Prefab Balinese houses in great demand<\/p>\n
Wahyoe Boedhiwardhana, Contributor, Denpasar<\/p>\n
Sitting on a circular bench in a wooden gazebo surrounded by a
\nBalinese tropical garden is like staying in one of the island's
\npalaces. But it is not Bali, it is a busy housing complex in
\nSingapore.<\/p>\n
With the presence of prefabricated gazebos and houses with
\nalang-alang (thatched) roofs and other products from Bali, it is
\nnow possible to create the ambience and atmosphere of Bali
\nanywhere in the world by importing these items along with
\nstatues, carvings and even textiles.<\/p>\n
The number of companies producing prefab houses and gazebos is
\ngrowing rapidly in Bali to cater to the increasing demands of
\nthose wanting to instantly \"Balinize\" their surroundings.<\/p>\n
The marketing manager of Bali Carpenter Wood and Furniture
\nCompany, I Made Purna Wibawa, said that his company had received
\na bulk of orders from overseas.<\/p>\n
\"The trend started in early 2000 and is still flourishing,\"
\nMade said.<\/p>\n
The company, he said, can produce various designs and forms of
\nprefab houses depending on customers' needs.<\/p>\n
Made explained that most Balinese houses were freestanding.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, it is easy to erect a single Balinese house
\nwithout having to link it to another structure, like a main
\nbuilding,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Other furniture companies are eyeing this golden opportunity
\nto diversify their businesses from mainly furniture products,
\nwhich are reaching saturation point, to the more profitable
\nprefab wooden house business. The products range from simple
\ngazebos to multistoried wooden houses.<\/p>\n
Dewa Suprayasa, a designer at PT Tunas Jaya in the Sanur
\nresort area, some 15 kilometers southeast of Denpasar, said the
\ncompany was currently making three wooden houses with windows to
\nbe shipped to Costa Rica, South America.<\/p>\n
\"They like the houses as they are made of wood, something they
\ncannot obtain in their country,\" Dewa said. His Costa Rica
\nclients told him that it was very difficult to find wooden
\nproducts in their country. \"Permits from relevant agencies are
\nneeded before anyone can even cut down a tree, let alone for mass
\nproduction,\" he quoted the clients as saying.<\/p>\n
Dewa said his Costa Rican clients ordered three beach houses
\nwith large windows to be erected on a rocky hill on a well-known
\npart of the country's coastline. \"They said they could easily
\nreconstruct or move the structures to other places,\" Dewa said.<\/p>\n
Most local companies procure their wood from Kalimantan,
\nSulawesi and Papua.<\/p>\n
\"We only use alang-alang from Bali for the roof,\" Dewa said.<\/p>\n
For one 1,250-square-meter beach villa, at least 1,000 cubic
\nmeters of Bengkirai wood from Kalimantan, Indonesia's largest
\nforested island, is needed.<\/p>\n
For a gazebo, most companies use coconut wood and alang-alang
\nfor the roof.<\/p>\n
Bengkirai wood is often used for walls and flooring because
\nthe cutting must be precise, said Dewa, a graduate from Dr.
\nSoetomo University's Technical School, in Surabaya, East Java.<\/p>\n
Making a simple, standard four-square-meter gazebo or house
\ntakes about one week, including the packing. Each cubic meter of
\nwood costs about Rp 875,000 (US$97). A simple gazebo takes around
\n40 cubic meters of wood.<\/p>\n
\"A more elaborate villa takes around five months to finish and
\ncould cost around Rp 1 billion (over $110,000) for material
\nonly,\" Dewa said.<\/p>\n
Various technical problems as well as late delivery of
\nmaterials have frequently hampered the completion of prefab
\nhouses, he said. Before completion, owners usually come for a
\nlast check, Dewa said.<\/p>\n
In l996, Dewa said his company received a big order for 100
\nbungalows from a client in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
The price of each gazebo or house does not include packaging
\nand shipping. \"Clients have to pay these additional costs,\" he
\nsaid. Upon shipping an order, the company provides the client
\nwith a complete and informative diskette or CD ROM on how to
\nconstruct the structures, Made said.<\/p>\n
Made continued that the prospect for the prefab house business
\nwould remain lucrative for at least another 10 years. \"We have
\nnot yet worked on the domestic market,\" he said.<\/p>\n
To date, the products have been shipped to some Asian,
\nEuropean and African countries as well as the United States and
\nLatin America.<\/p>",
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