a MOVEMENT for better SANUR
Rebuilding Sanur Together
What is “Rebuilding Sanur Together” ?
This is an effort initiated by Sanur Community. It started by many individuals and many different local groups , all who happens to care about Sanur and want to do something concrete: How to improved , enhance, … or making Sanur a better place , based on “Trihita Karana” (the Balinese philosophy for a balanced & integrated social, cultural, environmental, physical, economic development).
Who is doing this activities?
Anyone can be a part of this collective effort for all of us, from us, by us: People who like to see a significant change in the neighbourhood, whether it be from the Banjar, the community leaders, the business community, the government, the young , the old, the expat community, the NGO’s, the university, associations, as well as any external parties that cares.
What is the Objective?
The objective is to implement concrete actions for better Sanur. Some like to see a cleaner beach, a safer streets, a more comfortable side walk, a more respected cultural and religious zones, a better livelyhood for the fishermen, etc.
In general , a wish to develop Sanur as a integrated unity: an cultural, social , and environmentally friendly village and able to become a unique tourist destination to recapture Sanur’s former magic.
Ideas was suggested:
• Recycling compost in the neighborhood, along the beach and the Banjars?
• To safe our diminishing green zones
• A car free Zone – starting with closing a small dead end street- a Community Street Fair Experiment.
• Incrementally improving the uncomfortable side walks?
• The bicycle neighborhood in Sanur?
• Empower more local community participation in the decision making process related to the development of the local building Regulation to the future of Sanur
• Stengthening the Cultural Entity (DesaAdat)? Protection and enhancing the Religious &Cultural spaces - having more public place, urban gardens, urban rice field?
• Enhancement of the traditional Balinese architecture through the introduction of a Strategic Urban Building and Planning Guideline?
• What else?
How do we go to make it real?
So far, it was felt that the solution lays on us as an integrated "One Community". It is apparent that many solutions requires collective participation and resource gathering. The solutions also varies to various local conditions where each area might have different solutions. It is a balance, often a compromise of wishes rather than staying as it is or even going downwards to a continuous deteriorating Sanur.
Who makes the decisions?
With such a variety of problems , interest group, and contextual issues, the decision lie on us as a cohessive community. It will be a dynamic process of decision making and a learning by doing approach to make it happens. It might even be useful for us to have inputs from external experts an new innovative ideas that we never though before.
How is this effort organized?
For now, the effort is rather informal. Various discussions call for a more organized structure. . To be more effective/ efficient , and on the go, there is the idea of setting up an active working seretariat, a politically neutral entity without any FLAG. Currently the temporal place of information is at Sanur’s Environmental Information Center (PPLH). We could rotate the base or for efficiencies sake, we could leave the base in one location?
Who is funding all of this?
As a community initiative, funding can come from anywhere. We hope that a partnership of concerned individuals, groups , businesses , and including the Government can emerge to a common goal to make things real.
So far , we have received initial catalytic funding support from individuals, from the Hotel Association, a micro grant (Rp10 million) from the World Bank. Other offers are coming: From the rotarian club and a Urban Development Research Group (URDI ). There are “in kind” support offers from various government entities (BAPPEDAL, MENPERA).
Government and Donor support is very concerned with poverty alleviation, creating jobs, food production, protection of the depleted environment as well as local community participation. It seems very much in line to what we are doing.
What has been done so far?
• So far , the many concerned individuals have informally gathered. Participation from groups and individuals is growing. It is a collective energy of the village religious head (Pedande Ida Ratu Kaleran), the Traditional Village head (Bandesa Anom Buana), some of the Banjar Heads (Gus Putra Suta) , the Sanur Development Foundation (Mr. Centana Putra, Head of Yayasan Pembangunan Sanur), the Young Generation of Sanur Association (HGMS) , the Government Village Head (KADES), the various NGO’s (among others PPLH, ManikayaKauci, LBH, World Wide Funds, ASI, Ashram Gandhi , several well known Bali wide Community Leaders, the Head of the Sanur’s Cooperative, some of the University faculty, an various concerned government individuals, the large hotel managers (CASA GRANDE), the small business community, the Travel Agency Association and the expat community of Sanur.
• On December 19, 1997, an initial community aspiration - sharing meeting was held. It was attended by about 250 representatives that came from the community, business groups, and the government. . It was a beginning of espression and aspirations. Initial problems and suggestions were collected which is compiled into some form of a possible sanurian community newsletter: “ From us, For us, By us who cares of Sanur”.
• Some micro actions has begun: a community compost experiments has been launched .
A more careful action plans are being developed and we hope to begin more
significant actions in the near future.
The next steps seen as being needed is the establishment of a more serious organizational force that can move these ideas into reality and to make things happen …. action!!
What can I do?
This is the time for participationwithin all our busy and hectic lives.. Each of us will have our different resources. Some has no time but may have other resource to share. Some has only time and energy to give. It is a solution that requires ideas, commitments, energy, time, in kind, money, land, political contacts or even moral support. Let’s make things happen: for the children of our children ( Belated Mr. Darme, Ex Managing Director of Sanur Beach Hotel).
FROM US, TO US, FOR US
WHO CARES OF SANUR
May 5, 98