(4-minute read)
I am back in Indonesia! But this time I stayed in Bali visiting the Coral Triangle Center (CTC) assisting with coral maintenance, working with the CTC’s Center for Marine Conservation , and even celebrating a Balinese holiday! This was a really cool opportunity to see behind the scenes of another NGO and help with meaningful work in another part of the world.
My visit started off with an amazing house tour of the Coral Triangle Center. I was able to learn the history of the organization as well as gain a better understanding of how marine issues are impacting different parts of Indonesia.
My favorite part of the house tour was where I learned about the 6 countries within the Coral Triangle (Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste) and the culturally significant marine animals for each one. You can see a map of the Coral Triangle region as well as one of the exhibits in the CTC below!
We later headed to Nusa Penida to help with Reef Star maintenance. These Reef Stars are really cool structures of rebar coated in resin and locally-sourced sand. Pieces of coral are tied to each structure and then they are left in the water to grow. A few months ago in Nusa Penida, 400 structures were installed! Since some time has passed since this site was established, the goal for this trip was to scrub algae off the structures, remove dead coral, and attach new coral.
At the same time, I was also able to work alongside CTC’s Center for Marine Conservation and help them offer in-house tours which was really cool. I always wondered what happened behind creating a script/talking points for tour guides.
Towards the middle of my stay, I had to take a quick pause on my activities due to a Balinese (Hindu) holiday, Nyepi, known as the “Day of Silence”. It is Balinese New Year’s Day with multiple days of celebration (source). I personally was able to witness the Ogoh-Ogoh parades where huge hand-made puppets are paraded around different parts of Bali the night before Nyepi. They were really cool to see!
Then the day of March 11th is the official day of silence where the entire island is “closed”, including the airport! The roads are off limits, as everyone is expected to stay indoors for 24 hours. Because no one should be out and about, you’re prohibited from entering any beaches, restaurants, grocery stores, and other types of shops (source). I had to do a bit of meal prepping and charging my devices, but it was actually really nice to stay inside and take time for self reflection. More info on Nyepi can be found here!
After Nyepi, I ended up battling with stomach issues and another ear infection so some plans had to get shifted a little bit but I still made the most of my experience with CTC.
Later this week, I was able to go out to dinner with CTC Executive Director, Rili Djohani, CTC staff, and CTC volunteers. It was really fun to get to know everyone a little bit better outside the office! We also got to participate in CTC’s SOS Plastic Danger escape room. I was able to do it with a group of CTC staff and volunteers and we finished in just under an hour! This was a really cool escape room and the first one I’ve ever done that focused on marine science issues (in this case, plastic pollution). Combining group knowledge on this topic really helped out solving this and I though it was a really fun experience!
Before the end of this experience, I was able to take the day and go up to Ubud, a popular art village in Bali with gorgeous scenery, gorgeous art, and gorgeous history. I saw how buildings changed and how different art was produced within each area. It was really fun seeing another part of Indonesia; this really has been a place with some of my favorite experiences.
As I am heading into my next experience, I am leaving here with more knowledge of coral restoration, the efforts going on within the coral triangle, the multi-faceted work that goes into NGOs, and I personally feel like I have mastered traveling while sick!
Thank you so much to Pak Marthen, Ibu Rili, and Ibu Ivo and the team at the Coral Triangle Center! I have learned a lot and I had a great time working with you all the last two weeks.
And a huge thank you to Stacey Tighe Ph.D. (1980 OWUSS NA Scholar) who has graciously coordinated me around Indonesia for the second time.
Thank you to the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society and our sponsor Rolex for making this scholarship experience a possibility. I would also like to thank Reef Photo and Video, Nauticam and Light and Motion for my underwater camera setup as well as Aqualung, Fourth Element, Suunto, Halcyon, and DUI for my diving equipment.
