The Bali Floral Club is holding a combined floral exhibition and competition (May 17, 2011), a floral seminar and demonstration (May 18, 2011) and a hands-on workshop on floral design (May 19, 2011). with presenting flower arranger expert from Holland, Bart van der Elsken. With over two decades of experience, Bart van der Eksjen is considered a master in floral design, called on to decorate large exhibitions and public places. “The floral decoration artist kindly disposed to present this event for free to share experience arranging flower which planned on May 11-13, 2011,” said Public Relation Bali Floral Club (BFC) Dewi Amunudin to ANTARA.

All the activities will be held at the Danes Art Veranda on Jalan Hayum Wuruk No, 159 in Denpasar.The event is organized by The Bali Floral Club to enhance appreciation of and skills in floral arranging.

BFC will periodically hold seminar, workshop, contest, and exhibition to invite floral art lovers in attending floral events in Bali. Further other member can share acknowledgement, experience, and their work in various flower art. Besides they are also widening relationship between flower arranger in Indonesia. According to Dewi Bart van der Elsken presence wished can open chance for the flower arranger. He is keeping promotion of flower art and ornamental plant through any training events, seminar, and “floral” demonstration. Dewi added major ability of Bart van der Elsken are decorating exhibition place or flower trading, including giving advice, and solving problem shop’s owner. “He known by his creativity in giving fresh idea to the flower shop’s owner, garden centers, stand constructor, wholesalers, and hotels,” she said.

The seminar contains training, contest, and flower arranging art exhibition themed “Inspired by the Balinese Culture” will hold in Danes Art Veranda, Hayam Wuruk Street number 159 Denpasar. The event involves all of club member who have same vision and mission to enrich art and culture of flower arrange besides invites floral lovers from other cities. Dewi hopes the seminar and some events related with arranging flowers can follow recent development. “They will get precious lesson from ‘master floral design’ Bart van der Elsken who experienced in this subject since 1998. The rare chance can support our development in developing Bali tourism,” said her.

People tend to have this assumption that luxury is all about air-conditioning and technology, about owning a big car — but luxury can also be about feeling the wind blow right through your house, being in contact with nature and walking around barefoot in your home.

Effan Adhiwira, a 28-year-old Indonesian who is senior architect and also oversees construction at Green School, the Ibuku team is creating a collection of structures that look more like treehouses and pirate ships than luxury villas.

Three dozen buildings will ultimately form the “Green Village,” which is going up on three hectares, or almost 7.5 acres, of land. One has been completed, and its owner is moving in next week. A second is expected to be finished in a few weeks and several more in the next few months. Five homes have been sold already and the sales of at least four more are being negotiated.

Each one boggles the mind, pleasantly, doing things with bamboo that you would never think bamboo could do.

Indonesia as a whole, and Bali in particular, has become increasingly popular with foreign investors, drawn by the country’s friendly climate and buoyant economy. Foreigners cannot own land or houses directly in their own name in the country but it is possible, and common, for them to arrange ownership through local nominees or surrogates. Another option is to acquire long-term leases of as long as 25 years, which can be transferable and extendable, and are thus an attractive alternative, Mr. Wrathall said.

Possibly the most unusual aspect of the Ibuku houses — apart from the fact that they are 98 percent bamboo — is that their sides are largely open to the elements.

Beneath the canopy-like roofs, which are in turn overshadowed by the jungle, there are only floors and the bamboo support pillars. The houses have 150 to 300 square meters, or 1,615 to 3,230 square feet, of living space, but no walls, no windows.

That may sound unbearably hot and steamy, but there generally is a gentle breeze blowing through the structures.

Buyers can opt to have parts of their houses enclosed — with bamboo walls — so the areas can be cooled and dehumidified. But most areas are free of energy-guzzling air-conditioning and costly insulation materials. Ibuku also plans to take the whole “village” off Bali’s electric grid, providing power from biomass, the energy given off by decaying natural materials — all in line with the green, environmentalist philosophy that pervades the development.

