Indonesia's own rice museum

When in Indonesia, I always read with pleasure The Jakarta Post, appreciating the variety of subjects and opinions.

The Aug. 4, 1998, issue featured an article by Ruth Youngblood about the International Rice Research Institute in Los Banos, the Philippines. It is interesting to read about the institute's "Riceworld" section, opened in 1994. Your readers might also be interested to know that it is not "the world's only rice museum" and to highlight here a piece of Indonesian heritage.

Indeed in Tabanan, Bali, there is the "Mandala Mathika Subak" devoted to the history, organization and techniques of Balinese rice farming. The museum opened in 1981 and its director is Ida Bagus Panjaya.

This is not the proper place to discuss the displays in Tabanan. But, due to the importance of rice farming for your country and, above all, the high skills developed for that purpose and the religious and sociocultural connections of the crop, it is certainly worth mentioning and encouraging your readers, especially schools, to pay it a visit.

MARC A. BARBLAN

Geneva, Switzerland