-days seminar , including hands-on experience in the gardens at Jiwa Damai.

The seminar takes place from Febuary 24 - March 12, 2013.

Using a variety of learning techniques and strategies this workshop will present Permaculture with various applications in mind. Class time will consist of traditional lectures, group discussions, game, exercise photoshows and movies. Teaching focuses on land systems with hands on work in the gardens at Jiwa Damai. Furthermore this course teaches how to integrate and use Permaculture in ‘Invisible structures’ those social, cultural, political and economic structures that shape much of our world today.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

For more information regarding the Permaculture Certification Seminar, please visit our website: www.jiwadamai.net.

Expansion of the permaculture garden

We are in the process to integrate further areas into the permaculture garden. On the picture you see our team at work, building terraces by using bamboo poles to frame each terrace to hold the earth in place. Under the earth are palm leaves and wood pieces to improve the quality of the earth. It is planned to have the new growing  area ready in another two months.

farmwork

farm work

farm work

New fields

Farm work at Jiwa Damai

Field work

Our team and one of our volunteers, lovely Susann from Germany,  working in the permaculture gardens, and bringing bamboo leaves to the compost.

Volunteer work

After the work is done, we are all eating together with our team. The food was prepared by the wife of Wira on occasion of her sons coming of of age at 12 years ceremony.

Food

Two of our three Balinese dogs, Angrek and Blackie,  are looking on.

Lumbung and dogs

Our Balinese dogs

Today we want to introduce you to our three wild Balinese dogs at Jiwa Damai: Salju-snow, Angrek-orchid and Blackie.These dogs do not have the same background like our Western dogs which originate from wolfs.

They are pack dogs and our watch dogs, roaming free on our 4 hectare permaculture garden. Basically they are very difficult to train and they are instinctive hunters. They announce each person coming to Jiwa Damai with barks. They are not like Western pet dogs. Therefore we do not recommend to touch them unless you know them for a few days.

Dogs at Jiwa Damai (2)

Dogs at Jiwa Damai (3)

Dogs at Jiwa Damai

Awakening to the sounds of Nature

Awakening to the sounds of nature

After spending my time in Bali's tourist centre of Ubud it was a relief to arrive at Jiwa Damai. Upon descending the stairs into Jiwa's dining area I was immediately overcome by the tranquil surroundings. Smells of frangipani and other flowers abound as do the vibrant colours that go with them; greens, yellows and pinks that one rarely finds outside of the tropics. Terry, one of the resident Woofers, showed me the expansive gardens and led me to a Lumbung situated in the heart of the organic garden.

Awakening to the sounds of nature (1)

As you can see by the photo a Lumbung is essentially a bamboo hut with no walls. Instead of walls a mosquito net hangs to offer some protection from those irritating, and often sleep-depriving, insects. It was so exciting to get to bunk out in nature, protected from the rain and insects but still able to feel the gentle and often cooling mountain breeze.

Awakening to the sounds of nature (3)

I awoke the next morning early to the sounds of roosters off in the distance, running water from the river nearby and various birds up in the treetops. It was magical. Another of Jiwa's local residents, Orchid, the cat, had snuck into the Lumbung the night before and was sleeping near my feet. Needless to say I welcomed my new friend.

Awakening to the sounds of nature (2)

Lying there I felt a deep sense of calm and an appreciation for the serenity that is Jiwa Damai. Of course, there was much work to be done, but it was nice to really take in the environment before starting the day!

Berish Bilander