Indonesia's own rice museum

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