Bali Fund Brings New Beginning

Under the Bali Rehabilitation Fund, an Australian Government initiative to counter the economic and social effects of the 12 October 2002 bombings, thousands of Balinese are developing new skills - or relearning and adapting old ones - to build new and sustainable sources of family income.

Farming pigs When the terrorists detonated their bombs in the center of Bali's nightclub district, Ni Ketut Talek, five months pregnant with her first child, was at her family home in Palasari some150 kilometers away.

But within months Ni Ketut and thousands of others were to be subjected to severe hardships as the deadly outrage impacted on their lives.

A new start farming pigs

For decades Bali's economy had grown on the back of an ever-expanding tourist trade, but heavy global media coverage of the terror attack had an immediate and profound effect: international arrivals at Denpasar's Ngurah Rai Airport turned to a trickle and soon Balinese businesses, large and small, were in deep trouble.

Ensuing widespread job losses soon translated into severe hardship felt in communities across the island.

What happened to Ni Ketut - whose family was heavily dependant on income from tourist related jobs - was typical: as each breadwinner lost work, he or she returned home and the family's burdens increased exponentially. By the middle of 2003, a few months after the birth of Ni Ketut's son, Putu, her family had all but no income and far too many mouths to feed.

But at about that time things took a turn for the better. Today, with assistance from a local NGO, Dian Bhuana Lestari (Dinari) and the support of the district government veterinarian, Ni Ketut and other similarly affected women in her village are being coached in their new career - as pig farmers.

Under a scheme financed through the Bali Rehabilitation Fund, Ni Ketut was able to secure a loan of one million Rupiah (about $160) to kick off the venture.

A condition of the loan was being able to provide pig pens to a required standard. Ni Ketut's family pitched in and while it was a big strain to scrape up enough cash for the cement, materials such as bamboo and palm thatch were plentiful and free. When the money came through, two thirds of the loan was spent on purchasing piglets and the remaining monies set aside to cover immunization and veterinary costs and purchase of high-grade food mix to optimize growth.

'The value of the pigs doubled in three months,' said Ni Ketut, clearly delighted with her first sale. 'The next time I go to market they will be five months old, which is the best time to sell. But I have made enough to meet repayments and there is still a small profit. When the loan is paid off it will be even better.'

Photo: Gregson Edwards