The former of the head of Bangli PHRI named I Wayan Winurjaya who is also the owner of Lake View Kintamani Restaurant and Hotel said if the peak of the visit of the tourist happened on Lebaran day. He hopes this condition continued. It is guarantee with the safety of the visit remember about the past incident happened. “I am sure if we organize the facilities well, our tourism object will be bright,” he said.

Meanwhile, the member of Bangli DPRD on 2004-2009 period named I Kadek Ardi Negara comes from Songan village, Kintamani with his wife Raka Santhi Harmini introduce luak coffee product to the tourist who are visit Kintamani in Lake View restaurant. He is also explained if Kintamani kept many superior agriculture potention like luak coffee except its beautiful scenery. Even, luak coffee produced by PT. Jiwa Harmoni Bali has been touched export market in Japan, French, and Australia.

News by Bali Post

“Bali economic growth until the third quarter in 2009 only reach 4.17 percent.” It is especially low in farming sector for about 3.4 percent and whether last year its reach nine percents,” said Director General Bank Indonesia, Jeffrey Kairupan on his statement in Denpasar.

According to him, the lowest growth of agriculture sector in Bali can be seen through farming product outside Bali that fulfills Bali’s market. Among them are coming from Banyuwangi, Sidoarjo, Jatim, etc.

”From the result of BI survey almost 60-70 percent of farming product in Bali markets comes from outside Bali, especially from East Java went through Gilimanuk,” he said.

He mentioned, Bali high dependence toward other region agricultural product will threatened food supply in Bali. I is proved when there was big wave and wind happened at Gilimanuk, the price of the primary foods get increase immediately.

”this should have become our biggest concern, since even the developing countries still needs agricultural sector” he said.

Kairupan also affirmed, Bali basically has great potential in developing and raising their agricultural sector in the middle of tourism sector high demand especially at hotel and restaurant, they need agricultural products.

This becomes a big task for tourism management and agricultural management as well as Bali Government. The high needs of agricultural products by the tourism sector in the future should be balance with Bali agricultural ability in providing commodity, whether from amount aspect or quality.

He confessed, for all this time, Bali tourism sector has big contribution toward the economic growth in Bali. It is proved when in the middle of economic crisis and export deterioration, tourism keep continue to growth.

“Furthermore, number of foreign tourist comes to Bali keep raise every year,” he added.
Before, Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika assumed that Bali economic growth until the end of this year reaches 5.22 percents. That assumption is lower that their former target that was 5.47 percent. While in 2010 their economic growth target is 5.66 percent. Pastika mention that Bali economic growth if it is compared with national economic target, can be seen that Bali economic growth has exceeded national economic growth which merely 4.5 – 5 percent.

News by Antara

“Its about time we develop seaweed plantations in offshore areas around one kilometers away from the beach line,” said the head of Bali Fishery and Maritime Agency’s cultivation section, I Ketut Rai. He said Bali had a total of 9.6 square kilometers of offshore area that was suitable for seaweed cultivation. The area lies in Nusa Penida island, Nusa Lembongan island, Sawangan in Nusa Dua and Denpasar.

“All these years, seaweed cultivation has been mainly conducted at offshore areas near or next to beaches,” he added. The plantations mainly comprise of arrays of bamboo or iron stakes driven into the sand. The stakes were connected with ropes on which the farmers tied the seeds of seaweeds.

The plantation of seeds, the maintenance of the plantations and the harvests heavily depended on the tidal movements. Only when the water receded, Rai said, the farmers could plant, prune and harvest the seaweed. Seaweed cultivation at deeper sea, Rai pointed out, had slightly different characteristics. The plantation would mainly made of an array of floating rafts, on which the ropes of seaweed seeds were fastened.

“The operations of this plantation are not determined by tidal movements. The farmers will be able to maintain the plantations even during high tide,” he added. The expansion was necessary to cope with the markets’ increasing demand. “So far, no matter how much seaweed our farmers harvested, the markets have always absorbed it,” Rai said. Japan, China and Taiwan are the major markets for Bali’s seaweeds.

