My name is Natalie Davenport, and I am the founder of Bamboo Creative Bali. I started a social-inclusion project in 2017 to establish an inclusive space for my now 22-year-old daughter, Freyr, who has special needs, and for other individuals in similar situations to provide natural community inclusion, opportunities for social interaction, appropriate life experiences, and care assistance from staff and volunteers. After experiencing Carer Burnout in Australia in 2015, I moved to the Philippines and lived with local families, which helped me recover and introduced me to a different way of living and opened my eyes to the reality of life in “developing” countries. My journey then led me to Bali, where I was inspired by the local culture and developed my expertise in natural building.

“PT Bamboo Creative Bali,” a legal Indonesian business entity focused on sharing skills and facilitating experiences related to natural community living, artisan crafts, and bamboo knowledge alongside local village communities. My goal is to become part of the Regenerative Earth and Human-friendly systems needed in these times through developing/creating inclusive spaces centred around Earthing activities and inclusive of persons with a disability and naturally supportive for families. And as a seasoned Carer, I aim to alleviate the stress, anxiety, and isolation we often experience… and re-Find ourselves in the natural support system and state we already ARE – when the right environmental conditions are present.

Bamboo Creative Bali has three aims:

• To make bamboo an attractive and affordable building material for everyday people in developing countries to use, and to retain the culture and skills of bamboo (and traditional craftsmanship) which still remains – of not only in Indonesia but around the world – seeing bamboo as a “friend” to people and able to be collectively used to better society and the environment;
• To educate and inspire people to repurpose plastics and prevent plastic waste from entering our environment; Nurture innovative thinking and value-adding to natural community resources and to contribute to the creation of circular economies; and,
• To be a vehicle for which we as humans may relearn what being IN Community feels like, and to reconnect us with our natural creative nature while including people with different abilities and disabilities in activities, enabling them and their carers to engage in meaningful roles enabling participation in and contribution to community life.

We offer individual/customised bamboo building, recycled-design and natural/earth building programs where participants are enabled to be part of the design experience and process of each project. As well, we offer design and mentorship programs for locally-produced bamboo products through partnerships with local families directly; where there are mutual fair benefits. We aim to enable more local families to build their own “homestay” through collaborative programs – using renewable/recycled materials and traditional bamboo knowledge.

Bamboo Creative Bali isn’t just about building, we are also looking at systems (specifically for the tropics) that can help reduce waste; lessen the need for power consumption (by simplifying and “locafying” our lifestyles); design and sustainable resource use and economics (displacing the need of having a horrible closed-in stinky room with an air conditioner)… Greywater gardening systems, energy from human waste and reduction of plastic throw-away consumables to approach a zero waste economy and community…

My Story

Experiencing life in the Philippines is where I really learned about “family”, and to “slow down” and see life from a more wholistic perspective. Additionally, I was more able to “function” outside my caring role for my daughter and to have some time to develop my own interests in building design with natural/up-cycled materials and bamboo… It didn’t seem so hard to take care of Freyr and she really seemed to enjoy the sense of “belonging” in a family environment. I stayed for nearly a year in the Philippines in 2016 where local families helped me to care for my daughter Freyr (who is intellectually disabled and has high care needs). While living there, I helped to make some small building projects with the families we stayed with – hoping it would help them to create some income to support their livelihoods (local salaries are remarkably low) And as I was helping a family to build a home-stay room, I saw first hand the effect that insects can have on bamboo (when left untreated) and saw why people generally have a negative perception of bamboo as a building material – which is what brought me to Bali actually… where I have learned quite a lot first hand about bamboo building and treatment through my bamboo house project (Freyr’s Bamboo Home/ Sky-Kubu), and am still trying to figure out how that could be made accessible/affordable for, not only my friends in the Philippines, but other local people in Bali and other countries. 

Since 2017 when the bamboo house project started, I have been developing a model for a social inclusion project to help my daughter Freyr and myself to have social connection and community involvement and support. Life in Australia for my daughter and I was very isolating and after leaving Australia I have been blessed to meet many people – local craftsmen, artists and travelers with various expertise from parkour, yoga and rock-climbing to architecture, social work, theatre and marketing. And my daughter has been enabled to experience an enriched social life and meaningful connections while having her care needs met by local care “staff” who are like family to us.

