Environmental activists have urged the Balinese to abandon the island's prevailing mass tourism scheme and embrace ecotourism, believed to be the only way to generate profits without damaging the environment.
Made Suarnata of the Wisnu Foundation said mass tourism activities and facilities such as hotels, villas and amusement parks were of more benefit to investors than to locals.
"Besides, the construction of those buildings often neglects the environment and causes numerous social problems.
"Investors often do not pay enough attention to local values and norms because most of them are non-Balinese," he told a press conference Monday.
"Ecotourism is a great alternative to mass tourism as it will empower villagers to become the owners of the tourism spots rather than merely becoming a local guide or, even worse, a security guard."
Ecotourism consultant and the author of the book People Ecotourism, Ida Bagus Yoga Atmaja, acknowledged that, of the eight grades of professions related to tourism, local people often assumed the lowly roles of guide or porter.
"It (tourism industry) has treated the locals unfairly," he said.
The Wisnu Foundation, established on June 4, 2002, aims to assist villages in developing a sustainable, community-based ecotourism model. The foundation has applied the model to four villages: Dukuh Sibetan and Tenganan Pegringsingan in Karangasem regency, Kiadan Pelaga in Badung regency and Nusa Ceningan in Klungkung regency. The four villages have allied themselves under the Village Ecotourism Network.
"We design and sell tourism packages that are focused on providing the villagers with a fair distribution of profits," Banjar Adat Dukuh Cooperative of Sibetan Village coordinator Made Suarjana told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Sibetan village offers two tourism packages. One is a three-hour trip that includes a visit to local salak (snake fruit) plantations and a trek up Mount Agung. The package costs up to Rp 45,000.
In the second package, visitors are invited to spend a night at the local residents' compound.
"The visitors enjoy the same food as their hosts. A genuine interaction between locals and tourists is expected to occur during this session," he said.
The package costs up to Rp 95,000 per night.
He said ecotourism had positive prospects, as shown by the increasing number of tourists visiting the village each year.
In 2007, he said, 125 tourists, many of who were Australians, visited the village.
In the first four months of 2008, more than 60 foreign tourists and 187 students from all over the country visited the village.
Sibetan has become known as one of the island's biggest producers of salak. Around 14 varieties of salak are grown in the village.
Farmers also produce liquor from the fruit.
Dubbed "snakeskin wine", the liquor has become one of the village's most popular products. Around 250 liters of wine are produced by the local distillery each month.
A small bottle of snakeskin wine costs Rp 30,000.
Sherry Kasman Entus, an American who has lived in Ubud for 11 years, said the ecotourism concept was attracting tourists who sought different sensations and meanings in their holidays.
Sherry, who used to accompany groups of tourists to these villages, said most of the tourists felt they had experienced a genuine connection with the villagers during their stay.
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