
Come and be part of our practical Bamboo Courses and Apprenticeship training in Bali to become an unbeatable hands-on bamboo builder and learn hands-on skills in bamboo construction.
At the Belega Ecocentre for practical bamboo building at Belega, near Ubud local craftsmen share their knowledge and skills of the creative traditions of Bali and Indonesia. This is an inclusive natural learning centre for bamboo and natural building where everyone can participate in fun familyful activities from building to gardening, traditional cooking and kite-making…
As a collaborative venture, where wages for teachers are more in line with what we would expect from the “sustainable building material of the future” – the project provides incentive for locals to retain and pursue traditional artistry as a viable career option (as opposed to taking up higher-paying westernised service-industry jobs). There has been an historical undervaluing of hand-made arts which coupled with people’s need for “money” to send their kids to school and to be able to survive in the Post-Colonial Era economic system has resulted in an erosion of the cultural landscape where traditional arts are at risk of being lost. (Prior people used barter and actually there wasn’t much need for “money” as everything was produced and shared collectively in local cultures/societies). We aim to overcome the capitalistic tendency to underpay locals and take-for-granted that they should live at a lower economic standard (also a tendency handed down by the caste system) and to properly value the arts and cultural knowledge which makes Indonesia such a rich and diverse place to live… And to create a space for cultural exchange and building Connection with our local culture through helping to share practical knowledge and skills programs to a worldwide audience and builders from all backgrounds.
We look forward to sharing more over the coming weeks about the Belega Bamboo Eco-centre project 🙂 and welcome you to join our upcoming workshops…
Join our Internship and Apprenticeship Programs starting on 14th September… The cost is US$280/week for Internship training (6 days/week 9am to 4pm). Part-time programs also available.