The Vision I have for Bamboo Creative Bali is to create a model for living in Community and including people with disabilities in daily life, and to enable us to share our gifts as people/humans, inclusively, in a community environment. I am working for this to be applied to a community model that will give my daughter better quality of life experience and social connection, than what is presently available. And as part of this Vision, I would like to enable other families and individuals to experience and live alongside local cultures – while creating socially, economically and environmentally-enriching experiences and enterprises which enable varied levels of contribution towards a wholistic model of Community Life .

In the world of bamboo and earth-friendly life skills – and plastic management/reuse, I believe that incorporating bamboo-building and skill-sharing with a kind of local tourism will help local families to be empowered to use bamboo as a building material in their own houses and help to broaden the reach and sharing of skills and knowledge around Environmental Awareness and also be a Proactive measure in creating solutions that everyone can be part of – in a fun and recreational way – while creating and broadening our concept of community and what it is to be part of a/the Global Village.

Since my daughter’s local schooling and child support payments ended, supporting her needs here in Bali and working full-time became quite challenging. Freyr is now residing in Australia with funding as a person with a Disability through the National Disability Insurance Scheme. And I am gathering support to create a structure/organisation to model how she could be supported inclusively in a community environment and enable me to live near her, with support so I am not overwhelmed with her care needs. (Now she is able to access her funding as a person with a disability back in Australia but as her parent, my needs are not acknowledged). Part of my mission living here is to show that I can in fact also, have a life and occupation alongside my life-long role as my daughter’s mother and Carer.

While living here in Bali, I have expanded my own skills and knowledge and have been able to create a livelihood for myself from the learning I’ve had living here in Indonesia. And, I look forward to developing my Vision further – in my own “work” role/s in facilitating workshops in bamboo and natural /upcycled building techniques, and in having effective contribution towards enabling people (in general) to lead more sustainable lives and to enable the development of what I believe will enable humanity to genuinely and heartully reconnect across cultures and continents – creating the transition stage of Regeneration towards a culture of equality and inclusivity, and preserving, maintaining and empowering social enterprise tied to tradtional skills and knowledge – and building thriving earth-friendly interconnected empowered village networks collaboratively.

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Bamboo Housing for the Future?

I am passionate about natural building and design, experimentation, raising awareness and sharing skills that can make building bamboo homes sustainable, affordable and accessible – especially for People LIVING IN “developing countries” who make up around 70% of the global population of our planet.

My aim is to build an inclusive disability community village project for my (now) 22 year old daughter and other “kids” with special needs in Bali. I want to enable young people and adults with disabilities to be and feel included in community life and activities; and to ease the care ‘burden’ for parents of special needs children through enabling them to access inclusive activities by building spaces of learning and sharing music, dance, physical therapies, farming activities, time, food and humor, sustainability skills and healing pass-times such as crafting with bamboo, weaving and other right-brain activities.

The Vision I have for Bamboo Creative Bali is to create a model for living in supportive community which includes people with disabilities in daily life and enables us to share our gifts as people/humans and contribute to a collective aims / The Common Good. And to see/develop a social-housing model that will give my daughter a better quality of life experience, social connection and care than what is presently available in Australia; and for myself, to evolve a way to work alongside my role as my daughter’s Carer and to contribute and feel connected with others. Through this model I have expanded my own skills and knowledge and am now able to create a livelihood for myself from the learning I’ve had living here in Indonesia I and look forward to now having time to develop my vision further in my own “work” in facilitating workshops in bamboo and natural /upcycled building techniques and having effective contribution towards enabling people (in general) to lead more sustainable lives.