Conrad Bali is pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin Girard as the resort’s Director of Business Development. Prior to Conrad Bali, Kevin was Director of Operations in Conrad Brussels, Belgium.

Kevin started his career with Hilton Worldwide in 2000 through the Hilton Elevator Training Program. He has since worked in various management positions within the operations and business development areas in a number of Hilton Worldwide properties including the Hilton Montreal Airport, Hilton Toronto, Hilton Saint John in Canada, and Caribe Hilton San Juan in Puerto Rico.

In his new role, Kevin will oversee the entire business development department which includes sales, marketing, public relations, reservations, and revenue management.

Michael Burchett, General Manager of Conrad Bali commented, “With Kevin’s wealth of international experience and extensive Hilton Worldwide network, we are looking forward to expanding Conrad Bali’s market share while maintaining the fine balance between families, couples, and business established since our opening in March 2004.”

A Canadian national, Kevin moves to Bali with his wife and two children. In his spare time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family and entertaining with good food and wine.

Organic farming is all about not using pesticides and other chemicals to kill invading insects and to increase farming yields.

The move towards organic farming has taken off worldwide, but although it is well established in most western countries it has been slow in evolving in most parts of South East Asia.

This has been due to a number of factors including the hard work needed to control pests naturally, without the ease of using chemicals, plus other farming issues, such as the food industry not being able to deal with small farmers because of a long distribution chain and the fact that most of the profits go to the wholesaler and retailer and not the farmer.

Also, the health benefits for both farmers producing the food and the consumer from eating organic are not well known in most areas.

In Bali, where you would imagine organic farming was already well established due to the way the Balinese have preserved their culture and traditions, farmers, as so many others around the world, are still using chemical fetilisers on their rice fields and other crops despite the yearly costs and the fact that they need more chemicals to produce a certain amount of harvest each year.

It has to be said, in recent years with help and education from local NGO’s, farmers have been reducing the amount of agro-chemicals they use and instead have been using more organic fertislisers and natural pest control agents to increase their yields.

Slowly farmers are getting the message that organic farming is the way forward and many are returning to traditional farming methods that are not reliant on man made chemicals.

As farmers move towards organic systems they have come to realise the need to organize themselves and that working together to share the burden and profits is more beneficial to them than before when they worked alone.

However, whilst many farmers have switched to organic farming, marketing their produce has been a problem for most of them.

As a way of addressing this problem, one group of eleven small organic farmers got together and decided to set up an organic farmers' cooperative and a weekly farmers' market.

The farmers' market is in Ubud where they sell their produce direct to buyers and educate people about the health benefits of eating organic and supporting small local businesses, which they see as benefiting the whole community.

The market is held every Saturday morning in Pengasekan, just outside Ubud on a terrace provided free of charge by Pizza Bagus, who support the goals of Bali’s chemical-free farmers.

The small cost to farmers of the equivalent of 2 US Dollars a week covers the group’s overheads and provides a much needed outlet to sell their produce.

From 9:30 to 2pm you will see an abundance of fresh organic produce to buy, which includes vegetables, salads, herbs, local fruits, rice, soy milk, eggs, jams, virgin coconut oil, honey, bread and other homemade baked goods, essential oils and natural skin creams.

The market is so popular that locals, ex-pats and tourists queue to buy the fresh organic produce and even people from places such as Kuta, an hours drive away, travel to buy from this market.

While farmers and customers have been “going organic” the Indonesian government has no national policy, so farmers have been developing their own local policies, which include having a strict policy on the quality of foods sold at these markets.

Meanwhile, the government is taking a pragmatic approach by setting up standards and a certification board. However, small farmers are unable to afford such certification, so farmers’ markets are a way forward for most and consumers can go and see for themselves whether what they are selling is organic or not.

23 - 27 March 2011

Balispirit Festival, The BaliSpirit Festival is a spiritually charged event that celebrates yoga, dance and music and the synergy of global cultural collaboration through the arts. BALISPIRIT FESTIVAL EARLY BIRD TICKET SALES THRU MARCH 10 ONLY – BUY NOW!