The head of Bali Fishery and Maritime Agency’s statistics section, Ni Ketut Adiani, said Bali had an estimated maximum production capacity of more than 152 tons seaweed per year. The actual production capacity, she admitted, was still far below the estimated one. The current price of seaweed, she said, was relatively stable. Farmers could get Rp 23,000 for each kilogram of dried seaweed. Harvest took place once in every 40 days.

“By expanding the cultivation to deeper seas we hope to increase the production capacity, thus, boosting their revenues and mitigating the chronic problem of poverty that haunts our coastal regions,” Rai said.

News written by Wasti Atmodjo
Published on The Jakarta Post

Uluwatu sells handmade Balinese lace made into beautiful clothing and household items. The story goes that the founder, Made Jati, (who designs each item with her sister, Nyoman Suti) named the brand PT Uluwatu after an 11th century Balinese Hindu Temple. The brand has been around for 25 years and specializes in lace-work (krawang), a fast disappearing handmade skill. The krawang motif is then added onto beautiful collections of predominantly white handmade lace clothing, gorgeous bed linen and table linens that can be kept for generations to come.

The brand has been in Malaysia since 2006 and was brought in by local company Rias Homestores Sdn Bhd (RHSB). According to Ida Fazura Datuk Megat Muhaiyadin, one of the partners of the company, (the others being Azlin Ramli and managing director, Izard Azman), they came across the brand while on holiday in Bali and fell in love with the beautiful products. However, in Malaysia, Uluwatu seems to have fallen into the “specialized” product category, rather than retail. In fact, the label has come to be known mainly for its kebayas despite carrying a large selection of contemporary clothes.

“We’re still building the brand,” says Ida. “We’re trying to get people to understand and appreciate it. There is a slight difference in the handmade lace on each piece.”

Uluwatu uses fabrics such as cotton, linen and premium quality rayon, all manufactured in the Javanese town of Bandung. Their classic designs feature feminine cut work motifs like flowers and butterflies. The selection of clothes range from long-sleeved blouses, sleeveless tops, pants, dresses and linen shift dresses, while the products consist of white cotton bed covers, sheets and pillow cases, coasters, napkins and tablecloths.

According to Izard, while linen is mainly used in Bali, rayon is the material of choice in Malaysia. And for our market, there are also designs you may not find the original collections as RHSB works with the designers to create styles it feels will appeal more to locals. We’re also more modest it seems, so you will find some interesting differences. “In Bali, the clothes are more for tourists, pieces for the beach, so they don’t mind revealing some skin. But for our market, we had lining put in the dresses, and lining under the krawang to cover the holes,” says Ida. “We do have those who prefer to have the same collection as in Bali. For example, this year for Hari Raya, we’re bringing in the kebaya pendek, but we’re not modifying it as we found customers prefer it the that way. There are those who are more daring and don’t mind wearing the original designs.”

While the brand is known for its mainly white color theme, there is also cream and black and occasional seasonal colors. Ida says they’ve tried pastels, blues and browns, though the market still shows a preference for the more neutral colors and black. If you want to dress up the muted colors, there’s a range of accessories to go with the clothes, though these don’t come under the Uluwatu label. The collection includes a range of semi-precious accessories called Ilyana, in the form of dangling earrings and ethnic styled necklaces designed by local jeweler, Precious Inez.

Ida says the current summer trend – where lace and crochet look is all the rage – is an advantage for the brand: “What people have to appreciate is that our clothes are handmade. Take a look at the quality and the detailing, that’s what sets us apart.” Can’t you just hear that perfect summer dress calling your name?

The Uluwatu boutique is located at The Curve, Mutiara Damansara, Selangor. Prices range from RM99.90 to RM359.90.

News by The Star Online – thestar.com.my