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Prior to living here in Bali my daughter and I lived in the Philippines (Palawan) where we stayed with several families for nearly a year who helped me to take care of Freyr and gave me the support I needed when I had reached my own breaking point in being able to look after her. I overcame the sense of isolation I had experienced living in Australia as she got older and Freyr was able to be part of a FAMILY. I was able to restore my nervous system which had become so overwhelmed that i experienced frequent shaking, inability to sleep and emotional instability. Having support with Freyr’s care meant I could free my focus and attention and made some small projects to contribute to the livelihoods of the families we stayed with which is where I started seeing and learning about bamboo through helping make/repair a mangrove aquaculture pond, build a small office/spare room and build a bamboo “kubu” in the jungle near Napsan.

I came to Bali initially to learn about bamboo preservation after finding that, when helping one family to build a small homestay house in Palawan (Salacot area), termites were a huge issue and wreakers of mass destruction without heavy chemical treatment, turned to dust pretty darn quick. Also bringing water to homes from nearby water sources to save time and energy manually carrying water was an issue (no electricity in this area). I met Djuka Montenero (Farmers Yard Hostel founder) through HelpX and became fascinated with Indoneisan bamboo building techniques. I realised that Bali was the place to learn about bamboo and helped Djuka build a Lumbung (traditional rice barn) from bamboo which became the basis for my sky-kubu design. I started this bamboo project with local craftsmen and volunteers and have learned everything hands-on… through local knowledge…

I hope to return to Palawan again and stay with the families in the beautiful and relatively unspoilt area of the hillsides behind Napsan (probably now like Bali was 30 years or so ago) and bring what I have learned and support their ability to access sustainable renewable technologies which can help improve living standards/ ease/access to things we take for granted in the western world – like running water and light at night and also help them to utilise bamboo as a building material that lasts and is attractive and affordable.

I believe that maintaining skills and traditions at the local level and promoting the value of bamboo as a sustainable building material/resource will enable it’s revival and help enhance the lives of people in ‘developing’ countries. My aim is to facilitate cooperative relationships between ‘westerners’ and local families which are mutually beneficial to help share skills and knowledge of how we can live more sustainably, alongside the practical experience of learning bamboo carpentry and construction so that people with special needs and their families can visit/spend time in Bali and be part of a supported lifestyle and activity program.

It’s not the skills themselves… it’s the Environment we create practicing them… maybe not quite like a knitting circle (I don’t know I’ve never been to one… but those crocheting circles in Australia seem quite dangerous and all with those CoalSeamGas nannies and girls going around the city crocheting trees and pushbikes). But it’s this “Being” state, and Being together (drug-addicted rats prefer to be with other rats than take heroin) which nourishes me… It takes more than a village to raise a special needs child… maybe a multi-layered international village will do the job… It’s this state of Beingness … Connectedness … just sitting around/working with other families and kids around (familyful – my new word for the day)… that creates the environment which creates the nourishment my soul needs!

I have been incredibly inspired since first coming to Asia at how inclusive the culture is towards people with special needs, and by the presence of Foundations/Yayasans here in Bali whose charter it is to help children with disabilities. I have actually felt human and connected in a way I had never experienced in Australia. We naturally slotted in to a more co-operative mindset and sense of shared responsibility… I feel so blessed to be able to experience life in a more “meaningful” way and to be able to contribute in some way and help others. This is what led me to have a vision to create a wholistic village where “sustainable” activities are just part of daily life and form part of a living program where our “kids” get to join in and participate together with paid staff/carers and the broader local community as well as travellers and visitors who wish to participate in being of service to the Greater Good and are interested in sharing their time and skills with us…

What spurred me to create this project was my own need to feel part of an inclusive community where I can live in a collaborative family environment and Thrive; have a sense of purpose, and contribute to a community which is committed to seeing a better world for our children.

I endeavor to become part of the network of social enterprises which are developing globally and help form connections in ways where we may return to our familiar/tribal roots as humankind and plant the seeds of Caring Custodianship; pulling the weeds of Capitalism out of our lives as we go… To rethink How we think... about ourselves and everything around us. Through experiencing BEING in Com-munity and engaging in activities which bring us into Communion/ Communication with ourselves and each other… To be able to Feel and just be Present for our Kids with special needs – and enjoy them!… To unravel our minds… to open our Hearts to what has been there all along. I want to enable other families to also enjoy a more co-operative way of life – that respects, restores and enhances local culture.

