Wisnu Enters Campus

On Tuesday, September 12 2023, Wisnu was invited to the Anthropology Campus, Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) UGM to provide training to around 40 students. The collaboration is carried out in the context of developing the Tridharma of University and the MBKM (Free Learning Campus) Development Program, to increase the smoothness and optimization of the role of academics in the framework of effective and efficient University management, as well as developing a network of collaboration with industry and sustainable partnerships.

Later there will be four or five students who will intern at Wisnu to prepare agrotourism development plans in Pandansari Village, Brebes. This is part of the Ethnography Practicum course with the theme Participatory Digital Ethnography about and for Environmental Management, Ecotourism and Climate Change. Lecture topics related to this theme include participatory research, community empowerment, and sustainable natural tourism management. Related to this, there are two materials presented to Anthropology students, namely understanding village space and how to manage village space.

Getting to know the Village Room

Village space, like living space in general, consists of several components, namely the space itself, the belief system and way of life of the community, as well as the agreements that are built. Space, like the body, is formed from five basic elements (Panca Mahabhuta), namely water/liquid (Apah), fire/light (Teja), wind/air (Bayu), earth/earth/solid (Pertiwi), ether/space empty (Akasa). Apart from forming a living space, these basic elements also create dangers/risks or disasters (Panca Baya), such as floods, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, earthquakes, and disease or pests.

So, belief systems are created or created by the people who live in them to manage their living space. For the Balinese people, the belief system that is built includes belief in the Almighty God (Brahman), soul/spirit (Atman), the results of actions (Karmapala), reincarnation (Samsara), and the union of atman with brahman (Moksa). This belief system is known as Panca Sradha.

This belief system creates a way of life that is unified and maintains balance/harmony between nature, humans and culture on a global and abstract basis. Balance and harmony are maintained through the cultivation of forests (Wana Kertih), water sources (Danu Kertih), oceans (Segara Kertih), individuals (Janu Kertih), all creatures (Jagat Kertih), and the soul (Atma Kertih). Another way of life is the Mawa Cara village, where the village has its own culture (way of life and customs), also the Kala Patra village, where culture is carried out based on the place, time and situation at that time.

Agreements are ultimately made as a way to create harmony, to create order, tranquility and peace among those who agree. The important agreements to be made are territorial boundaries (wewidangan), written and unwritten rules (awig and perarem), as well as traditions and rituals. These are the things that make the Balinese people known as ritual people based on agricultural traditions, causing nature to be maintained and balanced, busy with themselves and their lives, and making outsiders the observers.

So then, the more outsiders enjoy Bali, the more the Balinese people become lulled, especially by the addiction of tourism. The economy is improving, but for whom? Social life is becoming wider with its positive and negative influences, Balinese culture is becoming more famous and permissive. Apart from that, changes in land use and ownership are increasing, there is also a water crisis, as well as an increase in the amount of rubbish and waste. Balance is no longer maintained. Then what should I do?

Managing Village Space

The Wisnu Foundation carries out three stages of action to maintain the existing balance, namely by identifying resources and problems through research and mapping, empowering and developing community businesses through managing community resources, and compiling documentation in the form of books, videos and other media.

Regarding the lecture topics, namely participatory research, community empowerment, and sustainable natural tourism management, the practical phase emphasizes research and mapping. Activities are aimed at knowing and understanding the resources we have, including natural, human, socio-cultural, infrastructure and financial resources. This time, to better understand this technique, we invited students to practice around the FIB campus.

Participants are divided into four groups:

1. Sketch Group: sketches the FIB campus plan with important points in it, including the library, cat park and catfish pond.
2. Social and Cultural Group: looking for information related to the history of FIB’s existence, the number of lecturers and students, as well as stories related to things invisible to the eye.
3. GPS group: took the FIB building boundary coordinates using Garmin GPS.
4. AlpineQuest group: the same as GPS, but uses an application called AlpineQuest.

Hopefully this is useful for Anthropology friends. Cheers..