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23 April 2011

Saraswati, This day is devoted to God's Manifestation as Dewi Saraswati, the beautiful Goddess of Knowledge, Art and Literature. On this day, books of knowledge, manuscripts and the Wedas are blessed and special offerings are made for them.

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6 July 2011

Galungan, This is the most important holiday symbolizing the victory of Virtue (Dharma) upon Evil (Adharma). The holiday is specialized by the fitting of 'penjor', a tall bamboo pole splendidly decorated with woven young coconut leaves, fruit, cakes and flowers, on the right side of every house entrance. People are attired in their finest clothes and jewels this day.

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19 November 2011

Saraswati, This day is devoted to God's Manifestation as Dewi Saraswati, the beautiful Goddess of Knowledge, Art and Literature. On this day, books of knowledge, manuscripts and the Wedas are blessed and special offerings are made for them.

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23 November 2011

Pagerwesi, The name literally means 'iron fence', on which day ceremonies and prayers are held for strong mental and spiritual defense in welcoming the Galungan holiday.

Ngurah Rai Airport is a dual terminal facility, handling both domestic and international flights, with around 25 different airlines in total. Indonesia's very own Garuda Airlines is particularly notable and features flights to Australia, Japan and Singapore.

Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport, also known as Denpasar International Airport, is located in southern Bali, 13 km south of Denpasar. It is Indonesia's third-busiest international airport.
There are banks and currency exchange facilities within both terminals and also in the Domestic Departures Hall, allowing you to easily obtain Indonesian rupiah. Telephones are available throughout the terminals, along with duty-free shops and various Balinese restaurants. The Holiday Inn Resort Balihai is located close to the terminal building at the Ngurah Rai Airport and provides ample facilities for business guests and companies wishing to hold conferences.

Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport  Information: About Bali Tourism
Bali is an Indonesian island and a popular tourist destination that offers visitors a rich cultural experience combined with tropical beauty and a solid tourist infrastructure. The island is famous for its arts, both performing and creative.

Visitors to Denpasar and other popular spots can enjoy local theatrical dance performances, or view wonderful ethnic artworks in medias such as sculpture, leather, metal and paint. Bali's most significant tourist areas include Kuta, Sanur, Jimbaran, Seminyak and more recently Nusa Dua.

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BALI, Indonesia (AP) — A powerful earthquake off Indonesia rattled the popular resort island of Bali early Friday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, officials said.

The U.S.Geological Survey said the 6.5-magnitude quake struck at 1:08 a.m. Friday (1708 GMT Thursday) and was centered 315 miles (508 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor.

It hit waters some 160 miles (259 kilometers) northeast of Denpasar, the main city on Bali; about 612 miles (986 kilometers) west of Dili, the capital of East Timor; and 686 miles (1,105 kilometers) east of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital.

Beni Hendrawanto, of the country's geological and meteorology department, said that while it could be felt on Bali, there were no initial reports of damage or injuries.

Indonesia :
Magnitude-6.5 gempa dekat Indonesia

BALI, Indonesia (AP) - Sebuah gempa kuat mengguncang lepas pantai Indonesia pulau resor populer dari Bali Jumat pagi, namun tidak ada laporan segera kerusakan atau cedera, kata para pejabat.

Survei USGeological mengatakan gempa 6,5 ​​skala Richter terjadi pada pukul 01:08 Jumat (1708 GMT Kamis) dan berpusat 315 mil (508 kilometer) di bawah dasar laut.

Ia memukul air sekitar 160 mil (259 kilometer) timur laut Denpasar, kota utama di Bali, sekitar 612 mil (986 kilometer) barat Dili, ibukota Timor Timur, dan 686 mil (1.105 kilometer) sebelah timur Jakarta, ibukota Indonesia .

Beni Hendrawanto, departemen negara geologi dan meteorologi, mengatakan bahwa sementara bisa dirasakan di Bali, tidak ada laporan awal kerusakan atau cedera.