This project has been entirely self-funded so far. It has been a means for me to develop my own skills and knowledge and fulfill my human potential outside of my caring role while finding avenues to help my daughter be part of an awesome inclusive community and contribute to quality care and facilities for special needs “Kids” here in Bali. In the long term I aim to connect this project more widely enabling mutual benefits to communities empowered to participate in connecting our global family together through being present and inspired as part of a natural community environment and setting for our kids and living our purpose in giving to the Greater Good and forming a caring network of people and “human-enabling’ / “humaning” experiences.

Help me to continue what I’m doing, to be able to visit my daughter in Australia; To enable more projects which increase our capacity to sustain our lives as Human Beings.

Make a time to chat with me :

Paying it Forward – For Other Families

I would like to make Freyr’s bamboo Sky Kubu available for other families now that she is residing in Australia – I am working to establish a place where I can spend time with my daughter sustainably. Our Bamboo Home, though it is a beautiful space – became unlivable for us as Freyr had no access to disability or medical support from Australia and we lost financial support from her father after she turned 18 in 2020 – so she had been just sitting at home with Nana, her assistant in Bali, most days while I was working. I’m relieved that she now has access to her funding and has activities to keep her socially engaged and medical attention to address her ongoing/chronic needs, and that I am able to develop my own independent livelihood.

Bamboo houses are not really noise-proof and occupants can pretty much feel every step and movement reverberates through the building – which is great when you want to keep tabs on what’s going on… not so much if you want to “switch off” for a bit. Since COVID I’ve been spending nearly all my time working with bamboo craftsmen in Belega (near Ubud) and coordinating/developing bamboo programs. I find working with bamboo very therapeutic. It’s also a great way to have social interaction with lessened anxiety as having the focus of crafting diffuses my usual social awkwardness – and I even have time to socialise – Woohoo! (being a Carer can be very isolating – even when you’re not Caring directly, you’re always On Alert and/or too exhausted to string a sentence together).

So, though there are still a few repairs and improvements which could happen in our bamboo house such as :

• Major roof repair/overhaul
• Installation of Elevator for CP friends to visit
• Accessible Bathroom
• Ground Treatment and Maintenance of Bamboo
• New fence and Caretaker residence
• Oven door and rocket-stove hot water system and bath installation
• Carer and Teacher Training

I can offer this space to families who would like to have a more “local” experience of Bali in our Bamboo Jungle Home…

With one big bedroom upstairs containing one double bed and 4 bunks, and a day-bed and bunk on the middle level for snorers (i guess), simple kitchen… we can actually sleep 9 people at a push… I can help coordinate support and care if necessary so families can stay and Carers can have their own time and take a break to go do something for themselves… like a yoga class, walking on the beach, a relaxing massage, exploring, leisurely shopping (shock-horror!), bike-riding, or even a retreat… A “Western” Supermarket (Soputan Fresh) is walking distance from the house where most “familiar” consumption items are available for purchase (even Vegemite).

I’m still working out a booking system and I want people to be able to pay what they can afford – but for now you can book via Airbnb Homestay HERE or Booking.com

As of 2024, I’m working as part of a collaborative group of passionate individuals to bring about a skill-sharing training program in Kenya called Bamboo 4 Africa which you can read more about HERE.

If you have read this far, Thank You – for taking the time to hear my story and taking an interest… I hope we can meet one day.

I’m in the process of making a Kickstarter Crowdfunding to fund a Documentary Film featuring Jaye Irving of Barefoot Design (Australian Architecture and Building Company) as part of my passion to share Affordable Bamboo Skills Training with the World!! With almost two decades experience ​in sustainable design and ​construction, Jaye is an award-​winning Architect, Artist, Builder ​and Permaculturist with skills in ​integrated food systems, ecological ​sewage design and natural building ​practices including bamboo, earth ​and straw. He has converted my thinking about bamboo treatment with his method of constructing a hyperboloid tower to treat bamboo – eliminating the need for scaffolding and expensive bath-setup and I now believe this to be the most accessible method to teach and use for treatment of bamboo! Watch this Space 🙂